• Before the class started, this teacher got their newly assigned student teachers to draw a big map of Canada on the board, with the Provinces and their Capital Cities for preparation of a later activity. Meanwhile the students are reminded to take out their homework from the last class.
  • The students in this class are also situated in a semi-circle/ U shape, and the teacher placed a single desk at the front of the room in the opening.
  • While the teacher assigns pairs to the class, they hand out a white board to each pair. The students were then to write key points of the summaries they had written about from a text they had for homework. Once the class had begun their task, the teacher went out to quickly print out more copies of the texts the class is working with to give to not only their student teachers, but to myself and another observing student.
    • I’ve seen this a few times now where, the teacher leading the class will give them an activity to do before doing something quickly outside of the classroom, whether its printing something off or if the teacher needs to run to the bathroom quickly or grabbing a drink. The only downfall to this, is that if you take too long students will lose their motivation and not actually complete the task at hand.
  • There are a few points where the teacher needs to reiterate to a specific student not to do the homework now, as they are working on something else.
    • Here the teacher never gets frustrated, instead explains each time what it is they want the student to do. In this case, it was to write a summary of what they read for homework. I think what may have helped in this situation would maybe suggest they finish the homework after completing the task given if time allows. The repetitiveness of trying to do homework might show that its completion is important to them.
  • After this reminder, the teacher continues to walk around the class and gauge completion of the task. It is at this time the teacher tells that class that they are looking for completion and not perfection.
    • At this point I could tell that the activity was going on longer than anticipated, due to students either striving for perfection or distracted with their own homework. I think at some point potentially setting a timer on the board or 5, 3, and 1 minute reminders of how much time is left might have helped students focus on communicating their points opposed to striving for perfection.
  • Once the teacher collects all of the boards, as it seemed the students would work on this all class if the teacher didn’t take the boards away. The boards were then lined up at the front of the class and read aloud. Once brief notes as well as quite a bit of praise were given, the boards were put away and cleaned by the student teachers.
  • Some of the “critiques” were that we try to avoid repetition in our sentences and paragraphs, as well as summaries not having a conclusion. To show appreciation for the class’ hard work, and to acknowledge the end of the activity, a round of applause is had for the class.
    • While one might not do this after every activity, after one that may have been especially hard or nerve-wracking for students is a good idea. I think it will help diffuse any tension or anxiety the student might be facing from having their work being read aloud like in this instance.
  • It is at this time, that the teacher formally introduced the class to the student teachers by their names, and then explaining that they will be joining and helping out with the class for the next 5 weeks or so.
  • Next the teacher splits the room into 2 groups, then tells them to elect a leader. After this is completed the teacher explains the next activity to the class which includes the Map of Canada the student teachers had drawn earlier. There will be random questions about Canada that are fairly obscure that even most Canadians would not know the answers to. As each group gets answers correct, they move from one capital city to the next, trying to cross Canada first, or simply get the farthest.
    • I thought this was a really cute way to potentially introduce the provinces/territories and their capitals to the class, as well as some fun facts that they might not have known before. You could simulate something similar with review questions, and a drawn boardgame-esque route the teams could take. If you wanted you could even have treats/items for everyone, but the winning team gets first pick. I thought this was a really fun and adaptable activity!
  • During the first question, the teacher took the lead with the first question to the class, using body language to mimic the different animals within the multiple choice question. They also repeated the question with a slower cadence, as well as the different answer options. They then made sure each team had an answer, and had said it aloud (as was the leader’s responsibility) before giving the correct answer and moving the “board pieces” accordingly.
  • While the student teachers had gone through the questions with the class, the teacher supports both the class and the student teachers by asking more critical thinking questions about the activity. They even sprinkle jokes about the content of the questions to keep the atmosphere of the class less serious and more light-hearted. Once every question was done, the teacher lead the class in a brief round of applause to keep them motivated. Since the questions were random guesses and not knowledge-based for the curriculum , the students could be discouraged fairly easily, hence the cheering and applause to remind them this is for fun and not to be taken seriously.
    • This really caught my attention, because while the student teachers were doing great with the activity, this teacher sees where multitasking needs to be done in keeping the atmosphere light. It also shows how they bring their personality to class as well. You can visibly see that they believe learning should be enjoyable and fun.
  • Once the activity is done, but before the class was released for a brief break, the teacher asked if the class would like to move to the language lab a few classrooms down. To which nearly all the students jumped at the offer, grabbed their things and went to the language lab to take their break there before class resumed.
    • You can tell that the students were really excited for the change of pace! I don’t blame them, because this classroom has large bean bag chairs and a couch at the back of the room. It is a much more informal setting, and it was nice to see the students motivated.
  • 15 minute break
  • When the class came back together after the break, they had assumed like a semi-circle while the teacher had grabbed a chair to replicate an atmosphere akin to a story time at a library. Before going directly into the story that the teacher had prepared, they had walked through past events and characters of the story so far to make sure everyone is up to speed. What the teacher is reading aloud to the class is actually a rendition of a novel they wanted the class to read, but the level was just a bit too difficult for the class. The teacher has actually gone through and adjusted certain passages to be more suitable for their class’ level.
    • Wow! This alone is a lot of work to do! I was impressed and amazed at how much love, work and consideration this teacher puts into their classes. Seeing this not only gives me ideas for things I might do for my future classes, but also I find this very motivating for my own future practice.
  • Once the teacher started reading the text, they’d stop every once in a while to ask a question about the sentence just read to keep track of who is paying attention/engaged in the activity
  • As the class moves through the text, the teacher both reminds students some of the harder words that have reoccured in the story, as well as explaining the meaning of new words. They also use onomatopoeia and body language to help the students visualize the story they’re listening to and understand the more minute details. Occasionally making eye contact to keep track of who is and isn’t engaged.
  • The teacher is constantly keeping on their toes, rewording sentences or phrases that might not be clear upon first listen while gauging the class’ attention and retention.
  • Once the “chapter” is finished, the teacher hands out a worksheet with a copy of the text for the class to work on in either pairs or by themselves.
    • I really enjoy the subtle way that this teacher gives the class choices without putting a lot of emphasis or pressure on the students to do so.
  • While they get a morse code puzzle (the word “bye”) written on the board at the front of the room (the text they read talks about morse code briefly), student teachers check in with students in case they have any questions about the worksheet. The teacher comes back quickly and also talks through translations of the locations mentioned in the text brought up by the students.
  • Informally coming together as a group to see what questions the class needs clarification on, and comes up with an equation to answer the more math-oriented question, as they had forgotten to make an answer sheet for this particular activity.
  • As the class comes to a close, the teacher quickly went over the worksheet with everyone to make sure everyone had participated before setting them free for the day.