Teaching a Lesson to 109

     I enjoyed the experience of teaching to our class the other day.  I think it was definitely good practice and it was very interesting to compare planning a lesson before and after learning about the learning theories-- I found the lesson planning to be much more involved with the students after learning about the theories.  It was also easier to start and end in certain places due to the idea of concrete and abstract.
     The actual experience of teaching the lesson went a little differently than we had planned.  I think our group all thought we were on the same page, but we should have been a little more prepared so we knew exactly what to do when.  We figured some of the questions and ideas would come easily, but in my opinion we should have laid them out a little more.  And though I really liked the idea of our lesson, I now feel like it would have definitely been too long for a 15 minute time limit if we wanted to do it correctly.  I feel that our lesson may have gone more smoothly if we would have helped the class get into the mindset of being second graders more, and also if I would have made sure to know how to spell rhododendron!
     Though I felt things could have gone more smoothly, I did enjoy some aspects of teaching the lesson.  I loved the practice of teaching to everyone and the elements of moving around the classroom, listening to conversations, getting the attention back to the teacher, and asking questions that involved active mental engagement.  Basically, I enjoyed experimenting with the different strategies we have been shown through class.  I've never really experimented with classroom management before and I found it to be extremely beneficial to have some practice with it.