Internship October Reflection:
As October comes to a close, it is hard to believe that the second month of internship is now in the past. This month has been full of new experiences and surprises. This past month I took on more teaching responsibilities (I am currently teaching half-time). I even started the Junior improv club at my school. In addition, we went on our first-class field trip to Browns Coulee, and I conducted an entire pumpkin investigation. Finally, our grade 2/3 classroom tackled Halloween on a Monday! Much like my last post, I planned my thoughts on what I have learned this past month by discussing my three main takeaways.
The Power of School Community:
This month I decided it was time I expanded my involvement in the school. Though I was involved in helping with our Orange Shirt Day event in the school, I wanted to take on a more permeant leadership role that allowed me to give back to the school. Starting an improv club with my arts background only seemed natural to do. In addition, I noticed a trend where there was a lack of clubs for early elementary-aged students in the school, so targeting the improv club to grades 3-5 seemed like a good idea. At first, I remember being unsure whether or not students would be interested, but boy, was I wrong. I remember vividly conversing with my co-op about how many permission forms I needed. I assumed I would need 25; my co-op told me 50; ultimately, I needed 60! The first day I had over 50 students show up, the club became such a success that by the next week, I had to hold it on separate days; on Wednesdays, it would be Junior improv A, and on Thursdays, it would be Junior B. despite the stress that comes with starting and running a club, I am so happy that I do, as it is clear the junior improv provides students with a sense of belonging. Everyone is welcome and can express themselves in a safe and fun environment. In addition, I have built relationships with students outside of my classroom which I value. Everything is running smoothly now, and Junior improv has become a highlight for me each week and many students. Every Wednesday, when we go through our daily schedule when we get to the end of the day, my grade threes (who are ALL in junior improv A) say, “well, it is not home time for us; we get to do improv with Ms. Kulak,” and it melts my heart every time.
The Honeymoon Phase in Teaching:
Something new to me, as this is my first teaching experience, was discovering the honeymoon phase in teaching. At the start of the year, as routines are new and you are still getting to know everyone, you often do not see many behaviors. However, some students may start to test you in October. I am happy that this occurs in teaching, as the post “honeymoon phase” indicates that students are starting to feel comfortable and want to see if you will stay true to the routines and procedures you put in place. One thing that we can give to our students as teachers are routines and predictability in their learning environments, not every student has that at home, and it is essential to provide them with this safety. In addition, when it comes to relationships, I will always have love and care for all of my students no matter what. As a trauma-informed teacher, I have learned that I can create an environment that is caring but also holds boundaries and expectations. The few times I have dealt with some behaviors, it has always resulted in a private conversation. Through my trauma-informed lens with routine and boundaries, I have genuine respect from the students.
Literacy, literacy, literacy…
In my internship, I have been fortunate to be placed with a cooperating teacher who values literacy. Though my internship literacy has quickly become one of the main parts of my pedagogy and teaching philosophy, you must have the literacy to expect students to learn something else, as reading and writing are at the forefront of everything we do. This past month my cooperating teacher and I have focussed on structuring our literacy program. At the front of everything, we have our daily five rounds, which should be a part of all k-8 classrooms. In addition, both my co-op and I have been able to take reading groups, so each student is guaranteed reading time each day. However, the central part of why I am so intrigued with literacy is how we incorporate the science of reading within our literacy program. The science of reading can be defined as the study of how people process, understand and acquire reading skills. In a science of reading classroom, phonics, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension is at the forefront of reading instruction. I am particularly grateful to apply to the science of reading early in my teaching journey, as I see how it can apply to the Sask Reads and daily five model. Due to the science of reading being relatively new, it is particularly interesting right now to find different resources that are applicable to the classroom. Lilo, a phonics app, is fairly popular in our classroom, along with regular phonics work. In addition, a sound wall (that my co-op is currently creating) is also vital in the science of reading classroom. I have also had great success finding decodable texts (that follow phonics patterns) through teachers pay teachers for my reading groups.
Thank you for taking the time to read my October internship reflection.