Teaching is like doing a 90 minute aerobics class!

Today I taught in Mr. I’s 9th grade World Geography class.  I taught with another intern from my Texas State class.  We taught a lesson on Africa and we decided to do a cooperative learning activity.  We had African music playing when the students walked in the room, they spent some time working on a warm-up question about what they knew about Africa.  Next, my fellow intern spent sometime going over what they knew.  It was a really nice discussion.  Then I had a powerpoint presentation going over a little of the history of Africa.  Finally, we divided the students up into groups and they spent a little bit of time in each part of Africa.  Some groups played games, some groups read posters, others did crossword puzzles.

In analyzing this teach, I think it went really well.  I think the students definitely learned some new information and were exposed to new ideas about how different people lived in different parts of the world.

In reflection, there was so much that can be improved apon.  It was great to switch groups, but the time was so quick that each time the students would begin to understand what to do in the group they were in . . . it would be time to switch groups.  Another issue I had was the lights being on made it hard to show my video in the East African group.  I wish I would have shown the video in the beginning with my powerpoint because the lights would have been off and it may have been more powerful!

In closing, I see how important it is to tie the information I am teaching back to the lives of the students.  I had some information on what the Maasai children did and the students loved that.  I talked about Rwand and the Tutsi and the Hutu and one student refered to gand violence in his own life.  I wish I could have developed that more and I definitely will in the future.