Domain 1: Content/ Subject Matter Expertise
10:30-11:15 a.m.

Elaboration:
ISTEP is swiftly approaching and this week we are doing ISTEP review. Each of the teachers is teaching a mini lesson on a skill that is needed for the test. I taught a mini lesson on main idea and detail. The lesson seemed to go fairly well, but I realized when I was teaching it that it was more difficult than I first anticipated. Main idea is a concept that I don’t remember learning. It is something that some people just seem to understand without specific instructions.

Analysis:
Although some of my students may also have a natural understanding of main idea, many of them need to be taught the thought process for identifying the main idea. Content knowledge in this area means not just knowing what the main idea is myself, but also being able to explain to the students how to think about it. I am sure I have had trouble with certain subjects; however, being a student has always come naturally to me. I think this is one of the things that I will have to overcome as a teacher. I have to make sure I explain my thought processes and the skills that go behind the content knowledge in my head. Hopefully, by putting myself in the mind of the students, I will be able to know how to better explain things so they understand.