Teaching Guidelines
Checklist for Developing Your Presentation:
- Design “hands-on” activities (No lectures!). Your GSI can help.
- Plan “minds-on” discussions.
- Remember your audience. Kids are curious and enjoy learning about themselves. Encourage interesting questions!
- Consider the children’s safety.
- Think ahead about managing the classroom.
Advice on Managing the Class:
- Consider how you will group the children. Will you have them work in groups of 4, individually, or will they rotate around stations? If students work in groups, you might identify roles for them so they know what their job will be.
- You will need enough materials for the class, so find out ahead of time how many students will participate. Decide how you will distribute the materials.
- Remember to engage all the students in the discussion. For example, if one student asks a question during a whole-group discussion, don’t talk quietly with that child while the rest of the class talks amongst themselves. Instead, have the student repeat the question so the class can hear it and then answer it. (Answering the question might mean that you ask another question!) Also, if some students aren’t attentive, stop and wait. The others will want to be able to hear what you’re saying.
- If you have second-language speakers in your class, make sure to demonstrate your point with gestures and pictures (not just words), to explain vocabulary, and to avoid using idioms.
- Be a role model. Your messages of encouragement can mean a lot.
- Don’t stress. The teacher will help you with management. Use the same system she already has in place.
When you meet with the teacher, spend a period observing her class. Note how she responds to student questions, how she phrases questions, how she manages materials and class conduct, and how she sequences the lesson.
Take notes. Record what you have learned from observing the students and the teacher. After each presentation you make, write down your successes. What could you have done better? You can refer to your notes and even cut and paste passages for your final report.