It's been 7 years since I've taught a high school class from beginning to end. There have been a few teacher writing workshops at conferences, and a couple of co-teaching moments in the classrooms of the student teachers I've supervised, but nothing bell to bell.
That might end in a few weeks. In my role as a mentor teacher, I occasionally have an opportunity to model a lesson. Trouble is, most of the first year teachers I mentor don't live close enough to me to make that possible. One is in Alaska, another in Montana. Still another is on the Oregon coast in a small town, and a few others have been less enthusiastic about seeing the old man in action.
This year might be different. I've been mentoring a first year teacher close to home. Well, fairly close to home.
A recent study I read revealed that mentor teachers modeling a lesson and then possibly co-teaching it with the beginning teacher was rated one for the most useful things a mentor could do. It provides a chance for the mentee to see the mentor as a teacher not just a giver of advice.
There are some considerations before jumping in and taking over a class. The mentor shouldn't necessarily teach the best lesson ever. It's important to be vulnerable, perhaps take a risk and fail, struggle a bit so that the beginning teacher is not upstaged in any way.
Problematic? You bet.
So, I've been thinking about what I might do that meets all the criteria and still would be useful.
My mentee has 3 10th grade Language Arts classes in her day. I'm thinking of teaching the lesson in the first so she can observe and critique. Then co-teach the lesson in the second class, finally she could do the lesson solo and I could critique. Ideally it sounds fine. We'll see.
Now comes the what to do.
I'm toying with and tweaking a lesson on writing voice that just might fit the bill. It's fun, it's useful, it's something I think I can still do effectively.
But this time, I want to do it somewhat effectively because it's taking on another level of usefulness. If I'm successful, I'll make a mistake or two along the way; my pacing will be a little off, and probably some of my schtick will seem stale. If I'm really successful, this lesson will survive in someone's classroom for years to come.
Personal observations of one writer. Frequent references to pop culture, blues music and lifetime truths.
Friday, November 8, 2013
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