Last Thursday, a group of 7 of us girls went into a
Kindergarten class at Brigham, our partnering school for our ISU science class.
We had decided that for our first time in the classroom that we would do a
short lesson utilizing centers that covered the five senses. This meant, as the
teachers we would move from center to center with the items we brought that
would either represent sight, smell, sound, touch, or taste. I think that we
did an excellent job of organizing how to switch from station to station. I
took quick note that those kindergartners were super energized the whole 30
minutes that we were in there. Also, taking into consideration the kindergarten
age of 5-6, transitions can take up to twice as long as for older children. That
said, I liked the idea that we as teachers were the ones moving our stations
instead of trying to move the kids around each time was the best idea for us.
Doing so definitely helped us to stay on task and go along according to our
time constraint.
We pulled some of our ideas for the five senses centers from
our on-campus Science class. During the first or second week of school, we got
to participate in our own five senses centers. I feel that having done this
specific activity we were all very prepared to go into a kindergarten classroom
and attempt to replicate the same activity. The center that I did was not one
that we did in class. I simply brought in a few household items that were of
different colors. I thought that this would be fun to show that we see colors
with our eyes. I also thought that we could focus on saying colors in English and
in Spanish. As I reflect on my specific center, I think it may have been too
simple and possibly boring for the kiddos. It was all a matter of pulling out
an object and saying the color. I am glad that I was able to think of things on
the spot to make my center more challenging and engaging for the kindergartners.
This included making connections with the objects with where we had seen them
before. Also, I showed the students that the color of the object changes when
it is covered from the light. I think discussing the effect of a shadow was
something that was new and exciting for the kindergartners, I just wish I had
thought to mention it to all the groups instead of solely with the last group.
Something that I found very difficult when in the classroom
for the first time was classroom management. I was never “in charge” of the
whole group, but I still felt overwhelmed by the big personalities of the little
kindergartners. I was very unsure of how to redirect students when they were
off task because I was unsure of how they respond best. Multiple times I had to
ask the students to stop talking because I was talking. Also, during the whole
group time, many of the students were flailing on the carpet and chatting, and
looking around the room. It would have served me well to have been informed of
their behavior management in the classroom. For instance, in my PDS classroom
and throughout the whole school, we use the DOJO behavior system. I was informed
about DOJO as far as how to access it, how to work the system, and how to make
connections between the classroom and DOJO points. I feel that this has helped
me to work in my own classroom management style as I also get used to the style
of my CT. I know that being informed about the students ahead of time and
understanding how to work with their behaviors would have made our activity
much more effective.
That’s all folks…until next time!
-Alaina Murphy
EXCEEDS: I exceeded the 500 character limit by at least 150
characters, well 168 to be exact.
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