One Week Until Show Time!

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

Well, as the title suggests practicum is just a short week away! Five more sleeps to be exact. I must confess I was not nervous at first, until I realized how close it actually is. It's not that I'm scared, or afraid of the students, in fact, they are both really great groups. In fact, there is nothing I love more than getting up in front of the class and delivering a presentation. I think it is that I'm not as familiar with the material I will be teaching as I would like to be.

The classes I have been assigned to teach are Social Studies 9 and Social Studies 11. In my grade 9 class I will be teaching the Napoleonic Era and the Industrial Revolution. For my grade 11 class I will be teaching The Great Depression and World War Two. The last time I think I ever studied Napoleon and the French Revolution was when I was in grade 9! So, I have lots of background reading to do. I'm a little more comfortable with the grade 11 class since, a) I taught it last year, and b) CNC and UNBC history courses are primarily focused on Canada, so I have a good background knowledge of Canadian History. The only problem with the Great Depression unit is finding engaging activities and teaching in a way the kids will understand.

I have a very supportive cooperating teacher and faculty Advisor, so I shouldn't be so worried. Mr. Hauk and I work well together too, so the kids won't be too shocked when I take over "The Helm of This Starship" (Mr. Hauk used that quote when he told the kids to ask me questions because I'll be teaching them in a few weeks).
Also, Mr. Hauk wants to see my first lesson plan tomorrow so we can make any changes before I get upfront teaching, so once I get that out of the way I should calm down a little bit.

Anyway, I'll let you know how things turn out! Until next time,

AR