The penultimate day.

Well only one day left! Yet again I am very sad that my placement is coming to an end. I can't wait until next year when I will really be able to enter into the whole school atmosphere and not have to leave having only just struck up a good relationship with the students.

Anyway today's lessons went well....all 6 of them. Strangely I am quite sad that I wont be teaching my six period thursday again....although I am absolutely exhausted by the end of the day it is a good test of preparation and endurance. First lesson with the 4th years was fun. I started the lesson by telling them all that we were going to do a test...once the boo's subsided I took out 600g of chocolate and told them that it was a taste test. They loved it. To conclude our discussion on fairtrade I had purchased three bars (each 200g) of chocolate from the local supermarket (one cheap own brand, one fairtrade and one cadbury's). We proceeded to give them scores out of ten and added up the class total. Unsurprisingly the students stuck with what they knew best and cabury's clenched the victory. Its good to be able to connect with the students like this and to engage in a fun activity. It also made them a lot more willing to do lots of hardwork for the rest of the lesson.

Second period saw a quick dash across the corridor and a continuation of land use models with the 3rd years. Whilst this lesson was ok it was a bit disappointing given the great lesson that I had just come from. Hopefully they will forgive me for not showing them a video. After first break I had a successful lesson with the second years and gave out my final assessment item. Unfortunately as I leave tomorrow I will have to mark them all tonight...oh well we reap what we sow. Fourth period saw the final arrival of my first year class.Some good characters here and often willing to work hard. When the lesson finished at 12:44 I ran upstairs to join the head, the regent my fellow teachers-in-training and the probationer teachers for a jacket potato lunch. It was great to be able to chat to one and all about problems past, present and future. By the time I had forced my second jacket potato down it was time for period 5.

As I waddled back downstairs I found my other 4th year the class already inside and ready to work, which was a very pleasant surprise. We preoceeded to work on aid and did a mini role-play as we read through some cartoons on the problems with giving aid. With the hard work finished we used the second half of the lesson to look up NGO websites on the "classroom-in-a-box". Whilst this is a great resource the temperamental laptops were very slow to find the wireless network and it lead to a genertal discussion on aid, trade and which football team I supported....strange the things students like to know! Without me even realising it 6th period was upon me. The 1st years are always hyper at the end of the day but with the class teacher taking individuals outside to talk to the behaviour improved greatly and the work was completed.