I have been teaching my unit over Kaffir Boy. This autobiography takes place under apartheid in South Africa. My CT originally handed me the textbook and said, "You're teaching this book." This has proved to be a pretty good idea on her end. This has enabled me to create my own lessons using a text she has never taught. This also allows her to make suggestions, praise, and critique without using her own lesson for the unit as a starting point.
Teaching this unit has been invaluable. I am nearly done with the unit, we will be starting the graphic organizers for the essays a week before spring break. What I like with this unit is the established routine. Everyday students can expect to come in, take a quiz, review, learn a new note taking strategy, and ultimately apply that strategy to the day's reading.
What I don't like is how large the book is. The book is over 500 pages. There simply is not enough time to cover the entire book, so I have had to snip and cut out chapters to teach. The school I am currently student teaching at does not have a large enough set of books to allow students to take them home, so work must be done in class. While this has been working, I would hate to do it again with another book. I believe I have been able to capture the most important and insightful chapters, but it does not make up for the amazing quality of the entire book. I would have liked to have done something smaller, but this is not a poor experience.
I have been struggling with homework turn ins. Many students are not used to having homework. I have assigned a few (literally, like two) homework assignments and I saw extremely poor turn in rates. It kind of swept the floor from under my feet. I am learning to adjust my lessons to incorporate more in class activities. I assigned a small homework assignment today, so hopefully this may see better turn in rates. I will keep my fingers crossed!
On a side note: I recently went to my first inservice, and it was enlightening! I learned a bit more about my colleagues and I was exposed to new teaching methods I hope to incorporate into my own classroom. I also experienced my first set of P/T conferences, and that was something in it's own. It is disappointing to see that many parents do not come to P/T conferences when their child could so easily benefit from the five minutes it would take to talk with the instructor.
Happy Teaching!
Ms. Hays
