Brooke Christie

Reflection #2:

I loved teaching this lesson just as much as I loved teaching it the first time. We

chose another grade two class for our second time teaching as we felt as though our

activity would work better in a grade two-three class. The writing portion may have been

a bit difficult to complete with grade ones as we were in a bit of a time crunch. With a bit

more time, I feel as though any grade in elementary would enjoy this activity. Again, our

lesson went very well. The students loved grabbing the items out of the basket and

examining them, and they were so excited to take their artwork home to show their

parents or guardian. One thing I noticed that varied from the two/three split we taught

the first time was the level of detail the students put into their work. The two/three split

was very precise with what they wanted to put on, and they did not fill the whole page.

The grade twos, on the other hand, went full force and filled their page as much as they

could. They also used a lot more glue in the grade two class, which was very funny for

me to watch. The level of engagement was one aspect I found as a strength for our

lesson.

A second strength I found during our lesson came from the first time we taught the

lesson. Our preparedness really allowed for the students to have more time with the

activity as we were not scrambling to get the materials together for the students. We kept

the baskets together with all the materials separated and the students could look and pick

whatever they wanted quickly. After the first lesson, we chose to grab more pens. This
helped us in our time teaching this lesson a second time as the students were able to get

the pens quicker and get started on the glueing portion of their project.

One question I encountered while reflecting on this process is what kind of

background information and how much ground work do you do for students to really be

able to grasp and appreciate Indigenous perspectives? I love the idea of implementing it

into my classroom, but I am unsure on how to do it so it is really valuable to the students.

Although I think our activity went well, I’m not sure that students really grasped the idea

of the Indigenous perspective of nature.

This teaching experience impacted my own philosophy regarding teaching

indigenous perspectives quite profoundly. In the second classroom we were placed in,

there was a student that is Indigenous. By reading stories and integrating Indigenous

perspectives in the classroom, I can create a more inclusive environment that allows all

students to feel as though they are valued. I think the feeling of inclusion could impact

my future students in a large way. They could be more receptive to help, as they would

feel I genuinely care about them. Ensuring that students feel as though we are a

community is a priority I want to implement into my future classroom. I also thinking

learning about Indigenous perspectives can bring us closer to being truly proud of being

Canadian. Indigenous peoples are the history of Canada, and it is important that students

recognize this and have respect for everybody, regardless of race or identity. By

including Indigenous perspectives and teachings into the classroom, it could allow

students to find themselves, regardless if they are Indigenous or not. Indigenous peoples
have a very different way of viewing life, and this may resonate with some students.

They may find that they feel the same way, or would like to view the world the same at

some point in their life. Allowing students the opportunity to be exposed to Indigenous

perspectives could allow for growth and a sense of community. I cannot wait to

implement this practice of teaching in my future classroom.