EDEF: Theoretical Teaching Assignments:
Case Study:Critical Responses
For this first assignment, we were asked to give a critical response to two selected passages that we read. It was important that for the assignment you did not teeter onto both sides, but give a strong stance to your argument. This assignment showed me that there are many outside influences to our teaching and it will be a challenge to find a balance between what we feel we need to do as teachers and what society feels we need to do.
Place Based Education
Assignment two in EDEF, was one of my favourites. In a small slideshow and activity my teaching partner and I were able to introduce place based education to our peers. We shared the reading, and then brought everyone outside for a spring scavenger hunt. Bringing education outside is important to me as I have seen the benefits with student engagement and the connections students make with their communities. The artwork I created with images from past excursions. Looking closely at the image you will see students’ experiences at the local museum, senior home, on city transit, fun with the fire department and more wonderful adventures in local parks.
Lesson Plans
Two lesson Plans I worked on that show that I wanted to share were created in two classes, one was for ELA specifically, and the other is a unit plan for science that also cross covers ELA, art and social studies.
The first Lesson plan I used on practicum in a grade ⅘ class. The lesson was about ‘Generosity’, as students were learning about the Circle of Courage and its teachings. The students listened attentively to the story (The Giving Tree) and actively participated and enjoyed the activity.
The unit plan I shared has not been used yet. It is one that I am wanting to use in my future classroom one day. The lesson incorporates the Indigenous teaching of the ‘Three Sisters Garden”. This unit plan will include creating an indoor (or outdoor) garden with your students. This unit plan was done with two of my peers ( Rianna and Cait). We all worked together creating these lessons and a work booklet that was inspired by two award winning Canadian teachers from Alberta.