An Awesome Message…

I love to read. From children’s books to the latest on Heathers Picks I always have a book nearby. So, when I heard about this awesome book I had to check it out….

An Awesome Book By Dallas Clayton

There are so many things I love about this, it is truly awesome! I can’t wait to share this story with my class (perhaps I could get my hands on some ipads for this!) and find a way to start a new class project!

Speaking of my class…. I am in love with Gr.3! I have so many stories and successes and mistakes to celebrate and share with you but I am waiting on media release forms to be returned to school. I am getting rather impatient though so expect some posts without pictures in the near future.

Classroom Sneak Peek!

With only a few minor details to finish up, it’s safe to say my new classroom is basically ready to go. Check it out!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I had a few unique challenges when I was setting up this space. Number one, you may have noticed there are no windows… My solution to use browns and greens to give the room an earthy feel. (Not quite as nice as a window!) This room was also an old science lab and felt a little cold. I used pillows, benches, and a lamp to make the room more welcoming.I am really pleased with how everything turned out! Some of my favorite parts…

-My behavior clip chart (free from Teachers-pay-Teachers!)
-My bookshelf/bench units (a deal from Costco, even included the storage boxes!)
-The picture fame on my desk, it holds a couple class lists. I plan to use whiteboard markers to keep track of little details on there. (ex. who as paid for a hot lunch)
-Floor pillows.. they make me want to sit down and read!
-My large bulletin board.. it may look empty now but soon the students will be in charge of their down space and it will highlight their best work!

Can’t wait for the kids to arrive after the long weekend!

A message about tomorrow..

As the school year draws to an end, I was looking for a fun way to address some social justice issues with my Gr. 3 class. This is what we came up with…
After reading a collection of poems called “My Wish for Tomorrow” we took some time to discuss and study personal wishes and wishes that are for the greater good. Students then wrote their own “My Wish” poems. As a class we worked together to create this mural (I downloaded it here) and then posted our poems around the mural. It turned out great and we have people stopping outside our classroom all the time to read and admire our work. The poems allowed my students to think about others, and doing a class mural forced them to work collaboratively to achieve the end result. We had a lot of fun and I was very proud of them!

A message about conversations…

I truly believe that in order to honour student work, assessment must be a collaboration between student and teacher. My class has been working really hard on self-evaluation and we are starting to have some great conversations. Below are two examples of students reading their work, and talking through a rubric with me.

Example 2

The rubric was a guide for our conversation. Next time I am hoping we won’t need it and we can talk more. What do you think? I would love some feedback or suggestions!

A message about changes and challenges…

Well, I have been teaching Grade 3 for a month now and I have finally found a few minutes to update my blog. What has taken me so long? I have been busy loving this bunch…

My first day in Gr. 3

With only two months left in the school year and 4 years of classroom ideas building in my mind, I had to be selective with what I would be doing with my time. The first thing I did was rearranged the classroom and tried to change the environment. Here are some highlights.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The students have been working really hard on their writing. We are using a mini version of PWIM to enhance their writing skills and everyday we visit the “cursive corral.” I am the sherif in the cursive corral and the kids think it is hilarious if I have to give out a messy ticket! We have dove into an inquiry unit on “Pioneers” as well. We are reading Little House in the Big Woods, started a blogging project, and look forward to churning our own butter, and turning our classroom into a one room school house where we will follow their rules for one day.

One thing I have found challenging stepping into a classroom at the end of the school year is parent communication. The class was using agendas to communicate but not everyone seems to remember how important this is. I was looking for an alternative way to provide information to parents so I recently starting using remind101. This service sends the same reminders that go in agendas directly to parents cell phones. It was completely optional for parents, but I find it really useful!

A message about Grade 3…

It’s hard to believe that this time last week I was writing a post about how bored I was! The book I told you I would post about has long been abandoned… On Friday of last week, I had my first job interview! After a weekend of sitting on pins and needles to hear some news, I got a phone call late Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning I was at school meeting my new Gr. 3 students! This is a temporary position filling in for a teacher who is on leave for the remainder of the school year. I couldn’t be more excited and honoured to be given this great opportunity to work in this community and be starting my career at the school of my dreams. It has been a busy couple of days and several late nights in my new room, but I have a great group of kids and an exciting class load. Expect some more reflection once I get my head around things and prepared for the last 2 months.
Miss. Woiden 🙂

A message from one week later…

There is something missing in my life… exactly one week after the completion of my BEd here I am complaining of boredom. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s just who I am. I am happiest when I am busy, engaged in something. In an attempt to fill the void I started reading and researching, here is what happened.

1) I learned a whole lot about PWIM

The Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM) is an instructional approach for
the teaching of reading that uses pictures containing familiar objects, actions and
scenes, to draw out familiar words from students’ listening and speaking
vocabularies. This strategy helps students add words to their sight-reading
vocabulary, as well as their writing vocabulary, and to examine and categorize
phonetic and structural principles present in those words

I was first exposed to PWIM during my pre-internship in a Kindergarten room in Regina. I think that this strategy has a lot to offer because it is cross-curricular in that the pictures can relate to a variety of topics that you are learning about and it is a fabulous tools for differentiated instruction. It lends itself so nicely to differentiated instruction because students can work at different stages and use vocabulary that is relevant and within their own reading level. The other component of PWIM that I am really impressed by is that it can be carried through from K-6, it has the potential to become a familiar tool for students to master yet always provides challenges. I didn’t have the opportunity to use PWIM during my internship but I am really interested in learning more about it in the future.

2) I started reading this book….
I picked up this book for free from the kindle store in January but I couldn’t seem to find the time to read it between my many textbooks and rushing through The Hunger Games series. I am only a couple of chapters in so far, but I think this will be a great book. (I am hoping it will help me through my #ecmp355 withdrawal!) I will keep you posted!

A message about endings…

Well here I am…. Thursday April 12th 2012 and my time at the University of Regina has come to an end. I can not believe how quickly the past four years have gone by! So here I am, 21 years old and ready to dive into my teaching career. I know that I wouldn’t be here with out the support of my friend and family. I am extremely lucky to have such an amazing family who inspires and supports me in all that I do. You have all taught me the importance of working hard and I will be for ever in debt to all of you for giving me the opportunities that you have. The friends that I have made during my time at University have taught me so much. You are all amazing people who I know will be amazing teachers. I look forward to continue learning with you as colleges in the future. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

A message about thinking globally…

I believe in teaching for social justice and social change

I believe in place-based education to develop student’s sense of self, community and place.

Lately there has been a lot of buzz around social justice issues such as Kony 2012. When I think about social justice in the classroom, many things come to mind. First of all, I think it is really important that we take the approach of thinking globally and acting locally. Social justice issues are many and wide, and as teachers we need to expose children to as many of these as possible. There are so many resources available for children of all ages to bring these issues  to their attention. Once we have discussed, examined, and learned about these issues, we then need to make relevant connections for our students. This is where place based education becomes important. For example, a middle years classroom might watch a video about starving children in Africa, after doing so they might be inspired and wish to help. It is my opinion that volunteering at a soup kitchen in Regina would be more relevant and effective than raising money to send to an organization in Africa. A few months ago a stumbled upon this website that suggested 10 strategies for integrating social justice in the classroom. These provide many great starting points for teachers looking to integrate social  justice.

1. Include in the syllabus guidelines for respectful interaction among everyone and model that respect.
2. In the first few sessions, take time to solicit from students what they perceive as justice or equity issues related to the subject of the course and invite them to identify which ones are the most urgent. Use this information to develop subsequent lessons and student assignments.
3. Create community service components as requirements for the class, and ensure that reflection on experience is a critical part of the assignment.
4. Compare and contrast notions of justice historically and geopolitically.
5. Investigate and discuss those agencies or government offices that hold responsibility for ensuring justice is administered in business and society; examine and evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of their work. Focus on those entities that relate most directly to the concerns initially identified in class.
6. Profile biographies of individuals who have exemplified social justice, trace the development of their concerns and efforts to advance justice, identify any obstacles they faced. Examine the implications of these lives for students today.
7. Construct a visual representation or graphic organizer that identifies the shared beliefs about justice expressed by various cultures.
8. Create profiles of local, state and nationally elected leaders and identify their positions on social justice and equity issues.
9. Invite local leaders and advocates into class to address social justice from their perspective and experience, or attend a session of the local assembly or city council and conduct a content analysis of social concerns and the leadership’s response to them.
10. Acquaint yourself with current research on controversial issues in your field, and articulate how these relate to equity, democratic principles and social justice.

During my internship, I was searching for a picture book called And Tango Makes Three. This child friendly book is about two penguins and it discusses gay parenting. As I was explaining this to a family member she said “Allie, why would you read that to your students?” I was disappointed in her reaction and I replied “Why wouldn’t I read this to my students?” It is a positive way to expose children to these issues, and it fit in perfectly with the family unit we were studying at the time.

I know that there are many parents and teachers skeptical of social justice issues because they feel they might not be age appropriate, or may challenge the ideas of others. Therefore, as teachers we need to be careful to document how these issues relate to the curriculum and be an advocate for change. By helping our children see the injustice in the world, they will become advocates for another generation and hopefully change the minds of those who are scared of these topics, living a privileged lifestyle.

What do you think? Is teaching for social justice worth the risk of offending others? 

A message about inquiry, process, and lifelong learning…

I believe in inquiry-based learning, where the teacher acts as a facilitator of knowledge and students are constructivists.

I believe in the importance of the process as well as the product.

I believe in guiding students to be independent lifelong learners and engaged citizens.

” Inquiry-based learning is a complex process where students formulate questions, investigate to find answers, build new understandings, meanings and knowledge, and then communicate their learnings to others.” (source) This seems to be one the latest buzz words in education and it is trending with good reason. This student lead learning is the gateway to guiding students toward independent lifelong learners. As a teacher, making the adjustment to inquiry learning was challenging at first as I had to hand over the reigns to the students, their interests and ideas directed my planning. I feel like many teachers are somewhat timid to try this method because it requires differentiated instruction based on interest groups, meaning it requires more planning. Having said that my philosophy isn’t based on teachers, it is based on students and student success. I feel that inquiry learning can be a fabulous tool for all students because it is interest based, it sends students the message that their interest are valuable and worth exploring, their questions are valid and we can learn from them.

The only flaw one might find in inquiry is that students interest are inappropriate, or perhaps they are having trouble generating questions. I believe we can guide them to a related topic that is appropriate and probe for questioning and deeper level thinking. I have also heard the argument that this method can leave out those who are shy and don’t like to speak up in class. Once again, I feel that it is our role as educators to create groupings that allow all students voices to be heard, the little extra time it takes will be worth it in the end. Now, the other thing I have left to consider as to why I have this in my philosophy is “Is it just there because that’s what school divisions are looking for?” Well, at this point in my life when University is coming to a close and I begin searching for a job, I have been asking myself that a lot lately. Do I believe this, or is this what they believe? The truth is, I really do see the value in inquiry, process oriented, intrinsically motivated learning. Even if this wasn’t the latest buzz word, it would be hard to not adapt this style into your classroom. What are your thoughts on inquiry?  Does it really guide students to become independent life long learners?