While it seems like there are several specific things I need to work on when teaching, I have noticed myself improving, even in the short time that I have been in the classroom. Today was only my third official day, and only the second day at my main school. I have to say, I was incredibly apprehensive about teaching younger students, but I love teaching kindergarten. They are so much fun. One of the students even gave me a hug today. It definitely made me smile.
Today, we had 2 5th, 1 4th, 1 3rd, 1 2nd, and 2 kindergarten classes. I continued my clarinet demonstration for all of them, and am still learning a lot about how to address different classes. One student reminded me yesterday that Squidward plays the clarinet, and I've started bringing that into my lesson. It seems to be a really good way to incorporate pop culture with the short lesson I'm teaching. With the older grades the students seem to know more about instruments, so I am able to ask questions such as "What kind of instrument is this?" and I can hold up my reed and someone can identify it. In all honesty, while there is some tweaking for each grade, the same lesson can be taught. It seems to all come down to the questions you pose. For older grades critical thinking questions are key, while in lower grades simpler questions are better.
As I mentioned earlier, it seems that the thing I need to work on most is how I phrase things. For example, it is better to say "Let's do this" instead of "Can we do this." By using the first phrase, it does not leave room for students to say "no." In order to discourage talking, "Raise your hand" works better than "Who know." The second tends to invite students to talk, while the first gives them a direct direction on how to behave. Also, positive enformecment is key. "I like how many of you are..." is better than giving them orders.
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