Growth and Learning

This week has been wonderful for me in that I feel as though I am growing as a teacher and also as a learner. I have been very active in the classroom this week, taking over the maths sessions and also leading a reading group rotation. The theme for this term in Grade 5/6 is Indigenous Australia and because of this I am always learning new things from personal research or materials Lauren provides me with. I have found it a challenge to form new and creative activities for the students to complete because of the amount of knowledge I do not have about the topic. As the week comes to an end, I am starting to feel more comfortable with the theme and know where to go if I need more explanation. Lauren has been very helpful with pronunciations of words as well as guiding me towards ideas for the reading groups. The grade 5/6 teachers rotate book boxes that come with activities already in them, but Lauren and I have often tried to create our own. By doing so, we are able to better fit the needs and interests of our students. While it has been a challenge, it has shown me that sometimes there will be topics that need to be covered and while you may not feel the most comfortable in doing so, it is possible to teach your students successfully and thoroughly.

In teaching Maths this week, I have become more aware of the language I need to use with the students (remembering to use as many Maths terms as possible during group instruction). The students responded very well to my second and third lessons. While teaching the lesson I felt the students were very engaged and eager to know what the next instruction was (they were using paper and scissors to visually represent tenths, hundredths, and thousandths). After the lesson I was able to talk with Lauren, and she definitely made some great suggestions that I will consider when preparing for next week. There were times in the lesson where I only involved one student and could have used all the students to keep them engaged. She also suggested giving them more of a chance to discover what the purpose of the cutting the pieces up was instead of me guiding them. All of her suggestions were very helpful and I hope that as I become more comfortable teaching on my own that these things will come more naturally to me.

I think part of me has worried about stepping in to teach because the first two weeks of school were not "normal" or routine. It may have been hard for the students to see me as a "teacher". Up until late last week I think I was viewed as someone helping in the classroom and not the lead teacher. Now that our schedule has settled down and I am taking over various subject areas I think they are seeing what my role in the classroom is and will become over the next few weeks.

Other news at Greenhills & life in Australia:

1. Next Thursday is House/Fun day
The students are split into four different houses when they come to Greenhills and they stay in these teams throughout their time at school. Part of the day is spent playing games and doing various activities with members of their house teams.
2. Grade 6 Camp is a little over a week away
3. The Grade 5/6L Wiki is completed and accessible to students
4. I am trying to plan a Skype interview between my class and some elementary students in WI
5. 5/6L has a class pet (Junior): a blue tongue lizard
6. Susan and I are spending the weekend with a group of teachers
7. Next weekend is The Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles
8. I have tried and very much enjoyed some Australian favorites:
Kangaroo, Lamb, Lamingtons, Pumpkin, Pancakes with Ice Cream, cocoa biscuits, Vegemite (this one I did not really enjoy but did give it a go)
9. I contributed a piece on my reaction to the bush fire appeal/communities uniting in Contact, which is the school newsletters