This semester I will be working with seniors in an English IV class. This whole week is being devoted to their senior baseline essays. They are writing letters of introduction. Students are not allowed to use their name or physical descriptions of themselves because next week we will read them in class and try to figure out who the letters belong to as a sort of get to know you activity. This activity is a bit different from the normal get-to-know-you type activities that are usually done in during the first two days of school, but it is a good idea. I like how my teacher integrated the baseline essay with a get-to-know-you activity. She also is having students use four "I am" metaphors in their letters to reenforce how to use metaphors in writing. My CT asked me to write a letter of introduction for myself so she could hand it out as an example to the class which was really cool because they learned a bit about my life outside school, now I don't just seem like a stranger in their classroom.
The students are already beginning to become comfortable with asking me questions which is awesome. They have been asking me questions pertaining to writing when they are working on their rough drafts of their letters of introduction instead of insisting that my CT needs to help them instead of me. Hearing "Miss Schmidt, can you come here?" for the first time definitely made me smile, but it also was a surprise because during my past observations, the students took a few weeks to warm up to me and begin to ask me questions. I am glad that I haven't spent my week only observing. Getting students to trust me as a teacher figure at the beginning of the semester, rather than halfway through, is actually one of my goals for this semester; I am glad that I am accomplishing my goal sooner that I thought that it would happen.
Not being hesitant in my CT's classroom is another goal of mine for the semester; I don't want to just stand on the sidelines and watch my CT teacher. I want to jump into the lessons with my CT unlike previous semesters. I am trying to not think that I might offend my CT by contributing to her lessons because it is silly to think that because the only way for me to become a better teacher is to practice.
I have a feeling that this is going to be an awesome semester.
