(the desks would be lined up similar to this. Photo courtesy of www.classroomselect.com)
(This would be similar to what is on the back wall of the classroom. There would be lots of pictures of different places and people. Photo courtesy of www.puzzlewarehouse.com)
(This is the awesome globe from Target that I bought and it will be sitting on my desk.)
(I will have bins similar to these where students can pick up graded assignments and tests. Photo courtesy of www.havingclassinthird.com)
(This will be my classroom: a portable. Photo courtesy of www.imodularbuildings.com)
In my head I imagine my classroom being a portable because that is where all of the social studies classes were in my high school in California, however in Utah portable classrooms don't exist but I imagine I will end up in California so I will be in a portable. There will probably be 5 rows of 8-10 desks each all facing the whiteboard which will have a smartboard attached to it. The walls at the back of the classroom will be filled with pictures of people of differing cultures and different types of maps (physical, geographical, political, etc). Also at the back of the class will be tables with bins on top where students will turn in homework. There will be bins with file folders with each students' name on them according to the period where they will pick up graded work. There will also be a late bin and one bin for the work that gets turned in for the day. My desk will be at the front to left side and I will have my super awesome globe that I bought from Target as well as knick-knacks that I have collected from my travels. On the right side will be a table with the assignments for the day, any papers that students will need or assignments that will be started. The smartboard will be used often for the powerpoints that I will be using, but not to be used for whiteboard purposes. This is what I envision my classroom to look like.
3. Describe students
In my imagined classroom, I see diversity. My students will have different backgrounds, rich, poor, middle class. There will be immigrants (probably some of them illegal), maybe a refugee or two, white kids, black kids, latinos, asians, a little bit of everything. There will be jocks, nerds, theater people, kids struggling with their identity, and some normal kids. These kids will have various religious beliefs as well as political beliefs. All of these differences will add to class discussion as we discuss geography and why people are different or the same in different regions of the world. They will all have varying interests. Most of them will be eager to learn, some will like to be on their phones all the time (this will be frowned upon), some will be boy/girl crazy, and some will just sit and pretend like they hate the world.
4. Classroom policies
One of my coaches in high school called himself a "benevolent dictator" and I think that is kind of how I will run my classroom. I won't be unreasonable like most dictators, but when it comes down to it, my decisions are the ones that count. My discipline plan will consist of verbal warnings, separating students who are disruptive (I'll probably have some sort of time out desk where I will send students), and calling parents for extreme cases. I feel it is impossible to keep students from completely using their cell phones in class so instead of trying to take them away, I will ask students to google things when we are unsure about an answer so that they will be using their technology in a more productive way than snapchatting my awesome lesson. In my head, this is a great idea but it may be awful and so with time this rule could be modified. I will allow late work but students will only be allowed to earn up to 85% the second time around. I will also allow for test corrections but students will have to explain why they chose the answer they chose and look up the correct answer on their own. Students will walk into class, turn in any assignments that are due and pick up the assignments for the day on the various tables. I know there are a million other things that need policies but this is all I can come up with for now.
5. Typical lesson
I would be teaching geography. My typical lesson will be powerpoints. I would start with some sort of video and then we would have key terms and talk about whatever chapter of the textbook that we are on. I would then have some discussion questions that I will facilitate with the entire class or have them break into groups and discuss them together. Typically it will be asking who, what, where, when, why? This will be a theme throughout the whole year. I want students to understand that we are one world. I would hope that my students leave my classroom with a greater appreciation for differences in culture, religion, race, work etc.
6. What am I doing as a teacher?
I will be doing some direct instruction through the powerpoint as I describe key terms that students need to know in order to participate in the class discussions. There will be some inquiry based teaching with the 5 w questions. If we are having a class discussion I will have the students do the majority of the talking. When students are broken up into pairs and participating in cooperative learning, I will be walking around and checking for understanding. Oh, and jokes will be made here and there.
7. Students again, what are they doing during the lesson?
Students will be writing down on flashcards that they have the key terms and definitions given to them. Students will be expected to participate in class discussion, if they are not, they will be called on. As mentioned before, students will walk into class and pick up or drop off the various assignments for the day.
8. How do I assess student learning?
I imagine that I will have department-wide tests that will be given. However, for the day to day things classroom discussion will help me to gage where students are in their understanding of the material. I foresee map quizzes where students have to fill in country names into a blank map. I will know that they have learned when they start making connections on their own.
No comments:
Post a Comment