ECS 303 is all about getting familiar with the Saskatchewan Curriculum, and solidifying our understandings of pedagogy. During this class, we have the opportunity to get some fieldwork experience, as pre-interns. I was so fortunate to be placed in a Grade 6 Class at Marion McVeety Elementary School. My pre-internship partner and fantastic Co-op Teacher made my first real classroom experience so much fun. I’m extremely grateful for every opportunity I had to connect with other educators and awesome students!

Week 1

Observation

Today went far better than I had expected. Because of the pandemic, I had no prior fieldwork experience, so I was super nervous. In advance of the day, I had contacted my pre-intern partner, as well as my Co-op teacher. Together, we made a bit of a plan for what the upcoming weeks would look like. For week 1, we did not need to plan a lesson for the class, just observe. I really appreciated my Co-op’s flexibility, as she new we weren’t quite sure what to expect on our first day. She was very understanding, and ensured we felt as comfortable as possible entering her classroom. The students in this class were awesome too. They were engaging, motivated, funny and kind individuals who made my first day nerves disappear almost instantly. They expressed how they were familiar with student teachers, so we had nothing to worry about.

To get to know the students and the classroom environment a bit better, we did some “team bonding” as they liked to call it. Students each got a slip of paper and wrote down a fun fact about themselves. Some wrote about their favorite TV show or video game. Others wrote which country their family came from. And some just wrote what they were passionate about. At the end of the day, my pre-intern partner and I had to do our best to match each slip of paper to the correct student. We got a lot wrong, but it was a great way to connect with the students and laugh with them. At the end of the day, we said our goodbyes, and laid out a plan for next week’s co-taught lesson!

Week 2

Science Lesson: Animal Adaptations

This week is where things truly started to feel real. We started remembering some names and building relationships with each student, which felt super exciting and new! Our role this week was to collaborate and facilitate a science lesson. Our Co-op had mentioned that their most recent science class was pretty basic, and she felt like she was losing some students. We wanted to do something to grab their attention again, and guide the students to start making connections on their own. Focusing the lesson on animal adaptations, we decided to jump in head first and start with a lab activity. We found this fantastic activity that challenged students to compare the pros and cons of different shaped “bird beaks”.

Using straws, spoons, popsicle sticks, and toothpicks to act as various bird beaks, students had to attempt to pick different food items – gummy worms, beads, cheerios, and macaroni noodles. For each combination, we timed how many items they could pick up and place into a cup. We then had them fill out a chart with their results, and answer some guiding questions to determine which “beak” shape was the best. Many students had different results than one another, which seemed to confuse them. However, we explained how using different techniques to grab the food, could potentially lead to different results. Following the activity, we shared our thoughts as a class, and asked questions about other types of adaptations that exist.

Overall, this was a super fun way to promote hands on, inquiry based learning. Students had fun, and felt confident with their understanding after the lesson. My biggest growth moment this week came from feedback from my Co-op. We have a lot of EAL students in our class. I didn’t put enough emphasis on ensuring they understood which materials were which, and what exactly they were being asked to do. I made sure to consider this carefully in my following lessons.

Week 3

Health Lesson: Mental Health & Stress

Going into this week, my partner and I did not feel super confident with our lesson. Neither of us had been in school’s where there was emphasis on health, mental health, and wellbeing within the curriculum. We weren’t quite sure how deep to dive into these topics, nor how to assess our students. Our Co-op shared how she had briefly introduced the topic to them, but many were still unfamiliar with what stress truly is/means.

We started our lesson by reintroducing a simple definition of stress, attempting to help them make some connections from previous class discussion. We followed a brief presentation with having students write down things that stressed them out. Examples we provided were: tests, moving schools, family relationships, and public speaking. We each shared how there are often specific things in our lives than can cause stress and make us feel poorly. Some students wanted to share, which was an awesome way to break the ice. However, the general majority of the class felt uncomfortable which is not what we wanted. To keep the conversation going, we then challenged students to think of a time they were stressed, and write down how they felt. This was a fantastic adjustment in our lesson. Students recalled times of stress and remembered feeling shaky, hot/cold, having an increased heart rate, wanting to cry or hide away. We then had an open discussion on how stress can present itself in different ways.

We concluded our lesson by sharing some healthy coping strategies, and walking through a breathing meditation together. This was definitely one of our tougher lessons, but I was so proud my students for actively participating, and being willing to talk about uncomfortable things like stress.