I got the chance to sub for a grade 1 class this week - my first experience with both this grade and this school- and I learned a lot. The most important lesson, though, was that it's important to treat your substitute teachers right!
I was left with the most intense list of things to do, which I'm proud to say I got accomplished by the end of the day. But amongst all those instructions - even down to where I was suppose to supervise at recess - I did not have all the information I needed. For about thirty minutes just before lunch I was suppose to be in the kindergarten classroom. No problem there except I had no idea what was suppose to happen with my grade ones in the meantime! After searching for a weekly schedule I finally discover they have music during that time. Perfect! I spotted the music teacher earlier and he came to get the kids from the other class so he should be coming to get mine too right? Wrong!
Five minutes past the time I should be in the kindergarten class and with no idea where the music room is, the music teacher finally shows up and tells me my kids have music now and didn't I know that. All he could say was that I was suppose to bring the kids to him. Well I didn't have time for that - I needed to rush my butt over to the Kindergarten class!
In the hall I've got the secretary coming for me and didn't I know I was late to be in the other classroom, only to get to the Kindergarten class and to be faced with the most annoyed expression plastered on the face of a woman shorter than I am. I was spared the briefest minute to be told once again, "You're late you know" and given the rushed instructions of let them finish practicing their number 2 then color or read.
Let me say here that the attitude I got from these teachers was nothing compared to what I got from the kids in that short thirty minutes. I've got three girls taking about "lady parts" and not holding back on the V word - things I didn't even have to deal with in a fifth or sixth grade class, but I'm now getting from 5 and 6 year olds! Out of my element the best I could do was tell the girls to stop and that we'd be talking to their teacher (since I hoped she'd be back to take them to lunch).
Wrong again! The bell goes and I'm getting them to put away books which they left scattered on the floor and to please cap the markers, when that angry little vixen spit fires back in. "You're suppose to take them to lunch!" Fine but did anyone spot and think that I have no idea where the lunch room is!
Through every field experience I've had my supervisors have constantly told me to be nice to the secretaries and janitors. You show that you respect them and they'll help you, but the same goes for everyone in the school. If you treat people with courtesy they'll appreciate it and be more willing to return the favor.
Keep in mind that as a substitute I'm not tied down to any school so if I feel the environment is not right I can make the choice not to go back. I can say I won't replace for that grade or this teacher. Because it's not just about the pay. I had to work twice as hard as any teacher because everything I taught was improvised on the spot, I had to control a class of rambunctious kids without a management strategy set up and practiced since school began. So cut your subs some slack and if you see one in the hall be nice!
Thursday 29 September 2011
Wednesday 14 September 2011
Word Pointers
Just as I’m getting ready to write about the amazing wonders of reading aids I spot this post on another blog! Here Just goes to show you how useful these little tools can be to motivate and help focus attention. They don’t have to be expensive and with Halloween coming up it should be easy to find plastic witch and monster fingers. One thing I would suggest is to use one finger per student. They don’t need to whole hand to point and this way one set can be divided amongst 10 kids.
Sunday 11 September 2011
Recycle Makeover
I don't wear makeup every often so I hate having to throw it out when the expiry date comes around and the jars are still full! That's why I love this activity. I can give my old makeup a new purpose and teach students about seeing the potential in everything and using materials for purposes other then their intended use.Mix the powdered blushes and eye-liners with clear-drying liquid glue to make a paste that's perfect to paint with. Don't worry about the brushes getting messy, just soak them in boiling water and peal off the glue. They'll be like new. Try also using spices, coffee grounds, or try painting with nail polish.
Wednesday 7 September 2011
Cookie Jar/Hungry Monster
I was lucky to have received a second-hand copy of "Spring Surprises" by Toni Bauman and June Zinkgraf. It's full of amazing activities and tips, one of which is Broken Cookies (pg.74). The idea is to cut out cookies from card stock and print 2-3 math sentences with the same answers or synonyms which the kids then match up like a puzzle.
I decided to add my own flare to the activity by making a container to store the cookie bits once they've been matched. You can only put the whole cookie in the jar or feed them to the monster.
Cookie Jar
Materials
I found a picture of a cookie jar in Clipart and printed it in full view on a card stock. (So it's as big as it can get on the page). If you print it on white card stock you can have the students decorate it themselves, otherwise you can use a color card stock. Then cut out the contour and cut off the lid.
On the back of the jar glue the bottom section of the envelope with about one centimeter hanging over the top.
Fold the envelope flap down on the cookie jar. Glue the lid piece to the envelope flap so that it matches up with the cookie jar. Cut off the excess of the envelope. Now when you push back the lid the envelope will open showing a pouch behind the cookie jar.
To hide the envelope on the back you can glue the jar to another piece of card stock and cut it out again. The pouch will be trapped inside and only viewable when the jar is open.
Hungry Monster
Materials
As with the cookie jar I found an image and printed it on card stock as a full page. I cut out the mouth (cutting further straight to the edge of the picture) and contour, but left the edge on the bottom because his lower jaw is too small.
Flip the monster pieces backward and line them up, then glue the envelope down (address writing part facing you) so that the bottom edge lines up as close as possible to the bottom of the monster.
Turn the monster back around and pull the little bit of the envelope flap that will be left out through the mouth. You can color it red and leave it as a tongue or cut it off. Reinforce the back with another piece of card stock and you're all done!
Why bother?
Two semesters of Math classes told me teachers were suppose to move away from drilling students with basic facts and instead teach students to have a number sense. So rather than Mad Minute, show students Mathematical combinations and encourage perceptiveness by using different patterns to cut up the cookies or different colors of cookies. You can also color-coordinate different operations (yellow = add, red= multiply, etc) to help exceptional students remember what they're practicing.
I decided to add my own flare to the activity by making a container to store the cookie bits once they've been matched. You can only put the whole cookie in the jar or feed them to the monster.
Cookie Jar
Materials
- Image of a cookie jar
- card stock
- scissors
- glue
- small envelope
On the back of the jar glue the bottom section of the envelope with about one centimeter hanging over the top.
Fold the envelope flap down on the cookie jar. Glue the lid piece to the envelope flap so that it matches up with the cookie jar. Cut off the excess of the envelope. Now when you push back the lid the envelope will open showing a pouch behind the cookie jar.
To hide the envelope on the back you can glue the jar to another piece of card stock and cut it out again. The pouch will be trapped inside and only viewable when the jar is open.
Hungry Monster
Materials
- Image of a monster with a wide mouth
- card stock
- scissors
- glue
- small envelope
Flip the monster pieces backward and line them up, then glue the envelope down (address writing part facing you) so that the bottom edge lines up as close as possible to the bottom of the monster.
Turn the monster back around and pull the little bit of the envelope flap that will be left out through the mouth. You can color it red and leave it as a tongue or cut it off. Reinforce the back with another piece of card stock and you're all done!
Why bother?
Two semesters of Math classes told me teachers were suppose to move away from drilling students with basic facts and instead teach students to have a number sense. So rather than Mad Minute, show students Mathematical combinations and encourage perceptiveness by using different patterns to cut up the cookies or different colors of cookies. You can also color-coordinate different operations (yellow = add, red= multiply, etc) to help exceptional students remember what they're practicing.
Being "The Friz"
This summer I was babysitting a seven year old twice a week and since she had never been to a day camp I figured I'd try to mimic the experience for her. I created some simple activities and practiced lessons on this unsuspecting child and she loved every minute of it.
As much as I enjoyed watching reruns of Curious George and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, which she was able to quote word for word, I decided to introduce her to a few classics. She enjoyed Peep and the Big Wide World, Seven Little Monsters, and Madeline, but The Magic School Bus was the only one she'd request on a daily basis. Investing in the collection of DVDs from Scholastic seemed like the best 65$ investment!
The last episode we watched was "The MSB Goes to Mussel Beach". For those of you who aren't familiar with each episode the kids learned about low and high tide, the three zones in the water, and which is best suited for the needs of a mussel. My eighteen year old sister sat and watched with us, but since she had been on her computer I figured she hadn't been paying much attention. That is until a few weeks later when my sister came back from vacation from Salisbury Beach, Mass. bursting with excitement and wanting to show me a video she'd recorded of mussels feeding in a small pool. I laughed as she told me how she'd watched them for ten minutes, telling them that they were too high and they needed to be in the middle zone, that they would need to hang on tight when the waves came in.
This, I realized, is what I've been learning for the past four years in University. This is what education is about. Making things matter to the students, encouraging excitement and relevance so that facts stick with you.
What I've always loved about the Magic School Bus is the fun and excitement Ms. Frizzle brought to her classroom and how she let the students explore and discover on their own. Hum...kind of like inquiry based learning don't you think? Unfortunately I don't have a magic school bus that can take my kids into outer space and that would be one expensive field trip to go scuba diving...but I do have manipulatives, hands on learning, and activities to engage.
What I want to share is resources I've found and/or created to help you develop child centered activities that will engage your students in meaningful learning so that you too can seem as cool as Ms. Frizzle!
As much as I enjoyed watching reruns of Curious George and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, which she was able to quote word for word, I decided to introduce her to a few classics. She enjoyed Peep and the Big Wide World, Seven Little Monsters, and Madeline, but The Magic School Bus was the only one she'd request on a daily basis. Investing in the collection of DVDs from Scholastic seemed like the best 65$ investment!
The last episode we watched was "The MSB Goes to Mussel Beach". For those of you who aren't familiar with each episode the kids learned about low and high tide, the three zones in the water, and which is best suited for the needs of a mussel. My eighteen year old sister sat and watched with us, but since she had been on her computer I figured she hadn't been paying much attention. That is until a few weeks later when my sister came back from vacation from Salisbury Beach, Mass. bursting with excitement and wanting to show me a video she'd recorded of mussels feeding in a small pool. I laughed as she told me how she'd watched them for ten minutes, telling them that they were too high and they needed to be in the middle zone, that they would need to hang on tight when the waves came in.
This, I realized, is what I've been learning for the past four years in University. This is what education is about. Making things matter to the students, encouraging excitement and relevance so that facts stick with you.
What I've always loved about the Magic School Bus is the fun and excitement Ms. Frizzle brought to her classroom and how she let the students explore and discover on their own. Hum...kind of like inquiry based learning don't you think? Unfortunately I don't have a magic school bus that can take my kids into outer space and that would be one expensive field trip to go scuba diving...but I do have manipulatives, hands on learning, and activities to engage.
What I want to share is resources I've found and/or created to help you develop child centered activities that will engage your students in meaningful learning so that you too can seem as cool as Ms. Frizzle!
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