From Year 6 to Reception

Reception Duty

I was asked to assist in Reception and this was great because being all the way up in Year 6, I am unaware of the daily routines further down the school. 

I have lots of cousins this age and friends who have children this age and it struck me that one day I will be having my own children and this will become an everyday occurrence to me so I had better make the most of it.

PE was very interesting; the children got changed into their PE Kit (with a lot of assistance) and back again, in more time than they actually did any PE. I am sure that the main classroom teacher has a lot more success than I did. During the second half of the day I spent most of it outside,helping the children learn some numbers on a dice, balance whilst walking on a route of tyres and encouraged them all to tidy up at the end. 

Would I do it again? I would like to see how the year group have developed in a year and it was a good chance to see how 'play' and learning works hand in hand.

I have observed some excellent behaviour management skills and where LO’s and SC’s matched the pupils well, as did the increase in difficulty throughout the unit. Rather than just working with the G&T or Low Attaining students, classroom teachers manage to effectively get around all of the groups throughout the course of the week and made all of them value the work they did.

Lead School Meeting

On Tuesday I was able to speak to my link teacher from the lead school about my 2^nd school placement and we discussed that I would need to spend 7 weeks there due to it being my 60% teaching school. 

Focus children for Maths and Reading

Tuesday I also selected my Math’s and Reading ‘focus’ pupils to boost their skill’s I chose them both from my tutor group because I get to see them quite often and believe they will both benefit from my teaching not just the skills but also as a chance to take a break out of the class/group routine. I am making some initial assessments but will make more formative ones next week and then use that plus last year’s assessments to use as a starting point. My aim is to increase confidence in their work, boost self-esteem and mainly attainment.

Maths Lesson Observation of me

Wednesday I had my second class observation to date and in this one I took the whole of a Math’s lesson. It was well planned and I used a starter that I’d only just been shown in one of the centralised training at University. The children responded well and have since asked when I am teaching again.I was given plenty of feedback which I will use to best ability.

During the day I met both of my focus pupils to see how they were doing. My reader had his mum read with him and she signed the reading record, and my mathematician had improved on her multiples. This was also something we covered in my lesson so I was doubly pleased.

Future planning

I have added some new tasks from my PLP. 

On Thursday I started to plan my guided reading session with advice from both my class tutor and Deputy Head. It's based on a picture book and will be a good tool to use.

University

Finally, on Friday with University, it was a chance to see how the Teaching Standards are used and how I can monitor my ability in each of them I have to remember that as a trainee I may be working towards Excellent in all Standards but as soon as I hopefully become an NQT, the expectation is greater and I will need to show I am progressing further into the career of a teacher.

Next was how to work with TA’s and support the great work that they do. The group discussion was really useful and I have many notes on that. Afterwards was a chance to see how Play, Active Learning, and the Outdoor Environment all work hand in hand to give the children a greater experience in their education.

Summary of the week
This week I learnt that being a teacher is not just about the teaching. It is about nurturing and getting the best out of the children. Now that I have two focus pupils to see each day, I can track progress and also have a good idea of whether or not my teaching has been successful or not.
After surviving my first full lesson and in a Core subject, I feel more confident to move on and teach English, which is something I am dreading. Next week I will be looking at how the Year 3 class teacher operates and also how the Lower School children are doing.