The first section seemed to go better than the second. The class teacher said that it was a very good lesson and the pupils seemed engaged and interested. However, in the second lesson, the boy who has learning difficulties lost concentration badly towards the end and I think this was in part due to my not preparing enough in the way of “down time” for him and for the class as a whole. The learning support teacher who has worked with D a lot said he did do more work than usual in the lesson. J, the pupil with behavioural difficulties, was absent. On the whole, the sheets I had prepared worked well in the first half, but I sensed that the pupils were tiring in the second half.
The teacher from next door – the classes are only separated by little more than bookcase – asked me to lower my voice when giving my instructions as it was distracting her and her class from their own lesson.