Skating Fieldtrip

Today, the class and I went on a fieldtrip to the ice rink to go skating. It was great to see some of the students in their element and some students who weren’t very comfortable challenging themselves. Within the hour of skating time, I witnessed some student’s progress from clenching the bar and not letting go, to letting go and taking small steps, to finally doing a complete lap without holding onto anything. It was amazing to see how the students created personal goals during skating and tried to accomplish them. I also saw the students helping each other. They were holding hands, helping one another up if they had fallen, or trying to teach each other tips regarding skating. I noticed a classroom community evolving and many positive relationships. The students seemed to be having a fantastic time and this made me realize how important fieldtrips are. Learning takes place within the classroom but also outside of the classroom. Therefore fieldstrips provide another avenue for students to learn new skills and knowledge. As an educator there are also a lot of things going on during a field trip to consider. There are many moving parts so it’s important to always know where every child is as well as have clear, direct instructions that the students and parent drivers can easily follow. This ensures that the fieldtrip runs smoothly. Overall, I had an amazing time!

When we got back to the class, the students played a math game. It was a hands-on learning experience that required the students to play against each other using cards and adding these cards together. It showed me how to incorporate math in a fun way instead of by just looking at a textbook. Finally, the students learnt about matter to end the day. The ‘hook’ of the lesson was a great video to introduce the topic. It was engaging and fun and used an analogy to teach the concept of atoms and molecules by connecting it to the breakdown of words. For example, a word is considered the molecule because it’s the whole and the atoms are each individual letter of the word. The students then got up from their seats and through instruction demonstrated how the molecules of solid, liquid, and gas look. It was a great way to engage the students and have them move around the room to demonstrate matter. When ‘solid’ was called out, the students would go very close to each other, with ‘liquid’, students would move freely around but take the shape of the container, and with ‘gas’, the students would  move far apart around the classroom.  It was a fun way to teach matter. The students then filled out a worksheet illustrating what the molecules look like in each state but instead of drawing, they used stickers in the shape of a circle to demonstrate the molecules. The students were engaged throughout. This showed me a lesson that was well thought out and everything had a purpose. The lesson progressed naturally and it was hands-on and lots of fun for the students.