Even though I no longer teach on the high school level, old habits die hard. I now run workshops for English teachers. I still find myself drawn to UFT newspaper, the New York/City Edition. Recently, the October 29, 2009 issue referred to topnotch lesson plan web sites, and I checked some out. Teachersfirst.com is a very good resource for lesson plans, units, and other web material. Lesson plans can be searched for by subject and grade level, calendar, keyword and holidays. In addition, there are blogs about teaching, technology and education in general.The writer of the NY Teacher article suggests that you “make sure to tailor the lessons you find online to the needs of your students, and try to reshape them to match your teaching style. But even an excellent lesson plan can earn an unsatisfactory rating if you do not perfect your delivery of the topic.”
Nowhere on this site was there any information about communicating with your classes effectively so that they will listen, and then becoming involved in what you’re teaching. How do you perfect the delivery of your topic? I was a drama, speech, English major, and trained speaker, but it took me several years, and many observations of the best teachers in my school to realize what communication was all about.
A passionate, energetic teacher with a good lesson plan can involve students, but that’s usually not enough. Teaching is a two way street: There’s you and then there’s THE CLASS, and if you can’t hold their attention, as you know, you’re in big trouble.
In this blog we’ll combine everything that involves the teacher and teaching with tips on classroom management as well as my own insights on the topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment