This last week, I finished wrapping up the first unit I have ever taught entirely on my own. I spent the last month working with honors sophomores and the text Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I would assign sections of readings for students, and follow these readings up with a full class discussion circle about the reading and their guided reading questions. My students were expected to participate in the discussion at least twice to earn full credit. This worked out fairly well with students. Everyone sat in a large circle around the room and they would raise their hands to participate in the discussion. This helped me keep track of who all had participated in the discussion and thus allow me to distribute their points for the day. Depending on how long the discussion took, as often times we used the entire hour, students would complete worksheets that would ask them to either characterize Bradbury's characters from the novel, or complete charts about style and the way that Bradbury writes. Students took well to these discussions and the assignments, and often impressed me with how deep they would dig into the story.
Being in front of the entire class and leading the lesson entirely on my own helped me gain confidence in my teaching ability. This unit reinforced my abilities as a teacher to myself, and showed my CT what I am capable of accomplishing with an entire class. My students took their test on Friday, and I am excited to see how well they understood the material and how much they took out of our class discussions.
