Nov. 30, 2016

This week was my first math lesson. As a person who has always dreaded math class, I was a bit nervous to teach this lesson. I was teaching on the 100s chart and counting in tens as well as odds and evens. The students seemed to grasp my teaching very quickly. The students favourite activity was the partnered game “Race to 100.” I’m glad I was given the opportunity to teach math because it really wasn’t as intimidating as I thought. Now, I no longer have to fear math! 🙂

Day’s activities:

-Literacy centers and guided reading

-Miss Williams math lesson

-Watched their Christmas performance that they will begin practicing

-Phonics poetry

-Health class

-Class picture and cookies for the class 🙂

Nov. 23, 2016

This week I taught my very first Science lesson. I was very excited to teach this lesson, as I thought I had planned a fun and engaging activity. I focused on teaching the students about force through the concepts of push and pull. I began with a short video and then a fun partner activity to test push and pull, which the students seemed to enjoy. Then, for my lesson, I split the students up into small groups and gave each group a marshmallow shooter, where the students would practice the motions of push and pull as well as measurements. I thought that this lesson was really fun, however, in hind sight, I think I need to find the balance between fun activities and not-too wild activities. 🙂

Day’s activities:

-I decorated the classroom for Christmas

-Scholastic book fair

-Phonics story time (hand gestures to help remember the sounds)

-Miss Williams lesson on advent

Nov. 16, 2016

This week I taught a double joint lesson with my partner on treaty education. This was both of our first time teaching a treaty education lesson, so we were pretty excited, but also a little nervous going into it. We began our lesson by reading a few pages from a book on Métis people and culture. Then we read he story “The Giving Tree: A Métis Retelling” and had an open question time, where the students were able to expand their understanding of Métis values and way of life. Our development was for each student to make their own giving tree. We chose five values from the story for the students to represent on five leaves for their trees (honesty, caring, respect, sharing, and kindness), and then trace their hands on construction paper for the tree trunk. After the students were finished, Miss Williams and I were able to put up their trees on the bulletin board. To end our lesson, the students selected one of the five virtues and wrote a six sentence story about that virtue. I thought this lesson went really well!

Day’s events:

-I photocopied assignments and corrected tests

-The students worked on their “All About Me” writing prompts

-Made a bulletin board from the giving trees

-Fully Alive Health class on gifts

 

Nov. 9, 2016

This week I taught a double joint Art lesson on peaceful actions with my partner. We began our lesson with a video displaying the differences between peaceful and non-peaceful actions and then, asked the students a few questions. We then decided to teach our lesson outside for our lesson to be more active. We separated the students into small groups and gave them each prompts for role playing skits that they would present to the rest of the class on peaceful actions. The students seemed to really enjoy this activity and being outside. We ended the lesson with an exit slip as the students left the classroom, they were to write one peaceful action they could do at school.

Day’s events:

-Prepped all morning for the Remembrance Day service.

-Decorated the gymnasium.

-Practiced the students song for the performance.

Nov. 2, 2016

This week I taught an Arts/ELA lesson. I began the lesson with an digital story book on peace. I followed this video with a brainstorm of peaceful actions and an activity sheet of peaceful and not peaceful actions. After this activity, the students traced their hands on construction paper and wrote a peaceful action in the center. I had planned to past them all on the back of the door into a tree formation, however, I ran out of time. I felt that the lesson went very well, despite the time issue.

Order of the day:

-We had a sub today because our co-operating teacher was doing benchmarking. She let us listen in on one test though and it was really neat to observe because we are learning how to do this in ERDG right now.

-The sub read a story to the students on Remembrance Day

-Miss Williams taught her phys. ed. lesson

-Social Studies lesson included artifacts from world wars and other wars.

-Ended the day with a science expo brought into the class.

Quote of the week:

“What do you call someone who served in the war?”

“A Vatican!”

“A veterinarian!”

Oct. 26, 2016

This week, I taught Physical Education. I wanted to challenge myself in a different setting to work on my classroom management and explanation skills. I felt as though it was a little chaotic, but I think that may be just because it was loud. One item I forgot was a whistle!! Oops. Thankfully, my co-op had a spare. I began the class with a 3 lap warmup jog, then had all of the students gather in a circle to explain the circle. I set the gym up in four stations (skipping, wall ball, jumping jacks, and partnered scoop-ball) and divided the students into groups of 6 where they rotated between stations in 1 minute intervals, twice through. I ended the class with a game of ‘Colour Monster’.

Agenda:-Group reading

-Math (Janine and I corrected all of  the students’ 151 High Frequency spelling tests).

-Bell work (activity fillers)

-Phonics sounds

-Janine’s lesson on design a pumpkin and a story about that pumpkin.

Note: We have a student in our class who recently moved from Quebec and really struggles with her English. Since I know French, I was able to ask her what she meant in French and help her translate. She beamed when I understood what she was saying It was as if someone finally could open up her world. I am so thankful to have made a breakthrough with this child!

Oct. 19, 2016

This week I taught my very first lesson solo! It’s a wonderful feeling when you discover that you’ve chosen the perfect career for you. While I was a bit nervous, as the lesson went on, I felt so comfortable teaching and being surrounded by young learners. This week I taught English Language Arts. I felt as though my lesson went very well, my teacher even commented saying that I have great expression and must have experience with children! That was encouraging to hear on my first week. So, my lesson started of with me reading a Minions book titled “Dracula’s Last Birthday” and I made to ask the students many questions throughout. I transitioned into teaching after this. I taught the students about adjectives or describing words and they caught on very quickly! We brainstormed together some costumes, creatures, and characters and then added describing words in front of them. The students then wrote 3 sentences describing their ideal costume, being sure to add adjectives, and draw a picture of their creation. To finish my lesson, we danced to the “Monster Shuffle.”

Agenda: -Reviewed the story of Adam and Eve and the first church

-Brainstormed questions to ask Father Steve on Friday.

-Phys. Ed- my teacher went around to each student and took videos of their throwing skills to evaluate and examine later. The students have been working on throwing with scoops and ball. To end the class, the students played line tag.

-Before recess, the students cleaned their desk for parents night. My co-op motivated them by saying that there is a ‘Clean Desk Fairy’ who comes at night and leaves little treasures in the cleanest desks.

-Reading group time

-Made a Monster bulletin board with the monsters from Janine’s Arts Lesson craft.

My favourite quote this week:”I know why you chose your name Miss Smart… Because you’re smart!”

 

Oct. 12, 2016

What a fun, busy, and joy-filled day!

Today was my first day of pre-internship in the Catholic School System in Regina. I had never worked in the Catholic system prior to today. It was much different from my experiences growing up in the public system, but I enjoyed it.

We began the day by walking across the street to the Catholic church to attend their Rosary service. It was something I had never experienced and am thankful that now I have! After this, we returned to the classroom and the students separated into learning designated centers. I joined some of the students who were on iPads using Razz Kids (What a great site!). I was amazed by how well these students were so well behaved, even though they were away from their teacher’s eyesight. My co-operating teacher said that this was something that she had had to work on with them for about two weeks, but it proved well worth it.

In the morning, with my partner, we took down a bulletin board in preparation for the class’s new them, while the teacher taught a math lesson. For lunch, we stayed in the classroom and watched some of “The Wizard of Oz” with our students. After recess with our kids, my partner and I did our introductory lesson, which I think went well. We showed the students photos of who we are and what we enjoy to do. Then we all played an introductory game (toss a ball around the room and answer the question where your thumb is on the ball), and we ended with an open question time.

The afternoon consisted of a different teacher coming in to teach Social Studies, where the students learned about “Rights & Responsibilities” and how that relates to classroom rules. After that, our teacher continued by doing full class reading of phonics poems, while the students traced the sentences with their fingers. We ended the day with a film of what the Rosary means.

A few classroom management and behaviour management strategies that I noticed my co-op display were:

-Bum, bum, da, da, dum, dum… Bum, bum (teacher sings, then class answers).

-Hands on you head, eyes on me.

-Traffic light at the front of the classroom (Red= No talking, Yellow= Whispering, Green= Normal speaking volume)

-“Smartiepants Glasses”- I loved this idea! At the front of the class was a bin full of fun giant glasses with the lenses popped out. If a student displayed good listening or positive behaviour, the teacher would give the “smartiepants glasses” (they can be taken away, earned again, and have more than one pair). In addition, the whole class would cheer for the student(s) who received a pair of glasses. This could be used with other items such as bracelets or medals.

Other observations:

This school is in a very nice neighbourhood and seems quite wealthy. One thing that I noticed right off the bat was the lack of diversity within my classroom. There are only three students who aren’t Caucasian in my classroom, none of which are First Nations. Yet, I was so pleased to see the integration of First Nations content around the school. The students had participated in Orange Shirt Day and there were bulletin boards filled with First Nations content.

“I read once that there are holes in the universe that swallow all light, all bodies. St. Jerome’s took all the light from my world.” (Chapter 11- Pg. 43)

“I saw kids die of tuberculosis, influenza, pneumonia and broken hearts at St. Jerome’s.” (Chapter 14- Pg. 55)

“When your innocence is stripped from you, when your people are denigrated, when the family you came from is denounced and your tribal ways and rituals are pronounced backward, primitive, savage, you come to see yourself as less than human. That is hell on earth, that sense of unworthiness. That’s what they inflicted on us.” (Chapter 21- Pg. 81)

“The white people thought it was their game. They thought it was their world.” (Chapter 31- Pg. 136)

“Sometimes the ghost linger. They hover in the furthest corners, and when you least expect it they lurch out, bearing everything they brought to you when they were alive.” (Chapter 52- Pg. 207)

“”We’re not responsible for what happened to us. None of us are.” Fred said. “But our healing- that’s up to us. That’s what saved me. Knowing it was my game.”” (Chapter 52- Pg. 210)

“I understood then too that time does not heal all wounds.” (Chapter 55- Pg. 216)

“I understood then that when you miss a thing it leaves a hole that only the thing you miss can fill.” (Chapter 56- Pg. 219)

Wagamese, R. (2012). Indian Horse. Madeira Park, B. C. : Douglas and McIntyre Ltd.

 

Dear Co-operating Teacher,

Hello, my name is Jocelyn Smart. I am a 20 year old woman who loves to read, bake, sing, travel, and cross-stitch. I was born in Winnipeg, MB, but I call Swift Current my hometown. I am from a small family of four. My mother is from South America and my father is from Winnipeg, MB. My older brother is 22 and lives in Alberta. I have lived in 5 cities in Canada and I have travelled to 3 continents, totaling 8 countries. It is on my bucket list to visit all continents one day, with the exception of Antarctica (but who knows!). After I finish my education degree, I plan to get my TESL certificate and then teach internationally. I am not sure where yet exactly, but I would love to teach in either Asia or Africa.

I have worked with children my whole life it seems. At the age of 12, I began babysitting quite frequently and was involved in teaching Sunday school at my church for many years and teaching the Junior High years later on. I have volunteered with Summer Fun (a special needs summer day program for ages 6-22) for two summers and have helped coach a Special Olympics Basketball team in Swift Current. Furthermore, I tutored a boy with Autism for two years in Math and English. Currently, I volunteer at Hillsdale Baptist church with Friendship Club (a service for people with intellectual disabilities) and in the toddler nursery. Lastly, for the past two summers I have provided programming and activities for children aged 6-12. 

I am very excited to be immersed in a classroom and learn from you and from the students. At the University of Regina, I am a part of the STARS (Student Teachers against Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Society) group. Therefore, some things that interest me as a future teacher are teaching about diversity and multiculturalism as well as the integration of Treaty education and other ways of knowing into the classroom.

                                                                                                Sincerely,

 

                                                                                                            Jocelyn Smart