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...