Learning as we go!
7th Grade is new to me!
by Jonathon Baehr
October 16, 2008
For starters, this is my year as a teacher here at YMS and it is also my first year as a middle school teacher. I could not have asked for a better start to a year or a better class to start with. This years seventh graders have been an absolute blast to work with and have done a nice job of showing patience as I have continued to learn the ropes. So overall, I couldn't have asked for a better start.
This being my first year of teaching middle school I have found that for the most part these kids are very eager to learn and work hard to gain the knowledge of the subject that we are studying. So far this year we have worked a lot with maps and gaining knowledge of how to read and use maps. We are also studying different cultures and regions of the world. This is to help the kids gain a better understanding and working knowledge of how other parts of the world work. It allows the kids to really understand how things are changing here in the United States and how things in other countries are leading to this change.
We try to use different learning styles in the classroom. I know Geography/History is not always the most entertaining subject, but we do try to make it fun. One of the things we are doing is reading as a whole class. We try to do this once or twice a week. This allows me to try and relate the information to kids. We read in pairs or small groups to allow the kids to interact and read a little more. I feel it is important for the kids to be able to read and discuss what they have read. We do lots of other things but those are just a few things we do in 7th grade Geography.
Again, this year has started out fast and I look for it to continue to be a fun and rewarding year for both the students and myself!
