This week on practicum I was there for only half the day as we had math assessments in another school for the last half of the day. While I was there I got to do my read-aloud. I must say the book (The Giver) keeps getting more and more interesting and the students love it!

What I would like to touch on this week is the class meetings we have every week. I’ve been taking notes each week the meeting occurs and finally I have a chance to write about it.

The meeting usually consists of three main parts. The students gather into a circle and once ready, my s.a. passes along a teddy bear. Only the person with the teddy bear should be talking and the rest listening respectfully. I have seen that this actually works really well. And if a student without the teddy bear is being disruptive, just a simple reminder “you don’t have the teddy bear right now” is sufficient to fix the problem. First, each student must give another student/teacher in the class a “star”. That is, offer a positive comment to someone for anything that occurred in the previous couple of days. Students have the opportunity to pass once and then on the second try they must give a star. So there is opportunity to have time to think if a student is stuck. I think this is so important in a class – especially in the higher grades – as it directly allows for positive situations to be heard. A lot of the time students only focus on what’s not going well, but this in a way forces them to realize there’s so much positive happening as well. And just generally, the atmosphere of the classroom is more friendly and community-like. Also, young adolescents of this age value their peer relationships so much. Everyone wants to be heard and have a sense of belonging. And this class meeting provides a safe setting for each student to have a voice.

Next, the students are able to record positive comments throughout the week and put them in a jar. My s.a. then pulls out these comments during the meeting and reads out to the entire class. This works really well because sometimes students forget what happened a couple days earlier or don’t want to say it directly. So they have a chance to remain anonymous as well. Also this conveys to students that they don’t have to wait until the meeting, positive comments can be given at any time.

Lastly, there is a jar for “wishes” as well. These wishes are problems or topics students want to be addressed. This allows for students to be able to voice their opinions in a way they feel safe and comfortable. The students do care about the wishes that are made as a lot of them do have something to say, or advice to offer to help the given situation. In fact I noticed a lot of the students try to share what their own knowledge. For example, a wish that came up was “I wish people would stop touching each other so much, and in response students said “I’ve always thought act how you want to be treated.” And then the teacher can debrief on the topic and provide concluding ideas or solutions.

I think through the variety of topic discussed this class meeting is a student-entered approach to help students develop many skills. Most importantly, by leading their own discussion, they are working on their interpersonal skills. By speaking out, students are developing communication skills that help understand how to have group discussions and problem-solving. For example, the concept of democracy is modelled as a way of problem-solving when the students discuss class matters/options like choice of grad events. During the meeting they can vote on topics like this and a fair decision is reached. Also, these meetings allow the teacher to get a sense of student dynamics and relationships in the class. For example, one of the male students in my class hangs out with the girls more than the boys. And in the meeting, another boy said, “I would like to give **** a star for being an adorable friend.” My s.a. sensed this comment was not very positive and was then able to address the issue with involved students. In the end, I think the class meeting is a good arena to build positive, strong interpersonal skills – especially since these skills are so vital to students of this age group!

Wow, what a day today was! Right from the get go, there was so much going on. We had to prepare for a student-led fundraiser, a meeting with parents regarding grade seven camp, a guest speaker after lunch, and I led my usual read-aloud plus my first math lesson. The day just flew by!

For this post, I would like to focus on my math lesson – an introduction to probability. Going in, I was really excited to be teaching math, as it is my own favorite subject now and in the past. However, obviously, being a subject that a lot of students are fearful or anxious about, I was a little nervous as well. However, as soon as we began the lesson, I lost all that nerviness. I started with a think-pair-share, asking the students to discuss what probability means to them and examples they see of probability in the real world. To make sure that they were all actually discussing I gave them a time limit, warned them they would have to report out and I then went around to each group asking for their input. I was really happy with the responses I got as I went around to each group of students. There were a variety of responses – it is interesting to note how students are able to form different explanations and perspectives to explain the same concept. I believe when students are able to explain a concept in their own words, using their own examples (as the students did today), they form a better understanding compared to memorizing the textbook provided definition. In a sense, the concept becomes more meaningful as the student has formed a thought-process behind their explanation. It was interesting though, that when I asked for students to explain out loud, even though everyone had an explanation, not everyone raised their hands. Thinking back on this, next time, I would provide each student with a little post it note on which they can record their thoughts. Placing the post it notes on the board and asking a couple of volunteers to come read out could follow this up. Getting more student participation is definitely something I would like to address as I keep teaching. Another strategy my S.A. and I discussed was even using think-pair-share for the actual math solutions. That is, a think-pair-share does not have to just be limited to initial or closure discussion questions related to concepts. I did use reminders of the importance of participation and I feel this is something that I will keep doing so that students understand my expectations.

Students were then asked to note down the related textbook key ideas. I did see that some students were a little slow in beginning this, so I again provided a time limit and gave time warnings. This worked as I had students saying, “Oh, we have that much time, I need to start!” It is times like this that I really get to see how important simple reminders like time warnings are. I continued my circulation around the table groups, focusing my attention on the groups who were a little more distracted. I feel with this age group and specifically this class, proximity does work really well. For me, its sort of like, “I know you know what you are supposing to be doing, so I’m not going to verbally tell you what to do, but I’ll just stand here as a reminder.” It’s kind of like offering independence with a little guidance, which works really well with this group of students. To follow up and show students that these notes actually matter, I spoke about two concepts from the key ideas, “certain” and “impossible” events. I asked students to describe both and then provide examples. I think it is really important to respond to student answers and provide feedback such as simply “that’s right.” So when I provided my own examples, I would include “Like so and so said…” Not only does this reward their participation in a sense, but also provides confirmation of their answers.

When I moved onto go through the actual examples, the Smartboard had some technical difficulties. I was thinking to myself, “Of course this would happen today!” So I ended up orally speaking to the question and began with the normal whiteboard while the Smartboard restarted. This was again a good example of everyday teaching – things not going according to your plan and learning to change quickly.

As soon as the Smartboard started up, teaching the content was great, even fun! I was able to draw out the visuals, using different colors – so useful for the probability examples. Instead of having the students record the examples as I had initially planned, I asked for their full attention to the board, as I would be asking them to help me solve the examples. After explaining the first question in the first example myself, I asked for students to help answer. When students would provide answers, I would ask them to explain how they ended up at that answer. Basically, asking them to explain their thought-process as they would “show their work”’ on paper. Taking from our math class, this is really important as if students master the thought processes behind various concepts, they can apply the same to their following work. In the next example, I again started the first question myself. However, I decided to completely change it up on the spot, and ask students to come up and write their answer on the Smartboard along with their work and orally explaining their thought process. I really thought this worked well and it is something I hope to continue using in my future lessons. We finished the examples a little earlier than I had anticipated so I decided to ask the students to work on a question from the textbook in pairs and then we would go over it together as a group. Again, I had students come up to offer their answers. As they were solving in pairs, I went around to each table group again as this was an opportunity for me to check their understanding of what I had just taught. And it was so rewarding – for me as a teacher – to see them working successfully through something so similar to what I had just taught.

After the examples, I assigned the textbook questions. Related to this, as I was going through the examples, I had a couple of students ask for the assigned questions. However, because I wanted them to focus on my examples first, I explained why it is important to go through the steps together first as the assigned questions would be similar. So, if they followed my steps, they would be able to apply the same to their own work. Before letting them begin the textbook work, I emphasized the main concept of the lesson (the formula for probability experiments) and then closed off with asking for anything they needed cleared up. Something that I realized on the spot was that some students might not be comfortable voicing their confusion, so I said I could come over to a student individually if needed. While I circulated around during the assignment, I could see the difference in learning styles and levels. There were some students completely finished their work who I told to try the two questions I did not assign and then there were some who were working through at a slower pace. This made me realize why we need to provide enough time for assignments, allowing questions to be completed for homework if necessary.

Something that my S.A. and I discussed today really hit home for me. By observing my S.A. and looking back on my own lessons, it is becoming clear to me that it is almost impossible to maintain each student’s attention at all time points. However, by using specific strategies, it is my responsibility as an educator to ensure the maximum amount of attention. Therefore, this is something I plan on giving my focus wholeheartedly in the coming weeks and months. I would really like to have more students speak out loud, especially in a subject like math when we are solving examples with multiple steps. My S.A. and I spoke about the importance of wait-time. It may seem a little awkward at first and it may seem like it is interfering with the time period of the lesson. However, it gives everyone a chance to think the question through in order to then voice their thoughts out loud. In the end, I completely enjoyed teaching this lesson; I could keep going on and on. I think probability was a good starting point as the students do really enjoy it as well. For example, I had one of my students approach me at the end of the day and tell me I did a really good job teaching and that probability is really fun – I was so taken aback. Honestly, it is little moments like this that remind me of why I have always wanted to be a teacher!

This Thursday I led my usual read-aloud but I also got to experience some new teacher responsibilities. The F.S.A. exams were completed by my grade seven class recently; however, some students were absent so had to catch up this week. As I was there on Thursday, I had the chance to administer these exams. Although it felt like just giving out a normal exam for the most part, I made some really interesting and valuable observations when I had to monitor a grade four student taking the English writing and numeracy portions of the exam. This student while not on an IEP does have special needs that affect her learning. As a result, she could have benefitted from specific adaptations and modifications. It was interesting for me to watch this student as while she was taking the exam, she was thinking out-loud, so I had the opportunity to in a sense, hear what was going on in her head. For the writing portion, she kept saying, “I can’t do this,” “I don’t know what to do,” “I don’t want to write.” However, I could see that she really did want to put something onto the paper as she kept taking her pencil to the bottom part of the paper to write or draw something, but then would just erase it. When we got to the math portion, her behavior completely changed, she was much more motivated. And I believe this is because the first part of the numeracy portion was on the computer. From her body language, I could tell she was just eager to get started as the principal and I got the computer started up. As she went through the questions, even her tone of voice changed, she was reading quickly, looking at the multiple-choice options, and then the small visual pictures that accompanied the questions. The pictures seemed to really get her thinking as well; she would look to the pictures and then try to compare the answers. For me this was a clear example of the different learning styles present in a classroom; that is, she clearly was a visual learner. When the pictures were not present, as in the written portions, her motivation and thus performance suffered. Although her answers were not correct always, her thought process was there. For example, she would read the question and then say something like “Oh, I think it could be this one.” Her behavior changed again when the paper part came along, switching back to how she felt during the writing portion. Again, the self-doubt was evident. And for me it was so eye-opening to see how powerful self-doubt really can be. It was to the point that the student could not put anything onto the paper. However, when she was talking out loud, she actually was getting the concepts and then when she said to me “I don’t know what to write,” I simply told her just write what you told me. So, sometimes the student may even have the core idea or concept, but just does not simply believe in themselves enough to put it forward. This made me think, if this student just had some form of adaptation, it would be so helpful. Like I’m thinking something as basic as having someone write the student’s thoughts/answers as some of this student’s thoughts out loud were very telling of her understanding. I then began to think just how many students have some form of special need that fails to be acknowledged and/or supported. This is something I would like to learn more about, the process of supporting special needs.

Another new observation I made was during the morning prep my S.A. and I covered in a grade 5/6 class. The class was working on their science fair projects. I saw clear difference between this class and my own grade 7 class. Although the age difference is not too great, I observed the disparity in their independence levels. The 5/6 students ask for the teacher’s just basic advice much more than the 7 students. For example, a student needed to pick between two pictures for his project, and he came to ask me which one was better. In comparison, in the grade 7 class, I have to directly ask the students questions about their work and then they offer explanations. I thought this was a clear representation of the many changes students go through as they enter grade 7, they look more towards their peers rather than teachers (or any adult) for validation. This made me think of how the teacher’s presence somewhat changes through the years as well – with the younger students being much more dependent on the teacher. I’m actually really glad I get to experience all the different grades through the preps, it gives me a little peak into every age level!

This Thursday on practicum I again led the spelling and read-aloud. Before I talk about that though, I would like to touch on something else I experienced. My s.a. covers other classroom teachers preps for the entire school while our students are away for band and French class. That means she teaches a block to every grade. And when I’m there on Thursdays, I get to accompany her to these classrooms. Although I have been doing this with her from the start, something really struck me this time. About a month ago, my practicum class did a worksheet on the colour wheel and primary/secondary colours. Then last week when we went to a grade two class to cover the teacher’s prep, my s.a. brought out the same worksheet for that class and again when we went to a spilt 2/3 class this week. For me it was really interesting to see how the same topic, lesson, and worksheet was used in such different grade levels. However, what differed was the instruction level and amount. For the grade 7 students the instructions were quite quick and limited. As a result, the task was more self-led on the student’s part – so it served as a review. However, for the two younger grades, this may have been the first time they were exposed to this content. As a result, there was much more instruction all throughout the assignment. My s.a. coloured in the assignment step by step and asked the students to follow, asking for student input along the way. I would monitor their progress, giving check marks as they finished and words of encouragement. So what was really interesting to me was how the same task was used in completely different grade levels. I believe what was key was the adaptation piece. That is making the task work specifically for each grade and tailoring the instructions. I had not really thought of this before, so I was thankful to have observed my s.a. This can be really helpful when you are a t.o.c or even have your own class and have to teach a new grade in the new school year. As a new teacher, you can look back to what you have already taught and maybe there can be something you can adapt to work in your new classroom!

My read-aloud this week was on two chapters and apart from asking questions through the read-aloud, I did something a little different. I asked the students to create questions. And having now read the students’ questions, I realize what an awesome idea this was. There are some factual questions, but also some great probing, “why do you think …” questions. This is something I would like to maybe use again sometime soon, paired with a discussion of what makes a good question and how to form one. Along with this we could discuss why it is important to practice creating good questions. I would like to form a discussion around exam questions and how this will change as they enter high school. That is, they will be exposed to lots of exams in which questions require critical thinking. Again the students’ effort into these questions just goes to show their interest in the book! I also thought of how to get more students answering throughout the read aloud, and I think I need to make clear right at the beginning that their participation counts for their language arts mark and I will be recording who participates. I recall doing this during my two week practicum and it worked really well. Sometimes the students just need to be reminded of why it is important to participate in class!