Practicum - Week 8

This was my last week at my practicum. I was so sad to leave my kids! They were winding down with their Social Studies Unit on government and reviewing for a test. My teacher split the students into small groups to go over the study guide. My last day at practicum, the students worked on informational writing during their Science/Social Studies time. My teacher iformed me that next week the students will be starting their unit on Rocks and Minerals. I'm sad that I will miss this unit!

Practicum - Week 7

This week in practicum my students were still studying Social Studies. They were discussing different branches of government (local, state, and national). They were divided up into three groups and each group was assigned a branch of the government. Students were expected to draw a picture and describe the job of that particular branch. They did these posters for each sets of government: local, state, and national. My teacher hung the students posters in the room so they could reference them throughout their study on the government. This week I also got to teach a lesson on American Symbols. Essentially I wanted students to be able locate two American symbols: the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. I began the lesson by asking the students what were symbols. We also discussed monuments. I then used a PowerPoint created by Teacher's Clubhouse on "American Symbols" and displayed it on the SmartBoard. It was a very informative PowerPoint and the students really enjoyed guessing what the symbols were and learning about why they were important to America. After we finished the powerpoint, I passed out blank sheets of paper and asked students to choose a symbol we had discussed, draw a picture of it, and write around 5 sentences telling why that symbol was important to America. The students were really engaged in this lesson. The students loved interacting with the SmartBoard!

Practicum - Week 6

This week in practicum my students started social studies. They were learning about rights and responsibilities as citizens. They played a game called "Rights and Responsibilities" in groups of four in which they rolled dice and had to decide with certain rights what type of responsibility comes with that. The students really enjoyed the game. They also watched a video on rights and responsibilites that I found on United Streaming. It was a great video and it also had a video quiz at the end. I really liked how my teacher integrates a variety of resources into her teaching. She uses children's books, videos, powerpoints, the textbook, and many more. The students love changing things up and not doing the same thing everyday!