My instructor brought me to my room in which the students I was going to be tutoring was in. The atmosphere of the classroom was very lively and noisy all at the same time. I began to observe the students and the classroom routine on how things were run. Similar routines that I had in grade school were present within my classroom. The students began to form two lines, boys and girls, to head to the bathroom down the hall. When the children arrived back in the classroom, they were told to take out their literacy books. Their job was then to copy down different questions on the board about the current book they were reading in class. It seemed an effective way to get the students thinking because they had time to both write out the questions and contemplate what was being asked. The students were then asked to sit on the rug in the middle of the room to have a discussion about three vocabulary words that were also relating back to the book of discussion. Students would say the word, give an example of what they think it means, and the teacher as well as other students would give feedback to what they think it means. Lastly, the teacher sang a song containing all three words within it to take that extra step to helping the children remember and learn the vocab words discussed. It always seems that when music is added into the classroom learning experience, it works most effectively on the children helping them remember specific subjects being presented to them.
Although I did not have one-on-one tutoring on my first day at the school, I got a feel for the classroom, teacher, and students. The children seemed to have outgoing personalities and seemed that they were all willing to learn which helped my attitude for tutoring them. I am greatly looking forward to my first tutoring session this upcoming Friday and also looking forward to working with my students for the rest of the semester.
