After the third week of field experience, I am really becoming comfortable sharing my honest opinions with my Cooperating Teacher. She has been very good at explaining her mindset behind all the different methods and techniques she employs in the classroom, both instruction-wise as well as behavior management-wise. When we have conversations about this stuff, she has been very open with listening to questions I have about the way she does things. When I do ask questions, most of the time, she has very good justifications for why she does things the way she does; other times, though, she has said that she appreciates feedback on her teaching style because it helps her improve. Obviously, I am very polite when asking questions, and I am learning way more from my CT than she is learning from me, but the exchanges we are able to have because we are so open with each other have been very rewarding for both sides.
The read-alouds that we have been incorporating into instruction as of late fall under the umbrella of the folktale theme (make-believe stories that teach you a lesson about something). It is fun reading stories to the class and teaching (standards-based) lessons from those stories because the students are almost always entertained and engaged when something fun like reading stories is utilized by the teacher. During a recent story I read to the students, I had the kids laughing a lot, especially when I made funny noises and character voices to go along with the pictures. This type of learning--the kind that stems from having fun--is very memorable and will (hopefully) stick with them for a long time.
I am looking forward to the last stretch of our field experience yet to come.
I think its great that when you read your very vocal! I agree that students respond so quickly and positively when you read a story and you laugh along with them. If the students can tell how excited you are about the story they feel as though they should be excited too! Read out louds was for sure my favorite part.
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