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In October 2020, I did a inquiry project with my Grade 8 students on poverty in Winnipeg. This came from a unit we did on "Community". As the unit came to an end, the issue of poverty in our city was an ongoing discussing topic in the classroom. My students were really passionate about doing something to make a difference. We started with researching who needs help, what we can do to help, and all the steps in-between. This project was completely student-led, and ended with us doing a food drive and collecting a huge amount of food, which we donated to the Transcona Food Bank. CTV New's covered the donation. The students were so proud!

Here is a link to the CTV interview (30:35):

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2056658

This year,  the base of my classroom management strategies was focused on our "Classroom Treaty" and making sure we are always following these expectations.

As a class, we made a huge list of all the regular school/classroom expectations and rules. We then grouped them, and narrowed them down. It was important to me that we finished with 3-4  prominent expectations, as that makes it easier for the students to understand and follow. The four we finished with are:

1) Be Respectful

2) Be Kind

3) Be Safe

4) Try your best

We tied this into our learning about Indigenous culture and how they use treaties. 

It was a successful activity, and we referred back to it all year. The next step was using this to create a classroom matrix, which we did as well. 

As a new teacher I am continuing to try new things, and this is something I will definitely use again.

I have recently been working really hard on educating myself and building experience to integrate Indigenous studies into my teaching style. I have taken several University courses on it, and feel confident in my ability to respectfully and authentically integrate cultural practices into my classroom. This photo is of an art project I did with my CT in 2019. She had a tree cut down in her yard, so we repurposed it into a flexible seating option for our students. We then decided to paint the animals from the Seven Sacred Teachings onto them, and used them when we did classroom sharing circles. The students loved to choose which teaching they sat on, and sharing how they connect to it. 

This year I taught Health to my Grade 1/2 Class. 

Some topics we covered were nutrition, personal hygiene, mindfulness, goal setting, fire safety and dental health. 

For the dental health unit, I was lucky enough to have an old colleague who is now a Dental Hygienist  come to my class for the day. This was such an authentic learning experience for the students and they had so much fun.

My favourite way to teach is to provide students with information, materials, questions, and then let them take hold of their own learning, and that's exactly how this day went. 

Miss. Kayla (Hygienist), shared a read aloud about Dental Health with the students, and then showed them some of her tools and supplies. The students were so interested, instead of a formal presentation, the rest of the morning was Q&A format, with the students questions and curiosities leading the learning.

In the afternoon, we made mouths out of paper and marshmallows, with the idea the students could practice brushing and flossing. However, they took it above and beyond. They created their marshmallow mouths, but then even added cavities, molars, baby/adult teach, "sugar bugs" and more. They used Miss. Kayla's tools and practiced not only brushing and flossing, but all other steps of a professional dentist teeth cleaning. 

With the support of myself and Miss.Kayla, my class spent the rest of the block setting up their own Dental Centre with receptionists, hygienists, dentists, payment plans and more. Through this process they had more questions, got hands on practice, and had so much fun. 

It was an amazing day, and the students learnt so much!

I recently wrapped up teaching a Grade 1/2 Split Class at Beausejour Early Years School. This year, the Grade 1/2 Team took part in Literacy Pilot Project focused on guided reading and assessment. 

Attached is an image of my Literacy Block timetable. 

I am a HUGE believer of integrating the arts into all subject areas. Teaching through the arts gives students a chance to express themselves in any way they'd like. Visual arts are fun, engaging, educational, and inclusive. This photo is connecting visual arts to the Zones of Regulation, and students painted how they felt when they were in each zone. Some other ways I have incorporated Arts into my teaching are:

- making music videos

- painting regularly

- sculpting with clay

- mindfulness through art therapy

- music

- drawing and colouring

I have volunteered to co-coach Grade 3-5 tumbling club for the past three years. I love getting involved with my students interests and hobbies! Tumbling Club is great because students get to be creative, interact with peers, and be active! This photo is from our "Wizard of Oz" performance. 

I ran a lunch-hour Drama/Puppet club for students Grades 1-4. It ran for approx. 3 months, and the students loved it! I encouraged them to be as creative, and confident as they could possibly be! We worked on public speaking, reading, and relationship building.

I have volunteered to help with the Holiday Concerts and both of my recent EY practicum schools. We had practices at lunch and after-school. I love the expressive arts, so being able to help my students with acting, singing, and dancing is a dream come true for me! 

In 2016 I had the opportunity to participate in the Regie Routman Residency program. I joined a group of EY educators for a 5-day professional development program where we learnt, practiced, and implemented Routman's literacy tools. Since then, I have been using Regie Routman's reading, and writing essential books as a staple for the way I teach literacy.

 Last year, when schools originally closed, I was teaching Grade 1. Distance learning was a challenge at first for my CT and I, as we had no prior experience, and first graders aren't able to use technology on their own. While we eventually got them online for Microsoft Teams Video calls, so also wanted to maintain our relationships with the students, and provide them with high-level learning. Between my CT and I, we would phone call each student 1-2x per week, to doing on the phone reading sessions. We also would arrange reading in the park, where families could come and set up 6ft apart for safe, outdoor visits. My CT and I would read, teach, and connect with the students. 

This year, I have been teaching Grade 8 online part-time since September. I have learnt so much, and am now very confident with teaching online. Some of my favourite websites are Google Jamboard, Google Forum, FlipGrid, Whiteboard.fi, and more. 

My most important goal for teaching online was to still maintain a strong sense of classroom community. Taking the time to play icebreakers, do check-in's, and give students time to connect via breakout rooms has really helped with this goal. 

Online teaching has taught me so much, and made me much more confident integrating technology into my teaching, but I miss seeing my students in person!