2nd week , dinosaurs theme

This week we had a theme about the dinosaurs and my MST will be absent the whole week because of a health issue. 

Problem

On sunday the children doesn't knew anything about the theme so  I planned  with the Arabic teacher to start show the children some pictures of dinosaurs and talk about some of their special things. In addition,  we planned to show them in monday a walt disney  movie about dinosaurs. through the movie the children will learn different kinds of dinosaurs ,tall , short and big, and  what each type eats. for example, one type of dinosaurs eats leaves and plants while the other type eats meat. As well as, the children will learn other types of animals that lives at the same period.

This movie helped me a lot next day because the children in the first whole were asking me questions and other children were answering nearly a logical answers and they related it to the movie.

first week after 2 weeks vacation

This lesson was a review for math concepts which is 2D shapes. Firstly, I follow the children's interest to plan this lesson. The children in love with arts and crafts so I decided to  create an activity that allow the children to use the shapes in order to create a helicopter. However, the first whole indicates a competition between three groups where they should make certain shape using their body.

problems

1- The first whole was so slow and it took 25 min because when I divided the children I put them in groups and I wrote their names in the board so they don't mix up when its time to play. I should instead  color code the groups or say you are number 1 you 2 you 3 you 4 now go together in one group. 

2-the children couldn't make the shape because of the space firstly and secondly my instructions was not clear to them which also took a long time with no achievements. another problem when the groups should wait and take turns which give the children the chance to create behavior problems because they do not have anything to do and of course they want be attention all the time. I should instead divide the children and ask them to create the shape in 10 second and count backwards for them and see who can make it and after 2 times or three times they will get better in understanding the rule of the game and follow it better.    

Drama & fly swatter competition game

A first problem appears when the Arabic teacher disappears while she should provide activities in the first whole, small focus and the last whole because the literacy lesson has more time because it’s for the Arabic and English. I faced two subsidiary problems:

1.    I should think of how to use the time effectively to cove the topic and the concept.

2.    Make the lesson interest and enjoyable for the children.

 

How did I solve it!

 

1.    I plane to do simple drama before the lesson as introduction for the lesson but I make it longer to review the words. The children enjoyed it because they were creating the story depending on the picture flash cards I showed (words related to the letter of the week /g/).

2.    The second step was to take the children to the centers so they make the letter /g/ use their hand print.

3.    The activity doesn’t last longer so I divided the children into two groups with mixed ability children and I make a competition between them. (fly swatter game , who can remember the words)

 

The children were so excited but some of them were reacted emotionally because they were afraid of lose and they wanted to win. E.g.  S.T was crying because he wants another chance to challenge the other group.

1.    Firstly I choose him to VS another child from the other group (I chose a low ability from the other group because S.T was middle ability child in order to motivate him and encourage him to try again and win).

2.    The second step was doing the competition again but with new rules. For example, no shouting, no moving to the board and showing the right answer and if they break the rules they will lose a point. As well as I asked each group to come to the board and review the words together. Mostly, the leaders, high ability children, were the ones who remember the words better.

How to start using Drama in most of my lessons!

 

 

I decided to improve some points in my PDP by using Drama instead of asking the children questions to know if they remember words or some events for example. I introduce drama first through traditional games where I took the children outside at give them roles to practice working collaboratively in groups to win the game at the end.  We played the wolf and the sheep’s kids and we play hunting Gazelles. Those games enhanced team work in the children and taking roles.  

 

After practicing those traditional games, I start to use simple drama at the beginning of each literacy lesson so the children practice the vocabulary needed without me showing visuals and asking what is this? Who can remember! It is easer and enjoyable through a drama.

 

 

One example, I should review words like (umbrella, uniform) so I created a story with the children e.g. “we woke up, its morning now, what should we do!” the children imagine and remember real thing they do it in the morning and they say and do the action… we will go to the school what should we wear!! Same clothes!! No .. what then! School clothes .. and some of high ability students remember the word uniform and say it so the others follow and understand.

 

 

 

week one - Creating Marshmallows shapes (lesson reflection)

 

In the first week children were excited about me coming back to teach them and they asked me to bring a marshmallows as I did in the past. I used small marshmallows and small wooden sticks to ask them to create different shapes such as circle, square, triangle and rectangle.

 

The problem appears when I thought it will be easy for them to do but during the activity I was aware that the children have difficulties in doing that even if I model it for them. The main difficulty was in where to put the wooden sticks and how to build up this shape.  I divided my instruction to very small ones where the children follow easily and learn.

 

1.       I asked them to create the shape using only the wooden stick s.

2.       Asked them to try and add the marshmallows to see where is the next difficult. The children did not know where to place the marshmallow.

3.       I put for the children one or two marshmallows and I showed them the place and asked them to continue so the activity will become like a puzzle.

4.       I bring paper shapes and ask the children to match what they have created with the right shape.

week one - literacy problem appears (general)

 

During my first week in teaching practice I went through some problems in teaching literacy because of the new way they are following this semester. After the first observation that my MST did for me, I observed her to see what she is doing during the lesson in the different learning centers. as well as to see the point that she mentioned for me to improve it.
 
 Then, I asked my teacher to look through my literacy lessons before and give suggestions to improve it until I could control it. The reason is because I want to have different lessons for literacy which involves drama, music, movements and active learning in general not only creative art and explore in a limited way. In the third week I will start the literacy lessons and I will keep you updated to my reflections and what will happen to see if this solution fits or not.

First week in TP - 2013

Library theme

During the first week of my teaching practice I planned for three full days which means for each day I will do the morning circle with the Arabic teacher, literacy lesson, numeracy lesson and the closing circle. This week was busy with lots of activities for the whole school because firstly they have a theme of “library” so the morning assembly took longer time than any regular day. Some of KG1 and KG2 classes have had read books and then they act it out in the assembly for the rest of the school. The children in my classroom participated in two assembly events and I was responsible for them with my MST because the Arabic teacher was absent. first event, two students were guiding the whole school part of my classroom. One of them was reading the simple sentences in the book and the other one was translating the sentence on Arabic and the school were acting some of the words like jump, walk and run. Second event, the students act the events of an Arabic song talk about the carrot that the father planted and take care of it until she become a big carrot. When the father tried to take the carrot off the ground he couldn’t so the mother, brother, sister, dog and the mouse helped him one by one.

 

Police men event

Another event is when the police men came and taught the children how to respond to different emergency situation like an accident.  They provided a police car, ambulance car and a group of different specialists. They did an imaginary accident and one of the children has the main role to act like the accident victim. After this event, the police men came and took their certificates from the school administration and the children were attending the event and were asked why, when, what happened

 

Book shop event

The children were going to the library class by class a time so the librarian read for them a story and take them through different competitions she had prepared.

 

In this first week I got the chance to do one literacy lesson that I will write about it in my next blog.