Week Six: Experiencing Agribition.

Field trips are an important part of learning for students because they are able to have hands on experiences and also they receive a different type of learning. These types of experiences show there can be a better understanding of the topic they are learning about, it is one thing to read a book about cows, but to have your students go out and see a cow can be an entirely different type of learning, this could be the first time they have seen a cow, and this can change their understanding.

I wasn’t sure what to expect walking into Agribition with my Kindergarten students, I knew it was going to be loud and they were going to be excited, but I also had a responsibility to make sure they are learning as well as having fun. I had an entire lesson planned, I had created all these questions I wanted to ask while we were exploring the Agribition grounds. While I was attempting to ask questions I wasn’t getting the feedback I was expecting, I decided f I asked what they liked and what they learned at each display. This helped me to assess their learning, and I could also share some extra knowledge with them when they asked what I liked!

This was an eye-opening experience, and it wasn’t necessarily an easy one, we have two half day classes, which meant we were only at Agribition for two hours in the morning and afternoon, personally I felt like this was good for everyone. By the time we were leaving all the kids, and teachers were exhausted, and I’m not sure if the kids would have been able to handle being in that space for the entire day. This experience was great for me to have in my pre-internship, it made me realize the work and planning that goes into taking students on a field trip!

Week 5

Funny enough this week my co-intern and I both planned our lessons around Seasons, and this was interesting because we were using two different subject outcomes. This was interesting for how we taught the class, but it went well!

Something I got to experience today that was slightly different from my other classroom experiences, was that my co-op had myself and my co-intern lead the circle time at the begin of the school day. This is something we have witnessed before, but there was a slight pressure to start the student’s day off on a fun and positive note. Starting off I was a little bit shaky and wasn’t quite sure where I was going to go with  the circle time… Once I got past the calendar and had the student’s pick the song y anted to sing, all of the kids started singing along, and gave me their full attention. This was such an important moment for me, it was a positive affirmation that I needed, and this made circle time, and m entire lesson go a lot smoother!

My lesson included reading a book and having the students complete a drawing sheet t show understanding. Because I didn’t have an opportunity to teach my lesson a second time, I am not sure how the the changes would have positively or negatively affected the lesson. One addition I should have made was to give the students a body break, and then begin my lesson, however while reading my story I didn’t see students getting to the point of being distracting, but next time that break would till be helpful. When it came to having my students draw of their sheets I made a split second change and decided to seat everyone at the large table and work on my example sheet alongside the students so they knew exactly what to do (to a point anyway). By doing this I could make sure most of the students understood the point of the exercise. I had them offer ideas of what you do and see in each season, by having these ideas offered I could gauge where the students were, and was able to identify some students who were struggling to understand the lesson. Had I had more time or another lesson I could teach another lesson, and hopefully get each student to a point where they can contribute to the lesson, and be confident in the topic.

Week 4: Halloween Dancing.

Do the lesson plan backwards… Outcome first. We have been told this so many times, but we were also told that we would be expected to create lesson plans, when our cooperating teacher has a theme in mind. I figured I would be able to create this impressive Halloween lesson, and I wouldn’t struggle. This wasn’t the case…

I created a lesson that I thought would be interesting and exciting for my students to participate in. I had music, spooky sounds, and to top it off a “Just Dance” video to finish off the lesson! I figured it would be fun, and the kids would love it. The kids were excited when I asked the kids who liked to dance, and how they liked to dance. Most answered to the television or the radio, and this started the lesson out on a positive note. I continued to bring up the word “beat” and ask if anyone knew what a beat was… The blank faces should have been my note to stop there, and change my lesson on the fly, unfortunately  I didn’t, and I lost the kids. I wanted to have the kids dancing to the spooky Halloween music, but it doesn’t have words, and that made it hard for the kids to move their bodies without a sort of auditory ques. When I turned on the “Just Dance” almost all my students were enthusiastic, and participating in the activity.

This was a difficult thing to have happen. I was enthusiastic, and wanted the kids to enjoy it as well… There was a sense of failure and disappointment when they didn’t enjoy it as much as I intended. I get the opportunity to teach the lesson twice, and that means I can make some necessary edits, and try again! I decide to make “Just Dance” the development of my lesson, and then I would play “This is Halloween” and allow the students to move their bodies after they have some guided movement with the video. This was a lot easier for the students to follow, and they had a lot of fun! I was glad to hear their opinions about which was easier, and the majority of the class said that being guided was easier.

I am hoping that I could teach another lesson and bring a drum so that the students can move their body to a beat, and  understand what that means. This was also mentioned by my cooperating teacher which I really appreciated!