I was late in submitting my lesson plan, and I'm very nervous about it. I've been horribly sick since Wednesday, and am having trouble at this point sitting up at the computer to compose this post! All I can say is "Thank you, Dr.King, for having your holiday tomorrow!"
As to the assignment. I remember doing lesson plans like this when I was an undergrad. I couldn't imagine actually having the time to do all this, for all the subjects, for every day of the week. I remember my cooperating teacher laughing at me, and showing me her real-world lesson plans, in which an entire week fit into a bunch of blocks on an 17x11 planning book.
Fast forward 16 years to this assignment. It took me about 5 hours to write this plan. Now granted, I'm not on top of my game today. Granted, that Word decided to eat about 1/3 of my template AFTER I completed it and for the life of me I could not figure out how to restore it, so I had to start from scratch. At least I was able to print out the remaining 2/3 and retype all of that. Still, so many hours for one lesson? I have to plan about 10 lessons a week (2 classes of 2 grades, 5 days a week.) I would be putting in another full time work week.
I am actually going to implement this lesson this week. I'm undergoing that favorite ritual of the classroom teacher, the principal formal observation. I will be giving him a copy of this 10 page lesson plan for him to peruse. That should get a reaction out of him, I'm certain!
On a positive note, this process did make me think in great detail about exactly what my goals and objectives are, what I need to do to be sure they are ready for this lesson (which is a barometer making lab). I will be sure to pack my gram scale for the demonstration lesson "does air have weight?" I expect that as always, with the best planned lessons, some unexpected contingencies will come up, and the "teachable moment" will take me off the carefully mapped path.
But it will be an interesting experience. I will say quite frankly, that I'm genuinely concerned about the workload for this class! This is the first time I have felt as if it will be very difficult for me to keep up. I also feel as if I may not have completed the assignment correctly, which for me is a very humbling and stressful feeling. The only good thing about this feeling is the empathy it gives me for the students in my class. I know there are times when they are not sure exactly what it is I'm asking them to do!
And so back to bed! Good luck to you all!
Eileen,
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I loved your post. It was honest and refreshing. I wasn't sick and I also didn't like the template. Maybe its after 16 years of teaching:) Hope you are feeling better.
Feel free to shoot me an email anytime you are feeling overwhelmed. A friend an I are both working on programs through Walden and we are constantly talking each other down.
Lori
Lori,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm always going be as authentic as possible here on my blog. I am indeed finally on the mend and the lesson will be presented this week. Should be an interesting experience.
And thanks for the kind offer of the virtual shoulder! I'll try to keep the fussing to a minimum!
Eileen
Eileen,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are feeling better. I also had difficulty with the amount of time it took creating the lesson. I implemented mine yesterday and things went smoothly (as I expected giving the extent of planning). It would be nice if the reality was plan one day, teach the next. Perfect timing, however, as it corresponds with the observation; nice to have a dual purpose for all of your hard work. Let us know how the lesson goes!
Reese
Imagine this! The observation got postponed right while I was in the middle of the lab. I got the phone call: "I won't be in until Monday" when I had a quiz planned for that day! So I had them making observations about their barometers when he showed up, and I ended up with a satisfactory observation. Very annoying, though!
ReplyDelete