Teaching Beloved

This week marked the first time I would be teaching in a Celebration classroom. It is very strange to have only met the students a few days ago and already be teaching them. Tuesday my classes began the unit on Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. It is the brutal and horrifying work of fiction, loosely based on the life of Margaret Gardner, a slave from Kentucky who escaped to Ohio. The introductory lesson was a PowerPoint, and after observing for four periods, I was given the opportunity to co-teach in periods four and five. The co-teaching went very well and even the "trouble" class was very receptive and finished their worksheets entirely.

Today (Wednesday) was the day that I taught my first full class period. The lesson was discussing what happened in the first chapter, which is also one of the most confusing if you have never read the novel before. We made a full character web for the students and had them copy the chart, and then we discussed each character as a class. I taught both periods three and five, allowing me both fourth and lunch to evaluate one lesson from the next. Below is the web:

During period three I unfortunately ended and came to find that there was eleven minutes left in the class. I attempted to have them read their homework, but the lesson did not end as I had intended. With this in mind, I diligently paid attention to my mentor during the class in between. I wanted to evaluate what she had discussed that was not talked about during the prior class, and that I could carry on to the next class. Teaching period five went much more smoothly. I had a clear focus, as well as better transitions between each individual character. Although there was a few minutes left to spare at the end (six to be exact), the students were specifically instructed not to pack until the ring of the bell. By the end, the majority of the students had started, or had nearly finished, one of their weekend homework assignments.

Overall, it was an experience. Teaching a unit on a novel is not something that I have done before. It will be a challenge to work alongside my mentor and make sure the students are heading in the right direction, but I am willing to take that challenge. With Friday being an in service day, the AU interns headed to one of the Disney resort beaches to watch fireworks over the castle. It was an excellent way to wind down after a long first week, and a long first day of teaching. There are many more experiences to come, and I am very excited for them all.