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...