Teaching at
Lime Hollow
Nature Center
The following pictures were taken at Lime Hollow Nature Center, during our group teaching experience. We, as a group, planned a lesson and taught it to 5 different groups of 1st graders. This was an incredible experience, and a lot of work! I learned teamwork, cooperation, patience, and how to have fun all at the same time! Yes, it is possible!
(For the lesson click here-To Be a Tree)
On Wednesday, October 10, 2001, I had the
opportunity to teach 50 first graders about the different parts of a tree,
and their functions. What a great experience! I cannot explain,
in great enough detail, what an outrageous opportunity this was for me!
Granted, I have been in the classroom many times before, but there was
something different about this time. I basically, with the help of
my group members, wrote the lesson plan, planned out exactly how things
were "supposed" to go, and I prepared the materials for the lesson.
This was my lesson. Though I worked in a group, I am referring to
it as my lesson, because we all came back from the lesson with different
ideas and opinions.
Our group activity for the first
graders was a project called, To be a Tree, from the Project Learning Tree
Activity Book. The goal of this project was to have the children
understand the growth and development of trees, and how each part of the
tree provides a necessary function to help in its development. We
discussed five different parts of the tree and their functions, while the
children constructed an actual model of a tree and its parts. We
had pre-cut paper bags, made into vests, for each child, and as we discussed
the different parts of a tree, the children were able to take the items
representing that particular part and attach them to their vest.
While doing this we, as teachers, explained each part and asked the children
questions as a follow-up to their comprehension of the material covered.
Sounds easy right?!
Actually, all the children seemed
to really enjoy constructing their trees. In all of the groups, when
the children arrived to our table, they seemed really interested in what
we were doing. Immediately, the children headed for the crayons and
paper we had laid out on the table for them. We found it much easier
to have some of the materials passed out to the children before they actually
arrived to our station. (Unfortunately, the first group was our "learning
experience" and they did not benefit from our mistakes)! Right away,
we asked the children to point out some characteristics they noticed about
the trees around us. We got all the common answers like the leaves
falling, changing colors, trees dying, and the trees preparing for winter.
These answers were what we expected from the children, and it was our job
to explain why the leaves were falling and so forth. As the project
continued, I picked up bits and pieces of conversations the children were
having. Some of the time, to my surprise, the children were actually
discussing the parts of the tree we were talking about. I was also
impressed with the response of the students when other students asked questions.
If a question was asked that we had just talked about, but a student
did not hear the answer, the other children were helpful in responding
to the child. This was one indication that led us, as teachers, to
believe our lesson was getting across to the children-most of the time
anyway!
The children were really excited
to color the bark of their tree vest, which I expected. However,
the children drew pictures on their tree bark and used colors that were
not usual for the color of bark. I did not expect the children to
do this, because I usually think of young children attempting to copy an
"exact" replica of a model, and since there were trees all around us, I
assumed we would be seeing more trees like the actual ones. That
is one reason our group decided against making an example of the tree costume.
We were afraid the children would try too hard to make their project look
like ours, and they would not use their imaginations. So, the children
did not do what I expected they would, but they did exactly what I wanted
them to do! Never underestimate the mind of a child!
In addition to learning about children's
imaginations, I learned that children really can focus, for the most part,
on what the teacher is saying while doing something else. It is not
uncommon to hear a teacher tell him/her students to put something away
so they can pay attention. However, the children were focused on
one thing in front of them, therefore, they were able to listen to the
questions being asked because they weren't distracted by looking around.
I, personally, always have to be doing two things at once in order to be
focused on what it is I am supposed to be paying attention to. However,
children are often accused of not paying attention when they are doing
two things at once, when, in actuality, they may be more focused.
To be honest, the thing I was worried
about most was assessing the children to see if they really learned what
we were trying to teach. Our group planned out questions to ask the
children, and a little chart to record if they answered the questions correctly,
based on the information we were teaching them. However, much like
everything else, this was modified after our first group. We found
asking questions as we went along really reinforced what we were teaching,
and why they were doing what they were doing, and then at the end of the
activity we asked general questions again. This reinforced the material
covered, and it also allowed for children to learn by listening to their
peers answer the questions. Our group appeared to understand what
the parts of the tree were, and how they were used. We compared
many of the parts of the tree to different parts in the human body, something
a little more familiar to the children. When we asked the questions
there were always children who answered. Obviously we could not see
if all the students knew the answers because we were asking the group as
a whole, but a majority of the children would just yell the answers out.
Personally, I feel the children got more than a costume out of this lesson,
but they took away actual knowledge of the tree as well.
My role as a teacher... I feel I
carried the plan out thoroughly. It definitely got much easier as
the day went on. At first, I could notice my mistakes, and I felt
bad for the children, but then, as I became more relaxed, I knew I was
teaching them what the tree was, not the other way around. I was
pretty flexible when it came to things not really going as I planned, although
there were not really any major times that happened. There was one
time we were pressed for time, but we kept teaching our lesson anyway,
because we felt it was important. We also knew we would not be much
longer, but it did get a little stressful knowing we were holding other
groups up as well. For the most part though, I was flexible, and
I worked well under the pressure. But I must admit, working in groups
to teach a lesson is my downfall. I have things set the way I want
them done, and if the children don't do them the way I have planned that
is okay, but if other teachers interfere with my plans I tend to get a
little irritable! I don't mind collaborating with others, thinking
of ideas and such, but when it comes to actually teaching the lesson, I
want it done my own way. I fear I may have taken charge of the lesson
too much, but I caught myself doing this and toward the end I stepped back
a little bit. One of my team members actually asked if I was okay, because
I was not talking as much as I had in the beginning. I felt kind
of bad. However, I learned from that mistake as well. I am
pretty much an independent, take-charge kind of a person, and so I did.
Aside from my independence, another
thing I learned about this lesson is the importance of a specific lesson
plan. I referred to my lesson plan in between each group, just to
make sure I was on the right track. I know, as I become more experienced,
I will not need such an elaborate lesson plan, but, it was definitely a
good thing to have.
All in all, my first teaching experience
was pleasurable! I actually left a little disappointed that I was
not going back to my own classroom with my own students! I had an
incredible time not only teaching those children, but learning from them
as well. It is unfortunate they do not know the impact they have
already left on me, and I only taught them for a day!
Like any good teacher, they need to be familiar
with what and where they are teaching. Our class had the opportunity
to travel to Lime Hollow before the children came, and we planned our lesson
around our first experience here. This is our introduction to Lime
Hollow Nature Center.
It was the responsibility of myself and Jenni,
to introduce the children to Lime Hollow, and set a few rules for the children
to follow. These pictures are during that introduction.
Jenni and myself.
Me.
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