This is a fun art activity that integrates math and art together focusing on symmetry and rotations. When I did this with my class a boy came up to me at the end of the day and thanked me for doing such a fun activity. That was the highlight of my day!
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This is a resource that my peers Lyndsay Ball and Jessica Jones and I created for teachers to help support students with dyslexia in their classroom.
Lesson Plan Template Title: Harriet Tubman Social Justice Lesson Grade(s): 6 Subject: Language Arts & Social Studies Strand: Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada, Past and Present Time needed: 1 hour Lesson Summary: Students will start the lesson on discussing bravery and what it means to them. They will be introduced to a summary of Harriet Tubman and her contributions to the Underground Railroad. Read the book, “I am Harriet Tubman”, by Brad Meltzer. Children will be put in groups and work on specific questions relating to the contributions Harriet made and its impact on Canada. Connection between my lesson & Social Justice/Inclusivity: This lesson will introduce the injustice and lack of rights of people of colour in the 1800’s. They will learn the inequalities that these people faced and how standing up for what you believe in can have an impact and change society. I hope they will understand that although this was the law then that it was not right, and to have them think critically about different issues even if the law/rule is coming from an authority/ power figure. The students will reflect on the injustice that Harriet and enslaved people lived and realize the importance of acceptance and inclusivity of individuals of different colours and race. Cumulative task: How can students demonstrate what they learned at the end of the lesson? A follow up assignment for their journals will be to respond to the writing prompt:”If I were in Harriet’s position would I risk travelling on the Underground Railroad? Why or why not? Give detailed examples/reasons. What might the risk and gains be of your actions? How will your actions impact Canada? Stage 1: Desired Results Fundamental Concepts/Skills to be learned in this lesson: Big Ideas/Essential Question: What are the guiding questions driving your lesson? What does it mean to be brave? Can you recall a time when you stood up for yourself or someone else? What were the risks and benefits of standing up for what you believed in? Ontario Curricular Overall Expectation(s) A1: Assess contributions to Canadian identity made by various groups and by various features of Canadian Communities and regions. Ontario Curricular Specific Expectation(s) A1.3 Explain how various groups have contributed to the goal of inclusiveness in Canada, and the extent that Canada has achieved the goal of being an inclusive society. Lesson Goals (what would you like students to do by the end of the lesson? How will they show you they can do this?): Students will be able to make connections and apply their thinking to the impact Harriet Tubman made on Canada becoming an inclusive society. They will do this by working in small groups and becoming experts on one question related to the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman's contributions and risk and the changes that occurred from her actions. The students will present their knowledge to the class. Key concepts and/or skills to be learned/applied: Students will be able to understand the contributions made by Harriet Tubman, the importance of the Underground Railroad and the impact it made on Canada becoming an inclusive society. Background Knowledge (What will students already know going into this lesson – what previous lessons touched upon/taught.) Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction Student Groupings Instructional Strategies: Whole group instruction, small groups and individual exit card Materials: KWL chart paper Book: I am Harriet Tubman, by Brad Meltzer Photocopied pages of book to pass out to groups for answering their question Writing response page Considerations: Strategic groupings (stronger academic students paired with students who require more support) Accommodations: Scribe/assistive technology (speech to text) for students who require support with written output Stage 3: Learning experience and instruction Motivational Hook (5MINS) “Have you ever had to be brave and stand up for yourself or another person? Were you afraid of what might happen when we're in a situation like this?” Open (20 MINS) We are going to learn about Harriet Tubman, a black female who was born in to slavery in America. She risked her life multiple times to try and make a change for herself and hundreds of other enslaved people by guiding them to safety in the north (Pennsylvania and Canada) on the Underground Railroad. On chart paper make a KWL (Know, wonder and what I learned), ask students what they know about the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, and rights/roles of white people and people of colour in the 1800’s? Read: I am Harriet Tubman, by Brad Meltzer. Discuss as a whole group their feelings towards the book. Ask them if it was an inclusive society at the beginning of the story and how Harriet helped change it? Why was the path Harriet took called the Underground Railroad? (It was a secret). What might have happened if Harriet didn’t take action on her beliefs? Body (30 MINS) Students will be placed in groups and given one question to answer on Harriet Tubman as well as make an illustration. Questions: 1.What were some of the inequalities (things that are unfair) that were happening to people of colour in the United States in the 1800’s? How were people of colour/white people viewed? 2.What was the Underground Railroad? Where did it start and end? How is it similar and different to an actual railroad? 3.How did Harriet use the Underground Railroad to escape and free other enslaved individuals? What does Harriet mean when she says, “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight year, and I can say what most conductors can’t say—I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger”? 4.What specific things was Harriet trying to change? What did she risk by guiding enslaved people to safety? What might have happened to her if she were caught? 5.How have the rights of coloured people changed since the 1800s? What might be different today if Harriet hadn’t acted on her beliefs? While the students are working in their groups, the teacher will tape the template of the front of the train on the smart board/whiteboard. After 20 minutes groups will be called up in order of the questions and tape their worksheet behind the front of the train. Have students present their answer to their question and illustration to the class. Students will sign their names on the bottom of the train. Tell them this represents that they are all helping lead and conduct the train promoting equality and inclusiveness of all people. Close (5MINS) Pass out a Post It as an exit card to each student and ask them to write down what they learned from this lesson and have them place in on the learned section on the KWL chart. Link to Future Lessons: Journal writing prompt Additional lessons on important black individuals in Canada’s history (Viola Desmond, Willie O’Ree, ect) Timeline of Canada’s Black History Reading Recap Leader: Class 7 Class 7 focused on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) which is becoming more prevalent in classrooms all over the world. There were three different resources for our class this week to further our knowledge on ASD. There was a website, autismcanada.org, which was a rich database filled with basic information on ASD. The website contained characteristics of ASD; early signs; diagnosis; co-occurring/co-morbid conditions; evolution of autism. There was a scientific based study by Ariana Anderson ET AL.,(2016), Social Network Analysis of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Predictors of Fragmentation and Connectivity in Elementary School Classrooms. This study wanted to discover how students with ASD differed from their peers in making social connections. Finally, the last resource was a podcast made by The Good Things in Life (September 11, 2019) interviewing Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is a well known scientist, animal activist, professor and autism advocate who is living what autism herself. Throughout the interview Grandin explains her views on the education system today, how she believes it would be better and insight into what it’s like to be an active member of society living with autism. The study done by Anderson ET Al., was the first reading I did for the week. I found this study hard to read with the scientific terminology and was not engaging to me. The study was looking to see how students with ASD differed from their peers in making social connections. Some factors that they looked at were how gender, IQ, and class size affected students ability to form connections. The study discovered that gender differences between males and females were a factor. Male children with ASD formed relationships with other male students and females with female peers. However, some male ASD students made connections with female peers. They contributed this to males being more competitive than females, and that females like to be helpers and are more socially mature. In addition to this, they found that being a young male was a benefit of making connections and decreased as the boy aged. Furthermore, class size was another factor affecting students with ASD connections. Male students did better in a class size of 20 or fewer students and females performed better in a class size of 21 or more students. I feel that this study could have false or skewed results for a number of reasons. Some reasons might be that they only looked at kids with ASD in a general classroom and who had IQs at 65 or higher. I question this because the study doesn’t really say how the IQ test was performed. It is not mentioned how they incorporated cultural differences in their questions between students. Also, I feel that students with an IQ lower than 65 should be represented in the sample. Another reason I question this study is we don’t know if the children with ASD have had early intervention before attending school. If they did receive early support this might make them achieve better connectivity than those who didn’t. The researchers measured the students' connectivity on how close the children with ASD were in relation to their peers. I feel like this could be impacted on a few different variables too. For example, perhaps the regular students are approaching and inviting the students with ASD to join them rather than the students with ASD approaching their peers. There might be sensory issues in the classroom that are making the student be drawn to particular areas of the room. In addition to this, depending on the activity that is occurring in the classroom and when the researchers are recording their data, a student might be more engaged in the classroom activity and want to participate and therefore be closer to their classmates. I think that the findings of this study are very interesting and would be useful to educators for planning placements of students with ASD but additional studies need to be conducted to determine if the findings are indeed correct. The website autismcanada.org was an excellent source of information. I have worked in the autism field for 10 years now doing ABA/IBI therapy as well as being an educational assistant (EA) for the public school system. This website was easy to follow and laid out the basic information on characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of ASD. I feel like this would be an excellent resource for parents to access when they feel their child might have autism. This can be an extremely hard time for parents emotionally, mentally and even physically. As a classroom teacher, I will keep this resource handy to offer to families who request more information. From the main links on the website, you could go further into more detail in different areas on the website. There was a link for a physician's book which would make an excellent resource to inform families. It could be printed out and available in the front office of schools. The treatments of ASD were interesting to me. I was familiar with a number of them such as eating a specific diet (no gluten, yeast free, carbohydrate specific and no casein); the use of medication and vitamins added to the individuals diet; the behavioural treatments of ABA, DIR/floortime; and the speech therapies such as PECs, electronic speech output systems, speech therapy, social stories and verbal behaviours. However, there was one treatment method which I found to be shocking. It is called the ‘Miracle Mineral Solution’, and was not condoned by the website. This solution has properties similar to bleach which the individual with ASD ingests. After ingesting this ‘Miracle solution’, it causes the individual to regurgitate a mucus substance that resembles worms. There is controversy surrounding this, one critique is that the worm-like substance is the remains of a burnt upper digestive tract. Scientific studies have not been conducted to find out the long-term effects this treatment has on individuals. They do believe that it is likely it might be linked to stomach cancers later on in life. Having read this treatment made me feel a mixture of emotions such as fear and sadness. It made me realize how desperate families must be to try and help their child who has autism. The website said to me mindful of any treatment with the word ‘miracle’ in its name as it’s probably fraudulent. Knowing the extremes families will go to in order to help a loved one, I believe it’s really important to be knowledgeable about safe, affordable and effective treatments that are available in the area we live in. I’d like to educate myself better on the steps it takes to access funding for families with ASD, and the local resources in my community that I can refer parents to. The interview with Temple Grandin was my favourite resource out of the three. I find Grandin to be captivating and insightful on everything that she discusses. The way she talks about things is very literal and not abstract. She attributes this to the way her brain works, she sees things in pictures. Grandin discusses how the education system has changed since she was a student. When she attended school, the special education programs did more hands on teaching. The programming was geared towards future employment for the students. Some of the special needs programs that existed before lead to careers in art/design, metal and woodworking, cooking, and welding. She stresses that many people with ASD if they’re exposed to activities that are of interest to them while they’re young could potentially discover an interest that leads to a future career. One of the takeaways I took from Grandin is she recommends that teachers focus on student’s strengths and interests rather than what they can’t do. She says that students are aware of the difference between busy work and meaningful work. She gives the example of students with ASD stuffing a pamphlet into an envelope for a ski company. It’s a tedious job, but something that needs to be done and can be done at the pace the individual is working at. Another teacher tip she mentions is that people with ASD have trouble following multi step instructions. She suggests giving them a pilot's checklist. This will allow them to work on things at their own pace, cross the task off as they finish and move on to the next thing on their list. Not all people with ASD will think the same, Grandin explains that there are visual thinkers, mathematical thinkers, and verbal thinkers. Visual thinkers will think in pictures and be a visual learner; mathematical thinkers will visualize things in space and see patterns; verbal thinkers will be great at remembering history and dates. No matter what kind of ‘thinker’ the individual with ASD is, they all will have a good memory and attention to detail. As a future teacher, I know I will have many children in my classroom who have ASD. I plan to try and determine what type of thinker my students are and plan my lessons to fit their strengths and interests. From the readings this week, I developed a few questions. 1) From the Anderson ET AL., study, why do you think they found boys to do better in a class size of 20 or fewer students and females to do better in a larger classroom? 2)Temple Grandin says that children with ASD are not taking any risks anymore such as going to the grocery store, as society and the mom wants to protect them. You just don’t throw them in, you expose them to it and it takes time. How as teachers can we implement our students to take more risks with their learning? 3)As a classroom teacher, you have a student in your class who is exhibiting signs of ASD, how would you approach the family or what are your steps in handling this? The novel contribution I brought in was the ABLLS-R assessment of basic learning and language skills. ABLLS-R is a tool that I used while working as an ABA/IBI therapist. It’s an assessment, curriculum guide and skills tracking system for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. The two books are separated, one is used to record scores of the child and the other is the scoring instructions and IEP development guide. Based on the child’s scoring you can start developing a selection of educational objectives. It also allows to track children’s progress as time goes on to see the new skills they’ve acquired. Skills are broken down into categories such as : Cooperation and Reinforcer Effectiveness; visual performance; receptive language; motor imitation; vocal imitation; requests; labelling; intraverbals; spontaneous vocalization; syntax and grammar; play and leisure; social interaction; group instruction; classroom routines; generalized responding; reading; math; writing; spelling; dressing; eating; grooming; toileting; gross motor and fine motor. I believe that this could be a good tool to guide teachers to assess the skills a child in their class with ASD has. Furthermore, you can see the skills they haven’t yet mastered and plan to make those goals on their IEP and teach them in the classroom. The orange group’s discussion on the readings and questions I brought up this week were informative and interesting to me. For the first question I asked, Laura who used to be an EA said that classrooms are typically built around the needs of students. So if we were aware that the gender difference and class size would benefit boys and girls differently, placements could be made to complement each gender. My second question was answered by Athena, she mentioned that it's good to know your student and develop student bonds. She said once you developed the bond then you can expect to push them a little further with their learning and comfort. Mallory said doing STEM activities with them would be a good way of getting them to be exposed to new things. Laura had an insightful comment that giving the students free range in an activity and see what they can do rather than defining the expectations with the activity. This made me make a connection to many times working with children with ASD and them surprisingly me with their abilities, and knowledge. I believe that a lot of the time, society makes assumptions or judgements on people with special needs abilities that underestimate them. They can be very creative and need to be given a chance to show this. My third question created a bit of a debate, we all discussed that a conversation with parents was needed. Some people thought you should ask what parents are seeing at home and let them know the observations the school is seeing. The other side of the debate was to let them know you’ve seen children with autism before and that they might be showing signs and want to seek testing and early intervention. I don’t agree with this as I believe it’s against policy to say that to families. I think I would share my observations, and perhaps push for further testing but not say that I suspect autism. Some of my group members mentioned to be prepared for families to be in denial about their child having autism. The group finally agreed that you want to build trust with a family, share observations, give recommendations to testing but respect the families choice. Getting the chance to be the reading recap leader this week, I noticed that I was a little bit more nervous leading the group discussion as opposed to being a member in the group discussion. Other weeks when I am a member in the group discussions, I find that I speak and give my input often. I don’t find that I am nervous when I do this, but I am mindful that I’m not talking too much or over other people. However with the roles reversed, I felt like I needed to slow down the speed that I was talking and breathe. I was prepared and had my notes ready, and had enough information to lead the discussion the entire time. It surprised me that I felt this uncomfortable talking in front of my peers when I delivered the material to them. This is something I will need to work on as a future teacher. Teachers are lifelong learners and I will need to share my knowledge with my peers throughout my career. Works CitedAriana Anderson, J. L. (2016). Social Network analysis of children with autism spectrum disorder: Predictors of fragmentation and connectivity in elementary school classrooms. HHS Public Access , 700-709. Autism Canada. (2020). Autism Canada: See the Spectrum Differently. Retrieved from Autism Canada: autismcanada.org James W. Partington Ph.D., B.-D. (2008). ABLLS-R. Pleasant Hill, CA: Behavior Analysts, Inc. Lesson Plan Template
Title: Bullying Grade(s): 5 Subject: Health Strand:Healthy Living Time needed:1 hour Lesson Summary: Review what bullying is and what types of bullying exist. Determine who a trusted adult might be. The effects of one’s actions on themselves and others emotions, mental wellbeing and reputation. How stereotypes can have a negative impact on someone’s self concept and well-being. Students will practice problem solving different situations. Connection between my lesson & Social Justice/Inclusivity: I believe that teaching students throughout their schooling about bullying is an important lesson and is directly connected to social justice and inclusivity. When students learn that bullying is not acceptable, is not to be tolerated in society, and the actions that are required they take if they are being bullied or witness another person being bullied it will hopefully create a society that is more inclusive of all types of people regardless of their race, sexual identity, sexual preference, economic status, or physical appearance. This lesson will teach students who a trusted adult is that they can go to for help if they need help with someone bullying them or someone else, as well as the negative effects of being bullied may have on an individual. I hope that by my students learning this they will not stereotype others and be critical thinkers throughout their life and understand what they need to do in situations to create social justice and inclusivity. Cumulative task: How can students demonstrate what they learned at the end of the lesson? Bullying Tactics Sheet reflecting on the role-playing cards and evaluating and explaining which situation they felt was the most and least serious. Stage 1: Desired Results Fundamental Concepts/Skills to be learned in this lesson: Who a trusted adult is; and how to respond to bullying. Big Ideas/Essential Question: What are the guiding questions driving your lesson? Can you always solve bullying on your own? Who can you go to for help? Ontario Curricular Overall Expectation(s)D1: Demonstrate an understanding of factors that contribute to healthy development; D2: Demonstrate the ability to apply health knowledge and social-emotional learning skills to make reasoned decisions and take appropriate actions relating to their personal health and wellbeing; Ontario Curricular Specific Expectation(s) D1.1, D2.2 Lesson Goals (what would you like students to do by the end of the lesson? How will they show you they can do this?): Students will be able to know who to go to if they need help; students will understand their actions have an affect on themselves and others emotions, mental wellbeing, and reputation. Key concepts and/or skills to be learned/applied: (Students will be able to (use verbs: create; apply; demonstrate; etc.…) Bullying(repeated physical or verbal acts that are hurtful and unwelcome to an individual). Stereotype (a non-factual belief about a certain group of people based on their appearance or group they belong to). By-Stander- Someone who witnesses bullying and doesn’t react to it. Background Knowledge (What will students already know going into this lesson – what previous lessons touched upon/taught.). Students will understand what bullying is, some responses for dealing with a bully and what a stereotype is (a non-factual belief about a certain group of people usually based on their appearance or group they belong to). Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction Student Groupings Instructional Strategies Whole group, smaller group and individual Think-Pair-Share; Reflection on role playing cards(Opinion Time-Worksheet). Materials Considerations Chart paper Post its Bullying Tactics:Role Playing Cards OpinionTime. Bully Tactics Worksheet Strategic groups (pairing students who are academically strong with students who require more support). Assistive technology for students who need support with written output. Accommodations Stage 3: Learning experience and instruction Motivational Hook (5MINS) February 26th is Pink Shirt day in Canada. Does anyone know what Pink Shirt day is and why it’s important? Bullying is a serious problem that affects the victims emotional and mental state and can have some serious impacts. Today we are going to be learning some things we can do prevent bullying to continue if it’s happening to you or someone else you know. Open (20MINS, Whole group instruction) Review bullying (repeated verbal, physical acts directed at an individual with the intent of hurting them emotionally or physically). Review types of bullying that exist physical(hitting/kicking), verbal(mean comments), social (excluding someone) and cyber(hurtful comments on a social platform). On chart paper write the types of bullying that exist, ask students example of each, record their answers on the chart paper. On the chart paper ask what are some ways or responding to the different types of bullying. (See appendix for solution ideas if students aren’t sure). Tell students that bullying can happen at school, at home, on social media or after school in the community. Not all bullying can be solved by ourselves, often we need to have an adult help us. Safe adults in the school can be staff members or volunteers who you trust and feel safe talking to (classroom teacher, principal, secretary, EA or former teacher); At home, in the community or on social media a trusted adult you can go to for help might be a parent, aunt/uncle, babysitter, family friend, community leader, police officer, firefighter, someone who is working at a business or someone in a uniform. If you ever are in physical danger in the community and someone is threatening you make sure you find a trusted adult and tell them what’s happening. If you have a phone nearby you can call your parents, another trusted adult or call 911 if absolutely necessary. Ask students if they can give an example of when they would and wouldn’t call 911? There is a free, confidential service called Kidshelpphone, that offers live counselling for children and young adults who need some advice on bullying, suicidal thoughts, LGBQT2S+. Their website www.kidshelphone.ca (write on the board) has helpful resources that some of you might want to look at, such as advice, breathing exercises and information on resources in the community. The phone number is 1-800-668-6868 (write on board). Pass out post it’s and ask students to write down at two trusted adults that they can talk to if they need help with someone bullying them or for emotional support. Have students stick their post it the chart paper. Body (20 MINS, pairs and whole group instruction) We are going to practice role playing different bullying scenarios and see if we know how to handle them. We are going to do one together as a group then you will work with a partner and practice working it out together then we will share our scenario and solution with the whole class (Think-Pair-Share). Read story #1 and discuss with class how they would solve it. Put students in pairs and pass out a role playing card to each group. Give students 5 minutes to discuss with their partner on how to solve the situation. Have students share their story card and how they felt best to solve it. Close (10MINS) Have students return to their seats and pass out the Opinion Time Bully Tactics Worksheet. Tell students they are going to complete the worksheet individually and then hand it in. The first question is asking what story did you think was the most serious? The second question is what story is the least worrying and why? Remember to give an explanation and use details as to why you chose that answer. Give Link to Future Lessons: Online safety lesson; Practicing Kindness; and Mental Health and Teen Suicide Assesment: Rubric in the appendix References: ReadyEdPublications.Role-Playing Cards:Bully Tactics!(1). Found at https://www.b-g.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1334/Classes/9776/BullyingStrategiesRolePlayCards.pdf Kids Help Phone. Found at https://kidshelpphone.ca/ Public Safety Canada: First Steps to Stop Bullying:Adults Helping Children Aged 4 to 11. Found at https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/stp-blng-chldrn/index-en.aspx Appendix: (Bully Cards) https://www.b-g.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1334/Classes/9776/BullyingStrategiesRolePlayCards.pdf Integrated Lesson Plan Lesson Name Multiplication and Fitness Stations Grade and Subject Grade 5 Learning Goals
Physical Education: Active Living: B.1, participate actively and regularly in a wide variety of physical activities, and demonstrate an understanding of how physical activity can be incorporated into their daily lives. Mathematics: Solve problems involving the multiplication and division of multi-digit whole numbers and involving the addition and subtraction of decimal numbers to the hundreths, using a variety of strategies. Specific Expectations
Formative: Mathematic scoresheet and anecdotal observations. This would be assessment as learning, based on how the students do, I’ll be able to plan my next lesson. Materials/Resources
Lesson, groupings and time
Closing, groupings and time
Extensions
Rationale
The school that I’m teaching at currently is Williamstown Public School in UCDSB. It is a small rural school that is a close community. It is about 20 minutes outside Cornwall, and about an hour and half away from Ottawa. I’m in a grade 5 / 6 class in a portable. There are 22 boys and 4 girls in my class as well as 15 IEPs. The class has mixed levels of academic abilities, there are about 5 boys who are above grade level, and about 10-15 who need accommodations in certain subjects, while the rest of the students are at an average grade level. There are two boys who have been identified with LD, learning disability; we have one boy who is deaf in one ear and has a hearing aid; another boy with low vision and uses a computer to enlarge streamed lessons we teach via the smartboard/teacher’s computer. My underlying goals of this lesson was to get my students to practice their mental math skills such as multiplication and a two step equation such as multiplication with addition/subtraction. In addition to this, I wanted to introduce my students to a new activity besides a sports based game and get them to try some calisthenics. I structured the lesson the way I did because it allows for multiple pairs of students to work independently to try and solve a math problem on their own time and complete a physical activity. Once students have completed their equation they will rotate to another station and should have easy transitions. There is enough space in the gymnasium if more than one group is working on the same question. While my students are independently solving the equation and performing their exercises, it will give me time to observe my students and see where they’re at in their learning. By performing their assessment as learning for my students i’ll be able to see their strengths and areas of needs, and plan future lessons knowing what I’ll need to teach. The principles of universal design were incorporated into this lesson by allowing all students to use a multiplication chart if they feel that it would aid in their learning. Strategic pairings of stronger students with students who need more support would allow all students to be successful with their learning. Based on the principles of universal design, I thought what was good for some of my students would be good for all of them. I chose to incorporate mathematics with Phys. Ed., as I was hoping to engage my students in a fun activity while practicing their multiplication. The majority of boys in my class really enjoy Phys. Ed and struggle with multiplication. I felt that by doing an integrated math and Phys. Ed lesson, they would have fun, be engaged and it would promote student learning. This lesson aligns with the principles of the ICI cohort in that students can be creative while performing their exercises. As the teacher in the class, I could add an element of drama to the lesson. I might call out certain instructions that students will need to try and incorporate into their exercises, such as going in slow motion, super fast, or pretending to do the exercises as if they were a certain animal or person. This would just add a bit more fun and student engagement to their learning. I have not yet taught this lesson to my practicum class but I intend to after March Break. I plan on listening to my students’ voices of how they like or didn’t like the lesson and then will plan to make changes to my future lessons I never thought that my first year in my teacher education program would end the way it did. COVID-19 a world wide pandemic abruptly changed the world we live in and interact with one another. The second part of my placement in Williamstown has been cancelled and the teachers have begun navigating how to teach the students online.
Although these are challenging times, as I reflect on the past year I’ve learned so much. I have such appreciation for teachers who are still dedicated to finding a way to educate their students. The commitment of current teachers, my AT included makes me think about the OCT standards of practice. They all are displaying commitment to students and students learning; professional knowledge, and are leaders in the learning community. There will be steep learning curves for both students and staff to move forward. Not only are these individuals trying to learn how to do this new type of learning but they may be facing personal issues in their families due to COVID-19. Social emotional learning is very important to teach your students. I don’t think anyone can learn many new things until their mental health is stable. Personally, this time has been an extremely stressful time for me. Both my parents who are in their 70’s travelled to Dominican Republic and were found to be positive of COVID-19. My father who is never sick was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Cornwall on his 72nd birthday. He was found to have double pneumonia in his lungs. My mother went to the hospital a few days after him. She ended up being hospitalized twice. Thankfully, they are at home now and have recovered and doing much better. I appreciate that my sister who is a nurse and her family are temporarily living with them and taking good care of them. To continue my professional knowledge I have planned and discussed trying to access the online learning platform that my placement class is currently using. I have spoken to my AT about trying to be added to it so I can see what the students are doing and gain some knowledge of the technologies that exist that can aid in furthering students' learning. My AT, Rose McCulloch was able to add me to the platform because I have an employee number from when I worked as Educational Assistant (EA). I have tried to log in but have not been successful yet. I did film myself this morning saying a hello to my students and that I hope they’re all doing well and being creative, ect. I want to look for the positives in this situation and try to better myself by furthering my knowledge and skills. I want to take some time to read more, learn the guitar, and do hands on activities with my step-kids. My step children are currently in kindergarten and grade 1. My placement next year will need to be in a primary classroom so my focus during the past few weeks has been to start thinking of educational activities that I can do with them. Some of the things we have been doing are baking, science experiments, art, math, playing games outside, learning how to tell time and reading together. I have ordered The Daily 5:Cafe book, to teach how to run a literacy program in a primary classroom. I plan on reading that soon and start acquiring some activities to teach for next year. As for teaching math, I did get some good news during this time. I was lucky enough to get a chance to write the practice math test required for certification with the OCT and I passed! My next step to further my knowledge in mathematics is to read up on Jo Boaler. This past year, I’ve heard a few of my professors discuss her and the math talks that she does. I’d like to investigate this further and be able to do a math talk with my students in the fall. I hope that COVID-19 is not an issue for heading back to school in the fall. We will have to take things as they come. I’m prepared to be adaptive and learn new ways of educating students and to being the best teacher that I can be. CSL Reflection
For my first placement in my teacher’s education program I am in a grade 5 and 6 split class at Williamstown Public in a portable. This is actually the elementary school that I attended when I was younger and I'm so pleased and happy to be there too. Williamstown Public has a strong community focus and is located in a rural, farming area an hour and a half east of Ottawa. My placement has a unique student profile with having 22 boys in the class and only 4 girls. Needless to say, we plan on doing gym every single day. There are 14 IEP’s in the class and 5 students who display that they’re far beyond grade level. This has been eye opening to me to see the differences of abilities in one classroom and especially a split classroom. I feel like this situation creates quite a bit more planning on my AT’s part to meet everyone’s needs. A goal of mine in placement is to learn to differentiate my lesson plans and to learn to accommodate everyone so that they all can grow and learn no matter where they are on their path of learning. My AT is a skilled and experienced teacher who has been so welcoming and informative to me since day one. I am so happy and thankful for this situation. She makes sure to meet me before school and discuss the days plan, takes me with her during prep and lunch and after school to teach me to assess and evaluate student work. She has shared a rubric with me that she developed with the classes input for marking their writing.an We used them by highlighting the grade level that corresponded with specific criteria. I found this to be very useful because if you have a rubric with specific criteria that you are looking for you will mark everyone’s fairly. Another reason I like using a rubric is that the students will be aware of exactly what their expectations are and where they need to improve for next time. In addition to this, my AT gives them written feedback starting with something positive and then ending with next steps. I am going to continue to follow this method during placement and in my future classrooms. I think it’s really important to be as positive as possible with your students and classroom so the students don’t lose self confidence and disengage from their studies. There were a number of special meetings that I got to be a part of such as IEP meetings with the learning support teacher and my AT; parent teacher interviews for progress reports; and a math team meeting. These were all very valuable learning opportunities for me but I am particularly glad I got to attend the parent teacher interviews. I was able to see 3 different ones with parents who had very different opinions and approaches to their students' learning. I’m glad I got to see how my AT is able to address things that might be difficult for parents to hear but important and that there is a way to discuss things diplomatically. I have had some opportunity to teach some lessons to the students such as a Métis dot art lesson, creating a Prezi (interactive PowerPoint), an interactive read aloud and a science experiment on flight. I feel like this is an area I need to work on more and that it will get easier when I’m in class every day during placement. I’m looking forward to being there everyday and being aware of what they’ve done previously. I know I struggled when I was writing on a chart paper, leading a discussion with the class and it was a fast paced environment. I’ll need to work on improving my multitasking skills and learn to write faster. In this short time that I’ve been attending CSL I feel like I’ve learned so much. I’ve met and learned all the students names and feel like I have a good idea of the majority of their strengths and weaknesses. I’ve learned the class routine and a lot of my AT’s rules and expectations, which I will continue to follow and implement. I’ve begun to create lessons and implement them and have done some assessment. I’m sure December will be a time where I’m going to learn much more about what it takes to be a junior level teacher. As a conscience and equitable educator it is important that I create a classroom that is inclusive to every student that walks through the door. A way to make this more practical is to be prepared and have resources available to help teach my students about various social issues. The theme I’m going to focus on is Indigenous awareness. In the last few years I feel like this issue is being discussed more than ever and is something that needs to be brought to the attention of all individuals in Canada. When I was an elementary student we were not taught truthfully the horrific things that Canada did to Indigenous people and I want to be able to change that for my students. Below you can find some resources that are beneficial to bringing awareness to this issue:
1. GordDownieVideos. 2016, October 13. “The Stranger” Official Video-Gord Downie-Secret Path. Https://youtu.be/za2VzjkwtFc Gord Downie -Secret Path music video that tells the emotional story of 12 year old Chanie Wenjack a residential school victim in 1966 who had the courage to leave the residential school he attended in Kenora, Ontario and to make his way back to his home to Marten Falls First Nation (Ogoki Post), 600 KM away. The film is illustrated by Jeff Lemire who does an excellent job of setting the tone depicting how I imagine some of feelings Chanie on his journey (bravery, missing home family, scared, alone, defeat). I’d like to do an illustration study of different parts in the video with my students having them look critically at the images and infer why the illustrator depicted it the way he did and what the authors meaning is. I think that showing this video would be a good introduction to issues surrounding residential schools. I would use it for students in grade 3+ by playing it in class and the first time they watch it I would tell them to listen to the words in the story, watching the images on the video and we would have a class discussion on what is happening and what historically happened. We could discuss why Gord Downie felt it was such an important issue and project to bring awareness to especially in his final days too. All proceeds from Downie’s album and book are being donated to the University of Manitoba’s National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Project. 2. Kathy Kacer, J.K. (2016). I Am Not a Number. Second Story Press. The children’s book, I am not a number by Kathy Kacer is a story that is appropriate to read with elementary students and bring awareness to what horrific events occurred in the residential schools. The story is written about the co-authors grandmother Irene Couchie Dupuis’s experiences of being taken from her family home, being sent to a residential school. I believe this is an good way to introduce to children in grades 3-6 to try and have them imagine how Irene must of felt being taken from her family, and being forced to ‘forget’ her family, culture, way of life and to be assimilated into white culture. Irene had her hair cut, her name taken away and was referred to as a number, the nuns go as far as to tell Irene to scrub all the brown off making her feel less than worthy to white individuals. Irene has hot coals poured over her hands for speaking in her native language in hopes of that she only will speak English. There are key points in the book that make for good times to stop and have a class discussion on how Irene would be feeling, why the government and church were treating her and other indigenous children this way, why it is wrong and how it would affect her for the rest of her life. I could do a KLW chart with book, having the class filled out what they know, what they want to know and what they learned from studying this book. In addition to this, I would have vocabulary words listed to help students better understand some of the terms that occurred and to deepen their understanding. 3. Bannon, C. (2014). Faceless Doll Project: Commemorating Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls. Retrieved from ETFO VOICE: http://etfovoice.ca/feature/faceless-doll-project-commemorating-missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-and-girls Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls-Faceless dolls project: This is an article on the ETFO website that shed’s light on Canada’s problematic issue of many missing and murdered aboriginal woman in girls, as high as 1000 unsolved cases reported since 2010. It’s important to note that these are just the cases that are reported, the number of unreported cases is probably much higher. The website article makes note that the primary purpose of this project is to bring awareness to this issue. I think this resource is a good tool for educators to use to inform themselves on this issue and to bring the information to their students in all grades levels. Bannon discusses curriculum connections for using this project with younger students and older students making it easy for educators to fit it into their curriculum expectations. For younger students, she says to discuss the importance of the family and how aboriginal people valued women for being creators of life and how they fed and kept children safe. She makes a connection to the beating drum and the heart beat they hear in the womb for nine months. In addition to how all women in the family are important, aunts, sisters, grandmothers. For older students you can go into more depth why the dolls are faceless and how society is viewing aboriginal women and why the numbers are so high for this particular group. Her students made the connection that the dolls were faceless because society has stopped looking for them, inferring that society doesn’t value them as worthwhile. Another strength of this web article is that it says where to find the template to do the activity of creating a faceless doll with your students (ONWA Website), why it’s important and how this teachers students responded to doing this activity. 4. Florence, M. (2017). Stolen Words. Second Story Press. This is a children’s book most appropriate for students in grade 1-3. The main idea is to focus on the inter-generational impact of the residential school system survivors and how that affects their parenting style, children and grandchildren. This book looks at the relationship between a girl and her grandfather, she asks him how to say something in his native Cree language when he confesses to her that his language was stolen from him. She makes it her mission to help him find his language again. I like that this book would bring awareness of what residential schools did to indigenous children trying to strip them of their language and how it has a positive message in the end with the granddaughter helping her grandfather relearning his Cree language and teaching her from a Cree to English book the little girl’s teacher gives her. I would try and get my students to answer what might happen to their language and culture if the granddaughter wasn’t interested in her grandfather’s native language or had never tried to help him? (Loss of culture, loss of language, affecting all future generations). A problem I have with this book is that it seems to get at the main idea but in a light way which makes it appropriate for younger students but I was hoping to find a resource that shows the impact of trauma in more detailed way across the generations. 5. Mr.Ballantyne. 2019, March 2. Residential School Survivor: Arthur Fourstar. https://youtu.be/YGNxfa0MQYs Arthur Fourstar- A documentary interview of him telling his life story starting from the time he was taken from his family. He recounts the horrible things he witnessed such as abuse in the schools, the anger he felt and how he badly he was treated. He killed a gosling and was shoved in and out of a bathtub with freezing water by one of staff Mr.Finley at the school. As Arthur retells his story you can see the emotional toll that it has upon him. He finds it hard to breathe, makes gasping noises and breaks down half way through. I realize that is dark and emotional but I believe it would be eye opening for older students perhaps in grade 6+ to get the sense on the impact it had upon the individuals. As a teacher, I would want my students to explore the impact his earlier trauma has on him later in life. I would ask the students to watch his documentary and write a journal article describing the trauma he went through, how it affected him in his later life and how and why they think it affected his children and him as he got older. As the video continues it show how he ends up going to jail for murder, says he has children with four different women and never knew how to parent them because he never had parents himself, he feels dead inside, and feels a disconnection from his brothers and sisters and doesn’t really care. Arthur is one of the lucky survivors as he seems to have a support group and has received therapy to some degree. The touching thing at the end of this documentary is that after all Arthur’s been through he still wants to help people and be a peacemaker. I find him to be extremely resilient and role model. 6. CBC Podcast. (2019, September, 24). The Secret Life of Canada:The Indian Act. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada/teaching-guide-the-indian-act-1.5290134 This is a podcast from CBC bringing light the basics and demystifying the Indian Act and how it impacts the First Nations people. It describes what it is and how it has been Candian law since 1867, and the affects that have followed this. The history discusses the 7 year war and how indigenous individuals were involved, how Indian affairs was developed, the policy of assimilation of indigenous people (residential schools) were all precursors to the Indian act. In 1857, a precursor to the Indian Act called the Gradual Civilization Act would mean that indigenous individuals could become citizens, be able to vote, be given free land in which they could farm but they would need to give up traditional rights. The act said that if a man who was 21 years or older could speak English or French, didn’t have debt and had good moral character he would given land for farming. If after a year he could prove he was living as a white man and had good moral character then he would be granted the land officially and be able to vote. If you didn’t want this you would be considered a ward of the state (almost like a child) in capable of making your own choices, but this enfranchisement was only for men. Many people didn’t want this for the self, many tribes in 1858 came together to discuss this issue and the concern that white people were controlling their lives and land. Confederation was moving forward, and the government really wanted to be in control of the indigenous people, they began developing ideas of blood quantum determining who could have Indian status (1/4 blood was considered for status). The act was sexist against indigenous woman, in that white woman could get status for marrying a man with status but not the other way around, indigenous woman would loose status if they married a white man. 1876- The Indian Act: The act determines who has status, controls the band council, the reserve land and the reserve funds. In 1951, the act was revised saying all the provinces will handle their own issues with Indigenous child welfare laying the ground work for the residential schools to occur. This website where the podcast can be found is an excellent tool for educators, not only does it have the podcast that educators and students can listen to, to gain a deeper understanding but it also has a free slideshow, lesson plan, an ad-free download of the podcast, activity sheets and an episode transcript. I would use these resources with my students in older grade, particularly grade 6 +. The activity sheets that are given are 1) stereotypes, 2) Clauses of the Indian Act, 3) treaties, 4) Common myths about Indian status and 5) Treaty recognition-We are all Treaty people. This would be a follow up lesson I would use in my class after we had studied some other important indigenous issues such as residential schools, missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls and the inter generational affects/trauma. I would begin by showing the slideshow, focus on one of the activity sheets and assign parts of the podcast to listen to based on the information discussed in the podcast and activity sheets. I believe I would set it up as learning centres (1 Center per activity sheet and the students could rotate or work on a new station the following day). Another lesson I could do is a class timeline give different students an event surrounding the Indian act and indigenous individuals history in Canada. I would put masking tape across the classroom floor with different dates on it, and depending what event the students were given they would need to place themselves on the timeline and give a small summary on what the even was and why it’s important. 7. Shawnee Lazore HHD, PhD. (2016, September 18). They Lied to you in School by Ray Fadden. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pS5jT9c62A. Ray Fadden- They lied to you in school: Documentary discussing how all races contributed to civilization and how racism has devalued certain races such as indigenous peoples and white peoples have depicted themselves as being superior to other and indigenous in particular as inferior. He talks about how civilization is developing things that are hurting the environment and bringing awareness to how the earth is dying and how it scares him. He discusses the misconception of indigenous peoples contribution to civilization and what the truth is on everything they’ve contributed. I believe that this would be a resource I would share with students in junior grades such as grade 5+. I would do some preteaching on misconceptions on stereotypes of different groups of people as well as being a critical thinker. I’d let my students know that when I was a student in elementary school we were not aware of the actual truth around indigenous groups and we believed some of the stereotypes we were told or read about in text books. However, I want my students to not discriminate against any groups of people. I would let them know that they are going to track the contributions of indigenous individuals and how and why they’re important to todays world. We would discuss privilege groups and why white individuals would want to make indigenous people be inferior to them and why we need to correct these stereotypes. I’d have my students track the stereotypes discussed in this documentary and what Fadden says is the truth. I’d ask the students what Fadden’s main message in his video is? (The world is not made up of the contributions of just one group, we are all responsible for the world we live in ). During this documentary, Fadden says a few words such as stupid or fat ect, I think I would edit the video not to include him saying this just so that there is no issues from parents, or administration for showing this. 8. First Nations in Canada. (2017, May 2). Retrieved from Government of Canada: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1536862806124 The Canadian website has updated information since 2017 depicting the factual history of First Nations groups in Canada. The information is divided up into 6 parts: 1)Early First Nations: the Six main geographical groups, 2)History of First Nations-New Comer Relations, 3) A Changing Relationship: from allies to wards (1763-1862), 4) Legislated Assimilation-Development of the Indian Act (1820-1927) 5)New Perspective-First Nations in Canadian Society (1914-1982) and 6) Towards a New Relationship (1982-2008). I would use this as an additional resource on top of my other resources. I could create a unit out this and make 6 lessons based on the parts given on this webpage. Students could have a duotang and collect information they they are taught from all 6 lessons, various culminating tasks could be done once are unit is done such as a prezi, slideshow, an informational booklet, a kahoot quiz, poster or oral presentation. In addition to this, I believe this would be a good tool for myself and other educators to use to familiarize themselves with the history of the indigenous people in Canada. 9. McCann, S. (2016, December 2). Including Thomas Moore in the Curriculum. Retrieved at http://www.curriculumtheoryproject.ca/2016/12/moore-in-the-curriculum/ Before and after pictures of Thomas Moore- On this website you can find the famous pictures of Thomas Moore, he attended Regina Indian Industrial School in 1874. There are two photos of him the first one is how he looked before attending the school and the second one is after starting at residential school. It’s clear by looking at the two photos that Thomas went through major changes and that the intent of the residential schools was to assimilate the young students into their white culture. The paper written on this website talks about how this is a shameful part of Canada’s history and that most people were not taught this in school and only recently have we learned this. She believes it’s important to share this information with schools and make it a part of the curriculum. The way in which I would use this resource is to inform other staff who haven’t had much exposure to what actually went on in residential schools. I would also show the photo to my students so they can see the differences between the two and how much he changed in just a short amount of time. I would teach my students that this assimilation is not a good thing as they are taking away his culture. McCann made a comment that before she was taught about the residential schools if she saw Moore’s second photo she might think that he looks good and civilized but that’s not the right way to look at this. It’s not her fault for thinking this way though, as so many people are not educated or what they were told is not true. By teaching this to young students grades 2+ comparing what’s changed in the two photos and making the connection that this was against these peoples will we can make the younger generation better informed. 10. U.S. Department of Arts and Culture. (2017, October 3). #HonourNativeLand. Retrieved at https://youtu.be/ETOhNzBsiKA This is a YouTube video that would be beneficial to students and educators to learn and appreciate and start to begin to give back thanks to the indigenous people and the land that we are on. In the video, the individuals talk about how in countries such as Canada, U.S., New Zealand, and Australia its common to give thanks to the land and treat it as a living entity. There was a young indigenous woman in the video who spoke about the first time she heard someone giving thanks to the indigenous community in Minnesota, she wasn’t expecting it but she really appreciated it and it made her feel good and appreciated. I would let my students in elementary grade 1+ watch this video and we can discuss with the group what it means and why they’re doing it. After we did that introductory lesson my class would practice giving thanks to the Algonquin people and their unceded territory that we are on. We would practice in class and then do it at the opening of assemblies or meetings in the school. It’s a way of showing respect and acknowledging the truth of what has happened in Canada’s history. 11. Full Circle : First Nations, Métis, Inuit Ways of Knowing. Retrieved at https://www.osstf.on.ca/full-circle-first-nations-metis-inuit-ways-of-knowing On the OSSTF website, there are lesson plans for teaching about indigenous awareness, although primarily aimed at high school students there are some that would be beneficial with junior level grades too (grade 4+). On the main page there is a video called Full Circle: First Nations, Métis, Inuit Ways of Knowing Our Most Recent Project, the video is made up of 6 young First Nations, Métis and Inuit students talking about finding their self identity. At the start of the video it shows a young First Nations girl name Lilianna who wrote a winning essay about her way of life and the community that she lives in. She calls it third world Canada, and talks about the pain and suffering that she has had to endure in her life, most of the people in her town are addicted to drugs and there is no help for them, her mother committed suicide leaving behind 8 children, she began to do drugs at when she was 11, she says the only thing she knew her whole life is abuse, sexual, mental, physical, she thought it was normal for people to commit suicide and kill one another. She told a friend she knows she is going to kill herself by hanging herself. I think that this an eye opening video for educators and older students grade 4+ to bring awareness to the inequality on Indigenous individuals living on the reserves, they have inadequate education, housing, food, drug and alcohol problems, abuse/violence. Lilliana’s message is she wants her voice to be heard so she can keep the nation strong. Lilliana says her community keeps asking for help but they’re never listened too. She is having a child at 17 and says it’s going to be hard to get her education but that education is the only way out. The second young woman to be shown on the film Chelsea, talks about how their was a state of emergency in her community in 2011, that created a housing shortage for 24 families they had to live in temporary shelters without plumbing and proper insulation. I’d like my students to think about what makes a good quality life and how the individuals in these videos lives might be viewed. I’d like them to brainstorm ways in which they could make a change. Below the video link on this page is a 257 page PDF of ready to go lesson plans that are organized by subject. I previewed the PDF of the lesson plans and they’re very well written and I intend to use them in the future. Some of the subjects are civics, history, law, English, art, family studies, social studies, social sciences, physical education and health, careers and guidance, business, technical education. 12. McFarlane, Christine. (2011). Gladys Radek: A Woman on a Mission. Retrieved at https://ammsa.com/publications/ravens-eye/gladys-radek-woman-mission This webpage talks about Gladys Radek an advocate for missing and murdered women in Canada, especially those lost on the Highway of Tears (a B.C. Highway that is well known for Indigenous women being killed or going missing between Prince Rupert and Prince George). More than 30 woman have been killed or gone missing along that stretch, Radek and other women honoured them by walking the full distance. McFarlane mentions that Radek’s niece went missing in 2005 along this highway and that she and her family are still looking for her. In addition to her walking that long distance she did it with a prosthetic leg. There are a few different things I’d do with this resource, first off I think Gladys Radek should be taught about in the elementary classroom, and bring awareness to the missing and murdered indigenous women. The information here could be presented to my students and have them follow up by doing the lesson on the faceless dolls. In September, when schools are learning about Terry Fox, they can also learn about Gladys Radek. It’s important for students to learn about positive indigenous role models. I first learned about Gladys Radek in my course at the University of Ottawa, Becoming a Teacher in Practice with Tracey Crowe. We had a guest speaker name Lisa Howell and she informed us in this class that Gladys lives in the area and often will come to schools and talk if you reach out to her. At the bottom of the webpage is a link to email her ( [email protected]). I’d love to reach out to her and see if she would be willing to come talk to my students. 13. Ottawa Citizen. (2018, February 28). Gatineau Students Create an Insightful Music Video. Retrieved at https://youtu.be/Gg7iY_jmjGw I first learned about this music video from Lisa Howell a guest speaker in my Becoming a Teacher in Practice class in first year teacher’s college at Ottawa University. The video is made by students at Pierre Elliot Trudeau Elementary School in Gatineau. The school is made up of a large First Nations, Cree students. The purpose of the video is to promote inclusion and acceptance of all people’s cultures. I love the message in this video and would want to share it with my students. The message I want to have in my classroom is that everyone’s welcome and to be kind to everyone, and acceptance of everyone’s cultures. I’d like to create a music video similar to this one with my students promoting acceptance and inclusivity in their school and class. 14. Corneas, Michelle. (2016) Creation Story: Sky Woman. Retrieved from https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=6022&f=3899 This is a story book that you can order from the website listed above for $8. It is the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee’s legend of creation involving Sky Woman and Turtle Island. This is a story that typically was orally told and not written down. I first heard the story last summer when I worked with Haudenosaunee youth, we had a seed keeper from Awkwesasne Indian Reserve come and tell it to us. I think that it is an important story and one that all students should hear to better understand First Nations beliefs and cultures. I will be ordering this book to read with my students. On the website it says its appropriate for grades 2-4. After I have read the story to my students, I’d like to do some art work involving turtle island. 15. Christi Belcourt Beadwork Painting Lesson Plan: Retireved at https://fojaart.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/christi-belcourt-beadwork-paintings-lesson-plan/ This website has a ready to go lesson plan to introduce the artwork of the famous Métis artist Christi Belcourt. It has background information on the Métis peoples traditional beadwork and how Christi’s inspired art is based off that. This lesson is aimed for grade 3 students but I believe you could adapt it to be grade 3 +. The lesson is split up into two lessons. This website has it cleared out and is fairly simple to follow, it also has an assessment and evaluation. I have never used this particular lesson but I have done a very similar lesson inspired by Christi Belcourt, by creating Métis Dot art using nail tool pens and acrylic paint and stencils. I love this project and want to continue using it with my students. It’s good to have students appreciate and learn about indigenous artists in Canada. 16. We Stand Together. Holistic Health: Applying the Medicine Wheel. Retrieved at https://cdn.we.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WST-E58-Elementary_Health_PHYS_ED_V3.pdf Holistic Health: Applying the Medicine Wheel- This website has a ready to go lesson plan for students in grade 4-6. The lesson takes 50 minutes in length. The website says the purpose of the lesson is for students to understand the indigenous individuals beliefs of the medicine wheel and discuss health equity, social determinants of health. Students are to create a medicine wheel based on their own lives focusing on their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. This website is very user friendly and the lesson would be easy to implement. It comes with everything that you need to do the lesson as well as extensions to the lesson if you have students in your class who need more of a challenge. The lesson begins with playing a video on health equity then discussing some follow up questions. From there they will be introduced to some vocabulary, brainstorm in pairs things that affect one’s health and wellbeing. After that you will introduce the holistic medicine wheel, explaining the components of it. Once students have been taught about it and its four sacred medicines (tobacco, sweet grass, cedar and sage) students will get to create their own medicine wheel At this point in my teaching journey, I am still a starting out teacher. However, I’ve come a long way from where I started and I am starting to make my way to being an adaptive expert. Through my communities of inquiry, my university school, my placement school, and surrounding communities have further allowed me to grow by exposure to new theories that challenge my old philosophies, gain knowledge through collaboration and allowed me to test out my skills in a classroom while gaining support and feedback.
From Helen Timperley (2012), she refers to an adaptive expert as a person who knows what to do in a situation as they have had a lot of experience and can work through problems smoothly. Part of Timperley’s model is to increase meta-cognition to drive self learning and reflection. My experience reflecting and on my time at placement in the classroom have allowed me to increase my metacognition and drive my self learning on becoming a better educator. I have realized that no matter how much you plan a lesson, there will be things that happen that you didn’t expect. An example of this is when I was teaching a lesson in gym called Warball. I wrongfully assumed all the equipment I needed would be in the gym and that it would all be in working order. This was not the case and took up more time than necessary to get organized. After that lesson was over, I reflected on what worked and what didn’t. From this point, I can plan to improve my lesson next time by being prepared a head of time, making sure all the equipment needed is present and practicing before hand too. The Ottawa Universities Teacher’s Education frame work on communities of inquiry has the belief that student teachers will not only deliver the curriculum, follow policies and instructional techniques but to rather support us as we begin to understand the theories, literature, understanding of the curriculum while giving us experiences to develop a stance of inquiry. For me this has begun to develop by beginning to understand how the students learn and understand in my practicum classroom. During my time there I’ve discovered the class has observing the students in my practicum classroom that each student is at a different point in their learning with their own uniques strengths and weakness in different subjects. There are 14 IEP’s in the class of 26 students and approximately 5 students who are showing above grade level exceptionalities. Through developing an understanding and getting to know the needs of my students, it made me begin to think of equity and how that is practiced in the classroom. I have come to learn that equity for my students is giving them what they need to be successful in their learning. The students in my class will not always have equal work, or equal accommodations and modifications, but they will all be treated with equity. My associate teacher has been excellent at developing my growth in this area, she has taken the time to invite my to IEP meetings with the Learning Support Teacher, as well as explain and guide me through how she differentiates her lessons for the kids in our class. OCT standards of practice has taught me to practice care, integrity, respect in all areas of my professional and academic journey. I believe in and practice daily to promote student well being physically, intellectual, social, and their emotional well fare. To support them physically, my AT and I make sure they have gym whether inside or outside every day; for intellectual wellbeing we strive to plan lessons that are in all students optimal proximal learning zones. For their social wellbeing, our beliefs are that we are a community in our classroom, one of our only rules is to be respectful of everyone in the room. The AT and I believe in giving them opportunity to have choice in working with peers and developing their relationships with one another. The students social and emotional welfare is met each day too by having authentic and genuine trust with myself and the AT. We greet them at the door every morning, shake their hands, and ask them how they are doing before moving on with the curriculum. I now know we need to take care of their emotional and social well being before we can proceed with other types of learning with our students. I know no matter what stage of the journey I am on that I’ll always still be continuing to learn. However from OCT standards of practice, the learning theories provided at Ottawa University, the collaboration with my peers and direction of AT that this will guide me further towards becoming an adaptation expert. |
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