Ancient Rome

Today I went and taught my last lesson with my sixth grade class. I realized how much I have grown as I was with them. They enjoyed the lesson and all of them participated which made my day. I wanted for the students to create something of their own but I had a hard time trying to tie the creating to a lesson about Ancient Rome. I focused on a few people in Rome to talk about with the class at the beginning. We reviewed the government and the changes that it saw over the years with a slideshow that I created. Then we talked about some quotes that I had from Caesar and Claudius and we briefly discussed what they meant and why they were important for Rome at that time. I was surprised by how much they enjoyed looking at the quotes and reading them. 

I then took a phrase and showed them how I clapped out a rhythm and put it to a song that I liked. They clapped along with me and after they understood what we were doing, I took a quote from Claudius and we clapped it out together. They were so engaged in the lesson and wanted to put the rhythm to a christmas song. We sang the song together and figured out how we could put the quote into the song. 

Then each student took their own quote and they clapped out the rhythm by themselves and put it to a song that they liked. I heard a lot of Christmas songs, just because I think Christmas is on their minds. I went around the room and saw how they were working and gave help or suggestions when they were needed. After they had finished I had them turn to their neighbor and share their song. As they shared, I noticed that a lot of them were nervous to share and I tried to help them feel more comfortable. 

I think it was a good experience and I've noticed that I have gotten better throughout my lessons and planning with the students in mind and managing the class as I taught. It was a bittersweet moment because I realized how I am going to miss them.