Reading Reflection

Creating a Caring Classroom: Talking Circles

I chose this article as I used to be a daycare teacher and I remember supplying in a classroom

one day that started their morning with a gathering circle as they called it. All of the kids were

happy to go to the circle at circle time to talk about the theme of the day which in this case was

bugs. Kids took turns sharing what they knew about bugs while the others listened and had the

opportunity to ask questions. This was a great way to focus the class for the day but I had not

looked into it or thought more of it until now. However, after reading this article I now have a

new perspective on the importance of a gathering or talking circle and am excited to one day

implement it in my own classroom.

I now know that talking circles are a fantastic way to introduce dialogue about different

cultures but more specifically indigenous culture and practices. By introducing new cultures or

expanding on the lineage of your students in the circle you can teach students to celebrate

diversity in hopes that as the grow so will the openness of their minds. These circles are also a

great way to teach young students how to be good citizens by practicing empathy and caring

for others making them much more useful then just learning about the topic of the day as

thought before. In my opinion these circles are also a great opportunity to encourage learning

outside the classroom. If you prompt students with a discussion topic or issue that you will be

covering in the talking circle, they can think it over on the weekend and come ready to share.
From the arguments in this article I am convinced that there are so many benefits to having

talking circles in classrooms. For that reason, I would put a Monday morning talking circle on

my weekly schedule. I would use these circles primarily to build community and helps the class

regain focus from the weekend. Talking circles seem to be a great way to get to know each

other and create a safe space. Gathering together is a great way to solve problems collectively

in a non-violent manner and instill the importance of listening and how to be a good listener

and that is a trait I would want all my students to poses.

I would also love to use talking circles in my classrooms as they are a great classroom

management tool. With weekly gatherings students develop a strengthened sense of

community that they take pride in which discourages misbehaviour. It is also a great tool as it

allows everyone who wishes to speak a chance to be hear without interruptions as only the

student with the designated object (in this case a feather) can speak until the object is passed.

With such a strong sense of respect stemming form the circle misbehaviour will likely also

decrease. As an added bonus, due to this level of respect and community in these talking circles

students who are otherwise shy are more likely to share. This transition into trusting your peers

and gaining confidence translates not only into connections between students but also into the

learning process as students won’t be as afraid to try new things or to become frustrated when

they find their work difficult.

Triplett, C.F. (2005). Talking Circle: Creating Community in our Elementary Classrooms.

Social Studies and the Young Learner, 18(2), pp. 4-8.

Lesson Planning: Effective Lesson Planning

This article stood out to me as it is applicable to every classroom and presentation scenario.

Since the information is not specific to social studies this resource will benefit me in all areas of

my teaching. Upon reading the opening text it was clear to me that effective lesson plans make

for effective teaching and that is what I strive to do. Lesson plans are the framework of an

organized teaching period and if the framework is good it is easier for the lesson to be as well.

Lesson planning is one of those things that you assume would be common knowledge but so

much more goes into making an effective one then we realise and this article does a great job

of showing that. Never before have I heard of the ABCDs of lesson plan creation. The ABCD

acronym refers to Audience, behaviour, condition and degree which are all factors to consider

when making your lesson the best that it can be. Audience is all about gearing your lesson plan

for the learners that you will be instructing. Behaviour in this sense means what will your

audience be able to do, can the count, describe, perform etc. essentially it is about asking

yourself “can my students actually do what I am asking them to do?”. Condition is about what

might prevent students from learning in your teaching environment and lastly degree is how

well students perform the behaviours your asking of them which is where you can write

feedback for yourself to help create a better and more tailored plan the next time.

I really liked that this article broke down helpful tips for making a lesson plan into acronyms as

they are very useful for me as a learner. Know that I will be able to remember theses various

best practices, as a result I will be able to apply them when drafting my plans. One of the

acronyms I intend to use is the WIPPEA model. This strategy is all about the order of a lesson
plan and it stands for warm-up, introduction, presentation, practice evaluation and application.

These categories are exactly what they sound like and will be INCREDIABLY helpful for planning.

In this model components build off the previous one making your teaching congruent. I am so

glad to have found an article with a lesson plan order that makes sense to me as order is

something I have found difficult when trying to make my transitions make sense and be fluid.

The planning wheel visual will help keep this strategy in mind and is something I can see myself

using daily. The wheel is a visual reminder of the components of a lesson plan and when to

evaluate students on their learning journey. Posting this wheel by my desk will be very

beneficial in keeping my lesson plans focused, fluid and effective.

Staff, (2010). Effective Lesson Planning. TEAL Center Fact Sheet, 8, pp. 1-3.
People Place and Environment: Paper Bag City

I chose to learn about the paper bag city as it a project I had never heard of before and found

interesting enough at first glance to learn more about. After reading I found out that it is “a

creative project that engages students in producing a model “downtown,” which students can

interact with in reinforcing or learning concepts related to map skills, geography, and economic

functions”. I really like the idea of it being an interactive model as interactive activity are highly

engaging and in my opinion far more memorable then textual learning and compression.

I also really liked that this model of a downtown provides a great real-world example of terms

and concepts being taught as the paper bag city can mimic the community the students live in.

This model is an excellent way for student to practice new concepts in a familiar setting. While

introducing/using the paper bag city project students are encouraged to brainstorm a list of all

the different stores and restaurants in their town (commonly attended locations) then after

guidance from the teacher the students move on to talk about specialty shops and essential

services. To me this is a great way to introduce the idea of goods and services and supply and

demand or in simpler terms, wants and needs in the community and how much of each service

is needed.

I love the fact that this activity has so many components that build on each other so I

could use it for multiple lessons/days. It is also a great interdisciplinary activity. When the

creation of the building start, you can incorporate art by having the kids design and create their

own. When the buildings are made you can discuss the layout of a community and have the

students decide where each building should be placed. Once the model is created you can use it
to have students use the map to practice using the compass by drawing one on the side of your

city as a reference for identifying direction, using grid squares to locate businesses which will

help them understanding graphing in math, and giving directions to move from one location to

another.

As a communication major I am passionate about how businesses are run and honestly,

I was torn when entering this program on whether or not to go into the elementary program as

that would mean giving up my dream of teaching communications. After reading this article

however I am beyond excited to know that I could use a paper bag city to bring my passion into

an elementary classroom. By taking the model even a step further, you could teach students

about the importance or effects of promotion, target audiences, pricing and location of your

business. The pricing would involve numeracy work, the promotional material such as slogans

and business descriptions would help develop literacy skills and knowing about the needs and

wants of your community can be tied into social studies so along with teaching my passion, I

would also be teaching core concepts of the elementary curriculum. I have nothing but good

things to say about the paper bag city and can’t wait to use it in the classroom.

Moran, P. W. (2015). Paper Bag City: Exploring Geography and Economics in the Primary

Grades. Social Studies and the Young Learner: National Council for the Social Studies, 28 (1), pp.

20-23.
Article of Interest: Rethinking Classroom Management

This article caught my eye as given the title alone I know that its contents will be beneficial for

my teaching career as it can be applied to any classroom I walk into. The article is all about

different strategies for managing a classroom and how to set up rules and procedures which as

a new teacher is a skill I do not have and therefore am eager to read and learn more about.

Traditionally management suggested that a structure is to be very controlled, however the

ideas in this article allow students the liberty to work with the teacher to learn how to be actual

meaningful thinking democratic citizens which is the kind of students I hope to foster in my

career.

One key point I plan to implement in my own classroom is the idea of allowing students to have

more control over their day. No, they cannot decide what they want to do all the time as

curriculum does need to be covered but there is certainly room for flexibility. I would give

students more say by involving them in the making of the rules and procedures for the

classroom so that they are invested in how are day runs. This would help with classroom

management as they are more likely to follow rules they were a part of making as it is then not

about being told about what to do but taking pride in the community they are creating. I would

also allow for more choice for allowing a small block of time on Friday called finish up Friday

where students could choose whatever project from whatever class they want and work on it

for that time period. This would help eliminate some frustration sin the classroom when

students feel rushed and canont complete their work in class. As a teacher you could say at the

end of class, “if you didn’t finish, no worries you can pick it up again on finish up Friday if you
wish”. This not only gives students choice but also allows them to get closure from the week so

that they can return on Monday ready for a new week.

Another point I took from this article to use in my future classroom was the idea of being

included. That not only means with you but also by their peers. If not, students often become

withdrawn and misbehave because of this negative emotion. By placing students in groups to

help work through problems together and making sure they are working well with one another

by spending equal time with each during instructional time, you can prevent many behavioural

problems from happening as you again have created a sense of community. I can see that

community will be one of my biggest values as a teacher and I am excited to learn more ways to

make it the best it can be.

Metzger, D. (2004). Rethinking Classroom Management: Teaching and Learning with

Students. Social Studies and the Young Learner: National Council for the Social Studies, 17 (2),

pp. 13-15.
Learning Centers: Exploring Community Workers (Kindergarten)

I chose this article as I have always loved career day and during my practicum I was fortunate

enough to teach an entire You and Your World exploratory unit on Careers and it was so much

fun! I was placed in a grade two classroom which I felt was young to be talking about careers,

so this article really interested me as it focuses on careers at a kindergarten level. After reading

it I now have the mindset that it is never to early to learn about the jobs that surround us as

long as the approach is appropriate to the age level.

The activity or rather collection of activities in this article are very beneficial for teachers to try

out as they teach not only curricular outcomes but life skills as well. This center idea does that

by introducing what an address means and getting to know their own (which is excellent in case

of an emergency). It also fits the early math curriculum of weight/measurement by weighing all

the various packages in the post office play station. This is also an excellent opportunity to

improve on literacy skills as there is no better way to introduce letter writing and general

writing practice then through letter delivery dramatic play. If I were a kindergarten teacher I

would love to incorporate a post office unit into my classroom and focus on it for a few weeks

as it is developmentally (age) appropriate and has countless possibilities in all subjects.

Social Studies: exploring community members and their roles in a community Math: counting
letters (number sense) Literacy: writing letters Science: Different weather conditions the postal
workers deliver in Music: countless use bells to create song (like door bells) Art: decorate
mailboxes with different mediums

Davey, L. (2015). Writing Our Way to the Post Office: Exploring the World of Our

Community Worker with Four-Year Olds. Social Studies and the Young Learner: National Council

for the Social Studies, 28 (1), pp. 4-7.

Community and Change: Earth Day

I chose this article as growing up I loved to learn about and celebrate Earth Day, so the title

alone hooked me in. As an educator I have found it hard to get students interested and excited

about lessons that they feel has no relevance to them; which I found especially true in Social

Studies. This I believe is because often teachers fail to link history with what is happening in our

world today. This article however was excellent at bridging that gap and connecting students

with a primary text (which students often describe as boring) and getting them excited about

what they can do to make their community better today. Students take great pride in social

action they create themselves as by the end they have worked hard to know its importance and

want to share that with others. This Earth Day article is important to me for many reasons as I

truly believe an engaged community makes a strong and thriving community and in order for

others to share this belief it has to be introduced and practiced at a young age. This article does

that by pairing curriculum, primary documents and real, relevant civic action together to create

a very well-rounded lesson on Earth Day.

This article would be incredibly easy to use in a classroom as it is essentially a detailed lesson

plan. This article not only includes an order of lesson events but also the reasoning behind each.

It details why a case study of earth day is important and connects it to current issues which is so

important when trying to hook your students onto a new idea or project. This article is also very

useful for teachers as all the resources mentioned in the article are included in a very organized

appendix, so you do not have to do the searching on your own. Once you research potential

Earth Day projects (environmental)for your class to participate in, this article is very much a
grab and go lesson which as a new teacher still figuring out how to make an effective lesson,

this is like finding gold.

Hughes, R. (2016). The First Earth Day, 1970: Examining Documents to Teach About Civic

Engagement. Social Studies and the Young Learner: National Council for the Social Studies, 23

(3), pp. 11-14.

Projects and Products-Drama: Using Role-Playing to Engage Students

I chose this article as it was under a heading I am very passionate about; drama. I was never the

kind of student that got excited about going to school. I would show up and do my work, but I

wasn’t involved in the learning of material other then through memorization. I did however get

excited to go to school on Saturday mornings when all the textbooks were put away and I got to

do what I love best, production. I was a huge theater kid growing up and I learned more

through plays and diving into the historical significance or context of a portrayed era then I ever

did through a lecture style class. It wasn’t until grade 11 that my love for drama met schooling

through the portrayal of Egyptian jobs and hierarchy titles through short role plays and I can

still remember the content to this day as I finally learned appose to memorizing as the

approach connected with me. This article perfectly describes that combination of learning and

drama by learning through a dramatic form known as role plays and that is why I chose to read

it and hopefully implement into all my future classrooms.

One way that I will use this technique is to humanize historical figures. It is much easier for

students and people in general to connect with a person over a text. Similarly, it is easier to put

yourself in someone’s shoes and think about the influences of the time that would have caused

them to act the way they did when you are seeing them in front of your eyes.

Role plays would be good to introduce into classrooms as they are not only good for the

audience/rest of class but also for the performer. Acting is a much more engaging or active way

to learn material that is often regurgitated through reports and writing assignments. It is better
for the actor because they actually get to live the idea almost first hand which makes the

content stick as I experienced as a student.

Lastly role plays are not only good for social studies but almost all subjects. They can be used to

explore important people, act out conflicts, celebrations or feelings (which is hard to do

without humanizing them) all and delivering material in a highly engaging making them great all

around.

Cruz, B. (2006). Breathing Life into History: Using Role-Playing to Engage Students. Social

Studies and the Young Learner: National Council for the Social Studies, 19 (1), pp. 4-8.