The first week of my student teaching came with great anxiety, but went very smoothly once I understood what was expected of me. This first week I have been shadowing Barry Sarver 8th grade U.S. History at Beardsley Junior High. I have previously worked with Mr. Sarver in past classes, so it was a smooth transition into his class. During my observation I have been soaking in as much information as possible. What he does at the beginning of the day to what he does before he heads home everyday. He has a few extra responsibilities of other teachers since he is in charge of the detention students everyday, and he has bus duty at the end of the day.

      Most of all though I have been trying to learn his classroom management and his repore and interactions with his students. I really like his classroom management style he is laid back, but firm with the students that need it. He starts out each period at the door making the students line up and be quiet before entering. He then lets in only a few students at a time thus creating an environment that is easily controlled. Everyday consists of a question on the board that is relevant to the subject material for the day that the students are required to answer using their text book on a piece of paper throughout the week. This lets him take roll and manage any students that are misbehaving either by moving their seat or having a talk with them outside. His discipline is simple yet efficient. The students will first get a verbal warning, then they will be asked to move seats, then he will ask them to write a one page essay about their responsibilities in the classroom that he collects. These steps usually will solve the misbehavior which is usually minor, but if they continue they will get detention. Worst case scenario which I have yet to see is in school suspension. 

      His lesson plans are comprehensive and diverse meeting the needs of all of his students. They started the week watching a movie and answering questions, then they had to draw a poster of the three branches of government, and now for the last couple of days they have been working on an essay about the establishment of the United States. This variety of work helps the students learn the subject material in depth. I will be using his ideas and his suggestions in my own lesson plans that I create for his class as well. This has been a great first week, and I am excited for more to come in my development as a teacher.