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Getting Ready to ecoMentor

Preparations

So you are going to be teaching soon! Here's a checklist to ensure that you are ready for your first teaching experience.

  1. Contact the elementary school and teacher. Discuss possible topics.
  2. Download a suitable lesson plan from the website and print the lesson plan (on recycled or scrap paper).
  3. Read the lesson plan carefully. Make additional notes, comments and highlight important parts.
  4. Make sure you know enough background information; check referenced websites.
  5. Read the teaching tips in the ecoMentors handbook.
  6. Read through the lesson plan again; are there things you want to do differently? Edit the lesson plan or create a new one if you think that is appropriate.
  7. Go through the following checklist:
    • Does your lesson plan have a clear purpose and clear objectives?
    • Do the chosen activities help explain the lesson concepts?
    • Is your information accurate and clear?
    • Have you considered the time available and what you will do if the lesson isn't completed in the allotted time?
    • Have you thought about ways to draw the students' attention at the beginning of the lesson and ways to encourage further thought at the end of the lesson?
    • Have you considered how to divide up students for group work and how to organize the classroom to facilitate students' work?
    • Have you considered aspects such as safety, management, noise levels and movement from one activity to another if you're conducting multiple activities?
  8. If you work in a team; make agreements on who does what during the lesson.
  9. Collect all necessary materials; pictures, work sheets, .
  10. Contact the teacher to discuss which materials are present in the classroom and other details and questions you may have.

The Lessons

Here are some tips to help you during your lessons:

  1. Make sure you are in time to prepare the lesson
  2. Stay calm and be confident; the students will love
    having you in front of the class
  3. Follow the lesson plan and keep an eye on the time
  4. Be creative if things don't turn out as you expected
  5. If you work in a team: help each other out!
  6. Keep the teaching tips from the ecoMentors handbook in mind
  7. Enjoy!

Evaluations

Congratulations, you have just taught your first lesson! How did it feel? Were you comfortable? Did the lesson run smoothly, more or less? Did students seem "on-board"? Were they interested and did they learn what you hoped they would? Now is the time to think back on what worked and what didn't so that you can make adjustments for next time. Here is a little checklist for you.

  1. Make sure the teacher fills out an teachers feedback form after the lesson.
  2. Ask the teacher for additional teaching tips and feedback
  3. Fill out the ecoMentors feedback form
  4. Send both evaluation forms to the ecoMentors Program coordinator
  5. If you edited your lesson plan or created a new one; sent the lesson plan to the ecoMentors Program coordinator
  6. Learn from your experiences: Evaluate for yourself. How did it feel? Were you comfortable? What would you do differently next time? Refine your teaching by evaluating your lesson plan and activities. Here are some guidelines.
    • Were your objectives met?
    • Were your instructions clear? Did students understand what was expected of them?
    • Was the material at the appropriate level? Was more background information required or was the lesson too simple for the students?
    • Were you able to explain your lesson concepts and did the students understand the concepts through the activities?
    • Did the transitions between one part of the lesson and another part flow smoothly? Could you have organized the classroom space, materials or the lesson itself differently to facilitate movement from one activity to another?
    • How did you respond to students' questions? Was your response effective and did it encourage further exploration and questioning?
    • What was your tone and rapport like with the students? Were you encouraging, respectful, enthusiastic?
    • Were the students involved? Did they seem interested, motivated and engaged?
    • How was your timing? Did you over plan or under plan?
    • Were there moments when the lesson didn't seem to be going right and you weren't sure what to do? What caused this situation to happen?
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