Lesson #1

Today I taught my first lesson on River Features to my 1Y Geography class; however, I think it turned out being more of a lesson for me than the students themselves!!

TIME. For starters, the biggest hurdle was planning a lesson plan that was only 40 minutes long. I am so used to planning either 55, 60 or 90 minute lessons. I ended up only teaching about half of the material I outlined in my lesson plan. Mr. O'Donovan assured me this was definitely not a problem (but to me it seemed like a catastrophe!) . The students are conditioned to only learning one concept over a span of 2 or 3 class periods. That is definitely something I am going to have to get used to. In the long run I think teaching this way will be beneficial, because it will force me to teach one particular concept in varying ways on varying cognitive levels to ensure comprehension.

DISCUSSION. Another issue I ran into was getting the students to actually cooperate. I tend to operate through inquiry, discussion, and group work activities; however, the students are conditioned to listen to lectures. It is quite surprising to me that students at the age of 12 and 13 can physically, mentally, and intellectually sit through a 40 minute, teacher directed lecture! The biggest challenge will be figuring out strategies on how to get the students interacting!!

ACTIVITIES. When it came time for the students to do the activities I had planned, they were very confused. Not only were they apprehensive about working with a partner on an assignment, but they were even afraid to talk to each other. I kept saying stuff like, "it's okay to talk to your partner" or "re-tell or teach to your partner, x, y, z". Being a social studies teacher, one of the biggest qualities we promote is the development of students becoming active citizens. Participating in discussion, group work, and being a trustworthy member of a group are the first steps to this! This will all come with time!

For the most part, Mr. O'Donovan said my lesson went well. He just had some classroom management suggestions. That will all come with time and experience. Now that I have my first lesson in an Irish classroom under my belt, I feel a little more at ease. I'm excited to see how my teaching evolves through this experience- should be interesting!