The First to Teach!

Before we even realized, we are back in the classroom! After only two weeks of classes, we are back at fieldwork and group 1 is ready to teach.

They were given the first part that everyone else will build up upon: Forming a New Nation

To begin their lesson, they informed the class of the rules that will be expected of them throughout their three lessons.

1. Raise your hand

2. Listen when other people are talking

3. Use your inside voices

4. Stay engaged at all times

Along with these rules, they also added a game into it! It is a teachers vs. students game. If the students followed the rules, they would earn a flag, which is a point. If the students weren't following the rules and were being too loud, the teachers would earn a flag.

The students love this game because it is always fun to compete against the teachers!

The students were given a note sheet and on each slide where they had to fill it out, there was an American Flag. This is a great idea because it helps the student to follow along easier so they don't miss important information. After a couple slides, they had "Lets Review" slides to check for understanding. The students behaved so well during this section and earned a lot of flags!

Guided practice was the next step!

The students were each given several terms on a piece of paper, but each group had different terms. There was a date and situation on the board, along with a timeline. For each date and situation, the groups had to figure out who had the correct term to go with it. Whichever group did was able to go and put it up on the timeline!

During the independent practice is when I saw the game really take affect. Although the sheet given to them was supposed to be done alone, there was a lot of talking in the beginning. The teachers then stated that they were getting a point instead of the students, and the students calmed right down!

Overall, group 1 did great on their direct instruction. They really knew their information and was able to relay it very well to the students. Now for their inquiry lesson...

The fifth graders were going on a Webquest!

Group 1 decided to incorporate the iPads into their inquiry lesson, which worked out very well. Since they were the first group to attempt them, there were some issues with the students signing on and that took a lot of time away from their lesson. Regardless, the webquest was successful!

To begin the lesson, the teachers went over the classroom rules again, but instead changed one regarding appropriate use of the iPads. It was a really great idea add a rule about the iPads because it is common for students to get excited about using them and totally lose focus on the actual task they should be working on.

After the iPads got situated, group 1 showed how brave they are by doing a Kahoot for their review!

Although students love Kahoot, and it is such a great tool, it can get crazy. Students become excited and competitive and the volume in the classroom can get super loud. This really showed what the students remembered and didn't remember. From the results, there were only a couple questions that most of the class was unsure about!

Next, the Webquest began. Each student was given a worksheet to go along with the webquest and they worked on it independently. They were great during this time and got their work done! Once everyone completed it, they were to write a letter to their school paper about their findings. One student from each group shared their letter and they were great. You were able to tell that they learned a bunch of information and understood what they were learning.

Even though the iPad issue took time away from them, I give group 1 credit for being the first to attempt both the iPads and teaching 5th grade social studies this semester!

After two great lessons, group 1 had their last task: A Cooperative Lesson.

Since they would be working in groups, the teachers made sure they addressed how they should act by going over this acrostic poem about teams!

Going over this was a great way to start the lesson because they let the students know what they expected of them. Then they dove right into their lesson!

They decided to approach this by having the students either write a poem about the Constitutional Convention, or create a Bill of Rights for their classroom. They already had the students in groups and one of the topics assigned to specific groups. There were also jobs assigned to each student in the group.

After 15 minutes, it was time to share. The teachers reviewed what makes up a good presenter and what makes up a good audience. Then each group got a chance to share. All of their posters were so creative and funny! You could really tell that they learned a lot throughout these few lessons.

Last but not least, the students had to write like they were being interviewed in a magazine. They had three questions to answer, but it was fun because of the way it was assigned.

Overall, group 1 did a great job!! They are super brave for attempting it first, but they were also very prepared and totally ready to teach 5th grade!