This Thursday I taught again in Mrs. Rossiter's class. We are able to have the gym for most of the time I am there so the plan is that we will do a 5 minute warm up and introduction of the lesson concepts in the class room, then quickly move down to the gym and dance, then return to the classroom for the last five minutes to cool down and analyze what we learned. Mrs. Rossiter's students are eager to learn and participate in dance class. The lesson this time was about sharing and cooperating while exploring self space and general space. The image of a bubble around their bodies for self space was effective and it actually helped them when Mrs. Rossiter asked them to line up to go down to the gym and to stay within their own bubble even though they were close to each other. This concept of self space is crucial for these young students to understand and dance is a great way to learn it. As Mrs. Rossiter continues to suggest that I work with the students on learning how to control their bodies, I am beginning to see this as a very important skill for them to develop that will be helpful all throughout their life.

I felt like this lesson had a bit too much going on and as I have observed some master teaches I am realizing that it is okay to slow down and go more into depth with fewer concepts. Also, I think that I give the students too much to process when we create and perform because it seems like they can't quite remember what they are supposed to do. I also want to work on really seeing the students and giving meaningful feedback. It is hard when I want to keep the class moving, but feedback is essential.

A difficult thing with this class is getting the students into partnerships quickly and not having the same people left out each time. I need to work on a more effective way to do that.