My only promise is I'll never ruin the young.

"My teacher's so cool and she writes so professionally. Really looking forward to having her as a teacher." This was the response from one of my students after day one of the new semester. Week 3 was absolutely AMAZING! I'm hoping that week one is a sign for positive weeks to come! Monday was spent building community in the classroom. A great way to break the ice with a new semester in the middle of the school year is with "10 Things About Me". The students clearly know each other because it is no February, however, I don't know them. My goal was to pick a fun activity to get them talking to each other and keep the day mellow. We presented our 10 facts and had a great deal of laughs. I made sure to include both professional and personal facts. I want the students to know I'm still human. The next activity was closer related to the text, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The objective for the students was to make a connection between our name and reputation to the code of chivalry. The students were engaged and excited about the activity. Overall, day one was fabulous. Wednesday was a very important day for me as a teacher candidate. My first observation with my CT and supervisor happened on the third day of my unit. Period one still had sleep in their eyes but I was ready! We started with a bit of active learning. Performing a Lupe Fiasco Emotional Journey really highlighted just how crazy I am as a teacher. I'd like to mention that I now feel at home with my new students so there is no holding back. After my mini song and dance (students were shocked) we dove into characterization. The lesson went well for the most part. Students were reading the remainder of part one for Sir Gawain. The objective of their reading was to find specific lines involving characterization. We will be using those lines later in the unit. Once I finished teaching, it was time for me to do some learning. As I sat with my CT and supervisor, I saw where the mortar to my lesson was lacking. It was clear that my bricks (ideas) were solid and mapped out extremely well. My transitions were lacking, however, it is common at this time for that to happen. I learned that I just need to trust my planning and my ideas. The mortar (transition) is extremely important at this point in time because I am shaping my teacher self. Many experienced teachers are able to rack their teacher brains and just know what they are going to do with their class. I, however, need to work on building my teacher brain. The reflection really helped me understand my strengths as a teacher and where I need to set my goals. The week was short lived due to Blizzard Nemo. I am excited to dive back into the text this week. Tuesday we return to Sir Gawain. This week I'm hoping to bring in more media. I'm looking to bring in more film clips, maybe some different school performances of Sir Gawain.