Virtual teaching

 Teaching virtually this semester was something that was very odd to say the least but I think we all managed to make the best out of the circumstances. I taught 3 lessons virtually and did my final lesson last week; my small group literacy lesson. I would have loved to teach these lessons in the field and had that interaction with my students but I can say that I did learn a lot through the experience. I feel like I thought more about how I could improve my lesson as I was teaching because I was unable to have that interaction with the kids and with it being silent, I noticed what I was saying on a deeper level.  I really enjoyed watching the discussion videos for labs because we were able to view other seasoned teachers and some of our fellow GSU educators. I picked up on a lot of unique strategies to make my lesson more engaging and hands on. I find it very fun to have students interact and answer in different ways for example in my small group literacy lesson we did "synonym rolls" and if they agreed with their peers answer, I had them roll their arms up "full of dough" if they agreed or roll their arms down "full of dough" if they disagreed. I think its going to be one of my favorite things to come up with unique things for my students to keep engaged and on task. Learning is meant to be fun and will provide a greater benefit for students when they are engaged. A lot of my lessons were so concrete and boring but through this experience; the feedback from peers, CT, and my professors really helped guide my lessons to be more interactive. I had more fun planning my lessons and teaching them which resulted in a better grade with teaching my lesson. I still have some work to do with my confidence but overall I can say I am a better teacher from the beginning of the semester until now. I am looking forward to the final step; student teaching! We did it guys, hang in there :) a couple more weeks!

Virtual Teaching

I have completed all of my virtual lessons. Let me start by saying, it was an experience to learn from.
My second lesson that I have completed virtually was my Math lesson, and I think it went great. My materials and organization of the lesson played a big role in my success. I used authentic materials within the lesson teaching and thought it really went well and made the lesson come to life. The lesson was about Adding with one and two digit numbers, and I feel that the overall objectives were met. While teaching it on zoom, I acted as the students were actually there and asked and answered thought provoking questions. My tone and expression was also very good as I was able to engage my classmates and professor into the lesson as well. All in all, this was just a stupendous experience. Going from in person classes to online was difficult but something to learn from. It was just an experience to remember and I will truly reflect back on it because it has taught me so much.

virtual teaching

Teaching this week to an audience of stuffed animals set up in my bedroom was not too bad, to be honest. Last week I taught a whole group math lesson, which was rough because of the manipulatives I used and the need for a projector. This week, I taught a literacy lesson which involved a lot of whole group discussion time and a read-aloud - so it wasn't too bad. 

I found myself giggling at myself a lot more as a I called on bunny rabbit and waited for a response, but I guess that just proves that I was a little more comfortable. I was able to get my "classroom" setup how I needed it, with my easel made on a huge cutting board propped up on an umbrella stroller with a chunk of brown paper taped to it... it served it purpose.

I really rather enjoy "making" my own classroom and materials. In reality, I am not going to be a teacher like the rest of you. I do not plan to have teacher materials like unit cubes and an easel and a smart board and all of that "teacher stuff" that we are missing out on using with this virtual teaching thing. What I take care of kids, a lot of times it is in my own house. I have the basic things that my babies need (pack n plays, strollers, bouncy seat, height char, toys, bibs, etc), but when it comes to different more engaging activities that a daycare center might pull out a "teacher material" for, I have to pull those supplies out of my kitchen cabinet or craft bin. My point is, I am way more comfortable making my own materials and teaching from my own house than I am using fancy teaching materials and teaching in a classroom - which makes sense. This is what I do. Read-aloud in my bedroom? Happens all the time!

In terms of lesson writing and instructional delivery, being at my house doesn't help for that of course. But in terms of comfort, I am content teaching like this.

Virtual Lesson, Again

Okay. This week wasn't as weird as last week for sure, but I still miss the kids and much prefer them to my computer screen. Not that I got to use my computer. I actually had to use my phone because I couldn't get my computer to work. Which stunk. Ugh. Terrible.

I really am not a fan of this virus. Coronapocalypse is awful. I actually had to use my second whole group literacy lesson that I had written because I was unable to get the materials that I needed in order to teach that lesson adequately.

Overall, my teaching went really well though. I was able to find the perfect children's book within my personal library to teach a whole group lesson on drawing conclusions. I was super happy about that. For anyone who is interested, the book was called Astronaut Annie. I'll put a picture of the book below.

Anyhow, I think teaching to my dolls/stuffed animals was way less nerve wracking the second time around because I was getting used to it. I would have loved to have the experience in teaching in the classroom though. I'm not very confident with my teaching skills just yet, and I would love to improve upon them. I'm worried that had I taught this lesson in the field, the students wouldn't have responded to it very well.

There's nothing I can do about that though. At the end of the day, we get through it. Hopefully, when I get to student teaching, I can make it through.

Virtual Teaching

This week I taught my math whole group. I was very proud with my work with this lesson. I made it very engaging for my students and felt that my students would have really enjoyed my lesson in the classroom. I am getting used to teaching over zoom and felt like this whole thing has been a great learning experience. I have received such great feedback from Dr. Kelly and classmates and have taken the feedback and made improvements to make the next week lesson even better. I have one more virtual lesson to teach but we are done with our bloggers. I have really enjoyed blogger to see how my classmates are doing in their classrooms.

Final Virtual Lesson

Sunday, April 12th, 2020
Rachel Sebastian

I taught my last virtual lesson on Thursday and it was bitter sweet. It was hard to teach over zoom and pretend like I was actually teaching to students. I personally feel like I did a pretty good job teaching virtually. I gave it my all and tried to make it realistic as possible. I feel like I still learned a lot from teaching over zoom and I received great feedback from my classmates and Dr.Kelly. I make sure to take this feedback and learn from it and think about what I would do different the next time I teach. Since the whole coronavirus, it has been really hard having classes online. I wish we could go back in the classroom but I have been trying to make the most of having classes online. I appreciate my professors doing their best so we can get through this semester.

Final Virtual Lesson

On Thursday I completed my final virtual lesson.  I actually really enjoyed teaching virtually.  I feel like this provided us all with the opportunity to think of our lessons from all angles, rather than focusing on the same thing we felt needed the most work, while actually teaching in a physical classroom.  For instance, I feel like I was continuously thinking about classroom management, while teaching in the classroom.  Virtual teaching allowed me to focus on improving other areas of my lesson.  While I did enjoy teaching virtually, I look forward to student teaching, where we will be able to teach in person again.  I also look forward to student teaching, because I feel like we will be able to establish more classroom management, due to our consistent presence, five days a week.  This has been a really great experience for me and I look forward to using what I learned in labs three and four throughout student teaching and my future career.

Virtual Teaching

Virtual Teaching


My last blog was about the new change we are all facing. My semester is almost to close the end and we been doing online. For our field experience (labs) we are still teaching lessons. I have taught two whole lessons. My first one was based on literacy and my topic was on poetry. I had to teach my lesson virtually through zoom and my professor and two of my colleagues were observing me. If I can be honest, I did not perform my best when teaching my literacy lesson. It felt different not being able to teach in front of a classroom full of second graders. I wasn’t able to use higher-order thinking questions and spoke with less confidence. My second lesson was on science and the topic was simple machines. I felt more confident in this second lesson and I used my imagination to its fullest. I decided to pretend that my kitchen was a classroom and I was going to teach my lesson to my plushies (my students). I appreciate my professor’s feedback and my peers as well. I am doing better with this whole crisis. I have decided to take it day-by-day and split my school work into chunks.

Second online lesson

Kiley Rolder

April 9th, 2020

This was my second week teaching online. It's getting easier to pretend like I have a whole class in front of me which makes teaching easier but it's not something i'm used too yet. This week I taught a math whole group on probability and think it went pretty well. I tried to make it fun and engaging for the students by using things such as sweet tarts and jellybeans. The students could be hands on with their learning counting and sorting the jellybeans on their desk. Having to go back and forth between sharing the screen is something that is challenging for me because the sound doesn't work for the videos I played so I had to just explain them which was different. I think that there are something I would change if I were to teach this lesson again but overall I think it was a fun lesson to teach. Having to ask a question, call on students, and then give the answer yourself as if they had just said it has been very interesting but weird to do but I think I am making it work the best that I can and am starting to enjoy it!

What now

The past couple of weeks have been really different and hard to get used to. My schedule went from working three jobs and going to school full time to working no jobs and having all online classes! The change has been so drastic and it feels like everything in the world is flipped upside down. It has been hard adjusting to not seeing my friends and my family members. Seeing the effects that this virus has had has been really challenging for me and for everyone else I'm sure. During these times I find myself thinking of all students that are realistically getting an entire semester of school taken away from them. I really enjoyed the time that I had in field experience learning from my CT and her amazing students. The class was a really great class and I enjoyed teaching and learning from them during the time I was there. Taking classes online is not the best way for any student to learn as we know. There are many students that learn best through hands-on experiences and learn content by having social interaction. It is unfortunate that this is the way college students and every student has to learn right now. Although these times are terribly rough on me I am extremely grateful to be healthy and to still have the opportunity to learn. Even though things seem to be negative everywhere we look at this time I am trying to remain positive and do little things that make me happy. I enjoy the time that I am spending with my family but it is also nice to take time and do things for myself that will help me not go insane. Focusing on my school work has helped me take my mind of things and focus on what I love which is teaching and learning how to be a great teacher for my future students. The lesson I taught online was extremely awkward and the flow of the lesson was off but I still did my best given the circumstances. While I was writing my lesson plan I thought about how much I would have loved to teach this lesson in the field to the first grade class. It was a really fun lesson that offered them a new way to learn rather than working with worksheets a majority of the time. But, I can always keep this lesson for future reference. I miss my peers and I miss sitting in three hour classes which I never thought could be possible! I am wishing everyone and their families the best and I am sending love and positivity! I am looking forward to the day I get to be in a classroom learning from students again.

My First Virtual Lesson

This week I had the opportunity to teach my first virtual lesson and it went really well.  Honestly, I just acted as if I were in the classroom.  I called on each of my students as if they were actually sitting on my living room carpet, I rephrased student answers so that those observing me could better understand the progression of the lesson and I even had a few students answer incorrectly, so that I could address real-world scenarios.  Would I rather be teaching to real students?  Absolutely!  Do virtual classes seem like more work than if we were to just be taking these classes in a traditional sense? 100%.  However, I am so incredibly thankful that we have the opportunity to be so flexible, resulting in our graduation date staying the same.  I also find the field experience videos to be extremely beneficial.  I even incorporated one of the strategies that I had learned through the videos, in my lesson.  I received positive feedback regarding this strategy, so I believe it will be something I use within my future classroom. 

Into the Unknown

Honestly, these past few weeks have been some of the most surreal that I have ever experienced in my life. It's not something I'm happy to say, either. Amidst all this crap and chaos from the COVID-19 virus, rightfully renamed as CoronaPocalypse, I've found myself in a daze. There is a lot for me to have to compute right now, a lot to have to figure out inside of my head, and honestly, I really just wish life were back to normal.

There is a lot that I miss about 'normal' life. I miss school, which is something I never thought I'd say. I miss my job, which is something else I thought I'd never miss. I miss my friends. My family. My ability to walk outside of the house without having to worry about a virus that could kill the people that I love.

As I said before, this is just so surreal. It hasn't been easy, and honestly I feel a lot of stress and pressure from this all. I'm not the kind of person that likes change. I have a routine that I follow. I usually stick to my routine like it's the Bible. These days, I can't do that. I have to transition and adjust. But I feel like such a robot right now...

I feel like I'm so swamped on my school work, and I think that that is because the depression is sinking in. I feel like I'm drowning, that there's no time for me to get anything done. I sit here for hours and hours just working endlessly until my back hurts and my fingers are cramped from typing. But I still don't feel productive. I tell myself that this is just the shut-in order getting to me. But I'll get through it. Life always has its ups and downs, and this is just one of the downs.

Teaching my lesson was also super strange. I talked to my dolls of Elsa, Rapunzel, Sven and Pascal. It was strange, but I think that I did okay. I really don't ever want to have to teach online long term because it would make me sad. I'm a people person. I thrive off of my student's responses. I can't do this very long, I don't think.

I also miss my special ed kids... I really miss them. My heart hurts thinking about them and how dangerous this time is to them. I hope all of this gets better because right now we're in such unknown territory...

Well, this is awkward!

• by Amnah Hzaiyen
• Sunday, April 5, 2020

This week I taught my first small group lesson; my literacy small group lesson, to a stuffed animal! I was very nervous and unsure of my teaching performance prior to my teaching time on Thursday. With the amount of times I had practiced for this lesson, it was difficult for me to feel confident teaching it since there were not students in front of me. I used a stuffed animal from the movie Rio, which was pretty cute. However, the little stuffed bird could not talk or move so it was difficult for me to ask questions and pretend she was real. Truly took me on a trip back to my childhood when I used to play with stuffed animals! Times have definitely been very difficult and rough. It has been very hard for me, like many other college students around the world, to adjust to this new way of learning we are involved in. Never thought I would say I miss waking up early to go to school and work, and take those long ride to get there! As difficult as it has been, I am thankful we are still able to complete the semester in every way possible. Props to all the teachers out there sticking by our sides and ensuring we finish the school year strong! You all rock! (I really hope you see this Dr. Kelly and Dr. H.!) As crazy as it all is, a part of me is thankful we are going through this experience right now. We now know what it is like if life was to just hit us with the realities it has and schools were to shut down. We can all get through this, and it WILL end. Keep on pushing through everyone!

Teaching to Mrs. Bunny!

Teaching this week was strange, for sure. Instead of a class of 26 excited first graders learning about a new math skill, I taught to my oversized stuffed bunny and my brothers huge stuffed turtle... also referred to as Mr. turtle and Mrs. bunny. My mom was highly amused by my classroom set up - as was I. I did not have any thoughts about what teaching to a laptop and inanimate objects in my bedroom might actually feel like, and that was deliberate - I am more of the "it is what it is so just do it" type. During my teaching, there were a few points where I though it was a little too odd. I had to answer questions for the animals so that the viewers knew what possible answers might be given. I had to hold up manipulatives in front of my camera that I would have projected on the white board - and my manipulatives were made out of construction paper because I did not have the real thing! The worksheet that I intended to write on under the projector... I held it in my hand the whole time. I found myself trying to write on it while holding it a few times, only to remember that my "students" could not follow along with what I was trying to write in the air anyway.  Overall, I do not mind teaching like this. We are all in the same boat in this way, and it is something we will eventually laugh at. And when we end our lessons, we can laugh at ourselves too. At least we will have the smartest stuffed animals and dolls around!!

Virtual school means a world of changes!

Hello everyone! What a time we are going through right? I can say this is something I never thought we would have to experience as everything seemed to happen so abruptly. Virtual class has been a rough transition for me to say the least. I am not a huge fan of online classes as is because I am a very hands on learner so being in the field really was my favorite place. I miss the routine of everything and being able to collaborate with my peers for a more meaningful learning experience. A lot of the learning now is watching videos, which I am grateful to have rather than having to repeat the course work or being pushed behind but there is something to be said by having that interaction in person. I think there is a lot of learning to be lost here and thats not to just speak on myself but for everyone in our nation right now. It's heart breaking to know that most people will be behind in some areas because I do not for see schools going back in session. There is only so much you can learn and teach yourself. I think through this experience, I have really learned the value of social interaction and the toll it can take on you mentally when you are not exposed to it. It's a hard time for almost everyone and a lot of people are out of work, there is a certain weariness to the world right now. I have however been trying to stay positive and keeping myself as busy as I can. My attitude changes from day to day just because of the uncertainty but I think this also is amazing because we as teachers have the opportunity to make a difference in other avenues such as helping those parents in our lives that may not be familiar with early childhood work. I have been asked a lot of questions and it really made an impact on me and brought a sense of worth back to this experience. I taught my first virtual lesson and it was weird to say the least. I felt almost more nervous without the students there because I had to make up the conversation that I think would take place. Overall virtual lesson plan teaching is different because we are making due with the resources we have and its shown me how to get creative. I am excited that we are still progressing through the semester though! I miss my peers and professors oh so much. Hang in there everyone as this is a means to an end and I am looking forward to celebrating with everyone once we make it to the other side.

Here is a quote that I really enjoy, maybe you will too!

"The kids who need the most love will ask for it in the most unloving ways"

A Different Schedule

Staying Healthy and Active


Hello fellow Bloggers! This week was a little different from the norm routine we usually have. I know you are all aware of the crisis going on at this time. My semester is still going but now it is all online. We meet on our regular days and still interact in the class. A few of us are struggling to cope with this new change. One of my professors mentioned how we can be more productive and explained the six ways to a healthy lifestyle. Here are the six tips:

• A daily routine for more productive work 
•  Social Wellness 
• Physical fitness
• Take time to relax
• Hobbies
• Sleep

I have now broken-up my schedule into chunks and these six tips are very helpful. As a whole class, we decided to incorporate social interaction. We Zoom every day except weekends and do a fun activity for at least 20 minutes. So far we have taken a walk outside, yoga, we baked, played trivia, learn how to dance the Dabke, etc.


I do miss being in a classroom setting. I was placed in a second-grade classroom for my Field Experience. I had the opportunity to teach a whole group math lesson and a small group literacy lesson. I was able to reflect on my teaching and apply it to my next lesson. I got the chance to really get to know the kids and interact with them. The class invited me to go on their field trip to the Field Museum on April 10^th and I was extremely excited to attend that field trip with them. I wish we had the chance to finish our FE, wish we continue getting feedback from our CTs, improve my performance (tone, expression, model, AS, DI, etc..), have the chance to work with high-level and lower-level students, and just be part of the classroom.

First Virtual Lesson

Nadine Hamideh
Thursday April 2, 2020

This week I taught my science whole group lesson, it was about the life cycle of a sea turtle. I had set objectives and ways to achieve them. I started off by activating prior knowledge and introducing a familiar object to the students being Squirt from Finding Nemo. After that I completed a read aloud, I read the book One Tiny Turtle, and incorporated the three components of reading fluency all throughout really well. I asked thought provoking questions, brought in real life material based on a few things that were mentioned in the book to show the students. I thought that I really did well on this given that I didn’t have any students in front of me and was just reading to my professor and a couple classmates on Zoom. After that I went through my guided practice and actually worked on a creative activity that was supposed to be a group project that the students would do, being sequencing the life cycle of a sea turtle on a sand and water tray. I also had to pretend to work on the activity and make comments back and forth, as well as ask and answer my own questions. Given the circumstances with what’s happening in the world with Covid19, and the stay at home orders, it was truly life changing for me. Going from teaching in a classroom, to teaching online is really different and can be difficult but it is something that will make me and my peers stronger and we will get through this together.

1st virtual lesson

Caitlin Kurtz
April 3, 2020

This week I taught my literacy small group prefixes. This helps students be able to see and tell the new meaning of a word when a prefix is added. I feel that these students hear and see prefix words on a daily basis and to be able to see down and realize what happens to the word when they add a prefix is a great way for students to become better readers. I believe that my lesson went really well this week. Giving the circumstances that we were not in the classroom and had to teach on the computer in our home was a eye opener. It was much different and being able to facilitate the materials you have in your house is a great way to think out of the box. For example, I used the back of wrapping paper to create a prefix poster. This was a great resource to be able to adapt too considering if we were in the real world being a teacher, we would be doing e-learning. This was a great start to be able to learn and adapt to these issues going on. 

First Virtual Lesson

Rachel Sebastian
Thursday, April 2, 2020

Today was not an ordinary day as I had to teach a lesson online to absolutely no students. One of the most challenging aspects of this was not having anybody respond to me. I had to think of how students would answer and go off that. It did go a lot better than I expected and I was happy the way I taught. This does somewhat prepare me for e-learning if we ever have to do it in the future. I am very thankful for my professors making this happen so we can still get our teaching hours in. I still feel like my next lesson I have to teach on Zoom will be challenging but atleast I know it will not be as bad as I thought. I am thankful that I still get to practice my lesson planning and how to teach my lessons.

1st at home lesson

Kiley Rolder

April 2nd, 2020

This week was very different from what we are used to on normal field experience days. This week due to everything going on in the world we taught our lesson from home through zoom. Overall the experience was very nerve wrecking and i was dreading it up until I started teaching. It felt as though once I started my lesson I just imagined my class being there which really helped. I felt like I practiced my lesson so much it made it a lot easier when it came to actually teaching it. I liked having two other students on zoom as well because I feel like the more feedback I get the better i'll be able to make my teaching and my lesson plans.It was challenging having to screen share because on the videos I was going to play in my lesson for some reason they couldn't hear the sound so I played a little bit of the videos and explained what happened in them so they knew. This was my first lesson using smart board as well which made the lesson more interactive and fun I just wish I was able to do the actual lesson with real students because I think it would have been so much fun. I think being in the situation we are in is very unfortunate but every day in the classroom we will have to learn to make adaptions and differentiate our lessons and this is exactly like this we adapted ourselves and made it work just like any good teacher would.