Today I had the opportunity to observe in a Grade 2-3 split classroom. That was a really cool experience that I feel fortunate to have had. We were there first thing in the morning where the students engage in 30 minutes of journal writing with a prompt from the teacher. The prompt today was “My favorite room in my house is _____ because…”. After the students spent their time writing, they had the opportunity to share with their friends. I was genuinely surprised by how many kids wanted to share their writing. When does that change? In my university classes when the professor poses a question or asks for input, you can usually hear crickets.

It was fun to hear all the different ideas and justifications from the students. Most revolved around the tv, video games, or where their toys were stored. One student noted that they loved their room because that’s where their bed was, and I couldn’t have related more! There was also one student who had the funniest, most creative response about his bathroom that had a magic toilet and continued on about how that worked and what it did, I’ll let you use your imagination! The various responses really allowed me to see the variation in ability within the split classroom. It was a helpful glimpse into the reality of differentiation and how important it is at that age level.  

After lunch, it was time to teach my lesson on dental health. The students were really focused on the discussion, and again it’s so refreshing to see how all of the students want to be called on in class to offer up answers to questions and tell stories of their own.

When we were creating our anchor chart about healthy and unhealthy things/habits for our teeth, I was put to the test a couple of times. The humour in the elementary grades is so innocent and unintentional. I asked the class what they thought a habit was and I was trying not to giggle as one student thought he knew, it was something bad and maybe his mom had one. I thought it best to move on and just explain that concept instead. Next I had a student suggest that worms should go under the healthy column because some people don’t have enough money for food. Thoughtful response, however, I decided to leave it off our chart anyway.  

My professional goal this week was related to connection with students. Feedback from my cooperating teacher was really positive in this area. I feel like I do a pretty good job of keeping an eye on everyone and making eye contact. The only area that I struggled with was surrounding the projected book I was reading to the class. If I were to use that type of text again, I would try to make sure I could circulate the room while reading.

Later on, the Grade 5 class came in to have Math Learning Buddies with our students. They absolutely loved this and it was fun to see their interaction with the older students. As it turns out, the Grade 5 class has been working on  10 Frames and Tallies that we introduced in the last couple of weeks so it was a perfect time to practice.

Overall, it was a fun day in Grade 1. Their willingness to engage and learn continue to surprise me in the best way possible. I also get such a kick out of their humour and creativity at this age. I can’t wait to see what next week brings.