Kia ora whanau,
After a grueling 10 months of essays, tests and placements I can now confirm that I have graduated from my program. Once I register back in Ontario, I will be an elementary school teacher. This year has definitely been one of the most challenging and rewarding years of my life.
At the end of my placement teaching year 2s (six and seven year olds), I actually started to enjoy the age group. One of the most brave things I did during the placement was to teach French. I remember telling my friend I was teaching French and her saying, "Oh, I didn't know you knew French?" I laughed and said, "I actually don't." It was a risky move put it ended up being a lot of fun and I actually learned some basic french in the process. I was able to teach my students greetings, 1-10, how to introduce themselves, ask questions and describe how they were feeling.
I did an integrated Science, English and Drama lesson plan at the end of placement. I taught students about how maple syrup is made, about what trees can give us and some of the names of the native New Zealand trees. For drama I had them pretend to be trees growing throughout the different seasons and even had them do a statue game around making maple syrup. They really were fascinated with how maple syrup is made and on the last day with my class I made them pancakes with real maple syrup.
One of the most challenging aspects was teaching math to students. In New Zealand students don't have their own desks until later on in the higher grades. So I couldn't put a number line on their desk and I also had to always hand out their books or dismiss them to get their books. It just was a bit annoying and ate into our time for math. They teach math in a very fun and interactive way in New Zealand so, that was another thing I had to adapt too. You start out with a math game with the whole class, then teach the whole class a lesson with them on the mat and they have mini white boards and counters that they figure out the answer on. As the teacher you have to crawl around on the mat to make sure the students have the correct answers. Then after the formal lesson is over you divide them into 4 different ability groupings. Before dismissing you have to instruct them what they are to do in their ability groupings. Then you work for the rest of the time with one ability group and then switch working with another ability group. Finally once that is all over children come back to the mat discuss what they learned and play another math game as a group.
One thing that I am really proud of is I set up a pen pal program between my class and Moonstone Elementary school. My students were very excited to write their letters and can't wait to hear from their Canadian pen pals. I showed them a map of the world and how far Canada is from New Zealand and one little boy said, "It's not that far away." One thing about this age group is they just say whatever they want they don't have much of a filter. Also, one day when I had my University Professor visit the classroom to write an observation on my teaching, a wee girl came up to him and said he had a couple of tiny hairs on his head if you looked real close. The professor is bald. Was this student trying to sabotage me? Kidding!
To celebrate my achievement of graduating from the program I'm going to Nelson tomorrow for a couple of days and then to Wellington. Looking forward to going to Abel Tasman National Park and to Kapiti Island to see the spotted Kiwi and other native birds of New Zealand.
Thanks to my family and friends who supported be during the very rough times of this program. Without you guys, I would never have made it.
Aroha,
Nora
After a grueling 10 months of essays, tests and placements I can now confirm that I have graduated from my program. Once I register back in Ontario, I will be an elementary school teacher. This year has definitely been one of the most challenging and rewarding years of my life.
At the end of my placement teaching year 2s (six and seven year olds), I actually started to enjoy the age group. One of the most brave things I did during the placement was to teach French. I remember telling my friend I was teaching French and her saying, "Oh, I didn't know you knew French?" I laughed and said, "I actually don't." It was a risky move put it ended up being a lot of fun and I actually learned some basic french in the process. I was able to teach my students greetings, 1-10, how to introduce themselves, ask questions and describe how they were feeling.
I did an integrated Science, English and Drama lesson plan at the end of placement. I taught students about how maple syrup is made, about what trees can give us and some of the names of the native New Zealand trees. For drama I had them pretend to be trees growing throughout the different seasons and even had them do a statue game around making maple syrup. They really were fascinated with how maple syrup is made and on the last day with my class I made them pancakes with real maple syrup.
One of the most challenging aspects was teaching math to students. In New Zealand students don't have their own desks until later on in the higher grades. So I couldn't put a number line on their desk and I also had to always hand out their books or dismiss them to get their books. It just was a bit annoying and ate into our time for math. They teach math in a very fun and interactive way in New Zealand so, that was another thing I had to adapt too. You start out with a math game with the whole class, then teach the whole class a lesson with them on the mat and they have mini white boards and counters that they figure out the answer on. As the teacher you have to crawl around on the mat to make sure the students have the correct answers. Then after the formal lesson is over you divide them into 4 different ability groupings. Before dismissing you have to instruct them what they are to do in their ability groupings. Then you work for the rest of the time with one ability group and then switch working with another ability group. Finally once that is all over children come back to the mat discuss what they learned and play another math game as a group.
One thing that I am really proud of is I set up a pen pal program between my class and Moonstone Elementary school. My students were very excited to write their letters and can't wait to hear from their Canadian pen pals. I showed them a map of the world and how far Canada is from New Zealand and one little boy said, "It's not that far away." One thing about this age group is they just say whatever they want they don't have much of a filter. Also, one day when I had my University Professor visit the classroom to write an observation on my teaching, a wee girl came up to him and said he had a couple of tiny hairs on his head if you looked real close. The professor is bald. Was this student trying to sabotage me? Kidding!
To celebrate my achievement of graduating from the program I'm going to Nelson tomorrow for a couple of days and then to Wellington. Looking forward to going to Abel Tasman National Park and to Kapiti Island to see the spotted Kiwi and other native birds of New Zealand.
Thanks to my family and friends who supported be during the very rough times of this program. Without you guys, I would never have made it.
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| Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge |
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| Flatmates |
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| Mele and her daughters |
Aroha,
Nora
A big Congratulations Nora! I hope that you're proud of the supreme, tenacious effort you put into the completion of this program. I'm most excited for the students who will be lucky enough to be taught by you - someone I know will have a compassionate heart who will include and support every child in her class - especially those who learn in their own unique way. Have a wonderful trip! My very best, Jason
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