"It takes a big heart to help shape little minds"-unknown
Activities & Administrative Tasks
Week 1: Thursday, January 12th and Friday, January 13th
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The Experience:
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For the collection of information for the ECO team, my teacher provided myself and the students with a clipboard and a sheet of all the classrooms and teacher’s names in the school that participated in the litterless lunch. We then went around and checked the sheet that was already in the classroom from the tally session of the day before and recorded the percentages respectively on the total tally sheet.
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We went around to each teacher and asked to see the sheet. We recorded both the total number and the percentage. Some classes only had the total number and so the children needed to calculate the percentage, incorporating math into our process.
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For the art activity, my teacher had circles of construction paper cut for the children to use as the base to draw their faces and to decorate with the party hats for the bulletin. After the children were finished decorating with myself they joined my teacher at another table to write 2017 on a piece of construction paper to put under their art work.
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I then wrote “Happy New Year” and “2017” on mural paper so that the children could decorate it next week to put up outside by their art work and writing pieces as well.
Week 2-Thursday, January 19th, 2017- iPad Writing
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The experience:
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In the morning, the children will be working with the iPads. They will be playing games and exploring the PBS Kids website.
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While they are doing this in the gathering area, I will be at one of the tables in the classroom, calling the children up one at a time to complete their writing and picture.
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I will work with one child at a time on the iPad (the only material required)
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I will start by taking a picture of the child, then I will direct them verbally to choose a colour to write their name with
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I will have the box of name cards at the table so the child can find their name and reference it if necessary, although at this stage, they should be able to recognize how to write their name, after all the practice they have had in different formats
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Then they will write their name using their finger
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They will proceed to touch the text button that has the key board
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I will put the Caps lock on for the JKs so that they are writing in capital letters
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In the end, the children will have their picture, and the two different ways to write their name
Week 2- Friday, January 20th, 2017- Administrative Task- Culminating Project Preparation
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The Experience:
Materials:
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Computer and access to Microsoft Word
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List of all materials that are on the letter pictures, for each letter respectively
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Scissors
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Black construction/cardstock paper
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Glue stick
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ABC Superhero book
The task:
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First I will find the book that I think will be the most engaging and beneficial to the students. I think they will find this book interesting and beneficial because it has sentences with that express the letter sounds throughout the entire phrase. This way it will beneficial to the students learning and memory
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Next, I will type out each word from the list
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After they are printed, I will cut each one out and glue them on the black construction paper.
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I will then cut them out from the black paper and finally, they will be ready to post for next week
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I will also read over the book to have it prepared and familiar for next week’s explanation and large group session
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Week 3-BLOCK WEEK-Jan 30th to Feb 3rd
Monday, January 30th, 2017- Constructing our ABC Alphabet
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The Experience:
Experience: Constructing our Alphabet
Obejctives: FDK Curriculum 4.5 Demonstrating Literacy and
Mathematics Behaviours
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Explore sounds, rhythms, and language structures, with guidance and on their own
-children working together with myself and classmates to recognize letter sounds and rhyming words. As well as using their own knowledge to think of words that start with a specific letter and or rhyming words on their own. -
Use language (verbal and non-verbal communication) in various contexts to connect new experiences with what they already know.
-Children connecting their knowledge that they already have on the alphabet and word/letter sounds and making connections between the new words and materials that they are learning -
Working together with classmates and becoming actively involved in the experience so that it is something the children learn from to use and benefit from when they are encountering different work throughout the classroom.
The Experience:
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This experience will take place at the table closest to our alphabet wall.
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It will be a language experience in the morning, where my teacher will take the SKs and work on guided reading with them and I will take the JKs and work on the alphabet with them, involving letter sounds and words as well.
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The materials I will have include:
- the words to post up under each letter
- tape
- scissors
- the Superhero ABC book (from last week) -
I will use the book to introduce each letter to the children. Then as I spread out the words that I previously cut out and glued, I will ask the children to find the word that starts with the letter we are working on.
The children will then each tell me the letter sound and another word that starts with the letter. As the children are thinking about this, I will be cutting off pieces of tape so that they can work on their fine motor skills in the process as well and tape the backs of the words so that I can hang them up under our alphabet. This way the children will be directly involved in the process of building the referenced alphabet
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
Tuesday, January 31st, 2017- Building Our Own Superhero Book
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Reading the Story and Extension Activity
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Programming Purpose:
The children have been working closely with the superhero book and encountering their ABCs while we have been putting up our ABC alphabet. Today, I will read the book to the children again to get their memory going about the different superheroes and their powers. It will also hopefully bring their interest back into the alphabet as well! From there, after we have read the story, I will ask the children to pick a letter and then they will draw their own superhero, with their powers and the letter of the alphabet that they are representing. Then, we can put the children’s work together into a book style to display their work
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Objective:
Children will exercise listening skills, language skills, letter recognition and writing skills.
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Our goal is to have the children listen to the story and test their memory. From there, we hope to have them working independently on their own letter that they are assigned. We hope to see the children creating their own unique superhero while exercising their letter skills as well as their communication and writing skills.
Seeing how the children come with their ideas and then transfer them into writing
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Click on the word document button to the left to read about the story, and the extension activities that the children continued to perform!
The children made there own superheroes after we read the story together!
Wednesday, February 1st, 2017
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Mathematics and Language- Voting, Tallies and Writing
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Programming Purpose:
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For this activity, our goal is to pick a title for our alphabet that we put up in the classroom. I made this an activity at the gathering area with all of the students. As a class, we came up with three options and each child voted on which one they liked the best. In addition, we took the numbers down in a tally, introducing the math skills and data management.
We also worked with language and writing. Language because we had the children come up with the topic options, as well as writing, because after we picked our title, we had each child write it out on paper so that they had practice so they can help us to post the title above our alphabet. Again, this is involving the children directly so that they are in the process.
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Objective:
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Children will be working on both mathematical and literacy skills. The main focus for the children to take away in the data management/math aspect.
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They will be involved in the social aspect of the vote/democracy, understanding their role in the voting process.
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In addition, they will be involved in the tally process, and counting how many votes each option had.
Also, I will ask the class which option was the least and which topic had the most, therefore involving math and counting skills. Lastly, the children will go out and write the title individually, practicing their writing and letters (SKs with lower case and upper case mix and JKs with upper case letters focus only)
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You can see the full document by clicking the word document button!
Click here for the planning sheet document!
Click here for full planning sheet!
Thursday, February 2nd, 2017
Learning about Money at Play and Inquiry
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The Experience:
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This experience was spontaneous as I was observing the children earlier in the week talking about coins and the money they had in the cash register.
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When one student came up to me and asked me for more money I took the opportunity to make a money-introduction lesson.
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I took the students that were interested to the U-shape table and had them grab our materials, such as paper, pencils, erasers and crayons.
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From there, I drew circles first, asking the children if they could name any of the coins and knew any of how much they are worth.
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The children used the coins as a guide especially when colouring the paper coins.
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I drew all the different coins and went through the names and values of each. Describing which were worth more than the others
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Then I had the children draw their own circles and colour their coins as well as tell me the name of that coin and try to remember the value
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I also touched upon the difference of cents and dollars as simply as I could
2 Strategies
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Modelling:
Drawing my own circles and “coins” and explaining the value of them so that the children have an example or an idea of what it is that they need to draw to get their coins
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Telling, Explaining and Informing:
Explaining the value of the coins, the names of them and talking about cents and dollars and the differences between them.
Friday, February 3rd, 2017
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Administrative Task: ABC Book and Lower Case Letter Ring Construction
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Objectives:
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Creating a resource book that the children can use in the classroom. Promoting independence and self-learning.
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Creating a lower case letter ring so that the SKs have that challenge to be reminded to always be writing in lower case, not upper case because those are the letters on the wall.
Promoting literacy and more writing in the classroom by having these resources. Also, hoping that the children will be able to reference these materials without being reminded, but will remember the process and know what’s available to them
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The steps:
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For the book, I first take an 8x11 black construction sheet and paste each picture at the top of the page
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Then I write the letter it is representing both in upper and lower case in the corner with the chalk marker (Aa)
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Underneath I paste all the words that belong to the letter that I have typed and cut out
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I continue this pattern for each letter, in the end I will laminate each page and cut them out to make our book!
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For the lower case words, I first cut out the words from the white paper and paste them on the black construction paper and cut them out again.
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Afterwards, I laminate each word and cut them out from the plastic
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Lastly, we will attach these larger words onto a key ring for the children to access (these are the same words that are on the wall except in lower case for the SKs)
Thursday, February 9th, 2017
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Programming Purpose:
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I brought in a book that is well known as “bucket filling” it is a book that has become popular in elementary schools. It teaches children about respect and about how they should treat each other. The virtue of the month for February is respect and we are also talking about valentine’s day. So the purpose for this group learning experience is to read the children the book and ask a series of questions after the story to talk about the message. As we are talking about the message, I will bring up the virtue to tie it in with the book and what how they can show the virtue of respect.
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After we discuss, I will ask the children what love means to them. From here, as their “ticket” to take away, they will write what they think love is, from our brainstorm and then they will draw and colour a picture to go with their writing. We will be putting their work outside in the hallway.
Friday, February 10th, 2017
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Task: Interviews with Parents and Families
Objectives:
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Practice communication skills while meeting parents and talking to them about their child in the classroom.
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Observe my teacher and the files/documents that she has prepared to show the parents
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Take note on the government documents that are referenced throughout the interviews and note any common concerns or questions that the parents have.
Thursday, February 16th, 2017
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The Experience:
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This experience will take place at one of the bigger tables in the classroom so that all the children can participate if they wish too.
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I will be with the children who are interested in the activity. As well, there will be an ERW in the room that has helped us in the past with ironing the creations of beads so that the children can keep them.
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The materials include:
bin full of multi-coloured beads
shapes with pegs (to put the beads on)
Pamphlet with pictures
Stand for the children to share the picture
wax paper (for ironing)
iron
small individual containers to put beads in, in-between children
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The implementation process:
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This will be an open activity for the children to be able to choose if they would like to participate during play and inquiry
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I will offer each student to look through the book and plan which object they would like to make
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I will then give them the board with the pegs in that shape so they can start creating their work
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I will interact with each student and prompt discussions based on what they are making. For example, if one of the students is making an animal we can talk about that animal and what it eats, where it lives and what sound it makes.
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After the children are done their work, myself or the ERW will take the platform
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I will also talk about concepts like concentration, patience and hard work while they are completing their activity. I will also encourage sharing and social interaction between the children
Friday, February 17th, 2017
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The Experience:
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This experience will take place at one of the tables during play and inquiry
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Before we go out into our centers we are going to gather in the gathering area so that we can read the book again to the children. At this point we will talk about hibernation and where the different animals hibernate for the winter. We will talk about the definition of hibernation and make sure that the children are using the word hibernation and not sleeping.
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After we read the story, we will explain to the children in the gathering area that I will have the center open for the children to come and build any animal from the story and their habitat
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I will encourage the children to use any materials they find in the class for their habitat and the model magic clay to build their animals
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As the children are building, I will ask them questions about their animal and characteristics and of course their habitat. I will make sure the children are referencing their language and using “hibernation”
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Materials:
Model Magic clay (1 bucket)
Time to sleep book
Table space
2 Teaching Strategies
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Sensory Engagement
First hand experience, contact with real objects
-Having the children work with the clay hands on and making their animals and shapes with first hand experience -
Modeling
Children learn new things by imitating others
Provides children with examples of behaviour
-The children will witness the motions I am doing with my hands to form different shapes and objects such as spheres, cylinders and the animals themselv
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Friday, February 24th, 2017
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Task: Eco Team Audit
Objectives:
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Students work collaboratively in groups to collect data and make a master sheet
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Practice organization skills and communication skills when having materials ready for students and when explaining tasks such as finding percentages for total numbers
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Practicing time management skills between programming for classroom and planning for extracurricular, in this case the eco team.
Friday, February 24th, 2017
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Task: Virtue of the month of March Bulletin Board
Objectives:
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Talking about the virtue at the beginning of the month with the children, will enhance their knowledge on what is expected of them as students of the virtue/faith
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Organizing and planning time and a visual representation to be able to go out into the hall and create that display
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Having students not only thinking about the virtue and what it means, but how they can show it at home and school