Hi all!
My cooperating teacher and I agreed that the first thing that I should take over is morning meeting. This was my primary responsibility in my ecostars classroom, so we agreed that it would be the best subject area for me to takeover and feel confident. I wanted to change up the flow of the meeting so I decided to use the Promethean board and found a layout that met the needs for the calendar math curriculum the school uses.
The kids were very engaged with the new technology. Everyone wanted a turn coloring and dragging objects across the board. I noticed kids willing to participate who hadn't raised their hands thus far in morning meeting. For our greeting game I divided the class into two groups, I asked ms Perez to lead one group while I led the second in our greeting game. The game involved saying every name in the group that was in the circle behind you. I chose this game because many of the students have not memorized their peers names. I'm glad I used the cooperating strategy I did during this activity because it allowed for smaller circles, meaning the last child only had to attempt 11 names instead of 23. Also, talking has been a problem during the morning greetings and we found that splitting the group allowed for better management.
Overall I think my first leadership experience in the classroom went well and I feel confident as I will continue to lead the meeting over the rest of the semester.
Sounds like a successful morning, Julie. I'm always amazed by the different activities, formats, and strategies teachers use in the morning meeting routine. You had a whole bunch going on, from the use of the Promethean board, to small group learning, to trying some co-teaching (one teach-one assist?). If you felt good at the end of the period, then that's an important sign of success.
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