1st week at Mount Tabor Girls High School, Pathanapuram.

As a part of our first teaching practice session, we were allotted to different schools. Five of us, Ashna, Geethu, Nithya, Smitha and myself were allotted to the Mount Tabor Girls High School, Pathanapuram. 3^rd November 2022 was our first official day as teachers at the school. We gathered at the college and went to the school together as a group.

I was assigned to the class 8.I, and my class was during the 2^nd period on Thursday, 6^th on Friday and again 6^th on Saturday. My guide was Sreena.J.S teacher. When I went to the class the students greeted me with enthusiasm of seeing a new teacher. I was excited and introduced myself. The children asked many doubts about me teaching them. They wanted to know whether their permanent English teacher would never come back to teach them and many other things like that. I gave them satisfactory answers and asked their names. After those informal talks I started my class.

My topic was the poem The First Showers by Nalini Sharma, from the fourth unit, Flowers and Showers from their textbook. I provided some colour papers to make paper boats. Students made boats using the paper and some of them even named the boats. On the second day Sreena teacher and I had an interaction about the students. She asked me whether the students were all cooperative. A few of them were not so attentive. I planned to give a little more attention to them. I came to know that the 6^th period is much shorter than the other periods. This Saturday was a compensatory working day with Wednesday’s timetable. I completed the chapter First Showers by giving a short review of the poem and doing some activities based on the text. I had prepared some activities myself too. Children were enthusiastic to do all those activities. I found that they like to do activities rather than simply listening. I asked questions in between and most of them answered correctly. I told them that we will start a new chapter in the next class.

I understood that I should give more attention to the class time. I was a bit slow at first. Therefore, I had to go fast towards the end of the class. I got to know the students more and more day by day. They showed interest in group activities. I have to plan such activities to gain their interest and make the class lively. As the 6^th period is shorter I have to slightly change my lesson plans according to it. I realised that I have a tendency to explain portions over and over again. I have to keep an eye on that too in the coming classes. I could reinforce the students appropriately and I could finish the class on time on the 3^rd day. I slightly developed my time management. The learners were little restless and hyperactive while doing the activities. I should improve my classroom management.