Kaliningrad, Russia TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

I felt that this unit was a nice wrap-up of the course. It had some material that was discussed throughout various other units, as well. Many of these things I already do on the first day of school as a second grade teacher. For example, I usually devote the first date to building community through activities where the students can learn more about each other and me, just as I learn about them. I agree with the unit as I find this makes both instruction and classroom management less complicated later on. Something from the unit that I found interesting was the section about classes that have students with different ability levels. I find this to be most challenging while teaching: how do I challenge the advanced students while supporting the struggling ones? How do I move at a pace that isn't too slow, but also isn't too fast? I would have appreciated even more tips on these situations. I was also surprised to read that one option is to do nothing at all- I would think that that would demotivate weaker students and bore stronger ones, just as the text stated could be a potential negative consequence of this option. Personally, I prefer group work that is leveled if the students will work on separate tasks or rotate with me. I also like pairing stronger students with weaker ones, as the unit also suggested; however, I never pair a really strong student with a really weak one due to fear of demotivation or domination. I really enjoyed this course and feel I learned a lot from it!