This week in Lab we were tasked with coming up with a lesson that we would teach on the first day of school. For me the hardest part about creating this lesson was coming up with a "get to know me" activity that could be done in the era of social distancing. It seemed like every activity I came up with didn't follow social distancing rules without some sort of modification.
After spending way too much time thinking about it, I finally decided on a simple activity. In order to comply with social distancing, I decided it would be best to just go around the room and have each student introduce themselves. Except there is one twist, before each person goes I roll a dice and the number it lands on is the number of fun facts that they get to tell the class. I thought this would be a fun way to get to know each other with the excitement of never knowing what number you get. However, I think I may choose a different activity in the future as I think this one may take too much time in a class of 20+ student.
Once the students introduced themselves, it was time to dive into some housekeeping. The first on the list being the start of class procedures. In order to maximize the amount of time learning, I want to make sure the students know exactly what to do when they walk in the door each day.
After the start of class procedures we moved onto expectations. It's very important that students know what you expect out of them so I decided to lay out my expectations in a way that was easy to understand and remember. I also decided to highlight the one of the expectations in particular and that was "Be Honest". To me this is one of the most important things because no matter what happens or what a student does if they tell the truth and are honest things will work out much better than if they lie. One thing I may change in the future is the order in which I present my expectations.
Next, we talked about consequences which is my least favorite conversation to have but it is definitely an important one. One thing that I forgot to include in this part of the lesson was to make it known that severity of your wrong doing will effect the severity of the consequence. So not every wrong doing may get away with a warning on the first offense.
We ended the class session with a ticket out the door. The students must finish the activity and turn it in before they leave. If they aren't able to finish in time then they can turn it in at the beginning of the next class session but the task was short and sweet so the majority of students should be able to finish in time. For this ticket out the door activity, I asked the students to write down 1-2 things they expect from me as a teacher. I really like this activity and the idea is to take the students answers and create a poster to hang in the classroom. One thing I would change about this activity for the future is I would include a variety of unacceptable answers on the powerpoint slide (i.e. no homework and other nonsense answers).
Overall, I think the lesson went pretty well. I definitely struggled a little bit with teaching with a mask on because I would talk pretty fast and the mask would get stuck in my mouth or I would have to stop and take a breath. I think with more practice this will definitely get better.
Emily, no need to stress you did great! I love how you went over your expectations and procedures all while making it your own! You took the time to add your personal touch to everything which not only allowed us as students get to know you but I also think it allowed your content to resonate with us on a deeper level. Next time, just take a deep breathe and be yourself! You've got this! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, great start to the semester. Looking forward to more great lessons.
ReplyDelete-Dr. Ewing
Emily, I really enjoyed how you used photos to share about your Ag Ed journey with your students. I think your perspectives living in multiple states, pursuing various hobbies, and taking very different courses at Penn State is relatable to students. It also paints a picture of acceptance in the classroom and makes every student feel welcome, even if they "didn't grow up on a farm".
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the dice activity could get lengthy in a large class - I wonder if you could make a worksheet that would guide students through meeting with 3-4 other students, rolling the dice, and sharing fun facts (in a non-COVID world, of course).
Overall, great job! I am looking forward to seeing what you do for your interest approach this week.
I loved your lesson! I thought you did a great job of showing who you are and setting the framework for the class. I also thought your icebreaker was fantastic! It's something that I will for sure use with my students (and if you even need help coming up with icebreakers/get-to-know-yous, let me know!)
ReplyDeleteI also really liked how you showed yourself in your expectations, specifically how you highlight being honest because that is one that's important to you. From a student perspective it made me feel more connected to you as the educator.