Today was my second day at the elementary school. They had their holiday assembly, which I helped with. I then had the opportunity to help with classes the rest of the day.
The assembly went incredibly smoothly. Even though the microphones did not work, students were still able to hear everything, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. The teachers did a special version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" with each grade level doing two of the days. The students really enjoyed this, as well as loving the entire assembly.
After the assembly was done, school still continued as usual. The first class I was able to see was third grade. For today, they combined with a kindergarten class. It was interesting to see how well both grades behaved when combined. The older students took charge of the younger students while the younger students seemed to love being paired with an older student.
In the afternoon, my cooperating teacher stepped into the other room for a moment, and while I was waiting, the next class arrived. Since I was there, I began teaching, and when my cooperating teacher arrived, he signaled for me to keep teaching. I ended up teaching all afternoon (all 1st grade classes).
The most important thing I learned today was that pacing is essential in an elementary school classroom. You have to keep students engaged at all times. I was honestly tired when I was done teaching three classes. Even if you can't remember student's names at all times, it is also important to remember to provide compliments more often than reprimands.
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