So today was a good day. My Cooperating Teacher (CT) was out sick yesterday so she said the kids would probably be a little jumpy today and they were. However it was ok. I was also asked to lead the teacher group for Reading and lead a group for Math. Although I have worked with other groups throughout the past few days I've been in the class, today I was actually given the teacher group. Although it is a small task that I could've easily have done, I think that being given the responsibility of THE teacher group was just a nice feeling. I also once again sat in on a staff meeting, which gave me a view of the inner workings of the school and staff as well.
As I said earlier, my CT asked me to lead the Teacher Group today for Reading. What I did was have the students take a picture walk through the book titled, The Old Cat. We looked at each picture in detail and I made sure that the students would say almost every word that was on the page before moving onto the next picture. My CT was telling me that this helps the students when they read through the book for the first time. Some of the students cannot read yet or have problems reading so by going through the vocabulary words before hand while looking at the pictures, it allows students to have the vocabulary fresh in their minds when they go to read the book. It also helps them figure out what some words may be as well. After going through a very detailed picture walk, I had the students have a go at reading the book by themselves. After all the students had a go at trying to read the book to themselves, I have the students read it together slowly. After reading it together, slowly, I ask the students a few comprehension questions as well as critical thinking questions. For example, I asked the students, "How do you know the girl loves the cat?" It was really good because the students had to go back through the book to look for evidence and think about the question as well. After we finished with the book, I explained to the students what their activity would be tomorrow so that my CT would not have to explain it to them again tomorrow. I think the group went really well.
I think part of the reason the group was able to go so well was because the students already knew the routine and have been doing the same routine for almost a whole year. I think another reason is that the students in the class are all for the most part really well behaved, which made it really easy to be able to to take over the group and have the students do what they wanted to do. My CT also gave me a good tip that I had learned before but had forgotten , which was to sit in a position where you can face your group as well as see the whole class. This is a great tip because this allows you to not only teach your group and have them focused on you, but also allows you to keep and eye on the class and make sure that they are doing their work.
Today I was also able to run a math group. Although I had worked with math groups before in the class, the activity today was more abstract than concrete. When I worked with previous math groups, the activity was very straightforward such as sorting numbers that were odd and even. However, the activity today allowed students to use more creativity and draw their own treasure map as well as work with a partner to use their words (left, right, up, down) to direct their partner how to reach the treasure form the start. This activity was hard with some groups but was easier for some groups. For the most part though, I thought it went really well. Some students tried to get away with not describing to their partners using their words how to get to the treasure by using their fingers or moving their partner's finger. However, I caught these students doing that and then had the students use their words. It was hard for some students because they didn't know their left and rights. For some using the trick of making an "L" with your thumb and index finger was hard for some students to understand that the left hand made an "L". I think this is because some of the students still have trouble with their letters and recognizing them. Overall, I thought the students did a good job in completing the task and had fun while doing it as well.
I hope to be able to take over and run more of these group lessons like I did today in my next 10 day block. My CT and I were discussing teaching a few full class lessons. Possibly one in Reading, Writing, and Math, and maybe one that is cross-subjects. I am thinking of possibly teaching more full class lessons since Prep is the age group I hope to teach in the future and more practice wouldn't hurt. I think that this is a great group to experiment and try new techniques and ideas with because they are a very calm and well mannered group.
I am also really excited because I will be going to the zoo with the class later on. This is great because it will allow me to see how to handle kids on a field trip and see different ideas of how to utilize different hands on and interactive learning opportunity for students. I am excited for this trip also because I am excited to go to a zoo as well.
At today's staff meeting, I was able to see more of how the school and staff operated. It's great to see that the staff know each other quite well and are able to crack jokes with each other. Even the principal and vice principal join in on the jokes as well. There doesn't seem to be a divide between the principal, vice principal, and the rest of the staff. Everyone seems to be on the same level and everyone is treated equally. Each member of the team has something different to offer and they are all encouraged to share these unique differences with the group. It is also really interesting because the schools runs a lot of fundraisers compared to the schools that I have worked at. These include fundraisers for charity and school budget. The school gets a lot of money from school fundraisers and it is able to fund many different activities the school offers such as Mathletics. Mathletics is an online program that teachers can use in the classroom to teach lessons, enhance lessons, and give practice for the students. Mathletics can also be used at home by students to practice their skills and some teachers even use it as a homework assignment and as a way of assessment. This program costs the school about $2,000 and the fundraising the school does allows them to pay for this extra program, which his very helpful for students learning. I really wish that in the states I would be able to sit in on staff meetings like I do here. It would really allow me to get to know the school better as well as how school system works on a more administrative level.
I am really learning a lot from this experience here and I am really glad that I did this. Since I am staying for a year, I hope that I will be abel to find a job or volunteer opportunity at a school or after school facility where I will be able to work with students. It has been really helpful for me as a student teacher in developing management skills and just learning about how to work with staff, different situations, and students.
Once again to end with a story from today, some of the older girls decided to open a hair salon. These girls go around asking other students if they would like a hair appointment and write down these appointments in a book. The girls operate in a corner of the playground and have hair products like gel, hair spray, and curlers to style hair. The girls are quite talents and do make some really nice hair styles. However, I'm surprised that the schools allows for students to use products like hair spray and gel that students could have allergies to. I guess that is the relaxed Australian culture.
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