One More Night

I can’t believe how fast the last week of school has gone by. One highlight from the school week was on Tuesday when I had my class do the Oh Deer simulation, but changed it to Oh Jaguar. We are discussing wildlife conservation in my class and this activity went along with that topic perfectly. The interactive session showed the importance of habitats on the survival and reproductive success of a population. After the simulation, students were able to identify factors necessary for animals to survive and reproduce. My students loved the activity so much that they wanted to do it again during P.E. time.

Wednesday was a special day because all of the Isla Bonita teachers attended an all day program held by Dr. C and Dr. K. The program discussed various language arts and science strategies and techniques that can be used in the classroom. All of the student teachers prepared a short presentation on a different language art activity that can be done in the classroom. My presentation was based on reading in small groups with children that are on similar reading levels. I taught them one reading comprehension strategy using clouds on popsicle sticks. The clouds say one of the following: Who? What? When? Where? Why? or Author’s Purpose. Each student is given the same book and one of the clouds. Throughout the reading you can check for comprehension by asking one of the students to create a question using the word on their cloud. The teachers from Isla Bonita loved the idea and I was happy with their reaction to my presentation.

Wednesday night a group of the student teachers and Dr. C went out to dinner to have a discussion on the poverty simulation that we attended at UNCW before we left for Belize. Living in Belize and being surrounded by poverty everyday made the experience I had in the simulation real. A lot of people in San Pedro are in survival mode and do what they have to do just to make it to the next day. With the power going out several times and the water being turned off many times, living at Pedro’s Inn for six weeks also gave me a feel of what it’s like to live in poverty.

Thursday and Friday were my last two days of student teaching. Friday ended up being a half-day because the power went out and it was too hot in the classrooms. The few hours that we were at school were spent exchanging contact information, saying goodbyes, and playing video games. Most of the boys in my class brought in their video games for my last day celebration so that’s all they really wanted to do. A few of my students gave me apples. I wrote each one of my students a special message and gave it to them at the end of the day. I didn’t have to say my final goodbyes until the campfire that was held Friday night at the park on the beach. I hope the best for each one of those boys and look forward to the possibility of seeing them again one day.