PS2 Practicum Experience
My second practicum while attending the U of L was at Notre Dame Academy in Medicine Hat, AB. This was a significant change from my first experience in a small rural school, jumping to a larger, urban middle school. My time at Notre Dame was fantastic. The staff were extremely welcoming and helpful as I grew as a professional over the weeks that I had spent there. The students were friendly and were also very welcome and made me feel like part of their classroom. Overall, the community at Notre Dame was a great fit for me. I felt as though I took extremely important steps in becoming an educator at Notre Dame, and I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn in an environment as great as that one.
Over my time at Notre Dame, I had the opportunity to teach in my major (Social Studies) in a grade eight class. I also taught Grade 6 LA, Grade 6 Religion, Grade 6 Art, Grade 7 Health, Grade 7 Drama, Grade 8 Drama, and Grade 9 Drama. This experience provided me with a wide array of classes to plan for, making me a more complete educator in the process. Below I will discuss a few of the different subjects that I was able to teach, as well as provide some examples from my experience teaching these subjects.
Over my time at Notre Dame, I had the opportunity to teach in my major (Social Studies) in a grade eight class. I also taught Grade 6 LA, Grade 6 Religion, Grade 6 Art, Grade 7 Health, Grade 7 Drama, Grade 8 Drama, and Grade 9 Drama. This experience provided me with a wide array of classes to plan for, making me a more complete educator in the process. Below I will discuss a few of the different subjects that I was able to teach, as well as provide some examples from my experience teaching these subjects.
Social Studies
Before I set off to Notre Dame, we were tasked to create a Unit Plan for the upcoming practicum. This inquiry based unit plan was ultimately created to help focus our planning for the upcoming practicum. Since I have been teaching there, the plans that I have created barely resemble the original unit plan that I had created. Honestly, it is mostly due to the static nature of education, once I had met my students and understood their needs and their abilities, I had to adapt the lesson plans that I was creating day-to-day. However, attached below is the copy of the original unit plan, designed with inquiry based Social Studies education in mind. I have also attached a model lesson plan, as well as my inquiry assignment sheet and rubric.
PSII Unit Plan - Aztec & Spanish - Worldviews in Conflict | |
File Size: | 231 kb |
File Type: | doc |
SS 8 - Introduction to Chapter 9 Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | docx |
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Drama
During my time at Notre Dame, I had the opportunity to take over the Drama option for grades seven, eight, and nine. This experience provided me with the experience to teach outside of my major, but still within an area that I am comfortable with. I feel as though Drama is a course that allows students to be themselves, let loose, and have some fun while undertaking some fun projects that they otherwise would not have the opportunity to do. I tasked my grades seven and eight students with a Twisted Fairytale unit. By the end of the unit, the students had created storyboards and scripts to help guide them to a final product (either a movie or a live performance). I was extremely pleased with the performances, the students took to the projects with great enthusiasm. I tried a Mockumentary unit with my grade nines, which required them to make a video project with interview segments and finding humour in every day happenings. This project was a great success. The students at the beginning of the unit were clearly unmotivated for this option, but as they continued to work autonomously on a unique project, they opened their minds to Drama in the process. For obvious reasons, I cannot post the products of the video projects, but below I have attached the assignment slides, the assessment rubric for the performances, and a model lesson plan for a Drama class.
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Drama - Week One Lesson | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |