6th Grade is SO Much Fun!

I have been at it for over two weeks now and I LOVE IT! Sixth grade is so much fun. I am sure that my second graders will be a lot of fun as well, but I have really grown attached to these 6th graders.

As of right now, I am teaching Reading and English, soon to pick up Social Studies. I have always been very good at English, but I have found that it is a difficult subject to teach in some ways. I think this is because, for example: pronouns... I just "GET" pronouns. I understand how, when, and why to use them. However, I struggled to find the right way to get the concept across to my kids. In the end, I feel like they caught on because they all scored very well on the test I gave them!!! It took a lot of reflection and evaluation on my part. In college, they really stress the act of self-reflection. After pronouns, I completely understand the real importance of reflecting on your teaching. I found myself, more often than not, saying, "What can I do better next time??"

I can't tell you much I feel that I have grown, just in the past couple of weeks. My first week, I questioned every move I made, everything I learned in college suddenly because a big mystery and I found myself struggling to find my place. However, this week, I could tell that my lessons were stronger and my confidence level has doubled.

My kids are all so great! I was TERRIFIED at the thought of standing up in front of a group of sixth graders, but I love teaching them now. I can already tell that I am going to have a hard time leaving when the time comes!