DK On Video...2

Well, well, well.....DK still looks good on video, while teaching. 

I was definitely looking forward to this video because I probably had my best lesson of the summer that day. Friday, July 2, 2010 was a great day in the very brief teaching career of DK. I had a Jeopardy Review game planned for my lesson and I was looking forward to improving on my initial try at a class review game. I am alluding to my reflections from one of my earlier blogs when I talked about how my Jeopardy review for the first test was a failure. That was the one day when my classroom management wasn't up to par, and there was not nearly enough clear instruction to facilitate fun and learning at the same time. That being said, the review on July 2 was remarkably better in so many ways. 

First, I gave clear instructions. I communicated my expectations clearly. That established the right atmosphere for fun and productive work. They saw that I had an alternate assignment ready and they already know that "Mr. King doesn't play!" I already had roles chosen for students. I had a scorekeeper, and team captains. Plus, I told them who they would be teaming with instead of letting them just sit anywhere they wanted to. The actual Jeopardy powerpoint was better structured and the technical difficulties that plagued the first attempt were all but eliminated from this lesson. The kids had more fun because everyone had an equal opportunity to succeed, score points, and get a great review. I also did a better job of giving explanations and working through thought processes for some of the questions. The actual review component of the game was much more thorough. 

The most impressive part of the lesson was that I RAN THE ENTIRE REVIEW FROM A CHAIR!!!!!

Talk about classroom management!!! I'm pretty sure that I'm the only first year, maybe the only person all summer, who ran an entire lesson from a chair. Yes, I am very proud, and I am my biggest fan for this. I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment after this. Plus, I had a visitor, or two, come in and witness the greatness of DK at work. 

Nevertheless, the most exciting part of this lesson was that just about every kid was completely engaged in the review. That means that they were actively participating in retrieval of answers, teamwork, competition, and policing each other. It was definitely a proud moment for me. I felt like the kids were so ready for the test. The subsequent grades showed that the majority of the kids were very prepared; I know that I contributed to that. 

The video shows my confidence in myself and in my kids. I'm glad such a strong lesson was captured because it is tangible evidence of growth, maturity, and learning, on my part. 

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