When Worth Elementary underwent an extensive remodel of the building, I had the opportunity to assist in setting up the classroom that I would be student teaching in. From putting together a bulletin board, to organizing the classroom library, and arranging equipment within the room, our newly remodeled classroom was ready for students to come in and learn! The following pictures are of the classroom and all the set up that was completed before the first day of school!
During our first unit in social studies, students learned about the various styles of housing that Native Americans built. They were able to choose which style they liked best and were placed in a group of two to three other students and had two days to build their Native American home. With limited supplies given at school, students were encouraged to bring in materials such as leaves, plants, and twigs to build their homes.
In science, students learned about biomes including climate, location, living and nonliving things found within the biome. Students were able to choose and research one of the following biomes: rainforest, temperate forest, tundra, taiga, freshwater, and marine. Once students collected enough information from several sources, they created their trifold. Included in the following pictures on the right is the freshwater and temperate forest trifolds that were completed by two students in the class.
Students made oceans in plastic bags by adding 1/4 cup of water and 1-2 tsp of salt. Students then shook the bags to create waves and observe what happens to the salt once waves formed. During this experiment, students were to share their findings and create an explanation for why the salt was no longer visible but the water would still have a salty taste. I also explored the options of what would the weight of the water would be with not seeing any salt in the bag, but still knowing it was present in the water. We analyzed the weight of the water, weight of the salt, and the weight combined to conclude that the salt was still in the water, but broken down.
Throughout my student teaching, I observed students taking an interest in drawing. One of my students in October asked me multiple times if I liked ghosts or pumpkins. On the Friday before Halloween, the student gave me a homemade ghost that they weaved themselves as a gift. The drawings and Halloween decoration that I received from my students can be found by clicking through the images on the right!
As a thank you to my students for their hard work and welcoming me to their classroom for student teaching, I made bags for each student that contained a pencil that changes color, a scented book mark, a pop-it fidget toy, and a Rubik's Cube. Many of my students were interested in Rubik's Cubes and said they never had one before. Every student needs a pencil and book mark, but I wanted students to have their own cube and challenge themselves as well as have the pop-it toy as some do not have one at home but their friends have them. I know my students will have a use for each of the items and enjoy them!
On my last day of student teaching, my students and cooperating teacher presented me with many gifts. My teacher made a basket of all the supplies a teacher will need in their classroom such as post-it notes, markers, and decorations. My students made a banner that was too large to fit in a picture (it is over 12 feet long), cards, and a goodbye book. Pictures of the basket and book can be found on the left. Although it was an emotionally hard day because I was with many of these students last year for novice teaching, I know one day I will have the privilege to see them graduate and make the world a better place.