Author: pnd909 (Page 3 of 3)

Week Five: Inclusive Education-Diversity & Difference: You will continue to focus on the diversity, difference & inclusiveness in the school and classrooms.
Core Questions: How is your school community honouring diversity, equity, and human rights for all students (including sexual and gender diversity) within their schools and communities?

I was so excited to be back in the classroom this week as last Monday we didn’t get to go. The kids were excited to see me and my partner, it made me smile. To start the teacher first taught the lesson. The kids were working on counting and they were going over different ways they could add numbers to equal 10. Lots of the students came up with their own ideas and were excited to share. Then the students began their assignment which was to glue pictures of rabbits onto two hills on their worksheet and write the number of rabbits on each hill below, then write the total number. During this time, the teacher had my partner circulate the classroom to answer questions and I got the opportunity to get the students to read their study words to me. If the student got the word I filled it in properly on the sheet next to their name and if they didn’t get the word I left the space blank. Then my partner and I switched so I got to help students with their work. This time they were making something to hang on the wall. They had to write down what their “invisible strength” is and draw a picture of it. It was so sweet to see what the students thought their invisible strength is and how they visualized it looked like.

At the end of the day we got to go with the class to their library time. During this time, they learned about the book fair that is going to be happening in their school this week and got to watch a video about some of the books that would be there. Then the students were to draw a picture of a book they want and to write a little sentence about it. It was fun to see which books interested the students and it was fun to see the sentences they wrote and help them spell words. The school seems very accepting of all people. The teachers who have students who do not celebrate some holidays accommodate that and give other activities and assignments for the students to do.

Week Four: Inclusive Education-Diversity & Difference: You will focus on the diversity, difference & inclusiveness in the school and classrooms.
Core Questions: What are the different forms of diversity you observe within the classroom and school? What may be some forms of diversity that are not visible? In what ways do you observe the school, classrooms and teachers honouring inclusive practices?

This week in my field experience, we got to go with our Grade 1 class into the Grade 4 classroom so they could work with their “buddies”. The buddy system is that two classes are matched up and within the classes each student is assigned a buddy who they work on a craft with, read with, and other purposes. During this buddy time the students were making poppies for Remembrance Day. It was fun to watch all the students interact and work with their buddies, all the students seemed to love their buddy time. The teachers, my partner, and myself circulated through the classroom and helped the students with any questions they had.

Instead of going to French class with the class after recess, my partner and I stayed with the Co-op and helped her get some items ready for a new reading program they are starting in the classroom. We also got to talk to the teacher about different people who help out in the school and classroom and how everyone in the school collaborates. It was interesting to hear what kinds of roles are in the school.

There are many forms of diversity in the classroom and the entire school. In the classroom I am in, there are many different religions and languages. During the poppy activity with the buddies, one student in the Grade 1 class could not participate because her religion does not celebrate Remembrance Day. There are also different languages that are spoken in the classroom. There is one student in the classroom who does not speak English at all. The EA that works with him has pictures on little squares of paper that she uses to communicate with the student. The student is slowly starting to learn some English words. In fact, while we were helping the teacher get stuff ready, the EA and the student showed us how he was learning the alphabet, which was a big accomplishment.

There is a FIAP class in the school and for some classes, such as music and gym, students from FIAP will join the Grade 1 class. It is nice to see them interact with their peers and learn things that may be as simple as a musical beat or following instructions in a simple gym class game. The school is a very inclusive school and everyone works hard to adapt to all the students varying abilities throughout the whole school.

Week Three: Teachers & Knowledge: You will focus on the teachers & knowledge.
Core Questions: How do you see teachers honouring different ways of knowing? How do you see teachers promoting knowledge in the classroom? What are the key supports that teachers rely on? How do teachers build their own professional knowledge?

This week at the school we got to experience a different schedule than the other two times. First, the children read to themselves. Following this activity, the teacher read them a story without showing them the pictures in order for them to learn how to visualize pictures. Then to really get them to learn visualizing, the teacher had them go and draw in their notebooks what they thought the image looked like that the story was describing. During this time, the teacher had me and my partner walk from student to student and have them read sight words. It was interesting to see the variations in the student’s level of reading. It was also fun to help them sound out the words and see their excitement when they got a word correct.

Another activity the teacher had was to teach the students about the sense of touch. She had several paper bags with a different item in them and the students took turns reaching into the bag to feel it and then writing down what they believed the item was. The students then had recess and the teacher talked to us about how prepping for a substitute teacher is a lot more work than prepping for yourself. Also, she discussed with us how students do have varying levels of abilities. There was a new student in her class who does not speak very much English, so they had a teaching assistant one on one with this student to try and help their understanding of what tasks they are to do.

When the students got back from recess, the children prepared all their stuff for home time and then we go to go help in their French class. In their French class, they were having their first test about seasons and weather. Each student received a test paper with eight different images representing a season or weather type. The teacher would read out loud a season or weather type in French to the class and their task was to write the number of the word next to the image. For example, when they teacher read ‘hot day’ in French she would say ‘number 1’ before so the students knew what number it was. It was fun to see the students take part in their first test and learn how tests work, such as no looking at others papers, no asking the teacher for the answer, etc. Some students were running late to the class and to get the students caught up, the teacher had myself, my partner, and a teaching assistant tell them the questions and she kept the rest of the class quiet.

Overall the teachers in both the homeroom and the French class explained things in a way the all students of different learning styles would understand. In the French test, the teacher first explained that the students would only be writing numbers and then she visually showed this to the students by writing all the numbers on the whiteboard. Some key supports that I noticed the teacher relies on is the teaching assistant as well as students own knowledge. Teachers can build their own professional knowledge by realizing what areas most students seem to struggle with that way they can focus on those areas and make things easier for them to understand.

Week Two: School and Community: You will become familiar with the school environment, the student, teachers, administrators and other staff members as well as the community.
Core Questions:
Who are the people in your school? How would you describe the school and surrounding community? What and who do you see as creating the links between school and community? Have someone take a photo of you standing in front of your school to add to your Professional ePortfolio. Check out the school website to become more familiar with your school community.

To start of the afternoon, my partner and I got to watch the Grade 1 music class. They were clapping along to different beats and played games related to music and dance. It was so much fun to watch the kids dance and just be themselves. They were so carefree and seemed to have so much fun. After music class, we went back to the classroom and the teacher had the students read to each other in partners to work on their reading abilities. This relates to the community idea as the students were working together to become better readers. I sat with two students and listened to them read and also helped them sound out words they were having trouble with.

In gym, the students first ran a couple laps before re-grouping in the center of the gym. The students also did some stretching and balancing. Then they got to play a game where they had to do different locomotion’s to get to a new hula hoop. They did movements such as running, skipping, hopping on one foot, and crab walk. The students really enjoyed their time in the gym. Next the students had recess and my partner and I got to talk to the teacher.

The teacher spoke to us about parents and relationships with students and parents is key. She said relationships are very important with every student, but especially important with students who have learning disabilities. The teacher has a conversation book with some parents in which they write back and forth to each other and she lets the parents know how the student is doing, says any positive things the student has done and accomplished, and if the student had a rough day, she writes that as well. This is one way the teacher establishes community. It was cool to see a strategy for communicating with parents as well as how she establishes those relationships.

The school and the surrounding community seem to be welcoming and safe. The area around the school is all homes and is nice. The school as a whole seems to be a good community. Everyone greets each other, both students and staff and everyone in the school is very friendly. The EA’s are all very friendly and welcoming as well. All the students are cheerful and kind towards each other which contributes to the community idea. For example, in the classroom we are assigned to, a student accidentally pulled his drawer out of his desk and everything fell out. About four other students quickly got up and started helping this student clean everything up. It was very sweet to see that even students as young as Grade 1 have a sense of community and are willing to help their peers.

To end the day off, the students were drawing and coloring rough draft ideas for what they want to paint onto their pumpkin for the next day. The students all had creative and cute ideas and many students discussed with each other about what their plan was and also complimented the other students work. Although I was not able to be in the school while the students painted their pumpkins, I am excited to return to the school next week to see how they all turned out!

Week One: Students & Learning Environment: You will focus on the students in the classrooms. Core Questions:

Who are your learners? What does the learning environment look like? Spend some me talking with students to get to know who they are. Join your students on the playground at recess and have informal conversations (and let them get to know a bit about you too). What does the learning environment look like? Take a photo of the class- room (empty) or draw a sketch of what the classroom looks like. Does this remind you of your own schooling or is it very different? How does this space make you feel?

I had a positive first impression at my first day of field experience. All the teachers and staff were very friendly in the school. The grade one students were also very welcoming and excited, which is expected from them. They were all very enthusiastic to meet us, show us what they are working on, and learn. They are a very active and fun bunch. The classroom is spacious and bright. The student’s artwork is on the walls as well as other assignments they have done. There is an area in one corner of the room where the teacher explains tasks, reads books, and talks to the students. The teacher has many different ways to get the children to listen and sit quietly, which I thought creative, and the children all find them fun. The desks are put into groups of four and the students have assigned desks. This reminds me of some ways my elementary teachers organized how we sat.

The students had art and gym while we were there. They were making pumpkins to hang out in the hallway and it was fun to see how each student had different ideas to create their pumpkins. When the students were finished with their craft, I got the opportunity to help a couple students with their reading. For the most part they did well, they struggled with big words and words they are not familiar with, but it was a great experience to help them correct themselves and listen to them read. We took the children outside for gym since the weather is still nice. One thing I noticed and liked about the classroom was the teacher has a chart with one hundred hearts on it and it is titled “100 Random Acts of Kindness”. When a student does a random act of kindness for another student, they get to colour in a heart on the chart.

My first day of field experience was great. The teacher and the students are all very friendly and welcoming. Being around the children and observing some of the teacher’s methods made me even more excited to become a teacher.  I enjoy seeing all the little things the teacher does to keep control of the class, make things fun for the children, and all the details in the classroom that make it a fun atmosphere. I am really looking forward to my second day of field experience next week!