It is
very important that we are able to set goals for ourselves when working with
young children. Whenever we go into a classroom, we should always have a reason
and purpose for being there. Although it was hard to set a goal without even
meeting the students first, it is still important to have one. The goal that I came
up with is, to meet and interact with the students who are English Language
Learners so I gain some insight on how they learn best. I also hoped to observe
and notice any signs of discomfort from the students because of what we have
heard from the previous group already being in the classroom. I was able to
observe those things when we were in the classroom. All of the students in our
preschool class speak English so I think that their hesitation with us was just
due to shyness, which is understandable because this is the first time that
they had met us.
When
we were in the classroom, we first introduced ourselves. Then we did a get to
know you picnic activity where we had the students tell us their name and then
a food that they would want to bring on a picnic. Next we read a book about the
five senses and closed with a song about the five senses. All of our activities
that we had planned for the thirty minutes in the classroom only ended up taking
us around ten to fifteen minutes. When we planned for this lesson together and
with the instructor but were not prepared for how quickly it went by. None of
our activities really required a lot of interaction or things for the students
to do. This only occurred when we sang the song about the five senses and we
had them point to their eyes, nose, etc. Also our activities did not require
transitions because we just stayed on the carpet the whole time. I think that
before going into the classroom, we could have talked more about what we could
have done. But now we know that we should definitely always be prepared and
have an extension activity ready. Something else that could have been done but
would be difficult because we had not read the book before that day, would be
to stop during times in the book and ask the students questions. For example
ask the students, “One of our senses is taste. What are some things that you
taste?” Another thing that I am reflecting on is our excitement. I know that we
all felt a little weird walking into the classroom at first because it was our
first time being there and meeting the students and the students were so small!
Also there were almost as many teachers in the classroom as there were students
so that is a little weird to get used to at first. But I think that being more
excited during our next visit and every visit from now on would help the
students to get talking a little more.
Something
that I noticed about the classroom was the mixture of English and Spanish words.
We learned that a few of the students are English language learners so I think
that it is great that they are incorporating Spanish words in the classroom. I think
that something we could do in the future is teach the students the five senses
sign language. I have been teaching my students some sign language in my PDS
site and I have observed that it is really helping them understand some basic
concepts!
Exceeds: Went over word count and suggested some ways to improve in the future.
