I can't believe that 14 weeks has went by THAT fast! My time spent at this school has been so rewarding and so fulfilling. This week was more of a time to tie-up loose ends and to get my good-byes in. Here's my synopsis of the final week!
Health
As part of our digital literacy 'mini-unit' I had the kids read some surprising online safety statistics that I had previously printed off. As a group they were to talk about their stats, and then each pod member had to pick a different statistic to write on an IPhone sticky note. After that, each kid had to write a good 'online safety rule' and then illustrate that rule by drawing it on a little computer. Once everyone had completed an IPhone statistic and a computer rule, we collectively made one big class banner promoting digital literacy so that we could hang it up in the school. I included a QR scanning code so that anyone with a smart phone could scan it and watch the "Pause and Think Online" music video. The poster also had many mini-posters advertising how to make smart choices while online. We hung the banner up in the school so that we could help spread the knowledge to our fellow students and community members.
Social
Our social dioramas turned out AWESOME! The kids worked SOOOO hard and it definitely paid off in the long run! The kids were so creative with how to make tricky thinks such as pemmican racks, smoky fires, Native American tools, etc. Part of the assignment was to make SURE that they had at least 3 Native artifacts shown within their diorama, and most of them were so excited that they even did more than 3! The other major part of the assignment was that students had to show an obvious contrast between the Native camps and the Fur trading camps by showing some things such as their housing, their technology, their transportation, their clothing, etc. Lastly, I gave the kids the challenge of showing the two different groups actually INTERACTING with one another by trading or exchanging information. This project definitely taught me the value of engaging the class in larger hands-on projects as many of the kids were able to genuinely showcase their knowledge from the unit by justifying certain decisions that they made for their dioramas. Their attention to details were both intentional and 'authentic-inspired' so it was great to see them so engaged in showcasing their knowledge!
Farewell Party
I wanted to do something nice for each of my students so that they could look back at all that we had accomplished in the past 4 months and remember me with fond memories. So, I decided to make each student a little photo collage with pictures of them in it so that they would have a keepsake that they could look back at in the future. And naturally, I cried as I tried to thank the kids and hand them their picture! Here are a few pictures of how they turned out!
The school also surprised me during our monthly assembly because they played a little "farewell" digital booklet that featured pictures of myself and the fellow student teachers.
The kids surprised me by giving me yummy cake, giving me homemade cards, and by playing "Miss Miller Bingo" which was Bingo with words which they associate with my memory such as "fun", "kind", etc. It was all very moving and emotional to say goodbye to such fantastic staff and students.
What a GREAT WAY to end such a GREAT PRACTICUM! I know that this practicum will always have a place in my heart, and that I have learned so many valuable lessons about the profession over the past 4 months. I have grown evidently more confident with my teaching styles, with my approaches to curriculum, and with my involvement with the larger school population and community as well. I could write about this practicum for forever - however, it is time for me to take a break from all of this hard work for a while and go pack for my trip to Las Vegas!!
- Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!
- Miss Miller
- Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!
- Miss Miller