My Very First Day in the Classroom!
"I am truly happy to say that my first day at my field experience was so amazing! Prior to the first day, I reached out to my cooperating teacher who requested that we come up with a “get to me” activity. I was thrilled to do so! My partner came up with a little game with dice that let us get to know the students interests and who they are in a fun way. As we expected our cooperating teacher is extremely kind, welcoming and encouraging! She is a strong leader of a diverse and energetic group of grade 2/3’s at Kitchener Community School in North-central Regina. The student population is 80% Indigenous, with many other cultures filling the decorated hallways.
The grade 2/3 classroom was painted in neutral tones which made the decorations and learning materials on them glow. The walls were filled with some of the students work, an alphabet wall, and encouraging posters/sayings. The students lockers were at the back of the classroom and the desks were organized in pods of 5. There was a mat area with a teacher chair for silent or group reading and discussions. There was a teacher desk at the back of the classroom, though it was only used while working in groups as there is no EA.
I arrived during the lunch hour and quickly found my coordinating teacher. I talked with her and joined her for recess supervision. Shortly after we got outside many students ran up to talk to us as they were excited to have “Miss B’s friends” in the classroom today. Following recess, we had a short literacy period, then headed to Physical Education class. When we got back to the classroom, the students went to exchange their library books. The library was littered with many culturally diverse books, comics, factual books, fiction books, and every reading level available. We finished the day with literacy and science. Before the students left, many rushed up to give me hugs before they left - which melted my heart!
After the students had all left the teacher sat down and chatted with us for a bit. She had suggested instead of just observing this semester we would dip our toes in the water with teaching the science lessons on bats each afternoon. Obviously I was thrilled! We made the plan that we would read a bat themed book, make a K/W/L chart, and get the students to write one thing they wonder on a picture of a bat then colour it. I can’t wait!
After discussing our plans for the following week she gave us an insight to who our learners are. Many are developmentally behind, with the grade levels present in the grade 2/3 classroom ranging from K-3. She prefers teaching her class in groups, with the group members being similar in developmental levels for more grade level directed teaching. The main focus for the year is improving literacy and math as it is the subjects that many students are struggling with the most. The children each have their strengths and weaknesses as I have already started to learn. I cannot wait to get to know these youngsters and watch them grow throughout this semester."
- October 8th, 2019
The grade 2/3 classroom was painted in neutral tones which made the decorations and learning materials on them glow. The walls were filled with some of the students work, an alphabet wall, and encouraging posters/sayings. The students lockers were at the back of the classroom and the desks were organized in pods of 5. There was a mat area with a teacher chair for silent or group reading and discussions. There was a teacher desk at the back of the classroom, though it was only used while working in groups as there is no EA.
I arrived during the lunch hour and quickly found my coordinating teacher. I talked with her and joined her for recess supervision. Shortly after we got outside many students ran up to talk to us as they were excited to have “Miss B’s friends” in the classroom today. Following recess, we had a short literacy period, then headed to Physical Education class. When we got back to the classroom, the students went to exchange their library books. The library was littered with many culturally diverse books, comics, factual books, fiction books, and every reading level available. We finished the day with literacy and science. Before the students left, many rushed up to give me hugs before they left - which melted my heart!
After the students had all left the teacher sat down and chatted with us for a bit. She had suggested instead of just observing this semester we would dip our toes in the water with teaching the science lessons on bats each afternoon. Obviously I was thrilled! We made the plan that we would read a bat themed book, make a K/W/L chart, and get the students to write one thing they wonder on a picture of a bat then colour it. I can’t wait!
After discussing our plans for the following week she gave us an insight to who our learners are. Many are developmentally behind, with the grade levels present in the grade 2/3 classroom ranging from K-3. She prefers teaching her class in groups, with the group members being similar in developmental levels for more grade level directed teaching. The main focus for the year is improving literacy and math as it is the subjects that many students are struggling with the most. The children each have their strengths and weaknesses as I have already started to learn. I cannot wait to get to know these youngsters and watch them grow throughout this semester."
- October 8th, 2019