Last
week at our school, all of the 2nd grade classes participated in "The
Dinosaur Show." The students have spent the last month preparing for this
yearly show. In our classroom each student created a book about the
time period they were assigned to, complete with pages about an
herbivore and carnivore that lived during their time period. In music they
learned 3 different informative dinosaur songs to perform, which we also
practiced in our classroom. In art, the children worked in groups and
were assigned to time periods These
groups created 3 murals for display. On
the day of the show, the students performed the songs for their families
in the auditorium, and then the families were invited back to the classroom to
see all of the books and murals on display, along with some light refreshments.
It was amazing to see how excited my students were to participate in the show
and have their families come to see what they had done.
As
I come to the end of my student teaching, I wish to say that it was
very gratifying to see the culmination of my students' work paired
with their enthusiasm when sharing what they had worked so hard on
for the past month. The classroom reception for all of the families was a very
positive, happy experience where I got to speak with many of the parents. This
was the perfect way to close out my time at Grandview.
My
questions to you are:
1.
Have you participated in any shows/assemblies? If so, was it a collective
effort between the classroom and specials? Is this, in your opinion, a worthwhile endeavor?
2.
How do you feel as you are coming to the end of your student teaching experience?
Mindy, that is a great post. I was very fortunate to have one of my projects televised on WPIX Channel 11. As you mentioned, one of the most gratifying moments was seeing how excited the students were to showcase their projects. I do projects each year on Financial Literacy, at the middle school level. Students design their dream bedroom in 5th grade, lease a car in 6th grade (or pay taxes), determine the cost of attending two colleges in 7th grade, and finally do a budget project for how to manage their money upon graduating from college. I have been doing these projects for years and what I find most touching is students that reach out to me after college to say that they remember these projects, kept them, and reflect on them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as life after Post Bac...I'm a little scared but excited about the possibilities that are ahead for all of us.
In my school, we had an assembly called, “Bash the Trash” which is basically about recycling and reusing. They used trash and created different instruments to make music. The students seemed to really enjoy the assembly. Last Tuesday, we had the Science fair and the kindergarten class did the 5 senses so each class took a different sense. The students and teachers both worked together to make sure it would be successful. This Thursday, real penguins will be coming to the school and the students are excited! In my opinion, I think having shows/assemblies are a worthwhile endeavor because it gives the students a chance to show case their hard work. As I am approaching my final weeks in student teaching, I’m feeling emotional. I have learned so much from my cooperating teacher and my students. I will truly miss them all. I feel confident that I will be ready to have a classroom one day. This was an experience ill never forget.
ReplyDeleteStudent teaching has been an exciting experience. I have learned so much from being in the classroom every day and from my cooperating teacher. I feel as though I connected with students through various activities. It seems like the time flew by, but with all the course work and student teaching experience I believe I am ready to have my own classroom.
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