“Popcorn for Breakfast”
It is finally Friday! A happy day for most students and a happy day for student teachers like me. Not only is Friday a day of early dismissal but also it is another day for teaching-learning experience. Today I have seen how external factors affect the students. I handled Grade 7 pupils. I discussed a very simple topic, which was be form of verbs. During the motivation, they were very participative. They did the “Pop Corn” game, which is a classic motivation strategy in the Philippines to test students’ focus. They were very participative in terms of active games. So for my next topic, maybe I can include kinesthetic activities.
During my discussion, they did not really volunteer, they were just impressed with my visual aids because it was very eye-catching but during the times when I ask for volunteers, they would need time to process the question before really answering the question. I always wondered why this happened because the last time I taught them, they were quite active in participating in class. During the game, their participation went back up again. They eagerly worked as a team to answer my questions. Lastly, during the individual test, they answered all the questions quickly.
One thing I have noticed in class is that they were in a hurry for break time. I thought to myself that this was normal since students are easily hungry or they want to go on a break. However, Ibu Neny told them to have a break after class. I think this changed the mood of the class. Some students were nosier while others refused to participate. As my class ended, my mentor asked me how I felt, and I told her this concern. She told me that they enjoyed my class but the fact that they came to class without breakfast affected my classroom dynamic. I cannot fully blame the fact that they did not eat breakfast before coming to school however, students have to be nurtured not only in school but also at home. So in short, some of these children came to school and had my popcorn game for breakfast. Factors such as proper energy and nutrition help the students become participative in class. It affects their mood and now I realize how important it is for a teacher to foresee these things. Next time, I will be more observant towards my students in hopes of getting better responses from them.