During this observation, children reviewed numbers and colors. It wasn't the only time they did this revision but in this case the teacher used a different approach. Although they remembered the contents of the unit, she wanted them to experience and learn the same topics in different ways. It reminded me of a Marvin Minsky quote that says "you don't understand anything until you learn it in more than one way." By practicing colors and numbers with this new approach, children apply their knowledge to solve a task and form new connections and associations. Finally, they understood the topics very well.

• Include a photo of a moment in the lesson, or a task students did, a picture from the board of any other lesson component you would liike to share, and describe it

Today they did an activity in which they had to paint according to the number that was in each part of the painting, they looked for that number in a small list that said the color that corresponded to each number and painted according to it. I couldn't take a photo of that activity that was based on a spring day because the child wanted to prepare it a little more, so I asked one of them for his notebook and took a photo of another very similar activity they did, in which They reviewed the same topics: numbers and colors. They enjoyed this type of activity because they could show their pencils and the color combinations they were making.

Planilla de la tercer observación

During this class I tried to talk more with children and to help them with the activities the teacher asked them to do.  I remembered that I repeated her the task in different ways and using short and simple words in simple sentences. Little by little she understood more and could achieve the task, even she started replaying what I saying in English without needing a translation. I felt very happy for that, so I chose this phrase that says “repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment”.  I would like to take it in mine during my classes.

• What aspects of the lesson do you consider successful?

I think that it is was successful because children practiced and developed fine-motor skills. During one activity they were asked to follow with a pencil the line marked in the book. This helped them to imitate the move of the hand when writing. They practiced it several times and finally they did it without error. They were also happy to accomplish it and to stick the start which indicated they did it great.

Planilla de la tercer ayudantía

During this observation, the students were not feeling very well. One of them had been vaccinated in both arms and another had a sore throat. That made them feel tired and uncomfortable. Noticing that they could not write their assignments, the teacher asked them for their notebooks and wrote down the assignments. She showed interest in them, offered help and treated them gently. A quote from Howard G. Hendricks that I read a while ago comes to mind: “Teaching that impacts is not from head to head, but from heart to heart .” Teach is talk to the heart. That sincere care and interest is not a curriculum topic, but it is a powerful influence. Children never forget that a teacher showed interest and cared about them as human beings and not just as students.

• What aspects of the lesson do you consider successful?

Some of the aspects that made the lesson successful were the teacher's interest in the students' learning, the use of interactive materials, and routine. The teacher showed interest in the students who felt pain from having received a vaccine and felt a sore throat. For example, she copied their homework and helped them open a package of cookies. The children were also happy because they saw their favorite video again. It was interactive in which they repeated the vocabulary and movements that were asked of them. The story was based on how a family worked together to trap two babies in a stroller heading towards an erupting volcano. The children were expectant of what would happen next. The final aspect is routine. Maintaining a routine by using songs to mark the start and end of class is quite helpful. Not only by marking them when class starts but also by making them feel safe knowing what would happen next.

Planilla de la segunda observación

The children learned new vocabulary a few classes ago and I noticed that they didn't incorporate it at all, but during this class the teacher used activities based on that topic to practice the new vocabulary. They practiced it and also continued to develop fine motor skills by painting, for example. They like this activity because they can show each other what colors they will use and how to combine them. Two of them aren't very confident in writing, so this was a good activity to help them realize that they make similar hand movements when they paint and write.

• Choose a moment that was important for the students during the lesson. Describe it and say why it was important.

Once class was over, it was time for recess. At this time the children always eat and drink something and can walk around the classroom. It's his favorite moment. They usually ask their tutor to open their packets of biscuits and drinks, not because they cannot do it themselves but because they feel safe with the teacher in charge of the group. So I was happy when they asked me to open their packets of cookies. It's something small but very important to them. They also let me help them put their jackets and bags on their chairs, so I think they're starting to get used to being with me.

Planilla de la segunda ayudantía

• Choose a moment that was important for you during the lesson. Describe it and say why it was important

• Choose a moment that was important for the students during the lesson. Describe it and say why it was important.

The metaphor I chose to describe this lesson is: the teacher is a compass. I found this metaphor in a movie some time ago, it reflects how students navigate by themselves and the teacher becomes the compass that guides them. A teacher points in a direction (but not necessarily the direction the student is going) and refers to a point to guide students through their learning. Without a guide it is impossible to get where we want to go, but without someone to navigate alone it is equally impossible.

• Choose a moment that was important for you during the lesson. Describe it and say why it was important.

I think the most important moment was when class started. I was excited to start the assistantship because I wanted to interact more with the group and for them to get to know me. At the beginning of the class, the tutor needed help cutting out some photocopies, so I was happy to help. After that, the children were asked to paste the photocopies into their notebooks, so I helped them do that. I really enjoyed this class because I was not only observing them but I was also a part of the class.

Planilla de la primera ayudantía

The students reacted very well to my teaching, activities, and materials. They engaged with play-based activities. They even felt comfortable to play spontaneously because during the vocabulary explanation, they "ate" the pictures in which the food appeared. It was very nice to see that they were enjoying the class. Even they didn't seem very interested to start the recess because one of the students said, "it doesn't matter."

Furthermore, all of them participated in the activities. Thanks to that I realized why one of them didn't talk much in the previous class. It was because he found it difficult to answer me in English. After realizing this, I was able to help her practice.

• Choose a quotation that represents an event, knowledge, insight in this lesson

Some time ago I read this quote and this class remind me it: "for whatever a person is sowing, this he will also reap". At the beginning of the practice, students were a little uncomfortable and worried about trying new types of activities in which they would have a more active role in their learning and in which they would have to talk more. One of them told me that she didn't like to experience new things. However, after finishing this class and after stopping the recording, the same girl who didn't like new experiences told me that she enjoyed the class and that it's good to try new things. That made me very happy.

Planilla de la cuarta clase

During this class I tried something new to encourage them to work at the teacher's table. They had never done it so at first they were shy but then they felt more comfortable and brought their things like their cases. They liked working there, so I would like to plan an activity for next class where we would use the teacher's table again. I thought I could use an activity where the students are customers or waiters and we can use the table to play games if we are in a coffee shop.

• What aspects of the lesson do you consider successful?

I think it was good to propose creating a story as an activity. It was the first time they had done this type of activity so I began to propose a beginning for the story. Then they began to create how the story continued and the ending. Their comments were natural, for example one of them said that the chicken was sad because she couldn't find her friends. This comment was different than what I thought they might answer, but it was good because this and other comments were their own opinions. This aspect made me realize that the activity was a success.

Planilla de la tercer clase

To describe the class, I chose the first part of the video from 00:00 to 1:32. When I was listening to it I found it quite funny because one of the students said that my writing was incredibly great. In fact it was. I didn't notice that she paid so much attention to everything I do, this made me think that it is very important how I treat them and how I react to their learning. I want to be a positive influence on their learning, so I will pay more attention to my teaching.

• What aspects of the lesson require change / improvement?

After finishing the class, the group tutor suggested that I use photocopies or write in the notebook at the end of the class. This way families will be able to see what the children did in class. She especially recommended using photocopies, so I was thinking about making flashcards to put in their notebooks so they could color. They love to paint so it can be a good activity for them. I would like to review animals in the next class and considering that I will be using flashcards to put in the notes of your book, I will prepare animal flashcards.

Planilla de la segunda clase

In this class I used cooperative and game-based learning. In my opinion, both were effective. In one case, they needed each other to create a coordinated song, they needed each other to know what instrument to play, and they also helped each other when one of them didn't know what to do. And in the case of play-based learning, I think it was the most useful strategy because it helped the children to be creative in selecting sound patterns and they remembered the vocabulary very well at the end of the class.

• What do you find useful of this lesson that will help you plan the next one?

I noticed that they were engaged with the idea of ​​playing, in this class we played that we were an orchestra and they were musicians. They loved that idea, especially one of them. Then I would like to use another game in the next class. I think one of the students was a little shy about creating “strange” sounds with the instruments, it may be because she is more familiar with painting. So I would like to prepare a game similar to that and in another class a game similar to the orchestra, so they will gradually get used to these types of games too. For the next class, I would also like to prepare paper material of the game.

Planilla de la primer clase