Please help: I know it sounds silly but it's a big problem for me...?

Question

I have been a second grade teacher for about a month and I have NO IDEA HOW TO TEACH.

Intially I tried teaching the kids the way I learned in college, but they can't handle taking notes and listening to a lecture.

People say, "make the class more fun" but I teach five subjects a day. I am already overwhelmed just interpreting the lessons -- how the Hell can I figure out how to modify them so they're fun too?

I did not major in education.

I became a teacher because I didn't think it was that hard. I figured, I would go into the classroom, teach the kids so "stuff" and have my summers off. HA! How stupid was I.

I can't tell the principal. I don't want to get fired and I am locked into a three year contract.

Answer 1

Your additional notes answer your question for you.

Teaching does not pay well enough to be a job. It has to be something you're passionate about. If you go there thinking about it being a 9 to 5 kind of thing with stranger hours and little clients, you'll never enjoy it or be good at it.

If you plan on remaining in teaching, then you are going to need to do a lot of "things" to get things turned around.

1. Probably the most important start would be to research child development. 2nd graders are in an entire different world than a college student, and you need to know about that world and how to enter it.

2. You need to develop the guts enough to ask for help. Teachers are a strange breed, and they'll accept mediocrity (and even downright crappiness) IF they know that the person is trying to improve. You won't get fired for trying to get better. You will get fired for hiding your ineptitude.

3. Accept that teaching is more than a job and that you don't teach five subjects. You teach kids....you teach kids....you teach kids. These young boys and girls need someone to teach them. You screw this up, and it will take them years to recover. No kidding, years.

If you're not willing to change your approach. Get out. You're hurting the kids.

Answer 2

You are really in over your head. Truly, your additional information was the most valuable of all that you provided. When you are in a position working with the public and yet providing service, such as nursing or teaching or practising law, it is NOT about you. These are professions with which the egocentric mindset is completely incompatible. It is ALL about the person to whom you are providing the service. These children deserve the best education that can be provided. You need to be the grown up here and if you really went into this position to make money, not work hard and have summers off then you need to do some soul searching.
In the meantime, go to the principal and advise him that this job was not a good fit for you. At least that way you will leave with dignity and having learned a great deal about yourself and life as an adult in general. If you wait, the parents will complain and you may end up getting fired for cause anyway. And future employers will look much more favorably on an employee who made a mistake vs. one who proved their incompetance beyond a doubt.
Prove that you learned a lesson. You did not put the children first when you made the decision to accept the job, but here is a chance to do the right thing and put the children first as you make a decision to LEAVE this job. Before you do them harm.
You will be fine, if you just use this as a "learning experience." (pun intended) And smile, we all make mistakes. It only reflects badly on us if we do not learn from them.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Like the previous poster said, relax and talk to your colleagues for support and assistance. There are many tricks to the trade that can be learned from others. If you are teaching second grade, they are not mature and old enough to learn like a college student.
Do you remember what it was like in second grade? They had lots of activities, group work, interaction. Take it slow. Repetition is key to a lot of learning, so if you are having trouble interpreting the lessons, keep repeating them over and review them with the students. Kids are bright and you'd be surprised how much they can help you as well as your colleagues.

Instead of overwhelming yourself with trying to make everything fun, how about starting with just one fun thing a day or every other day. Take it slow. If you put the effort in, your colleagues will see that you are trying and are genuine to the students and the students (for the most part) will appreciate those fun moments. if you have trouble with a subject or a lesson, ask around, maybe even here on Y!answers and experienced teachers may give you specific help.
Good Luck

Answer 4

You must talk to your principal about the difficulty you are having. You owe it to yourself and your kids. Do you have a mentor teacher? If not, find another teacher you trust at your grade level that can help you. If after trying the things they suggest you are still not able to get through to the kids, you might consider a career change. teaching is NOT easy. You can be the most brilliant person in the world and just not have the knack for getting things across to kids.
It could also be that you are more suited to be an upper grade teacher. You might ask to be assigned to another grade level for the next year. Try that before giving up all together. We need good teachers.

Answer 5

Welcome to the real world.

You are dealing with a small mind, with limited attention span and one that gets bored and antsy.

First try reading a book a chapter at a time.

Pick a nice one.

Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Charloettes Web, Mr. Poppers Penguines (Penguines are popualr these days).

Maybe move them into a semi-circcle so they can all be up close.

Do you know anyone that's good with plants.

Bring them in and have them start a few diffrent plants growing from scaratch and you and the kids water them and take care of them and see how they grow.

Maybe have them bring in a few different full grown plants to show difference.

Piggy Backs, Ferns, Verigated (and that becomes a Vocabulary word 5 grades early, but don't go beyond that!) ivy

Maybe get one of those little 10x buid it youself cardboard telescopes from Edumunds Scientific

Maybe get one of those glass things that rotates due to light. They are only like $5 or $8

Instead of Lecturing get some props and act it out, maybe get them involved and let them do some acting.

Do the Pilgrims coming to America

Do Thankgiving the first one.

Make it a classroom activity

Get them involved

You never had Robin Williams as a college professor!

No one!

YOu NEVER had Mel Brooks teach you history at school, with a funny hat and his tounge sticking out

"It's GOOD to be the King!"

God, what uptight college did you go to

I learned at age 5-7 from a funny Professor at DePaul university called Dan Q. Poson, who loved cats and explained Einstein so well I learned it at age 6

Length, width, height, TIME

Curved space

The ant walking on a ball thinking it's walking in a straight line

Most recently we had Carl Sagan with his BILLions and BILLions!

Do a mural. We did one in 4th grade

Chicago from THEN til NOW

From Indians to LAke Shore Drive (I drew LAke Shore Drive)

Do a collage

Put it up in the room on the walls.

HAve the students help.

Then you also have to get practical and do sentence diagraming, but you still can have fun with it.

But you have to do some practical things

I mean so far I am teaching you to tacklet ART, SCIENCE, BOTONY, HORITCULTURE, ENGLISH

Music. Get an AUTO HARP barow one!

If you PLAY an instrumetn like guitar even better.

Man, if you can really play decent folk songs, do that Arlo Gutherie song about the trains. City of New Orleans and have the kids sing the chorus with you.

Good morning America how are you. Well don't you know me I'm your native son. I'm the train the call the City of New Orleans, I'll be gone 5,000 miles when the day is done!

Get them involved.

Get them some percussion things to use and TEACH them to hold a regular beat.

Calves

Hand claps

Let them be your drum set

ORganize it

Regulate it

Don't be hostile. If they don't get it spend time getting them to get it right.

Always do it with a smile and a laugh.

You can even do this with the auto harp

Get the chords

One stroke per chord

Let them be your drums

Organze them into an ORCHESTRA

Work on it for weeks, an hour at a time

Yeah you'll disturbe the class next door, so maybe find a place like the Gym to do it in private.

Have them emulate train sounds on those percussion things.

clackitdyclack

I produce music and films and I'm teaching you how to be a producer-arranger

Maybe let ONE of the KIDS play the AUTO HARP and YOU conduct!

There's a major TACET (dead space) in that song

It requires an conductor to remind everyone

Think outside the BOX

Water finds its own level and you got 30-40 different streams to deal with.

You have to do it collectively and individually.

Answer 6

These kids are not developmentally able to process lecture style material. You need to make your activities hands-on. Since you didn't go to college for this, it's going to be A LOT of work to prepare your lessons, but it can be done. Here's web site that offers some free lesson plans. http://www.lessonplanspage.com/
Choose carefully to be sure you are selecting age-appropriate material. If you search Lesson Plans, you'll find more sites you can use. This should get you started, and might help you come up with some ideas of your own.
Here's a few tips to help you make your class fun and interesting and worthwhile. Work sheets are OK sometimes, but only use them when really necessary for additional practice. Ask your co-workers for support. Ask what kind of lesson they will use to teach (whatever subject is on your mind at the moment). Give the kids frequent breaks, but keep them structured: have everyone stand up, breathe deeply, and touch their toes ten times; stand and walk all the way around their desk twice; raise arms overhead and stretch to one side, then the other. They'll laugh a little, get some oxygen to their brains, and be ready to move to the next activity! Reward good behaviors with a smile and brief verbal praise. "I really like the way John and Mary and Ellen are listening. I see their eyes looking at me, and their lips are zipped, and I thank them for their attention!" Read to your class every day. Chapter books are good so they'll be looking forward to the next chapter. Try Junie B. Jones books to start with. They're hilarious!

Always remember, kids this age need hands-on activities as much as possible to help them process the information you present.

Answer 7

Why on earth did u become a teacher if u don't have the proper training? You could be stunting these kids' educatuioinal growth! This is a time when they are learning important life skills and you could really be damaging them. You need to tell your principle so that they can give u advice.

Answer 8

Relax - you are still learning. Talk to your co-workers for support. If they won't help you, you are at the wrong school.

After reading your addition, I'd say you are in the wrong field. Teaching is not easy and if you don't have a passion for it, you are shortchanging yourself and your students. Start looking for another job.