PS-III- Raymond Junior High, Grade 7-8 Drama & Language Arts
I taught in Raymond, Alberta for my final educational practicum. I taught Drama 7, Drama 8, and Language Arts 8.
In Drama, my goal was to ensure that students had a shot at engaging in interactive drama. The units I taught included; Orientation, Improvisation, Scare Theatre, Music Video Production, as well as doing a Christmas play with the students. The concept for the semester was a performance based term with a major assignment at least once a month. The major thing I learned this term is how to teach a class who is not wanting to be involved in drama. I had a number of students in one class who were in drama to avoid another class, so were less than ready to participate. Through the term I learned how it is important to find projects that these students enjoy and to ensure they are having fun and feel comfortable before asking them to do anything else in the classroom.
In Language Arts, my goal was to offer students opportunities to see outside of the pages of books and into the world of media literacy. We examined the connections between media and our daily lives, comparing a novel to it's film, and analyzing the process of writing short stories. We also explored YouTube as a learning opportunity versus it's uses for entertainment. Students during the semester took part in a novel study of "The Giver". To the right there are images of our discussion on the differences between the film and novel versions of "The Giver". Students also engaged in a series of lessons on reading comprehension as well as a "Writing the Good Fight" short stories unit. This creative writing unit was based on a Super Hero theme where students fully developed a character from start to finish and wrote a story on that character. My PS-III professional development goals are practical this year. I have realized that becoming a stronger teacher can be great once I'm in my first year of teaching but as a student-teacher I still do not think I have the basics of being a teacher down. I plan to look into report cards, how to cope with parent teacher interviews, and how to run a drama/athletic program in a school. Accomplishing these goals will allow me to be confident in my first year teacher as I will have a knowledge base to expand on during my career.
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