NOTE: You’ll get so much more enjoyment out of this post if you read it while the music from this video plays. Trust me.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyggY_R3jU8&p=61349DCC17CB1C98&playnext=1&index=55[/youtube]
Clock Partners
Clock Partners are a great way to set up partnerships in a classroom setting. It gives students some choice over who they will speak/work with for a given activity while speeding up the partner finding process. Here’s the Clock Parnters sheet I handed out for you to record your appointments. There are instructions for the activity on the back of the page:
Weekend Rating
We found our 6 o’clock partner (I think) and rated our weekends… positively, on the whole.
Pre-Prac Prep Wrap Up
Improv
In a nod to my weekend – I went to see live Improv with Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops of Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame – we did some improv to get our brains working this morning. We started with “Hey, what are you doing?” and progressed to One Word Story. Directions for these activities and many, many more can be found in the online Impvov Encyclopedia.
A video clip with hilarious highlights from one of Richard Simmons’ visits on WLIIA? is below. Watch at your own risk!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTxkxG3DF4k[/youtube]
Protocols
Please observe the following protocols when you arrive at the schools:
- Arrive by 8:30 am
- Check in at the office and meet the secretaries
- Expect to wear a Visitor Badge to identify yourself as a guest in the building
- Smile and make eye contact with students you meet
- After OKing it with the classroom teacher, interact with students as they work
- Use the Staff Washrooms
- Bring a journal and take notes in it about what you see
- Have fun!
SA Expectations
A lot is expected of you during practicum. You can expect your SA to support you as you grow into a dynamic beginning teacher, mind you. Below is a list of the type of assistance your School Advisor should be offering:
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Get to know your teacher candidate. Endeavour to create a warm, friendly working relationship.
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Learn specific strengths and needs of your teacher candidate. What does s/he need to know and understand about you and your classroom to help ensure a successful working partnership?
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Be a listener: Be empathetic, patient, and encouraging. Provide opportunities for your teacher candidate to discuss what was learned in coursework on campus.
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Introduce your teacher candidate to your class as a “teacher.”
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Help your teacher candidate become a welcome and participating member of the school staff.
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Maintain open communication and consultation with the faculty advisor.
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Ensure that the match between your teacher candidate and yourself and your class is appropriate. Raise any concerns with the faculty advisor and/or school coordinator at the earliest opportunity.
- Provide opportunities for your teacher candidate to become familiar with the school and district personnel.
If you feel your needs for support in the classroom aren’t being met, please advise me as soon as possible.
Teacher Presence – Introducing Yourself
As a dress rehearsal for tomorrow’s meetin’ and greetin’, I asked each TC to:
- State the name they want to go by in the classroom
- Give a brief introduction of themselves
EDUC 315 Task Expectations
Journal: Bob and I are asking you to keep a journal of your thoughts as you tour the school and, eventually, as you work with your SA on 6 consecutive Tuesdays starting on 19 October. Here are some observation tips that will help you focus your classroom viewing:
Lesson: Also, at some point, you will need to teach (a minimum of) one lesson. The what and when of this lesson will be worked out with your SA. We’ll be covering a lesson planning format soon in class. We ask that you please email a lesson plan to us 24 hours in advance of your teaching and that you send us a copy of your reflection on the lesson, too.
Me In A Bag Gallery Walk
There was great diversity in the post-speech analysis products on display in class this morning. We viewed them with a Gallery Walk strategy and I collected all the pieces at the end. It was a bit hard to hear the songs, so I’ll take time next class to play them for the whole group. Also, next class we’ll consider the benefits and drawback of differentiating end products in your middle level teaching.
That’s a wrap. I may bump into some of you in the morning as I visit various schools firming up the placements. Of course, I’ll see all of you in the Montgomery Middle School Library at 1:30 for a debrief of the morning’s happenings. (I promise to not make any mention of M. Night Shyamalan’s movie The Happening, if you don’t. Here’s a way better Happening from The Pixies that I’d be more than happy to talk about:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWNm1ZF8wwg[/youtube]
Later alligators.
– Lawrence
