So far my Christmas holiday has basically consisted of sitting at my computer while working on my portfolio. Needless to say, I started feeling pretty unmotivated after about 5 days of this. So today I decided to switch things up by going in to volunteer at my town’s elementary school for the afternoon! I assisted with some grade 4 and 5 classes (as that is what I will be teaching next semester) so that I could get a feel for the age group, and start getting some insight into some of the curriculum. It was SO refreshing to be back in the classroom and engaging with students again which was exactly what I needed to get the motivation rolling again! I got to help out with 2 different science classes and an art class, so it was a lot of fun! In art class they were making some silhouette winter tree landscapes with tape and watercolor paints, so I circled around the room giving students painting tips. (Click on picture to enlarge & see description).
The main reason why I wanted to blog about my visit was because the teacher who I was observing had a really unique take on practicing spelling. Each Monday she assigns kids with 5 of the words from their spelling textbook, and then picks another 5 words that are personalized/ differentiated to the kids that they either have asked to spell while in class, or have struggled with in reading or writing. Once kids have their 10 words picked out, they spend the rest of the week practicing the words in really fun ways. Each day there are a few different strategies that they can use (pictured below), and it changes each day. By the time Friday comes around, the students are tested by a peer! It seemed like a great way to get the kids excited about spelling and they were having fun doing it! I snapped a few pictures while I was at the school so that I could post them here! It made me even more excited to meet my kids next week! Enjoy!