We day - Me day!

November 14th was We day in Ottawa and my Associate Teacher was participating with a few children from my class. This meant I was given the opportunity to teach for the entire day with a substitute supporting when needed. In preparation for this exciting day, I created two lesson plans based on my AT unit plan.

In science, I taught a lesson about the pulmonary system, we looked at how humans breath, why it is important and the mechanics behind it. To understand the mechanics, I built a model using an empty soda bottle and a balloon. The students were given the opportunity to inquire and build their own model with the supplies I gave them. They used the scientific method to determine how a muscle can force air into the lungs using negative air pressure. They were very excited with the hands on experience. The next activity within the lesson was measuring pulmonary rhythm at rest in comparison to after exercise. The students counted the number of breaths they took in a minute when resting then after doing exercise they counted again and compared the results. We culminated with a discussion about how many of the body's systems are interrelated and help us function normally. 

The second lesson was a reading comprehension exercise in French. To start it, we recapitulated the previous lesson on visualization, how reading creates an image in one's head of what's on the page. It also can be a strategy to prepare before a sport activity, a challenging task or to understand math or science concepts. The activity I led was about questioning while reading, so asking the important questions about a text: Who? Where? What? When? Why? How?. They read a story about WWI and wrote the answers to the questions on their sheet. We then discussed the answers as a group and thought about the possible answers for each question. I also shared more in-depth knowledge about The Great War to have them better understand the cost of war and why it's important to remember it's lessons from a hundred years ago.

As an exercise in teaching, I was very proud of myself to have created two full lessons in preparation for this day. I also managed the students well and the time for each exercise to ensure that we were able to cover everything planned in time. Proper preparation leads to proper execution!