Today’s math lesson began with a “Discuss the math” activity in pairs from the textbook. In terms of solving the word problem this activity went well; students understood the content. The students began the discussion of the solution, and I was able to help complete their explanations. As a result, we were able to reach a consensus on the answer. However, I observed that the manipulatives got a little distracting for the students. It was the first time I had brought in manipulatives into a math lesson. So, I need to go over the “rules” so to speak around using these items in my lessons. The students need to be told that these manipulatives have a purpose – to improve their understanding of the given mathematical content – and this is the purpose they should be used for. For the group that was completely distracted, I did go over to point out this idea. And by keeping near this group, they did improve their focus a little bit. Regardless, it was a couple of students from this group that ended up being distracted for a majority of the lesson. Therefore, next time I use manipulatives, I need to have a discussion with the students as a class to explain why I bring things like coins, or mosaic tiles into the math lesson.

For the two examples we worked on together, content wise this part went really well. Students were understanding the use of different diagrams – tables, tree diagrams, spider diagrams – to organize their outcomes. And how to further use these to answer leading questions like the total possible outcomes and the sample space. I made sure to include some tips as a way of offering different explanations; for example, pointing out an easy way to write out sample spaces with or without a diagram. Between each question I asked for any confusions and reminded students about the post-it notes I had given. This was also the first time I used these post-it notes so the students need some time to get used to them. And I plan to use them through a lot of my teaching in the different subjects. I ask them to keep the post-it note because their questions or concerns do not just need to come from the lesson time period. They may have something come up when they are at home or working on the assigned work. I also tried to frame the questions a little differently during these examples. For example, instead of just asking me “who knows the answer to _____” I tried asking “Who can explain what a tree diagram is to the rest of the class?” I feel like this kind of question may motivate more students to participate as the question is framed more as a demonstration of their knowledge. That is, it is more of a moment of pride, they get to demonstrate what they know. Again, while working on these examples, the same students mentioned above were quite distracted again. As a result, I found myself giving constant reminders to bring their attention back to the front. This is something I need to get comfortable doing, as my s.a. and I have discussed, having full attention from all students at all times is almost impossible. This is why I think the short brain break between the examples and the next word problem worked really well. I also thought it was really important to make sure that they actually got up to talk to someone from another table. This helped the distracted students calm down a bit and refocus. I thought this brain break worked better than a normal brain break because the break was still relevant – they had to speak about what they were learning. So, it was much easier to settle them back in and like I said they were actually more focused upon returning. When they came back to their seats, I asked for examples about what they talked about and I received input from almost each table group.

Coming back from the brain break, the students worked in pairs on the last “Show you know” word problem. And when we discussed the solution, there were no interruptions, and I did not have to ask for attention constantly. So, something I really thought about afterwards is how important it is to be able to change the lesson if for some reason there are interruptions – whether that is from distracted students or an external source. For example, just providing that small, yet relevant brain break. This is something my s.a. and I have spoken about in great detail. And sometimes it is not important to have the lesson go exactly as you planned; but rather, focus on addressing an issue that may become a larger concern. For example, maybe skipping out on a small portion of the math lesson may be okay to discuss a bigger idea like the importance of participation and attention in learning.

Related to this, student participation and accountability is something I really would like to focus on as I enter the long practicum. I discussed with my s.a. to maybe even change up the seating plan completely as I observed just one off-task student was distracting others in the table group. However, it was interesting to note that once I had asked that student to pay attention, his partner began participating and continued to participate throughout the entire lesson. In terms of the seating plan, we may need to discuss about the current seating plan being a privilege to be able to sit in a group with friends. Also, I plan to have a discussion about the importance of paying attention and participating. This is something I would like to incorporate into the class meeting as a variety of class topics are always discussed in these meetings. This is especially because I actually had students who were paying attention throughout the lesson come up to me and point out that certain students were not paying attention and it was “not nice.” Basically, I want to make it clear that one of my expectations is respect and this can be shown by simply just paying attention to not just me, but also peers. And if they are paying attention, they will be more likely to participate which will only benefit their learning. Lastly, something I noted on the performance checklist I completed with my s.a. was that I can use assessment as a way to set learning goals and motivate students. So, I plan to include this in my discussion on participation – so students know that their participation is crucial in their final grades. Another idea I had is creating an anchor chart of our discussion that can be kept up in class. That way, when I notice problematic behavior, I can point the child to the anchor chart as a reminder. For today’s circumstances, my s.a. actually spoke to some of the students individually as there has been some problematic behavior occurring this week. And sometimes this kind of private talk can be helpful for the students involved and it might be more likely to result in a solution.

The ending to the lesson was actually really interesting. I began to assign their homework questions. Some of the students noticed that I did not assign the last 3 problems. To my surprise, they asked if these problems could be assigned as well. I was more than happy to agree!

We also finished reading The Giver today. The students have been engaged in the read-aloud of this novel throughout. I learned a lot about novel studies through leading these read-alouds. First of all, students need to be asked a variety of questions. This means, not just basic recall questions, they get bored really quickly. Instead, I found I received the most input when I asked questions about their interpretations of what was happening in the novel. For example, asking, “how do you think Jonas feels knowing his brother is being released?” I was pleased to see a majority of the class raise their hands. In fact, I had to say, “I’ll get to all of you!” Another popular question was asking students to analyze why a character behaves or acts a certain way. Again, these kinds of questions allow for students’ opinions and a variety of answers. I also was able to improve my own teacher voice through these read-alouds. Specifically, I found myself getting better at using different tones to my voice as different events occurred in the novel. For example, I would stress my voice more when something really important was occurring, to emphasize. This novel had a variety of themes which were really applicable for this age-group and I definitely would use it again in the future!

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!

This week on practicum I led two activities – marking the students’ spelling work and a novel study read aloud (The Giver). Although the two are quite different in content, I found a commonality while carrying out these activities in terms of classroom management. That is, a lot of the time planned activities will not go completely according to plan. Specifically, in my class – being a grade 7 class, there are constantly interruptions. Therefore, myself or my s.a. need to think on the fly and adapt as required. For example, during the spelling, it was taking the students far longer than expected to get organized and take out the assignment to be marked. This was because a lot of them had not completed the required sections. And I must say, it was quite an ordeal to sort out. So what we decided to do was have the students mark what they had and then record the marks for those completed sections. However, what was key was the talk my s.a. gave the students afterwards. It seems as though some students are not putting in enough effort into completing their homework. So we touched on the importance of completing homework as if students build their homework skills now it will help them in the future, the near future. That is, they will have a much heavier homework load in high school and they were told about the expectations in high school. Specifically, high school teacher will not tolerate “lazy behaviour” and the teachers may not even run around to gather homework; they will simply just deduct marks. I thought having a talk like this worked really well as it was immediate, on the spot. Therefore, it was more relevant to the students compared to saving the topic for something like the class meeting later on.

My read-aloud actually went really well considering the timing. It was right after lunch, so students again were trying to get settled in and some were still shuffling in from lunch monitoring. Also, I was under the impression that I would be starting with chapter four; however, the class had already read that chapter so we were starting with chapter five. So, the questions I had prepared (for chapter 4) were not going to work. That meant I had to think of questions as we went along. My strategy was to look for examples of the book’s main themes and base questions around these themes. I ended up starting with a think-pair-share, asking the students to come up with four points in pairs highlighting the most important aspects in the chapters they had already read. I was able to see the interests students have in this book as they had a lot of points to offer. I then asked questions about “Coming of age” as examples of this theme came through-out the chapter. To give a little variety, I asked more simple questions related to vocabulary as this book has some complex language that students may not have been exposed to before. To check for attention, I questioned students understanding of different characters repeated throughout the book. For example, in the book there is a group called the “Collection Crew,” the people who come collect remains of food from households. I asked who this group is, what they do, why they are important and why the group’ name is always capitalized. This connected back to the theme of an ordered society through the book and students conveyed this through speaking to the fact that there are lots of rules – like not wasting food- in this society.

If I could change something, I would have the students read small sections of the given chapter. I feel this would not only help build their reading skills but also improve their comprehension of this specific novel. And this is important because like I said before, this novel is fairly advanced- both in language and the specific content and themes being presented. That being said, I’m not too worried about the students not paying attention just because they are not reading it aloud themselves as they have demonstrated great interest in the book already. For example, some of the students had read far ahead even though not they are not required to.

Apart from this, I would like to incorporate some more think-pair-share around one specific theme, “Coming of Age,” as this is actually really relevant to the grade sevens. A lot of the main character’s maturing experiences are those which my students can somehow probably learn from or relate to. I believe the think-pair-share will allow more of a comprehensive opportunity for students to discuss. Given there is enough time, I would probably like to add a written component to this time so there is more concrete material for me to assess their understanding. In the end, I really enjoy these read-alouds because the students are genuinely interested in the storyline and I look forward to completing the book!

Lesson Analysis: Math Lesson

Comments on Lesson Design
Hook:
==> As a hook into math, students are to work on a challenging math problem called the p.o.d. (problem of the day). These problems are usually unrelated to the given math topic being taught that day. However, they are word problems encompassing different mathematic topics and operations. Students must use previous knowledge from various math areas to find the solution.
==> I think this is a great way to get students’ brains running and actually engage their thinking, specifically about mathematic functions. Every time I observe students trying to solve the p.o.d., they are usually very motivated and it sometimes becomes a little competitive as well as students are required to solve individually.
==> What is also great about the p.o.d., is that quite often there is more than one answer, so different students can solve the problem differently. That is, students can make use of operations and functions they are most comfortable with. I believe this helps build confidence in students – especially since this is a subject, which makes most students apprehensive.

Instructional strategies:
==> Order of activities: p.o.d., went over questions from previous day, students note key ideas, go over new examples, work on assigned questions.

Active engagement/practice:
==> The way the math lesson runs is usually quite similar everyday, with just the specific content varying. I think this works well as it allows for predictable structure and a routine that students become accustomed to.

==> After the p.o.d., my S.A. reviews any necessary material from the previous math lesson. This can involve questions students did not fully understand or just content that needs to be repeated for the sake of students’ memory. I think this helps not only the students but also the teacher in that the teacher can get a sense for what areas the students are struggling with. This way the teacher can offer another way of explaining a tough concept that may be better understood by the students.

==> Following this review, the new material is introduced. Students take notes on the key ideas – usually these are found in their textbook. However, if my S.A. feels as though these notes are not sufficient and a concept requires further explanation, she will add her own notes. I see this as an example of fitting curriculum content to fit the needs of your class and more importantly individual students. Sometimes the textbook is not enough and must be suited to the various learning styles and levels present in your own class.

==> My S.A. then goes through a couple of different examples. And I think this is the most important portion of the lesson. This is where students actually learn the process of solving the new content – the formulas, short cuts, and strategies. I have noticed that although my S.A. is solving the examples herself, she always asks for input from students. I think this is a great way to ensure students are actually paying attention and again to keep track of students’ understanding.

Closure:
==> To end off, students are assigned questions from their textbook. Sometimes it is the entire set of questions, or it can be just odd or even numbers.

==> Students are encouraged to get as much done in class so that they can ask for help if needed. Any remaining questions are to be completed for homework.

==> There is usually a fair amount of time leftover for students to work on the assigned questions. This is important I believe because it can be really valuable for students to ask for help while working on the questions in class rather than going home and possibly not having anyone available who can offer assistance. Moreover, in some households, there may not even be someone who can actually understand the material. Therefore, teacher presence can be of benefit to the student.

Other observations:
==> From observing my S.A., I have realized that it is really important to keep checking for understanding throughout the lesson. You never know when a student is going to lose track of what you are trying to explain. Therefore, it is important to keep a close eye on student expressions. For example, in high school I remember one of my math teachers would explain a concept step-by-step and after each step he would ask, “shake your head yes shake your head no” to see how many students were understanding. I thought it could even be more simple by just asking students to stick their thumb up or down according to if they understood or not, respectively.

It was great to be back in class today! I always forget how quickly the day goes by. I just wish we could be going in everyday.

Today I kept my focus on low-key responses that I used myself and that I observed my S.A. using. For myself, I realized I find myself using proximity quite a bit. I think being in a grade seven class, the students are aware that when the teacher is instructing or others are speaking, they are supposed to be paying attention. So really, most of the time, it does not take much to get a distracted student to pay attention. Just standing next to the student(s) quietly gives them the signal that Ms.Bains came over here because we are not doing something right. I find that the students most off-task are the ones to the edges of the classroom, towards the back. For example, these students are playing with anything they can possibly play with – rulers, pens, and pipe cleaners. At one point, two students were throwing little pieces of twigs at each other while I was at the other end of the classroom. All it took for them to stop was me going and standing directly behind them. I did not have to say anything.

That being said, sometimes I feel it is important to actually verbally tell the student why I had to physically come from the other side of the classroom and stand beside them specifically. I found that I verbally spoke when I felt that the students were off-task at a time when something really important was being taught by the teacher or discussed as a class. Usually I stand beside the student, gently put my hand on the desk, and quietly say something along the lines of “You’re missing out on something really important, so you need to be paying attention.” As I said above, some of the students are frequently playing with various objects and at that point I will ask them to put it away because it is not the right time to be playing. However, while writing this blog post, I realized if the student persists playing with the object after being told not to, another response I could use is “deal with the problem not the student,” and take away the object. This way, the student can understand I am being serious when I ask them to stop their disruptive behavior.

To avoid speaking verbally, I have tried to use gestures. When I go stand closer to an off-task student, I look at them and then point at where their attention should be – on the teacher, another student, etc. Or even instead of point, I just look in the direction their attention should be. Thinking back on this, I feel as though engaging in responses that do not involve verbal language almost convey to the student that I should not even have to tell you what to do – you should know by now. Basically, trying to promote their own self-regulation.

Lastly, is “the look.” I think this response is a great example of what I just explained above. And my S.A. actually uses this a lot. A lot of the times when my S.A. sees that a student is not paying attention or is disruptive, she will just look in their direction with her “look.” And it works excellently – probably because students have realized what this look means and what kind of behavior should follow this look. I have tried using this response recently. Usually what I do is shake my head when I would like a student to change their behavior or I will raise my eyebrows. It has been fairly successful. However, I feel this is a response I will need to work on a little more as I spend more time with the students!

In the end, at this point I would like to say that proximity has been my go-to-response a majority of the time. And usually just proximity works to rectify the problematic behavior. And if proximity does not work I move onto use gentle verbal language. It will be interesting to see how my responses develop over time up to our full practicum!