In Language Arts, we looked at different levelled reading books for the primary division. Our instructor had us examine the books, paying close attention to the text size, amount of text, content, and the difficulty of the words. After exploring the books we had to place them in order from the lowest level to the highest level. This was a great strategy for us as prospective teachers because it allowed us to gain an understanding of the different books and what to look for when levelling students.

Rain on a Leaf
By: Rebecca Goorts

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Last week in Language Arts we examined a variety of children’s books in small groups. We each picked a favourite book and read it to our group. My favourite was Mix It Up! as it was a very fun and interactive book. It is a great book to share with students before an art lesson as it talks about primary colours and mixing those colours to create secondary colours.

In my math class, we had to complete a learning log that could be completed in various forms (ex: essay, graphics, list, etc.). I decided to do mine as Thinglink as I found it to be a very interactive and interesting way to complete an assignment. This is a great way to have students complete a task by uploading an image and inputting different points to discuss further. All of mine was text based but you could also incorporate images, videos, links, etc. to extend off of the background image.

My learning log surrounds the question “What does ‘strong number sense’ mean to you? How will you know if your students have a strong number sense and how will you ensure they develop this?”

In my Media & Digital Literacy class, we learned how to make memes. Being in the Faculty of Education is a very rewarding yet busy experience. There is rarely downtime as there is so much to learn and do: classes, readings, assignments, the list goes on! I created this meme to represent a feeling that often occurs when thinking of my to-do list.

Memes can be used in a classroom in various ways! One way that I may use meems in a classroom is to have students create a meme as a form of expression. They could express how they are feeling that day, about a school topic/subject, home life, etc. This would allow students to express their feelings in a medium that can help them get their point across (text and image) without having to verbally say how they feel; which can sometimes be difficult for students. Memes could also be used in visual arts to explore themes.

Tonight I attended a Professional Development Workshop on Kindergarten put on by two Kindergarten Facilitators from the Simcoe County District School Board. It was AMAZING!!!!! It was so inspirational and they provided us with a great understanding of what a typical day would be like in a Kindergarten classroom. We did an activity that allowed us to explore and understand the Kindergarten Program Curriculum which was very helpful. We got to play with and explore different tools and manipulatives that would be in a typical Kindergarten classroom. It was a lot of fun and very eye-opening. I painted an image using watercolour paint pens (they were so cool)! This workshop made me very excited to be a teacher and has left me with a hope of being placed in a Kindergarten classroom for one of my Faculty of Education Placements.

On the first day of my Media and Digital Literacy, we were welcomed into the class by making LEGO people to represent ourselves. This was a fun way to start the class and to have an insight as to what we would be doing this year. There were some limited character pieces that represented me as a person. I chose the dark ponytailed hair because my hair is dark brown and I often wear it in a ponytail. I chose a striped shirt because after thinking about my wardrobe, it consists of many striped shirts. The blue bottoms represent the jeans that I wear almost every day. I put myself on a little diving board for a couple of reasons. In a practical sense, I LOVE to swim! In a more theoretical sense, I am diving head first into being a Faculty of Education student on my way into my teaching career.

 

This is an amazing video about how your creativity may seem obvious to you but amazing to others! A video like this could be very powerful in a classroom because it talks about the importance of believing in yourself and your thoughts.

Because of a teacher, many students achieve things they never thought possible!

My friend Emily and I worked on our internship today with smile cookies in hand.  The yummy cookies kept us smiling while knee deep in homework. It felt good to support the local Tim Hortons… and who doesn’t enjoy a delicious chocolate chip cookie?!