Caleb Thrower: January/February

Chapter 12 in Reading Essentials challenged me to take a critical look at the allotted time I have in my classroom and determine if there are any areas in which I need to adjust how that time is spent. With only a small amount of time in each school day it is important to make sure that each minute with students is as productive as possible,

I enjoyed the set of questions the author recommended keeping in mind at all times as you teach. Questions such as "What do I want them to know and understand?" and "How will I know when they understand what I am teaching?" help to cut out the extra fillers that often end up in a lesson. By keeping these questions in mind I can make my lesson more focused on the immediate task at hand.

Reading this chapter also reminded me that the average attention span of a child is a mere 10 minutes. I often require my students to participate in lessons that span longer than they are able to keep focus. I am going to be more intentional in changing the pace of my lessons up so that students don't get bored and tune out after 15 minutes or so.

One thing the chapter suggests that teachers do and something I feel I do well is reflect and adjust. I often sit after school and think on the day. I often see areas in which my schedule needs to be adjusted to accommodate the needs of my students; e.g. spend less time in math because my students are understanding the concept well which opens more time for areas where they need more guidance.

This book continues to encourage me to take a look at myself as a teacher to determine the areas in which I need to improve and areas where I am excelling. This chapter may have been the most informative yet and I am eager to implement a few of the ideas it presents in my classroom as the year comes to a close.