Grade 9 Drama

View my unit plan here

Week #8 Reflection

Today was the last week of pre-internship at Connaught school and I am completely heart-broken.  I have had the absolute best experience I could have ever wished for.  Jill was such a terrific co-op teacher, she modelled teaching in a way that completely inspired me.  Although the kids and I went through some ups and downs I love each of them so very much.  The kids made Brooke and I two huge cards with thank you messages.  I nearly cried because everyone was so sweet and so sad to see us go.  In my final refection I will reflect on my time as a whole, but today made me really appreciate how lucky I was for being placed with this amazing group.

What went well?

For today’s lesson I was back teaching math which is where I am the most comfortable.  We were working on double-digit addition, and since it was the last day I thought it would be fun to use candy to build equations.  Each student got pull and peel twizzlers for their tens, and skittles for their ones.  I made a deal with them that if they work hard during the lesson and built eight equations, when the bell rang they could eat their candy.  This worked so well.  I was really nervous that the kids would eat their candy right away and not be able to do the activity, but every single kid finished their equations before eating.  I was blown away with how much they respected my rules, and how engaged they were with the actual math.  Some created very basic questions so they could hurry and eat their candy, where as others challenged themselves to create difficult questions to build with their candy.  I was so fine with it either way, I was just happy they were doing math!  I was calm and collected, I gave strong easy to follow instructions, and my tone of voice was engaging and regulated.  I am so proud of the amount I have grown as a teacher with this group.  I loved every second of today’s lesson.

What did not go so well?

I am still feeling on top of the world from today’s lesson.  However one thing I missed is that I did not give them enough candy.  In my head I thought they only needed 9 twizzlers for the tens, and 9 skittles for the ones.  This made sense because to build a number they would never need more that 9 of each.  However I forgot about the adding part when I was planning.  They needed enough candy to build two numbers, and for larger numbers they did not have enough. One student brought this concern up to me and it was something I had not thought of at all.  It all worked out and we managed just fine, but I would give the students more candy if I were to teach this lesson again.

Room for improvement?

I think both Brooke and I will continue to work on our classroom management in our internships to come.  Although the class is so much better than when we first started, we still struggle with transitioning from one activity to another.  I personally need to work on giving complete instructions before dismissing the students to their activities.  If they were clear on what the task was, they would not feel the need to get up and visit their friends to talk and ask questions.   Again, I have improved on this so much since day 1, but I think there is still lots more opportunity for growth.

I will discuss this more in my final reflection, but thank you to the lovely Jillian Ward for giving Brooke and I the absolute best experience ever.  I am forever thankful.  I will miss these kids SO MUCH!

Week #7 Reflection

This week I got to teach Art again and I was very excited because I used a version of my lesson that included Indigenous content.  I was mostly excited because I love all Inuit stories about the Northern Lights and I wanted to share them with the class.  I had two small projects for the kids, one that was a chalk rubbing, and the other that used crayon and watercolour paint.  Again today I had the best experience with the group and I am getting so sad that we are in the final weeks.  I got to teach with Jill’s microphone today which was a strange experience, but working amazingly well!  It is odd to hear yourself talk in a small space, but it improved my tone of voice 1000%.

What went well?

I have struggled teaching Art in the past because it is an hour in the afternoon.  Afternoons are really difficult for our group so I knew classroom management would be very important.  I started the class by doing some breathing exercises, I had seen Jill model this technique the week before and it worked great.  I then read the class a story which again kept them calm after lunch recess which is just what they needed.  I made sure to play a game of Simon Says after the book was over because I knew they would not be able to sit through the instructions after sitting through the whole story.  This proved to work extremely well.  The students stayed engaged for the entire carpet time which was an amazing accomplishment!  The Art activity itself was lots of fun and the students had a great time creating their Northern Lights.

What did not go so well?

All in all the lesson went really well.  One thing that did not go amazing was that I over planned.  I should not have given the students two picture options.  When I was writing it all down on paper I did not think it would take the whole time, then in the end I over planned.  Some kids did not get the full instructions and became frustrated when they were unable to finish.

What can I improve on?

I still need to improve on giving directions.  Most students knew what to do, but I ended up answering way too many questions when they should have been working.  I need to make sure I double-check that everyone understands before sending them back to their desks.  I also got a note from Jill to save time so the students can share their work.  I was super impressed with all their creations, but over planned and had no time to share.  I think the closure would have been a lot more effective if the students got a minute to show each other their work.

Finally, I loved working with the microphone today.  I was able to stay calm and keep my voice at a relatable level.  I think the students appreciated my voice on the mic and they were all willing to listen and be engaged.  I had another great week, I am really beginning to love the 2/3 leaders.  Working with them is such a learning experience, but they are amazing kids and I will be so so sad to leave.

Week #8 Lesson Plan (Addition with Candy)

Candy Math!

Lesson Time Required:  45 min

Grade Level-Strand-Conceptual Focus: Grade 2 Math

Key Inquiry Question:

 How can we use candy as a fun resource to practice our double-digit math equations?

Required Resources and Materials:

• Pull and peel twizzlers
• Skittles
• Math worksheet

Proposed Learning Outcomes & Indicators:

Outcome: N2.2

Demonstrate understanding of addition (limited to 1 and 2-digit numerals) with answers to 100 and the corresponding subtraction

• Generalize rules for adding when one addend is zero and for subtracting zero from a quantity and use concrete, pictorial, physical, or oral models to explain the reasoning.
• Model concretely, pictorially, or physically situations that involve the addition or subtraction of 1 and 2-digit numbers (with answers to 100) and explain how to record the process shown in the model symbolically.
• Generalize and apply strategies for adding and subtracting 1 and 2-digit numbers (with answers to 100).

Planned Learning Activities:

Set:

• Give examples of addition (review with students)
• Go over double-digit addition with student examples
• Have the students create equations and solve them for the class
• Work on describing our addition process
• Explain building equations with candy (twizzlers 10s, skittles 1s)

Development:

• Give each student a cup of candy and a worksheet
• Instruct that they need to create and build 8 equations before they can eat their candy
• Walk around the room and offer help whenever needed
• Once the student has built all their equations and solved them, check their work then let them eat the candy

 Closure:

• Check the students addition questions, then let them eat their manipulatives

Week #6/7 Lesson Plan (Visual Art Northern Lights)

Northern Lights

Lesson Time Required:  60 min

Grade Level-Strand-Conceptual Focus: Grade 3- Visual Art- Environment

Key Inquiry Question:

 How can we use First Nations legends and stories to learn about the Northern Lights, then use that knowledge to create our own illustrations?

Required Resources and Materials:

• Algonquin Northern Lights Story
• Painted Skies by Carolyn Mallory
• Black construction paper
• Scissors
• Chalk / Pastels (and/or)
• Scrap paper for smudging
• Glue stick

Arts Education Goals Addressed:

• Cultural/Historical, Creative/Productive, Critical/Responsive

Proposed Learning Outcomes & Indicators:

 Outcome: CP3.7

Create visual art works that express ideas about the natural, constructed, and imagined environments. 

• Generate questions that arise from the investigation of a topic or area of interest to initiate inquiry
• Explore inquiry questions visually

 

Outcome: CP3.8

Create art works using a variety of visual art concepts (e.g., contour lines), forms (e.g., drawing, sculpture), and media (e.g., pencils, pastels, found objects). 

• Apply understanding of contour lines to form the outline of an object.
• Observe visual details, and include details to enhance depictions of animals, people, and objects.

Outcome: CR3.2

Respond to arts expressions that use the environment (natural, constructed, imagined) as inspiration. 

• Respond to arts expressions in various ways such as verbally, through movement, music, or drawing.
• Create an arts expression in response to, or in the same style as, a professional artist and identify connections to the original work.

Outcome: CH3.1

Compare how arts expressions from various groups and communities may be a reflection of their unique environment (e.g., North and South Saskatchewan, urban and rural). 

• Describe how an arts expression tells something about the community and culture in which it was created  

Connections with Other Areas of Study:

• English Language Arts (reading/responding, gaining oral/audio literacies)
• Science (Studying Northern Lights)
• Health (Building spiritual relationships)

Planned Learning Activities:

Set:

• Have the students sit with their heads down and eyes closed and read the Algonquin First Nations legend
• Gather the students into a circle on the floor and read the story Painted Skies
• To work on re-telling and Oral Traditions have the students re-tell certain parts
• As a group, discuss the Northern Lights- introduce the term Aurora Borealis
• Explain the art activity

Development:

• Have the students return to their seats
• Put on relaxing music with the Northern Lights
• Have the students use crayons to create a rubbing to represent the Northern Lights (see photo below)
• Once complete, they can go over the entire paper with water colour paint to make the Northern Lights look real
• When they are done, use a white pencil crayon to draw the outline of a horizon line and cut it out
• Glue the outline to the bottom of their art work.

 Closure:

• With 5-10 minutes remaining in the lesson have the students clean up their area. We will then go around the class, and those who would like to can hold up their picture to share.

Plans for Assessment:

For Teacher:

• Evaluate students on their ability to stay on task, and complete their best work during the art activity. (Use the 1-4 hard work example)

 

Week #5 Lesson Plan (Place Value)

Place Value EXRAVIGANZA

 

Lesson Time Required: 45 Minutes

Grade Level: Grade 2/3 Math

Key Inquiry Question:

• Can we understand numbers to 100 and 1000 and their place value through hands on learning activities?

Pre-requisite Learning:

• The students have been working on understanding different numbers up to 100 and how they break into 10s and 1s.

 

Required Resources and Materials:

• Uno Cards
• “Number War” Worksheet
• White boards (paper will work as well, but less fun)

 

Proposed Learning Outcomes & Indicators:

 

Outcome: N2.1

Demonstrate understanding of whole numbers to 100 (concretely, pictorially, physically, orally, in writing, and symbolically) 

• Describe the patterns related to quantity and place value of adjacent digit positions moving from right to left within a whole number.

 

Planned Learning Activities:

Set:

• Review place value in 2 digit numbers
• Offer the challenge of 3 digit numbers (review the hundreds place)
• Play “Last Number Standing” **
• Have students stand at their table and write a two-digit (if doing tens and ones) or three-digit number (if doing ones, tens, and hundreds) on their white board.
• Start calling out different place value amounts one at a time.  If a student has that amount in their number, they have to sit down.  For example, you might say, “If you have a 2 in the tens place, sit down” or “If you have a 4 in the ones place, sit down” and so on. You may choose to call on students who sit down to share their number aloud.
• Keep calling out different place value amounts until only one student is left standing.  Have them share their number with the entire class.  That is the last number standing!

Development:

• Explain the game “Number Battle”
• Have everyone split into teams of two
• Each student gets two piles of cards (3 if doing larger numbers)
• At the same time as their teammate, they flip 1 card over from each pile
• Looking at the number in front of them, they need to write down how many 10s and 1s are in their number on the provided worksheet.
• As a team, they will then determine who has the higher number, and the highest number gets a point.
• The game will continue like this until the worksheet is filled (approx. 10 turns)
• If the students are struggling they can build the number with base 10 blocks, “phone a friend” (talk to their teammate), and look on the 100-number chart.

Closure:

• Grab the student’s attention with a management strategy (hands on your head, hands on your nose, cards in your bag)
• Time permitting, ask each team to say the highest number they flipped

 

Week #8 PDP Goals

Week #7 PDP Goals

Week #5 PDP Goals

My Time at FYrefly

Over the weekend I completed my 20 hours volunteering with the program FYrefly in Schools.  Since my last CBSL blog, I attended FYrefly’s volunteer training session that would enable me to present in schools.  Sadly, we ran out of time to have any experience actually in schools, but I have still learned a lot.

In my last blog post I discussed learning about the different flags that represent gender and sexual identities.  I continued to work with these flags through many hours of making buttons.  Along with the flags, the buttons I made also had pronouns on them.  There were buttons with he/him, she/her, and they/them on each of the different identity flags.  Through spending many hours making hundreds of buttons I was able to learn about many different identities.  I think it is so important for teachers to understand the wide variety of identities that will be present in their classrooms.  People often joke about the “ABC’s of the LGBT’s” but it is honestly important to get to know them.  There are many, but I think that proves just how diverse and different gender and sexuality can be.  I hope I am able to make all of my future students feel comfortable with who they are, no matter which term best describes them.

In our training session I also learned about the difference between intersex and transgender people.  I was shocked at how little I learned in school about these different identities.  It would make sense that intersex bodies were discussed during sex-ed lessons, however I barely knew anything.  I am honestly quite shocked at how little I am aware of sometimes.  Since I came out, I have been doing a lot of research and reading about members of the LGBT+ community.  I thought learning about others, would help me with my own journey.  Even through actively searching for information, intersex people were new to me.  It is insane to me that so many people would have no idea, or no understanding of intersex identities.  I hope in the years to come there are some shifts in sexual education curriculum that may include not only gay and lesbian relationships, but also intersex and transgender people.

I also gained new information about the Two-Spirit community while I was at the FYrefly volunteer training.  Two-Spirit is a term that is used by First Nations people who also fit into the LGBTQ+ community.  I learned that Two-Spirited people have always existed in First Nations culture and communities.  Nowadays, there are not as many people who identify as Two-Spirit and this has a great deal to do with colonialism and the religion that came with it.  I always thought that Two-Spirit specifically related to bi-sexuality based on the name.  However, this weekend I learned that the Two-Spirit community is made up of many different sexual orientations along with genders.  One may identify as Two-Spirit as a whole identity, rather than a lesbian Two-Spirited person, if that makes any sense?  I am still learning as well.  I think discussing Two-Spirit identities is a way for classrooms to discuss both First Nations culture, along with the LGBTQ community.  It is interesting to think of the possible changes to homophobia and transphobia if Canada still lived by an Indigenous world view.

My connections for this blog post are based more around my personal identity and how FYrefly made me feel.  To begin, it was such a wonderful experience to work with people who share a similar outlook on life as I do.  Not everyone at the FYrefly training session identified similar to me.  I actually think I was the only lesbian present, however, everyone brought their own perspective to the group.  One thing we all had in common was that we attempt to live through a queer pedagogy.  It was so refreshing to be part of a group that was equally passionate about LGBTQ+ rights and education.  It seems a lot easier to attempt to make change when you are surrounded by people with a like mindset.  Not only has FYrefly given me ideas on how to teach and present about queer identities, they also taught me that it is not a solo battle.

The second connection I had with my experience volunteering with FYrefly was my own personal connecting to who I am.  One of the portions of volunteer training was giving a panel presentation to the other participants.  The presentation included an introduction to who we were, our experience in school with either a GSA or just LGBTQ education, and finally our “coming out” story.  I use quotation marks because the presentation was more about personal journeys, rather than specific one moment coming out stories.  This was one of the hardest parts of my volunteer experience I think.  I came out to my family and friends around six years ago, but it is a continuous journey.  I am extremely comfortable public speaking, I love acting and performing.  However, my coming out story is always one that makes me freeze.  I was very nervous to share my story, mostly because I am not 100% comfortable with my self at this point in my life.  However, I can see the value in sharing my past experiences with youth who may be facing some of the same issues.  I felt safe and the more I work with FYrefly, I hope the more comfortable I will be with my own identity.

The final question I have to bring my volunteer experience to a close is, how do I take the new knowledge I have gained from working with FYrefly, and use it to inspire change and progress for LGBTQ identities in the classroom?