This Thursday went by so quickly, I feel like when I teach more throughout the day it flies by! I had my formal observation today in the afternoon, I taught couplet poetry. Overall it went well it is comforting to know that I am in the right place doing the right things. And at the end of everyday whether it be at UBC, work (the boys and girls club) or my practicum school I am learning and I am connecting with my peers, teachers, counselors, administrators and most importantly the kids. It is crazy how much I have grown so far this year and I look forward to the many more challenges and successes I will face during the course of this year, especially during my ten week practicum.

Every week I am in my class the kids amaze me and sometimes it is easy to forget that everyone has a story or a “suitcase” that they bring to school every morning. Yesterday afternoon I found out one of my students has a little sister who is fighting cancer, he had mentioned that his sister was in the hospital a few weeks ago but I didn’t think anything of it. It is amazing how resilient he is and how contagious his smile is every day. One of my personal goals is to connect with him and try to figure out what he is all about, and attempt to find an alternate outlet for his attention seeking behavior. Perhaps through an after school club or group or maybe it is just me playing soccer with him and some of my other students at lunch. Back to my lesson this week, some things I thought that went well were the dance video which acted as a “hook” that grabbed the student’s attention at the onset. I also liked the way that the students made connections with their lives, previous knowledge, the video and the book. Giraffes Can’t Dance turned out to be a good choice of book as the students were engaged and it fit within the theme of couplet poetry. Some aspects that I still need to work on are certain behavior management techniques for when particular students are acting out and distracting others. Another thing that I need to work on is my board writing, it was smushed and lacking important pieces of information. Next lesson I will prepare what I will be writing on the board prior to the lesson so I do not forget vital aspects of information. The last aspect of my lesson that needs slight improvement is questions that I will ask students after I deliver information. I would like to ask questions that confirm that the students understand the tasks I asked them to do. Perhaps I will introduce the class to the strategy “ask three before me” to help students gain a greater sense of self management and social awareness. Next week I look forward to seeing my class and teaching another poetry lesson!

PS: Sometimes it is easy to forget this but this quote sums it up perfectly “the kids who need the most love will ask for it in the most unloving of ways”.

It was really nice to be back in the classroom this week, I missed all the students, my school adviser and the school! Thankfully it took me no time at all to get back into the classroom routines, connect with the students and begin to re-establish my classroom presence. Today I taught my first poetry lesson, I introduced the class to Haiku poetry. I began my lesson with a quick discussion around poetry to tap into the class’s prior knowledge and used it as a foundation to build upon for my lesson. I then read a picture book that introduced Haiku poetry in a different medium and it is titled Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. The class seemed to enjoy the story especially the illustrations and the pattern it was written in, they asked lots of questions and made many connections. It is understood that Haiku poetry follows a very specific syllable pattern and consists of only three lines. While lesson planning I was unsure of the classes understanding of syllables and how much time I would have to spend teaching the concept. For the most part the class had heard about syllables and had a vague understanding of what they were and how to recognize them. We did some whole group activities and small group work to reaffirm the concept of syllables in relation to Haiku poetry. As a whole I thought the lesson went well and I am aware of some of the aspects that I still need to work on in both my lesson planning as well as my teaching practices. This Thursday I will also be teaching Haiku poetry and I hope to teach it in an engaging and playful way. Some goals I have for myself are scaffolding the poetry writing in an effective and appropriate manner for all students in my class and to reaffirm the idea that poetry is an important type of writing that deserves value and respect.

Today was another eventful day in the classroom, it felt like I was back at home after a weekend away. It was so nice to be back with all the students and teachers, however the way the students reacted was by far the best! Some of them asked me if I had a nice vacation or asked if I went on holidays, I attempted to explain to them that I was back at university some of them understood others just looked more confused. Every time I am in the class I see new things but most importantly I get to know students on a deeper level whether it be their academic abilities, peer relationships or interests. Today was the first time I taught my class an art lesson it was challenging at times but overall it went well and every student was able to complete the art project (which were little Christmas reindeers). During this lesson many different things came to my mind but one that was a recurring theme was the stark contrast of art abilities in my class, or more specifically creativity or fine motor skills. Students that often struggle academically in subjects such as math and language arts excelled during the art lesson, this surprised me at first but once I really thought about it all made sense. These students are not given as many opportunities to learn in a way that works for them, which can be kinetically or visually. Art is a subject that gets pushed aside as math, science and language arts take priority as they prepare students with the fundamental skills to succeed in our school systems. I am thankful that my school adviser understands the diversity among her class and makes adaptations for students and scaffolds her teaching in many ways. My observation of the students who succeeded during my art lesson can be directly tied to my inquiry question which is, how can I meet the diverse needs of my students in an effective, inclusive and supportive manner? As mentioned my class is full of diversity and it is my own personal goal to teach in a way that meets all the needs of my students, however this is not an easy task. One thing I do know is that if my class is full of diversity I need to accommodate by diversifying my teaching and give students choice in their learning. I look forward to learning more about my students and various ways I can diversify my teaching and my own learning through my inquiry question. Lastly I watched a ted talk that connects with my observation during my art lesson, my inquiry question and the concept of education as a whole. Ken Robinson spoke about the role schools play in fostering creativity among students, and he argues that if change does not occur then students will continue to be educated out of it, “We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it”.

I am officially done my two week practicum, and it was so much more than I expected! I am excited to be back at UBC this week so I can see and connect with all my peers however it will take some getting used to. I will definitely miss all the students in my class and all the daily routines but it will be really nice to compare and share my experiences with my cohort. This week started off a little different as I had my formal observation Monday afternoon, I was extremely nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I was being observed during my SEL lesson on the book the dot, I had planned it weeks in advance and felt confident with the material I was going to present. However I made some last minute changes and one of my students wasn’t having the best day. As one can imagine this made for a very interesting lesson and had both successes and challenges. The students enjoyed the story and the video they watched, most were engaged and attentive. The activity that followed the read aloud also went well especially because I shared with them my example and a little bit about me, the final dots turned out nicely and most students completed the activity on time. Some of the challenges were connecting my video with the overall theme of the lesson and asking the “right” connecting questions. I also struggled with one student’s behaviour and the use of my language and direction with him. I was very patient and offered him choice both of which didn’t resolve the issues fully. As a result of this experience I now have some new tools and strategies that I can try with this student, I look forward to trying them in the future as well as building a stronger connection with this student. Overall the lesson was a learning experience and that is what the two week practicum is all about so in my eyes it was a success, things are never going to be perfect and I need to come to terms with that. Attending the pro d day at the inquiry hub was also lots of fun and full of inspiration and intrigue. I found one of the speakers particularly inspiring, he spoke about the teaching profession with great respect and dignity and reminded all of us of our responsibilities as future teachers. He shared a personal experience about his son that reinforced the idea that each student we will teach is an individual and has particular strengths, challenges, interests and personalities. In order for me to be the best teacher I can be I need to remember that each student is different and that’s what makes my future career so special I will have the opportunity to learn, teach and connect with so many unique and inspiring individuals. I know this is not an easy task but I am in for the challenge, it is my own personal responsibility to be an equitable teacher and one that embraces difference, one quote that I feel says this best is “every child is a different kind of flower and all together, make this world a beautiful garden”.

I woke this morning in shock with a raspy and faint voice, I was really worried about my day and how I will possibly teach and interact with the class with no voice. Surprisingly the day flew by and I was able to build stronger connections with individual students as I could only use a very small “whisper” voice. We began our morning with spooky reading in the gym where students were given an opportunity to read a story by themselves or with a partner with the lights off and their flashlights on, it was lots of fun to see them so excited and it was a nice way to connect reading and Halloween. I thought that perhaps when I am teaching during my ten week practicum I could tie in camping and the various tasks involved and we could read inside tents with flashlights. I really enjoyed seeing what the teachers do to change up daily routines so the class is still developing certain skills such as reading by themselves or with a partner but do it in different ways so that the students are engaged and always thinking what might be next. I am really looking forward to my two week practicum and really developing that teacher presence with the class. It will be especially interesting to see what a whole week looks like with the class as I have only had the opportunity to work with the class on Thursdays. Monday morning will be a great opportunity for me to meet the parent/guardians of the students in the class as the teachers in division 11 and 9 have planned a noisy café first thing in the morning. This is a chance for parents and or family/guardians to sit and read with their children in the class, it is also an opportunity for the teachers to introduce reading strategies for students to be practicing with their parents or guardians at home. On Thursday I was able to see what daily three math looks like in the classroom, it worked well and was a perfect amount of time to do math by yourself, math with a partner and math with the teacher. During math I floated around just reassuring students that they were on the right track or clarifying any confusing concepts. Math is often a subject that many students struggle with so I think that the daily three is a program that understands this gives students an opportunity to work with the teacher in small groups and the instruction aspect is broken up throughout the lesson not just delivered at the beginning. I am looking forward to seeing math every day next week and possibly teaching certain aspects of the lesson! My job this weekend is to get better so I can be my very best on Monday and be the Ms.Anselmo I know I can be!

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