Maths for next week

Daily Schedule:

9:00-9:50- All school Assembly (Monday only)
9:50-10:40- Session 2
10:40-11:10- Morning Tea (Snack and play for students, and break and tea for teachers)
11:10-12:00- Session 3
12:00-12:50- Session 4
1:00-1:50- Play (Students eat in the classroom from 12:50-1:00 and then go outside to play. For teachers, this time is used to relax, plan or eat lunch.)
1:50-2:15- Fruit and Cereal (Students eat their fruit or cereal while the teacher reads aloud)
2:15-2:40- Session 5
2:40-3:30- Session 6

The students also have Specials, which include Music, P.E. (or Sport), Library, and Art. They have each area one time during the week. In grade 5/6 the students participate in Summer and Winter Sport as well. This occurs for the first session on Tuesday’s, which is used as practise time and then the first two sessions on Friday. On Friday’s the students break into their Green and Gold teams and either compete against another school at Greenhills or travel to a primary school to compete. The Summer Sports include cricket, bat tennis, basketball, volleyball, and rounders. Bat tennis is similar to tennis, but played on a smaller court, the players use wooden paddles, and the net is a wood block about a foot off the ground across the court. I have hit the ball a few times, but have yet to play a full match. Rounders is a lot like girls softball. I have not had the opportunity to watch the teams play yet because I am helping to coach the volleyball teams.

Differences in schools [Australia vs. America]
This is based on the experiences I have had as a student and also as a Pre-Service Teacher
1. Less “teaching” time and more student exploration
2. In Australia they combine the grades (1/2, 3/4, 5/6)
3. Compared to Greenhills, schools I have worked in are much further behind on technology
a. Students know more about computers in general and how to operate them
b. Teachers use Interactive White Board on a daily basis
c. The entire school here has wireless
4. Students in Grade 5/6 have numerous experiences that do not occur in America (from my experiences) including:
a. Intensive Swimming for 2 weeks
b. Sport weekly
c. 4-day camp trip
d. End of year pool party
e. Book Club on Friday’s
5. In America the students eat in a lunchroom, whereas in Australia they eat in their classrooms or outside

These are just a few of the differences. As always, it depends on the age of the students, what school you are working in, and also the teacher you are working with. Things vary even from state to state in America so it is sometimes hard to make the conclusions, but these are just some observations I have had thus far.

Next week I will be taking over the Maths block completely. Lauren has shown me what she typically does for Maths during the week, so I am more comfortable with how it is laid out. On Monday I will be doing a session of instruction and then the students will complete a rotation of the activities I plan. Throughout the week there will be two other sessions dealing with the same topics. I will start each session with a mini lesson or game for the students and then they will continue to work through their rotation.

Over the past two weeks I have really learned a lot about myself as a teacher. I would consider myself a very organized person who is more comfortable when things are ready to go for the following day and laid out for me. I like to know what I have planned and can look over my materials the night before. Lauren is more relaxed about preparing her lessons and does a lot of prep in a short amount of time. Her experience shines through in her teaching and I have learned that not everything needs to be planned out or laid in front of me. Sometimes, the best teaching moments happen when they are spur of the moment. I have seen some great examples of this and Lauren has shown me that sometimes you have to go with the side track conversations because they are beneficial to the students in the end.

I look forward to the lessons I have planned for next week and also learning a bit more about the literacy groups. I am hoping to have my students up and using the class Wiki by the middle to end of next week and am going to focus on transitions and classroom management in the next week or so. So far the students have been very respectful and I have been able to hold their attention or get it when I need to. We do have a few talkers in our grade, but I think just a change of seat or reminder here and there will solve the interruptions that are occurring.