Practicum 6: American Poets Lesson Part 1 (March 31st 7:30 to 2:45)
Alright, the start of a new day and it is finally time for me to present my lesson. I got there just in time to set up. I presented my hook and gave the students time to free write while listening to jazz music about what they feel or see when they look at the faces of the poets they will be discussing today coupled with the music. They wrote for about 5 minutes, which I noticed was too long. I asked for volunteers and several students talked about their writing. I collected them and went into the main activity. I asked the students to get into pre-assigned groups. While they were semi-settled I went into the instructions of the activity that were written on the PowerPoint Presentation. Each group had a poem to annotate, a group think sheet to fill out and a presentation fill in sheet. The group had to annotate the poem, looking for literary devices, at least four; which they have to write in the group think sheet and present to the class. While they were presenting, students in the audience would write down the four literary devices each group is presenting.
For the first block, the students only have one hour, so they would not be able to finish the activity in that amount of time. So, they would continue into the next day. While the students were annotating, they were confused as to what to do. I realized that they needed an example of what I was looking for, but I had not provided one and did not have to do it either. The first block students continued to ask questions right up until they had to leave. But before I let them leave for the day, I asked them if they could write a sentence about how I was doing do far. They kept that sheet along with the packets and left the classroom.
First block ended and I had the opportunity to observe 12th graders during my teacher’s planning/duty block. The 12th graders were finishing up the Romantics by taking more notes and reading some of Byron and Wordsworth. The 12th graders were so much more mature than the 11th graders and were way more mature than 9th graders. It was a refreshing observation. The most interesting part was when they broke for a tornado drill. Other students from the classroom above came down and sat on the floor as close to the wall as possible. There were several students next to me that were also seniors. They were talking and messing around with each other. I asked two particular boys whether they were dating each other, one of them did not understand my question, so I repeated it. The first boy said no, as sincerely as possible, and the other jokingly said yes, and was caressing the other student. A boy next to them started laughing hysterically, and it was quite funny. I personally love to work with seniors, they are the most mature and I can joke with them without hurting their feelings. They left the classroom after the drill and I continued to observe, until the next block.
This block was with ninth graders and they were doing the same thing as the day before. Library and source cards. These students were well behaved in the library and got most of their work done.
Now, the last block of 11th graders. I presented by hook, shortened the time, and did not ask for volunteers. I passed out the packet, the group think sheet, and the presentation sheet. I had the students get into their groups, and gave the instructions. This class was the most difficult because they are the most rambunctious. They had the same issues as the first block, and the groups were switched around. I did not consult with my teacher first before I made the mistake for forming a group that had two of the most unproductive students. This group of students made it to the presentation portion of the assignment, and many of the students noticed that the answers that were given were wrong. I believe that having a sheet of literary device along with their definitions would have helped. However, the students got through the presentation aspect of the activity and wrote an exit slip for me. They answered three questions and provided a grade for me.
It was the most stressful day that I have ever had at this practicum. I was nervous the entire time and messed up on so many levels. I felt that I did not teach them anything worthwhile, but just gave them a review of literary devices in poetry. However, the lesson was not over. The next day would be my lesson’s end.
