Coaches, Coaches, Coaches

I always knew that I wanted to coach and collaborate with coaches. However, as an athletic coach, I never thought that I would be collaborating with academic coaches.

These are the women who provide the support and encouragement that I need as a new teacher.

The top photo is Faye Jackson, the district math coach, and my mentor. The second is Cindy Griffin, the district literacy coach. I collaborate with both of these ladies.

In the picture with Ms. Jackson, we are finishing up on post-observation of my teach. I need to work on Domain B. I don't joke a lot. With kids this age, without structure they can get loud and off task. So I am looking for ways that I can include a little humor without disruptions. When I was reviewing he rules of soccer, I used a power point that included animated graphics. Also, I ended with a picture of David Beckham. I asked the kids if they knew who this was. A couple said, "you." So I took that opportunity to have a little fun. My other problem with B is calling the kids by name. Of course, I am getting better, but I have 360 kids that I see once a week for 40 minutes. It is a challenge.

She has really helped me find things such as policies, emergency drills, etc. She has given me great strategies incorporating technology into my PE classes. She suggested the power point. She encouraged me to get the Wii.

I told her that I had to do a book talk on a trade book. I didn't even know what a trade book was. Well, she did not either, but she told me to talk with Ms.Griffin, the literacy coach.

Ms. Griffin is pictured in second photo. I met with her and told her that I had several book talks to do using trade books that were appropriate to my classes. She was great. She told me that there was a book room off the library that contained trade books arranged by subject and grade level. She also helped me pick out several. We also talked about how I could encourage literacy in my PE classes.