Learning the ropes

So today marked my first officially scripted lesson. I think things went fairly well, and for the most part many of my students seemed engaged and eager to talk. After talking with Mrs. N, she thought the content of the lesson seemed good but what I needed to focus on was some of the types of teacher behavior that set the proverbial stage for the students.

Things like closing the door, turning on the lights and having students take down chairs marks that the teacher is ready to begin the lesson. This also lets the students know that they should get ready as well. I had never quite realized this, but it does make sense. And so now that I am better aware, I intend to implement this.

The lesson on the whole went well. We did a reading circle, where one person reads a paragraph and the the next person reads, etc. etc. I thought it was important for everyone to hear the sound as interpreted by another person and because sound is so important to Ellison's work (he wanted to be a musician first and a writer second).

We discussed the poetry of the Prologue and looked at some poetic devices in this context too. I must admit, I'm feeling a bit worn out after just one class, so I'm uncertain how I'll manage three a day. But it should be fine. To-morrow we'll be discussing the famous Battle Royal scene from Chapter 1.