In this section, you will find a series of lessons and activities I taught during my second practicum experience. Included are specific curricular content lessons plans and visuals created throughout my practicum.
Outdoor Learning
Through my Educ 490 Practicum, my goal was to incorporate as much outdoor learning opportunities as possible throughout cross-curricular components. I discovered many immersive and engaging learning experiences for students by taking my lessons outdoors! Here are some of the outdoor learning opportunities I was fortunate to share with my Educators 490 practicum class 🙂
Nature Walk
Our Grade 2 class explored Moore’s Meadow on a nature walk field trip. Students explored and identified local plant species throughout the walk. We paused in the centre of the park to observe what we could hear, see, smell, and touch. It was amazing to listen as students shared their responses! Students also engaged in a tree bark rubbing activity, where they traced the bark with crayons on paper to compare the different types of bark.
Throughout the nature walk, students collected a variety of different nature items (that were already on the ground). The following day we completed a nature collage activity, where students enjoyed creating their own artwork from the items they had collected on our nature walk 🙂
Measurement Outside!
Our Grade 2 class was learning about measurement in math. We took our learning outside on a measurement scavenger hunt to experience hands-on measurement practice in connection with nature and community. Students worked collaboratively in their small groups to find, measure, and record all of the items on their lists.
Spring Poetry
In Language Arts, I taught a poetry unit for Grade 2 practicum class. Throughout the poetry unit, students explored a variety of poetic structures and devices while being immersed in experiential learning. Here is an example of a lesson on acrostic poetry outdoors where students connected with a sensory walk to inspire their writing about spring. This lesson was inspired by Adrienne Gear’s “Powerful Poetry” published 2021. 🙂
Collaborating and Team Teaching
During my practicum, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to observe a strong collaboratively approach between my Coaching Teacher and her fellow colleague. They collaboratively taught both classes together to enrich the learning experience for students in a variety of subject areas. As I worked towards teaching full days, I carried on this collaborative approach and found the experience to be valuable for the students and myself. This is one of the moments I was lucky to share with the neighbouring Grade 1 class 🙂
My Educ 490 Classroom
This is my Educ 490 classroom that holds a special place in my heart! My biggest take-away from the design of this classroom, is that there does not have to be a true “front” of the class. Throughout this practicum, I practiced rotating my lessons around the room with various white boards and visual supports to help my lesson. I also learned that communal supplies on each table works well to embed the core competencies throughout the classroom by engaging student collaboration and communication. I learned so much from my amazing Coaching Teacher during this practicum. I will miss the students, my mentor, and this classroom greatly. I look forward to carrying all that I learned in this space forward on my teaching journey 🙂
Unit Planning
During this practicum, I had the opportunity to transition from individual lesson planning to unit planning. Throughout the unit planning process, I found I had more time to embed experiential, hands-on learning opportunities that incorporated cross-curricular content. Here are a few examples of the unit plans I created during my Educ 490 practicum, please enjoy! 🙂