Ms. Zavad Observation In The Classroom

Ms. Zavada told me on Tuesday that she would be absent today. Since Ms. Zavada was absent, a substitute teacher came into the classroom while I taught all of the classes. I was slightly nervous about conducting class on my own, yet I knew that I was prepared to do so. I taught the assignments that Ms. Zavada had requested for each class. 8th grade took a test and played food bingo. 7th grade made soft pretzels. 6th grade made cheese quesadillas. 5th grade made citrus smoothies. I did my 5th grade citrus smoothie lesson a bit differently than how Ms. Zavada would normally conduct her classes, in terms of what I prepared for the students before they entered the classroom. Ms. Zavada often has the students retrieve the cooking equipment that they will use for the lesson. However, today I laid out all the equipment that the 5th grade students would need before they entered the classroom. Getting out their cooking equipment before class began saved time. I used that extra time to reinforce my lesson objectives and to assess what the students learned.

I find that preparing some items that the students will use in the lesson beforehand makes lessons flow better. In addition, preparing some lesson items alleviates stressors that both the teacher and the student may feel while learning in the classroom environment. Ms. Zavada believes that the students should do most of the preparation that is included in the lesson, since it teaches practical skills. I also believe that students should learn practical skills. Yet, both my lesson objectives and teaching philosophies may impact how I use preparation in my