Complication(s) / Week 3

(For those just tuning in, I’ve decided to format the four entries of this blog to follow the four parts of the narrative form I’m teaching my grade 5 class. This week: the Complication.)

If you were to read the last two blog entries, you might come away thinking that it was all fun and Jeopardy games in my March practicum. But I’ve been saving the challenges (or complications if you were in my grade 5 class and we were talking about narrative writing) for the this entry:

1)   The wall. I hit a wall after week 2 / at the start of week 3. (Half-way done  - yay! Half-way to go – ohhh…) I’m not exactly sure why I seem to have lost some of my momentum… but I do remember the same thing happened during the November practicum. How can I keep motivated? And keep my energy up? Perhaps part of the problem this practicum is that I can see how close I am to the end of this whole thing. In less than a month I'll be packing up and driving back to Calgary... and then from there to Yellowknife for my internship. This week, I just tried to focus on whatever was planned for the next day. I'd worry about tomorrow, later.

2)   A cough and a sneeze. I got pretty sick the first weekend of March Break. Awful head cold and cough. Ugh. I’m just getting over it now.

3)   Is this thing on? No technology in the classroom. Not really a challenge, but something I really miss from my last practicum where I was lucky enough to have a SmartBoard. It was great to be able to bedazzle my students with YouTube videos and other interactive experiences. So I've just been using other no-tech ways to create the same kind of interactive activities (cutting out pictures and moving them around around the whiteboard with magnets, post-it notes on chart paper, four corners, etc.).

4)   Co-teaching. It’s harder than it looks. And more rewarding than I thought. Oh – and did I mention it was hard? At Owen P.S., the three grade 5 teachers co-teach and co-plan language arts, science and social science. So the three TCs also co-teach and co-plan. With all of the group work that we do in class, you would think that I would be prepared for the co-teaching experience. But not so much. Take three people, with three different ways of communicating, different strengths, and different speeds of working... You almost need another practicum to figure out how to co-teach! I have already used the words, “hard” and “rewarding” to describe the experience. I’ve also found it: confusing, gratifying and creative. 

Over the winter break, I listened to the great Tina Fey’s audiobook Bossypants. I mention this now because in the book, she outlines the rules of improv comedy. I think her rules also apply to co-teaching. (Actually, I think Fey would argue that these rules are also good rules for life.) To paraphrase shamelessly from Fey’s book…

1)   Say yes.
This isn’t to suggest you should blindly agree with everything - it’s more of a reminder to respect what your partner has created and to start in a generous and open minded place.

2)   Say yes AND.
Agree, and then add something of your own. It’s your responsibility to contribute. Be sure to add something to the discussion.

3)   Make statements / don’t ask questions all the time.
By asking questions all the time, you put pressure on your partner to come up with answers. Don’t be the person who always raises questions and points out obstacles. Be part of the solution.

4)   There are no mistakes, only opportunities.
I think I like this rule the best of them all. Don't be afraid of failing. Try things. Be brave!  

Back in the classroom, we had a great week with Scientists in the School coming in for one afternoon. The students seemed really engaged with all of the experiments and activities and I took away some strategies to make science challenging, fun AND organized (see my second blog, where I talk about my fear of leading science experiments).

We also began our culminating task, which will be a Bitstrips comic.

I hope to take the weekend to refocus and recharge.

Ever onward…

Initiating Event / Week 2

(For those just tuning in, I’ve decided to format the four entries of this blog to follow the four parts of the narrative form I’m teaching my grade 5 class. This week: the Initiating Event.)

I’m not really a “quote” person, but the one I like above others is attributed to the English romantic poet, William Wordsworth: “To begin, begin.”

When I used to have a day job / work in an office, I would actually keep this saying in a place where I could see it easily and often, because I easily, and often, would put off doing things. I am, for all intents and purposes, a slow starter.

In our grade 5 study of narrative writing, we’ve been talking about the second element of the narrative form - the Initiating Event - as the event that sets the rest of the story in motion. You can’t have a story without it.

For me, week 2 was the Initiating Event for this practicum. It was the week that I really started to feel more at ease being in front of the classroom and with my lessons and with the material I was teaching.

In this practicum I am co-teaching and co-planning a unit in language arts (narrative writing) and science (matter). I’m comfortable with the language arts, but science… not so much. I am intimidated by science. (Yes, even grade 5 science.) And I am nervous about conducting experiments in class.

As a student, I love doing science experiments. But as a teacher, I'm unsure about being in charge of the learning that accompanies an experiment of the science persuasion. There are so many questions:

What if I forget to give the students a fact or piece of information that is vital to the success of the experiment?
Where can I buy petri dishes?
Should the students wear safety goggles for this?
What is sodium bicarbonate?

But mostly I think I'm concerned about the elements of the experiment I can't control (which is a big deal for someone like me, who is most comfortable when prepared).

This week, the grade 5s and I conducted a science experiment. There were empty water bottles and balloons and vinegar and baking soda. We combined the baking soda and the vinegar to create a chemical reaction that resulted in the production of a gas (carbon dioxide) that filled up the bottle and inflated the balloon.

The kids loved it. And everything, for the most part, worked the way it was supposed to. And the kids learned what they were supposed to learn. And I can’t wait to do some other cool science experiments with them again.

In language arts, the grade 5s have been been writing short stories and sketches inspired by picture books, images and objects. This week, the inspiration is Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King. After listening the the music piece a couple of times, the students came up with a list of how the music made them feel and what they imagined:

Can't wait to read those stories!

On Friday (the day before March break), we (the grade 5 TCs) put together a science Jeopardy game for our students, complete with Jeopardy theme music. Working in teams, the students had to come to a consensus on the correct Jeopardy question. So much fun!

The Jeopardy game was followed by the annual student / teacher basketball game, an exciting match-up that ended up with the teachers squeaking out a 38 – 37 win over the students. I tried to take some photos but my camera wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the pace of the game. This is the best of it.

Looking forward to March Break... 

Orientation / Week 1

In the spirit (and celebration) of the Narrative Writing unit I am co-teaching and co-planning with two other Midtowners, I am going to attempt to write my four blog entries in line with the four elements, or parts, of the narrative form we are teaching our grade 5s: orientation; initiating event; complication; and resolution.  

So here we go:

Orientation

The setting

Ecole Owen Public School: As soon as you walk into Owen, you feel at ease. The design of the school is amazing: all 13 classrooms circle the library. Oh – and the classrooms DON’T HAVE ANY DOORS. That’s right, people. No doors. Prior to seeing / experiencing this no doors situation for myself, I was skeptical that it could actually work. But it does. It contributes to the "community-ness" and openness of the school. You feel it when you’re there – it’s palpable. And I especially love that the library is at the centre of it all and acts as a common area for the students.

The characters

Me: feeling tired. (Even before practicum began I was exhausted. I had a lot of projects and assignments due the week prior. I was hoping to start this practicum well rested, with all of my lesson plans completed. In reality: not so much. )

My AT: a creative and generous teacher who gives helpful feedback on my lessons.

My class: 23 interesting, amazing grade 5 students.

And more! Two other grade 5 TCs (we co-teach and co-plan the grade 5 lessons), their students and their ATs. 

First week at a glance:

Although I’d had seven STEP days at the school, I felt pretty rusty on my first official day of teaching. Was I talking too much? (Probably.) Was my voice too quiet? (Perhaps.) Too loud?  (Not likely.) Was I asking the right questions?

Speaking of asking questions: during that first week I was reminded of some observations / realizations from my last practicum. For example, the need to ask good, clear questions of the students. Case in point:

Me: Can someone tell me what types, or kinds, of writing you have learned this year? (Hoping for the answer: persuasive writing or procedural writing.)

Student answer: Cursive?

(Needless to say, I wasn't expecting that answer - which was absolutely correct - and I made a mental note that I really should be asking better questions.)

Other first week highlights include:

During a discussion of the possible resolution in the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears, one student was having a hard time accepting the connection between the complication and resolution as it was presented by his classmates. “I’m just not buying it,” he insisted. (He finally did get a resolution that he felt was satisfactory.)

During the "Ice Race" competition (where students had to see how quickly they could melt an ice cube and changing the state of matter from a solid to a liquid), one student put 10 coats on an ice cube, in an attempt to make it melt faster. (That strategy did not make the ice cube melt faster.)

One student used the word “frittered” in a poem. As in “to tear or break away”. Awesome. 

We had the opportunity to get all 75 of the grade 5 students involved in the Sandal Design project, in which they applied their knowledge of using cylinders and triangles to resist the forces of nature to make sandals out of bristol board. The students then tested out their sandals in a fashion show in the library.

(Let me just say here that it took me a couple of attempts at making the sandals before I could construct them strong enough to actually walk in / on.) Great job grade 5s!

So, it's been a great week be teaching grade 5 at Owen. Now, onto week 2...

The last post....

I can't believe the first practicum experience is over. I'm really going to miss the students in 7-1 and 7-2, but I'm also looking forward to seeing the Midtown group next week and hearing about everyone's experiences.

I'm also looking forward to getting a decent night's sleep for the first time in a month or so.

Blog responses: this week I responded to four blogs: Lauren, Sarah (this one may or may not have worked – LiveJournal was giving me a hard time with posting on Sarah’s site), Lindsay and Kelly.

Week Three

Week Three… otherwise known as Report Card Week and/or Parent Teacher Meeting Week and/or Visit from the School’s Superintendent Week

(I think I forgot to mention that last week I had the opportunity to run the Dance Club practice / rehearsal for the upcoming December talent show. My AT was away that day, and dance practice was on! It was such a fun experience.... made me wish I had taken more dance lessons, though!)

My AT has been teaching for over 13 years and, in that time, has accumulated a lot of amazing word games for the class (Bananagrams, Boggle, etc.). Every once in a while, she will devote a Language Arts class to playing literacy games. In one of the classes last week, we played Taboo (the game where a player has to have his / her team guess the word in his / her card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card) and it was HILARIOUS. The class was divided into two teams and every member of the class was on the edge of their seat waiting for the clues / explanations from their team member. It got so loud as the kids screamed out their answers. I cannot even begin to explain how much the kids loved playing that game (and I have to admit, I loved it too). I never really thought about using word games in the classroom. Taboo, in particular, really challenged the kids to use their vocabulary and verbal skills. Such a great idea / activity.

I also had the opportunity to sit in on all (32!) of my AT’s parent teacher meetings. I don’t know how she did it – I was exhausted just observing the meetings.

Classroom management seemed to be better this week. It could be any number of things... perhaps something to do with parent / teacher meetings that week?

Week Two...

If I'm anything, I'm consistent.

The big theme of week two was – yet again – classroom management. But this week it was a different kind.

In week two, I taught a mini-unit on Literary Devices and Figurative Language. I thought I came up with some interesting lesson plans, activities and ways to illustrate the concepts (including deconstructing and finding literary devices in music lyrics). The students seemed excited to be able to listen to music and study lyrics in class… almost too excited. It was hard to settle everyone back down and get back on task.

As Serge pointed out when he visited my class: it’s amazing to get students excited about a lesson or activity – but you also have to be able to contain that excitement. He had some great advice for me, and what I’m realizing is that I have to anticipate these kinds of reactions and preface or give instructions about how I expect students to respond or behave. (Which I guess goes back to giving very specific details from my Week One post.)

Serge also had some great suggestions for handling all of those grade 7 boys who - well - act like grade 7 boys. There are so many of them! I teach two classes (with 34 students in each) and in one of the classes the boys almost out number the girls 2 to 1!

I’m lucky to be in a room that has access to SMARTBoard, so I’ve been incorporating the technology into my lessons. I do love the SMARTBoard. And the kids love using it. Whenever I have an activity that involves students coming up to the SMARTBoard, hands immediately go up. In one class, almost every student wants to come up to the board and it’s too hard to choose just one or two students because everyone else gets so disappointed. I’ve tried a couple of different ways to make it (choosing who gets to come up to the board) as random and fair as possible, including choosing names out of a basket. (The students also seem to think that this is an equitable way to do this.)

Until next week....

Week One...

It’s been an exciting, exhilarating and exhausting couple of days.

Being in front of the class for the first week was so great – I like the kids a lot. It’s an amazing feeling when you see that the class is getting it – that they’re responding to your questions and concepts. At the same time, I found it a little overwhelming to look out at the class and realize that I had their attention and they’re actually listening to me.

That being said – classroom management is, and will be, one of my greatest challenges.

In a day, I teach the same Language Arts lesson to two different grade 7 classes. It’s interesting to see what works in one class and what works in another. One class is definitely more challenging to manage than the other (not just for me, but my AT as well). I’ve tried several different techniques (clapping, waiting, walking around) and I am trying to figure out what will work for me and what will work for each of the classes. In general, I think the kids know how they should behave but often need to be reminded that they should raise their hands to answer questions and not chatter when others are speaking.

I realize there are things going on outside of the classroom that affect what happens in the classroom. On Friday for example, the students were scheduled to take the Beep Test in HPE. They were so excited and nervous about the Beep Test and it was really hard to settle them down.

I am also very aware that the students are testing me, so I feel I have to extra vigilant to make sure that I am on top of any behaviour that they could never get away with with their own teacher.

I also realized that I have to give VERY SPECIFIC instructions or else chaos ensues. I thought I had this great activity with manipulatives and (in retrospect) gave somewhat vague instructions. It became a bit of a gong show, I think. When I gave the same activity to the second class, I made sure I gave clear instructions and the activity went more smoothly. (Although, I can’t be 100 per cent sure it went better because of my instructions or because the second class is a little easier as far as classroom management goes.)

I’m lucky to have wonderful, supportive and understanding AT who is encouraging me to try things out and see if they work – or don’t work.

Bring on week two!