Today was another short and busy day at CC. The morning was packed with morning meeting, followed by a math lesson on problem solving. I really enjoyed observing the math lesson, as Mrs. S had started with one problem on the board which the students had to discuss and come up with a solution for. It was interesting to see the thought processes of some of the students, and I made some detailed anecdotal observations on their thinking strategies. The students were learning about adding and subtraction problems, and what types of words to look for in these types of questions (i.e. take from, give, and altogether). Mrs. S used some coloured popsicle sticks and demonstrated what a “take-away” problem would entail. She held 10 in her hand and gave 5 away to another student. She then posed a question to the class- “If Mrs. S had 10 popsicle sticks and she gave 5 away, how many popsicle sticks would she have left?” This provided the students with a visual representation of a subtraction question, which helped students make a stronger connection with the question given in word form. There were some students who still struggled with the concept of “how many altogether,” which will be reviewed further in the following class. Mrs. S then gave the students a math problem solving worksheet, and most of them had a good understanding of what was being asked. However, if student’s were not sure and having further difficulties, she welcomed them back to the carpet to keep working on strategies to find the answer. I thought this was an important approach to take, rather than sending all the student’s back to their desks to work separately. For those who needed the extra help, they could choose to join on the carpet and work collectively on further strategies. This is definitely a great technique to use in further lessons!

After recess, students had gym period, and this gave Mrs. S and I some time to work on marking math and other items that needed to be caught up on. We then moved into the science lesson, which students focused on solids, liquids and gases. Mrs. S had a large jug of water and different sized cups and jars so the students could take turns filling the same amount of water in each. This was a great experiment, as it allowed for lots of predictions and educated guesses as to the amount of water that was poured in each jar. Students provided some very thoughtful hypothesis- stating that even though one jar is taller than another, there still is the same amount of water in each. Even though the volume looks more in a skinnier container, it is the same volume as a large, wide container. I was amazed at their ability to make such ‘on-point’ observations!

After lunch, students read for 15 minutes, and we then moved into my lesson on 3-D umbrella art. As it was the last class of the day, on a Thursday before a 4 day weekend, the classroom management was more difficult than expected. I read a story called “Ella’s Umbrellas” which was a really nice segway into the art lesson. During the reading, students were quite fidgety and I had to stop many times to wait. I have realized that the time of day greatly influences student behaviors. Mrs. S was specifically looking for behaviors and management during this observation, and it was really helpful to see her comments. It’s truly amazing what you miss when you are so focused on teaching the lesson. I’ve learned how important it is to continuously scan the class, and to wait. Waiting is so important, and I feel as though sometimes I am too focused on getting through the lesson and how much time is left to complete the task. It is reassuring when Mrs. S tells me that if the class is not focused at all at the end of the day, you sometimes needs to leave the lesson and give the students time to play or go outside for DPA. I am definitely going to take this into consideration when I have days where my management strategies don’t seem to be working as well as planned. Aside from some troubled behaviours during the read-aloud, students really enjoyed making the 3D art and the umbrellas look great so far! I am looking forward to completing them next class with the students!