Time is of the essence

Keeping track of time is pretty difficult for me when I'm in the midst of conducting the class. Today was a perfect example of that. Class starts at 9:45, but things usually don't start going until 9:50, or even 10:00. What happened to those 15 minutes?! That's 15 minutes that could have been spent on learning. We take the time to stamp any homework that was due that day, and then on to the bellwork activity. In my lesson plan I always write down the amount of time I intend on spending on the activity. Though, I must admit that my presumtion of how much time the activity will take is usually off. Those 15 minutes were spent with students scrambling to finish whatever they had failed to finish in the three days between classes. The problem with it all is that I don't even look at the clock. I just go by the feel and flow of the class, rarely glancing up to see how many minutes have passed. This needs to be changed.

I really need to start keeping track of time. Someway, maybe using the timer on my phone, I need to keep to a set time for my activities. The transitions are great, but the time spent on the activities is not great. Pick a time and stick to it. I am going to have to take these students so far in my lessons that if I spend more time discussing their personal likes and dislikes, or engaging in side conversations, then I will not be able to take them to where I need to in the curriculum. Don't get me wrong, today was fantastic. We had ample time to discuss, when doing my comprehension check, for understanding of the material. I asked students to tell me personally what they like to eat for breakfast or lunch. I felt that putting in their own likes and disliikes far supercedes me forcing them to learn vocabulary that has nothing to do with their lives. Making learning personal. I asked follow-up questions, attempting to elicit more information from them. Many students were lost, confused, and didn't know what the heck I was talking about. Ah, language immersion. They aren't used to it at all. The words are there, on the board, on their lists, but the connections haven't been made yet. Practice, practice, practice.

So, all of this led to me spending a good 20 minutes on this entire oral activity. I feel like I am shorting these kids from their education when I just rush through activities and don't leave time for questions or discussions. I do need to find a healthy balance between the two. Next conversation activity I do will be timed and much shorter. I at least need to try it.

*Note: It wound up being the same time-frame for the next class. It was a bit harder though, as I don't know the students as well. This impedes on time, and getting to know the students. This is no bueno. I went through the activity much more smoothly this time, but the energy just wasn't there. How to fix that....