Regie Routman Writing Residency

In Grade 5, we had the great opportunity to have a Regie Routman writing consultant, from our school division, come in and teach our class about how to write non-fiction text.  We learned how to gather information and sort through that information in order to enlighten our audience about the Fur Trade.  The Optimal Learning Model taught my students and me how the writing process works – and how, as a teacher, I can teach it to them.  It was an amazing experience and I look forward to using in my own classroom one day. 

Guiding Questions for Research

List of Features of Non- Fiction Text (identified by the students)

Shared Writing piece (student led writing session)

Social Responsibility Projects

Social Responsibility is the central theme in our school and as a way to teach our students about what it means, my Cooperating Teacher and I worked together to create two projects that were shared in our classroom and around the school. 

Our first project was taking on the issue of bullying.  We brainstormed and created instructional videos of where we can be bullied in the school and what we could do as a response.  The students then went to each classroom around the school, presenting these videos and leading discussions around these scenarios.  This was a great opportunity for the students to be leaders in the school and to develop empathy and compassion. 

Our second project was taking on the issue of homelessness.  At Christmas time, we tend to take advantage of the important things in our lives and we wanted to teach our students about appreciation, empathy, and altruism.  The students had to raise money by doing chores around the house, and whatever they raised it would go to feeding the homeless at a local shelter.  We also held a luncheon for all the staff in the building and we encouraged them to donate as well.  The students did a majority of the work and we, the teachers, filled in the gaps when needed.  In the end, we raised over $1200 and the students raised most of that money on their own. 

These projects were amazing to be a part of as I saw tremendous growth in my students and it taught me that teaching is far more than just the curriculum, it's about the impacts we make in the lives of our students. 

Using Prezi to Teach Social Studies

To incorporate current technology and to engage my students, I chose to teach the Social Studies unit, Early European Colonization, using Prezi.  The format drew my students in and the note frames that I created for them allowed them to follow along and take notes as required.  I also incorporated use of the textbook and other online sources so that they could understand that information comes from different avenues.  I found I could easily manage all the information and was organized in a way that my students could clearly understand.  As a result of this technology, my students came up with a brilliant plan.  I had them doing research on a certain European explorer and they wanted to try making their own Prezis.  They ultimately changed my view of the project and I was surprised at how well they all did, with Prezi and accessing information.  This project also required them to create their own criteria, which they did with ease since they knew what they wanted to showcase through their research projects. I was completely surprised by how the use of technology can change the classroom atmosphere, making my students excited and engaged to learn more.

Early European Colonization: 

http://prezi.com/pppyq9njojgu/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

European Explorers:

http://prezi.com/lrmvssvwepk5/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Science Investigations

We were learning about “Properties and Changes of Substances” in my classroom, and as a way to showcase how substances change and keep them engaged, we did a number of science investigations.  My goal for this unit and several investigations was for my students to gather an understanding and effectively apply the scientific method.  Prior to any investigations, I outlined each step of the method and how each step works during our investigations.  This aspect was very important to me, as I believe that scientific inquiry and the method for displaying understanding is important to the comprehension of science.  One of our investigations had us conduct the experiment of reactions between Mentos and various pops.  We established our hypotheses and the purpose of this experiment before we conducted it.  It was not as successful as we had hoped, but as we worked through the factors that impacted it, the students could draw connections between their observations and their hypotheses and make sound conclusions.  This unit was great for establishing an understanding of the scientific method through engaging investigations.

Scientific Method Prezi:

http://prezi.com/gew4bgzb5ncc/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Exit Slips as Quick Assessment

As a way to quickly assess my students understanding of the material, I developed two different formats for that assessment.  

The first was a “Twitter board”.  The students and I both created profiles, or twitter handles, with profile pictures and names that described us and were laminated for multiple use. I would pose questions about their learning and model how their responses should be formatted and how to use hashtags (#).  I believe this was a safe and fun way to incorporate cultural influences, and allow me to see the students’ ability to reflect on their own learning.   

The second exit slip was a Traffic Light.   The colors of the traffic light represented a different level of understanding. The students were asked to stick a sticky note, with their name on it, on the color that best described their level of understanding after a specific lesson.  

 

I would to incorporate these more often in my next block to get a better gauge of how effective it is on my students’ learning. 

Goal Setting Activator

At the beginning of my teaching block, as a way to engage my Grade 5 students, I posed a question that would give them the opportunity to think about goal setting.  I asked “Where do you want to go?” – what places they would like to see and travel to.  After I gave them the chance to think about it, they wrote the place they wanted to travel to on the whiteboard.  Once every student had written one place, we stepped back and examined the board.  I was completely shocked by the variety of places they wanted to see and we discussed the importance of goals and why we need to have goals to succeed.  It was important for me to showcase goal setting because I wanted them to know my goals for the teaching block and what I hoped they would get out of my lessons.  From that point on, at every lesson I indicated what are goals were and how we were going to achieve those goals. I believe that by outlining the goals, which involve the students in the process of learning, the students can create authentic bonds to the material and we create a more cohesive classroom environment. 

Science Blog

For our Science course we were required to build a portfolio that demonstrated our understanding of teaching science, so I created a blog. Below you will find the link.

http://teachingscience-earlyyears.blogspot.ca/