When I first started my student teaching this semester, I walked into this second grade classroom at this beautiful new school and was amazed at how clean and new everything looked and felt. The school was built five years ago and still has that brand new feeling which I love. The school that I substitute at regularly is a lot older and isn't equipped with all the brand new bells and whistles that this school has. It felt nice to be somewhere that was new and clean and I was excited that these children had such a wonderful opportunity to learn in this beautiful environment. At first I thought the classroom was clean but very bare. There wasn't much on the walls or around the classroom. There are 5 tables formed as group pods that seat four kids each facing each other at a rectangular table and one large table that seats eight. The group pods promote collaborative learning and still give enough space at the tables for children to work independently when they have to. Th
Post Observation Self - Reflection Last week I had the opportunity to lead a whole group lesson in the second grade classroom that I am currently doing my pre-student teaching. I had not had many opportunities to get up in front of this class before so I have to admit that I was fairly nervous. There was a moment when I was walking around and chatting with children during their independent work that I realized that these children were actually enjoying a lesson that I had put together myself. To see my lesson come to fruition and to watch these wonderful kids and their enthusiasm was beautiful and surreal to me. (As I reflect on the lesson, activity or interaction to what extent were the students actively engaged? How do I know?) As I reflect on the lesson with the students I was happy to see that the children were very much engaged. Sitting on the rug their faces looking up at me so bright with wide open eyes, they were involved in the lesson. It seemed that ju