Hello Spring Break!

Spring break could not have come at a better time!  I love teaching, and the team I work with, but I was also ready for a few days break.  I never realized how tiring student teaching would be; and my friends constantly joke that I'm the "grandma" of our crew because I always go to bed so early.  I'm not ashamed of my "grandma" status though; if going to bed early helps me to feel well-rested, and therefore helps me to be a better teacher, I'll take it!

The fact that Spring Break is here though, means that student teaching is nearly over.  I have an interview coming up that I'm excited and nervous about.  Since when am I old and mature enough to be going to big-girl job interviews?  This semester is the first time I've really felt like an adult.  I think getting away from the college town and working real-world hours (7:15 to 4:30 on a typical day, anyone?)  has really helped me to grow up.  Of course, being responsible for 20 first graders and collaborating on a daily basis with the other first grade teachers on my team has added to that feeling.   Even though I'm still technically a college student, I feel like that phase of my life ended on January 17 (my first day of student teaching).   Now I refer to what I do as my profession (despite the fact that I'm not getting paid!)

Here are some questions I'm going to practice answering thanks to my upcoming interview!

• What are the most important things a teacher must accomplish during the first few days of school? 
• How would you integrate technology into the curriculum?
• Describe some innovative projects or hands-on activities you have been involved with.
• How can you make your subject relevant to the lives of your students and at the same time incorporate state standards?
• Give an example of how you have used cooperative learning in your classroom.
• What teaching strategies do you use to motivate students to learn?
• How do you integrate curriculum across subject/content areas?
• How do you handle classroom management issues?
• What are your classroom rules and procedures? 
• What methods of classroom management have you tried which were not successful?
• What teaching strategies do you use to address the different learning styles of the students in your classroom?
• Talk about a time when you have experienced success in the classroom.
• Describe a lesson that went poorly. What would you do differently next time?
• How do you teach something that you don’t want to teach, but must?
• Why do you want to teach at this school/district/grade level?