It felt like such a long time since we’ve had this class because of the Pro-D Day last week! We started off the class by discussing what we had done during our Pro-D Days. Everyone in the Montessori cohort was required to go to a Montessori-themed workshop where we learned about metal insets as well as how to get our certifications after we finished the B. Ed program. The IB cohort got to choose where they went, and I’ve heard a little about their experiences which are all varied and interesting.
The read aloud this week was Halloween-themed, but focused on older children. As I am working in a 4/5/6 classroom I appreciate getting some more resources to potentially use. I led a French Halloween lesson this week which the students really enjoyed, so its clear to me that even though these are older children they still love Halloween!!
We had sometime to give/get feedback on our literacy lesson plans. I am especially eager to get some more advice for ours since I hope to be doing it next Friday when our advisor comes to visit. My partner and I picked a Remembrance Day themed book called A Bear in War. My intention is to have the grade 6 students do a read aloud and then create their own letter written from the point of view of the bear to the little girl Aileen. My SA cautioned me as the students need to have enough information from the book / the lesson to create a ‘meaty’ letter. She suggested that the background info the students have about Remembrance Day and the World Wars are quite limited. Hopefully I will be able to able to create a lesson where they can:
- Learn more about life for Canadians, both on the front lines and at home, during WWI.
- Understand sacrifice, and how it relates to the characters in the book as well as greater Canadian society during WWI.
- Build up their writing toolbox, with a focus on the structure and purpose of a letter.
- Be able to write from a different perspective emotively.
