I have now had my first days of observation at my placement school. I am placed in a grade 5 class at Mount Albion Elementary School. I had a great first few days and I took some pictures to share.

My associate teacher is working to encourage co-operation and group work with the way her classroom is set up. This of course is accompanied by carefully planned lessons and activities. The students do not have assigned seats but instead, can choose to sit at any of the seating areas that she has set up. She has a combination of chairs, stools and carpets areas that the students can choose from.

In addition there is a larger carpeted area where the students gather for class discussions and lessons. The students have been promised by their teacher that she will not have them listening at the carpet for more than 15 minutes at a time. The switch between teacher directed and student directed learning keeps the students engaged and active in constructing their learning.

Around the room, one can find math mulipuatives and a library area organized by genre.

This set-up allows for students to participate in group work with different individuals at different times for different activities. The students seem to enjoy working in groups and best of all they are learning lots of information in meaningful ways. She sure has done a great job of making this small porta-pack room invinting and educational for her students!