Year 2: Week 2 at Havelock North Primary

This week has been my second week at my new placement school. I love the environment at Havelock North Primary School. Despite being in the same area as my last school it is very different. They are very inquiry focused in their teaching and I am enjoying the challenge of trying to implement inquiry more into my teaching.
Today I took a lesson with a group of year 6's with a science/mathematics focus. We were testing whether the height of a ramp would affect the distance and speed a toy car would travel. I went outside my comfort zone and let the students have a lot of control in the lesson by giving them the materials and letting them decide how they would test their hypothesis and how they would record the information they collected. It was extremely interesting to take part in this and watch the way they problem solved together and the way they thought. It also gave me an indication of where I would go next with my teaching. It was difficult to do but I think it was beneficial for myself and the students. However next time I think I would allow myself a little more input if only to allow some more clarification for the students. I also actively concentrated on using wait time in this lesson which caused there to be a lot more discussion. It is great when the methods we  read and talk about in class work in the school classroom.

The students recording the data gathered and measuring the ramp. We used multiple tools to measure including a tape measure, metre straws and metres of string. 

Term 4 week 3

This week I had a busy week taking two maths lessons again and two technology lessons. I really enjoyed this opportunity to teach again and especially with the whole class. I find it helpful to keep having to use my full class room management as I learn something every time. 

On Tuesday the children constructed their final kite. It was great to see the progress they had made compared to the first kites they made and the ones they made on Tuesday. They had taken into account the reflection we had done on what makes a kite fly and what doesn't; as well as what they had learned on the four forces. I also had another opportunity to observe how they work in pairs, their time management and team work. This taught me a lot about the children and what pairs I would put them in next time. 

I also took another two maths lessons this week. The children are really engaged and it's interesting to see how some competition (e.g. With the Murtle the turtle number bonds game) some children thrive working hard to reach the answer while others will not participate fully if they think they will not win. 

Children flying the kites they made shown above. They didn't all get up in the air but they were still a huge success compared to our first attempt! 

Term 4: Week 2

This week I did my first technology lesson with the whole class which I really enjoyed. The first picture is one of the kites they made in pairs as a capture activity. I didn't give them any prior information just to try make a kite that would fly. Afterwards we talked about why some kites flew and why some kites didn't. We then touched on the four forces of flight before they went off to plan their kite with the new information they learned which is shown in the second photo. We are going to make this end product on Tuesday next week and re test our kite against a success criteria.

I also took a maths lesson this week which looked at number lines and finding the equation in word problems as they struggled with these in my observations. I was really pleased with how well they did and in my next lesson I will change the phrasing of my word problems to see if they are still able to find the equation. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to teach again this week and to work with the kids.

Term 4: Week 1

This week I was back in my practicum class which I really enjoyed because I know the kids  and the routines there so it was easy to just fit in with the class. 

I did a lot of maths testing this week particularly the GLOSS test. It was my first time using GLOSS and I found it was a really good assessment tools especially if you didn't have time for a NUmPA test or if you were unsure of the result you have gotten from a NUmPA. I found this especially when I was assessing the three children for the lessons I am going to take I did a Gloss and a NUmPA test just to be sure and to get the most information I could on what I needed to teach them.

I spent some time taking the top group for reading this week which I haven't really had the opportunity to do before. They needed focus on not their reading strategies as much like I was used to but on their comprehension skills and their understanding etc. I found I was not as capable as teaching this as I would have liked to have been because I have spent so much time learning and observing how to teach the children who struggle. I would like to observe and discuss with a teacher how and what is the best focus to have when with this group of children. 

Week 8

This week we spent time with production again it is great to see the progress the kids are making. Next week they are performing and we will be there helping for the matinee and the evening show doing hair and make up. 

I also got to view the seniors doing technology this week which was great to see. They are making solar ovens and learning about insulation, double glazing, reflections and heat.

I spent Wednesday in my practicum class and I helped them to get organised for the open day for the parents. I really enjoyed this because I got to help the children publish some of their writing which was about the bird feeders I had made with them. They had written about the 5Rs in their writing to which was great to see.

Term 3: Week 7

This week I went and viewed technology at Herataunga Intermediate. I found this a very interesting and  informative experience because I am in a primary school so I haven't previously had the chance to view  technology in action before. I also found it interesting that they split the boys and girls into their own classroom in a couple of cases. 

While at school this week I got the chance to do some more work with the production. Even making a sequin waist coat at one point! It's really good to see the production come together after the time we have spent with our individual groups in the afternoon.

I spent time watching the children do technology at a junior level also. I found it interesting the way they were able to grasp the concepts of force and motion through the making of a marble track. It was practical and enjoyable and they did it in pairs so I also got to see what kids worked well in pairs and what children still struggled with this.

 

Term 3: Week 6

This week I really enjoyed taking a lesson in Te Reo Maori. I had the opportunity to teach children how to say hello, introduce themselves and introduce their parents. It was great for all of us to work together on pronouncing ion and in such a supportive and positive environment. We finished with a song Tutira Mai Nga Iwi and we learnt the actions to it as well. The children definitely found the song their favourite part and I even had to children come up the front and model the actions on the last run through of the song.

This week I also really enjoyed taking a group of children for a writing lesson at a year 6 level. It was my first time doing this and it was really interesting to see the change in the way they write at year 3 compared to year 6. 

Term 3: Week 5

This week I was in a year 6 class and also back in my practicum class. I have found it easier to work with the year 6's the more experience I have with them. They have a very different attitude to school and learning compared to the year 3's that I spent the last 3 weeks with. 

I loved going back into my practicum class again. I had the opportunity to teach again which I had really been missing and it was so nice to go in a class where in knew the routines and had established relationships with the children. I really enjoy experiencing other classes but I really missed being in a class where I had relationships and enough knowledge of the class to be able to comfortably teach and fit in with the classes culture.

I really enjoyed the group lesson I took with ESOL children the first lesson was hard because we had to build a relationship with the children first but I found by the second lesson they were happy to share parts of their culture with me. It was really interesting and informative as well as a great opportunity to form relationships with more children within the school. I found it far to learn about other children's cultures within a casual learning environment. 

Term 1: 12-13/3/2013

What were the highlights?
This week I enjoyed being able to be on year 4 classes as a I hadn't been in one yet. I also enjoyed the range of personalities and learning difficulties I got to see this week in class rooms and how teachers managed that. I really enjoyed a year one class I was in one morning the teacher was great and I liked the routine she had set up for her start of the day.

What were the challenges?
A challenge I had this week was the lack of knowledge I had about each child I think. If I had of known more about them before hand I would have been able to deal with issues and their learning better. This week I have also been finding it challenging that I haven't been able to help that much in the classroom and I am still observing a lot which is really helpful but I am looking forward to when I am have knowledge about the subjects they are learning in class too. 

What did you learn?
This week I learned a lot about how teachers manage their students who have difficulties with learning so that they have the time to support them while also helping the rest of the class. I also learned about how a teacher can deal with the more quirky personalities in a classroom. This week I took a PE lesson by myself as well and I learnt that knowing who the chatty ones or restless ones in the class are can be really useful for managing a group of kids so that from the start you can keep them separated and keep an eye on them.

Term 1: 5th-6th

What were the highlights?
I really enjoyed being able to spend more time in each class. We were in three classrooms a day instead of 5+.
I also enjoyed being able to retake the year 2 group for PE again this week. I planned the lesson before hand and we established boundaries for the kids. We had a bigger group this week of 12 but because we had planned it this wasn't an issue. I was able to do a warm up go over skills and work with the kids before ending with a game. I also enjoyed seeing phonics again this week and seeing some of the great writing that the kids were doing.
This week me and one of my other candidate teachers also started taking a dance group of mostly boys at lunch to help them compose a dance for the dance festival competition. It was fun to see the kids come up with moves on their own and was also a good opportunity to get to manage a group of kids on our own while also taking part in the school.

What were the challenges?
A challenge for me was finding a classroom that could fully demonstrate cultural differences and how a teacher accommodated them because at our school although there is different cultures there is not a lot of them and all the English as a second language children are reasonably well adapted. We did find a class in the end though where the teacher was able to help us and show how he accommodates his student. Something I also find a bit of a challenge is learning about classroom management because they do not need to use a whole lot of it at our school but when I take the kids or PE myself I need to know how to because they want to push boundaries. 


What did you learn?
I learnt a lot about the new entrants this week. They have so much to learn and you have to have a lot of patience with them. It is also so important to make their first school experience a positive one, which is a big responsibility. I also learnt about gymnastics with the year ones and how some children are just learning to balance' or they really struggle with it and one child couldn't manage her forward rolls at all. But again it was about making it a positive experience for them especially if they we're struggling. It was important to work with struggling kids so they could see they could improve and leave with a positive attitude..