Making Progress

     The class this week was once of the best I have had so far at GDAC. The students were really engaged and made for an excellent class discussion. I also feel I did a little better. I was able to adapt during the middle of the class which I tend to struggle with the most. We were looking at the types of objects that can be found in Ancient Egyptian tombs and I had an idea of what I wanted the students to discuss, but as conversation went down a different path I was able to let go of my plans and go with the flow. I think, because of that the students were more engaged and willing to ask questions and make observations.
     The greatest moment of the class for me, was when one girl, who typically does not speak felt comfortable raising her hand and telling the class what she thought about the object we were looking at. She usually sits far from me and the projector, but I have rearranged the seating so that day she had to sit in the front and I believe that helped a little bit to get her feel comfortable participating.
After she spoke, I really wanted to just give her a gold star. Not only she participate which was fantastic in itself, she did something that was really amazing. She was able to by looking at the object determine that it was made from precious material and then use what she learned about a different object five weeks ago to infer that this object was made for a wealthy or elite person. Not only was she absolutely right, but it just showed that she was building off of what she previously learned. I already really enjoy teaching the class, but this just made all the work I do each week preparing for it worth it.
     The students also got really into one of the activities that day and did not want to leave when the parents came to pick them up. Apparently elementary school students really like making secret messages in hieroglyphics. I did not think that they would take to it as much as they did.