One thing I love about teaching early Elementary School is the ability I have to find literature that meets my General Learning outcomes and Specific Learning Outcomes, while also teaching students important life lessons; such as, how to be a good friend, how to apologize and forgive someone, how to embrace our differences etc. Throughout my PSII poetry unit I aimed to choose literature that encouraged students to foster positive relationships with their peers, as well as taught students about the different poetry styles. Using literature as a way to encourage students to think about these deep and meaningful concepts is a way to ensure I am not only encouraging positive relationships between myself and students, but also encouraging students to build positive relationships with those around them. Students at the Grade 2/3 level are still learning what it means to be a good friend and how to build and foster effective relationships. Exposing students to literature that has underlying important meanings is one way to ensure I am meeting TQS #1. Rock What Ya Got written by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Kerascoët teaches students that not everything we create is perfect and we are all different, however, we should embrace our differences and our uniqueness. After reading this book to my students I asked them what they learned from it, and almost every student recognized that it taught them that not everything is perfect and we should love what we create. Being Friends written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Joy Allen teaches students about rhyming words, as well as how we do not have to be exactly like our friend in order to be friends. Friends can be different and we should embrace our differences and be respectful of others. The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald teaches students the way that everyone sees themselves differently, and we should not only love others, but learn to love ourselves. This is Just to Say written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski teaches students that poetry can be used as a way to express emotions such as sadness, apology, and forgiveness. This book also taught students the way that it is important to recognize behaviour we need to apologize for and to appreciate and forgive those who apologize to us. If Picasso Painted a Snowman exposed students to different styles of art and different artists while also teaching students that each person expresses their creativity differently. Our art and writing will never be identical to someone else, but that is what makes us special and unique. Oddrey teaches students that we should not be scared to be different and unique individuals. Everyone should be creative and be brave enough to try new things. We also should never judge people by the different ways they act or behave, we should see the positives of being different. |
Creating and forming relationships with other professionals. |
At the end of my PSII practicum I chose to write each student a personalized letter, similar to what I had done in my PSI to my Grade 6 students. I wrote things I liked about the students, things I was proud of them for, things we did together, or important things to them that they told me. I also ended each letter with the same ending, so no student felt that they were being favoured over others. It was great watching my students read a full card of writing about how great they were. I loved having students come up to me and ask me how I knew something written in there; and when told that I remembered they had told me weeks ago they were so happy. Writing these letters was something that took me one night, however, to some students it will be something they keep forever and helps them remember that there are teachers who care about them and the relationship we formed. |