I think I just had teaching summarised in one simple soundbite.
- Thread starter upsidedownwalrus
- Start date
Balbi
Hey, Dean Yager!
Oh I don't know. I taught it pretty straight down the line, I was dealing with kids in the same bracket as you - they didn't take kindly to mucking about in all honesty
. I think I can have a bit more fun with them up in KS2 - sarcasm apparently works, whereas in KS1 you get blank looks from the little angels.
The other thing for me about the littl'uns is that it's fun when you're doing fun stuff. I always liked teaching the small kids in China because I was TEFLing and a lot of the time with then it was just games etc.
The problem comes with KS1 when you're trying to be sensible and 'bring it down to their level'.
Like one of my observations which I failed was about mains vs battery powered items. I was so stuck about how to make that accessible and engaging for Y2.
The problem comes with KS1 when you're trying to be sensible and 'bring it down to their level'.
Like one of my observations which I failed was about mains vs battery powered items. I was so stuck about how to make that accessible and engaging for Y2.
How did you do with it?I have to admit I was stumped about how to present it in an exciting way.
Thing with Y5 is that you don't have to spend every second thinking about how to make everything 'exciting'. I've just been getting down to the work with them and they're engaged with that.
Balbi
Hey, Dean Yager!
I filled the classroom with mains and battery powered toys and appliances (all without batteries and unplugged). Then got them to discuss what they had which plugged in, and had batteries. Then got them in their pairs to go and find something which needed batteries/mains. We then plugged them in/fitted batteries - showing where the batteries go in, and how plugs work. Whole group talk about different size of batteries, but how plugs are the same - then (lazily) a sorting worksheet of battery/mains app. items.
We'd touched on safety around plug sockets and batteries the week before as a sort of foundation lesson in Circle Time. They all (Mixed Y1/2) understood the dangers of it, and started work on posters (you can always rely on posters when your circle time ends too early innit
)
I find all my science lessons to be heavily practical, probably appeals more to the boys than the girls. But practical science is the best way of getting them into the habit of looking at things and how they work, and using the spec. vocab about them.
Did you have the problem with their fine motor skills and the crocodile clips when you did circuits? That nearly ruined my circuits lesson.
We'd touched on safety around plug sockets and batteries the week before as a sort of foundation lesson in Circle Time. They all (Mixed Y1/2) understood the dangers of it, and started work on posters (you can always rely on posters when your circle time ends too early innit
)I find all my science lessons to be heavily practical, probably appeals more to the boys than the girls. But practical science is the best way of getting them into the habit of looking at things and how they work, and using the spec. vocab about them.
Did you have the problem with their fine motor skills and the crocodile clips when you did circuits? That nearly ruined my circuits lesson.
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
You filled the class with sex toys
The circuits one actually went well from the POV of being a lesson. Thing is that was the last one where my uni tutor came back to observe, and she said that the actual activities and stuff were good, but she failed me because I had given her a lesson plan with changes/annotations written in pencil (as the previous tutor had told me to do 
) and because I had been looking on the computer to open the pp presentation and hadn't been friendly enough with the kids when they were coming in
) and because I had been looking on the computer to open the pp presentation and hadn't been friendly enough with the kids when they were coming in
Balbi
Hey, Dean Yager!
That's fucking obscene. I got a pat on the back for my scrawled notes on my lesson plan! It shows fucking flexibility within your own teaching, the ability to alter your lesson to suit what you think will work.
Taking your eye off them is terrible though innit. If you were on an IWB, screen shade it? Then just pull down to the ppt presentation.
It shows fucking flexibility within your own teaching, the ability to alter your lesson to suit what you think will work. Taking your eye off them is terrible though innit. If you were on an IWB, screen shade it? Then just pull down to the ppt presentation.
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
How old are these kids?
That's fucking obscene. I got a pat on the back for my scrawled notes on my lesson plan!
Taking your eye off them is terrible though innit. If you were on an IWB, screen shade it? Then just pull down to the ppt presentation.
True... Still my teacher at the current placement said I had improved a lot (both compared with the last one and during the actual time I've been there). She said to just put the first placement behind me and concentrate on day by day slowly sorting everything out.
No. It's a fucking deserted ghost town. At least here in high heaton.
There might be somewhere in heaton proper.
In the classes described above about bulbs and batteries? About 6.
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
ah! I see! You confused me with Yr1/2 - I thought you meant high school
No. It's a fucking deserted ghost town. At least here in high heaton.
There might be somewhere in heaton proper.
not even any garages
ah well, teaches me for sleeping all day lol
And those who write that quip are cunts.
I once saw someone write on Dave's ESL Cafe, "Those who can, do, those who can't teach, those who can't teach, teach TEFL, those who can't teach TEFL, teach in China."
That made me feel good!
Dave's is probably one of the worse esl site for community and actual help with teaching.
Horrible vibe in the site I find.
not even any garages
ah well, teaches me for sleeping all day lol
There's a garage behind sainsburys and it closes at 10pm
Don't you find opening hours generally quite shit in newcastle? It's one thing that really sucks compared with london.
Yeah. It's just chock full of people basically running down their own job/own country of residence etc. I don't get it at all.
There's a garage behind sainsburys and it closes at 10pm
Don't you find opening hours generally quite shit in newcastle? It's one thing that really sucks compared with london.
yeah there's just the tescos out of town
you'd think they'd allow one shop in the centre....
They seem to be much stricter on public drinking here too. In London you always see people with cans of beer. Here I think I've seen it about twice. Today two 'Community Support Officers' were interrogating these two guys in the Metro station, where are you going, where have you beem why are you going there etc, just because they day before they had seen them holding beer cans! Talk about gestapo!
rioted
redundant
Innit Oh well, the important thing is that I can still qualify and it's going much better on this placement, even though there's more work.
Oh well, the important thing is that I can still qualify and it's going much better on this placement, even though there's more work.if you'd seen the state of the place 15 years ago you'd see why they were fascist on the public drunkenness lol
Yeah TBH I'd guessed that there was probably a reason like that...
catinthehat
Failed VK = Replicant
Dont smile until Christmas term has stood me in good stead. As the interactionists would have it every classroom is a negotiated zone. My lot are excellent, never misbehave and frequently say thank you after class and keep in contact years after they have left in some cases. But I covered a class last week, same place, same demographic and they were a bunch of angry sullen strop meisters - one of whom called me a fukin arsehole because I asked them to stop texting !
If I catch them texting the phone is confiscated for a few days, or they can get their parents to ask for it back. That hasn't happened yet though.
See what I found hard especially with Year 2 is the balance between that (Don't smile before Christmas) and the need for the teacher to constantly interact. The main reason I failed the first placement was that they said I didn't interact with them enough. I just got confused as we'd also been told not to be too friendly. That balance can be quite tricky.
Where do you teach catinthehat?
Where do you teach catinthehat?
