My first instinct was to focus on how horrible it turned out, especially given the amount of time I spent thinking about how to structure the lesson. The lesson was going alright, not terrific, but the group presentation portion was when it really fell apart. It felt chaotic. I wanted to run out of the classroom and never come back, but I persevered and ended the lesson as gracefully as I could.
Panicking because I had not felt like I had a lesson fail before, I knew I needed to examine what went wrong. The list was long. After analyzing this list I came away with a few lessons.
* Do not stress out about time. Be mindful, but don't let it affect the flow of the lesson.
* Make sure that the students have time to settle into the classroom after recess; don't jump right into the lesson.
* It helps to write the directions on the board.
* Students need to be taught the procedures for presenting to the class.
* 4 or fewer students in a group (not 6).
The most important lesson I learned: Remain calm at all times! (I think I managed to do this and it helped.)
I felt comfortable with the students and the content of the lesson, but I think the compacted time was stressful for me. I have not had to teach a 35 minute lesson before. Now that I have this experience, I am ready to tackle the challenge of teaching my next 35 minute Social Studies lesson. I tried to fit too much into a short amount of time. Lesson learned!
Breathe! You made it through calmly and did not run out of the classroom never to return! That in and of itself earns you points :) This is ONE lesson among thousands you will have in your career. It's okay that it didn't work out as you had planned, but it's over and you now know what to improve upon. A learning lesson for you!
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