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Faculty of Education

Teaching Practicum Booklet

Name: Azza Khalifa Alazizi

Academic Year: 2019-20
Course Code: EPC-3403
Course Title: Practicum 3a
Concentration: Early Childhood

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Section D: EPC 3403– Detailed Course Requirements for Students

Length of Placement

Number of days per

Number of weeks: 5 5
week:

First day: Last day:

Total number of days:

TP Tasks
NOTE: include all tasks, e.g. observations, interviews, reflections, peer-observations, etc.

As student teachers, you will take increasing responsibility for the general care and
supervision of children under the direction of the preschool teacher. Additional duties will
include:

1. Complete five observation tasks

 Environmental Print in the Classroom
 Teaching Phonics
 Teaching Guided/Shared Reading
 Development of Early Writing Skills
 Literacy Software in the Classroom

2. Create 7 lesson plans WITH 7 self-reflections - one for each lesson taught
 4 Literacy (1 set of 4 connected sessions)
 2 Math
 1 Science

3. Utilize storybook and story sack created for ECE 3203 in the literacy lesson

4. Conduct a minimum of 1 peer observation with feedback reflection

5. Daily implementation of at least two of the following: morning circle, teacher-led small group,
full subject lesson using your MST’s lesson plans

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Observation Table: Environmental Print in the Classroom
Table 1: Documenting Environmental Print
Examples of Environmental Print Purpose Ideas for further
development

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 Reflections on Observation Task 1: Environmental in the
Classroom

Read the questions below and choose (1) one to respond to

1. How does environmental print impact students’ language development, and their reading and
writing abilities?

Observation Task 2: Teaching a Phonics Lesson

Focus: Identify the structure of a phonics lesson used by your MST and the supporting
activities used to reinforce the concepts taught
Objective: To encourage student teachers to identify and discuss the structure of a phonics
lesson, focusing on what the MST does, what the students do in response and the student-
cantered activities used to support the students learning.
Procedure: Familiarize yourself with the Observation Table: Teaching a Phonics Lesson

Table 2: Teaching a Phonics Lesson (Example)

The Structure of the Lesson

What the teacher does What the children do Comments

Introducing the Sound:

The teacher asks the children what sound The children say ‘mmmm’ and rub This worked really well. The children
they make when they think something is their tummies’ got the idea of the sound from relating
really yummy. it to the sound they make when they
think something is really yummy.

The children enjoyed this. It was fun to

The teacher explains that we make that
yummy sound with our mouths closed and
asks the children to see if they can make a
/m/ sound with their mouths open.
see them trying to do something that
The children try to make the ‘mmm’
impossible.
sound with mouths open.

This was a great idea the children

The teacher gives out mirrors to the children
and asks them to look at what their mouths
are doing when they make the /m/ sound. She
reminds them to rub their tummies too.
The teacher asks the children what their lips
do when they say the /m/ sound.
really enjoyed looking at themselves
and practiced hard.
The children practice the /m/ sound,
rub their tummies and look at their
mouth shape whilst doing this.
This was a good idea as it made the
mouth movement clear and explicit.

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The teacher asks them to say the following
words whilst looking in the mirrors and to see
what they do with their mouths when making
the /m/ sound.
The children answer that they press
their lips together.
The children enjoyed doing this and
really exaggerated their mouth
movements.
The children repeat the words and
look at what their mouths are doing.

Words: me, mat, man, map, mitten, mouse,

mud, merry-go-round, him, bam.

(the teacher collects in the mirrors)

Hearing the Sound /m/ in the initial

position:

The teacher explains the she will say some

words and that some of them will begin with
the /m/ sound and some will not.

She asks the children to close their eyes and

to listen carefully for words that begin with
the /m/ sound. The children close their eyes and This worked well and allowed them to
listen. focus on the sound /m/ in the initial
position.
She tells them to raise their hands when they
hear a word that begins with the /m/ sound.

She says the words slowly and sometimes

says the word in a segmented fashion e.g.
/m/…./a/…./d/ and then repeating it in
blended for e.g. ’mad’ for those children who
have difficulty hearing the initial sound. She
emphasizes the initial sound in those words
with the /m/ sound at the end.
Words: mad, mop, pail, mail, cat, mat, match,
silk, milk, mom, noon, moon, room, mop, mouth,
not.
The teacher asks the children to open their
eyes and praises their efforts.
The children raise their hands when
they hear the sound /m/ in the
initial position. Some children have
difficulties hearing it. Some children
raise their arms when the /m/
sound is heard at the end of the
word.
Some children are repeating the
word and exaggerating the initial
sound.
Some of the children were confused,
raising their arms when the sound was
at the end.
Perhaps leaving out these words or
else asking children to raise their
hands if they heard the sound at all
and then asking where (e.g. the
beginning, middle or end) they had
heard it in the word might have
worked better.

The children open their eyes.

Introducing the Writing of the Sound:

The teacher explains that she is going to show

the children how to draw a picture of the /m/
sound. The children sit and listen
attentively.
She follows 3 handwriting guidelines on the
whiteboard and says:

1. start on the dotted line

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 2. draw short line down
3. hump
4. hump
as she draws the sound /m/.
The teacher repeats this and asks the children
to copy her movements in the air with their
fingers.
She asks a child to come and try to draw the
/m/ sound. She asks the children to tell her
how to do this using the instructions 1-4
above.
The children repeat the teacher’s
directions and trace the sound /m/
in the air with their fingers.
The child draws the letter whilst the
other children direct her.
Getting the children to repeat the
directions for writing the sound /m/
and to draw it in the air provided good
preparation for writing on the
worksheet.

She repeats this with another 2 children.

Practicing Writing the Sound

The teacher tells the children that they will all

The children listen attentively.
practice writing the sound /m/ today.

She selects a group of children to move to the

writing table and directs the rest of the
children to the other activities in other
centres.
She sits with the children and gets them to
trace the sound /m/ explicitly following the
directions 1-4 above.
The children move out into the
learning centres.
The children trace the sound /m/
whilst saying the directions 1-4.
This was a good idea as working in
smaller groups allowed the teacher to
make sure that the children could hear,
recognize and accurately write the
sound /m/.

She encourages the children to say the sound
/m/ and rub their tummies after they have
written it.
She asks the children to identify the objects on
the worksheet that begin with the sound /m/
and to write it underneath the appropriate
pictures
The children say the sound /m/ and
rub their tummies after they write it.
It was good to keep the children
repeating the directions for forming
the sound /m/ so they would
The children identify the object and
remember it and to rub their tummies
listen for the initial sound /m/.
and say the sound to link the sound
Where they hear it the write it
with a familiar action.
underneath the picture.

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Reflections on Observation Task 2: Teaching a Phonics Lesson

1. What program is used in your school to teach phonics?

2. How is phonics taught in your school?

3. What was the focus of the lesson?

4. Were the learners engaged in the phonics lesson? If they were, select (a); if they were not, select
(b).

a. Describe the different types of active engagement activities that the

teacher used.

b. What active engagement activities could the teacher have used to help
learners b e t t e r understand the lesson?

5. What types of activities did the children participate in during their independent centers that reinforced
the lesson objective/learning outcome? If they participated in learning centers, select (a); if they did
not, select (b)
a) Describe the different types of learning center activities that the
students did.

b) Describe two (2) learning center activities that the teacher could have
used to help reinforce the learning outcome.

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Observation Task 3: Teaching Shared/Guided Reading

Focus: Identify the structure used by your MST while implementing

a shared or guided reading lesson.

Objective: To encourage student teachers to identify and discuss

the purpose of Shared or Guided reading and how it helps promote
Concepts About Print (CAP) skills, phonemic awareness, letter
knowledge and phonics.

Procedure: Familiarize yourself with the Observation Table:

Shared/Guided Reading. Identify the specific book and reading
skills modeled by your MST and any skills that were demonstrated
by the students.

Table 3: Teaching Shared/Guided Reading (Example)

Title of book:

Type of Reading (Shared or Guided):

What the teacher does What the children do Comments

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Observation Task 3: Teaching Shared/Guided Reading
Table 3: Teaching Shared/Guided Reading
Title:

What the teacher does What the children do Comments

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Reflections on Observation Task 3: Teaching Shared/Guided Reading

1. Which concepts about print (CAP), phonological awareness, letter knowledge and or
phonics did the teacher focus on?

a) What strategies/activities did the teacher use to help the students

understand the concept being taught?

2. Were there any initial/medial/final sounds, punctuation, sight words or word families that were
covered during the lesson? If they were, select (a); if they were not, select (b).

a. What was the purpose of teaching these concepts? Explain its importance.

c) Provide one (1) activity example of how initial/medial/final sounds, punctuation,

sight words or word families could have been could have been covered during the
lesson.

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Observation Task 4: Development of Early Writing Skills

Focus: Identify the early developmental writing stages and strategies within those stages

Objective: Identify the developmental stages and strategies used by your MST to support
the development of early writing skills in students

Procedure: Familiarize yourself with the Observation Table: Development of Early Writing
Skills. Identify the developmental writing stage the student is in, the ADEC outcome that the
activity addresses and a brief description of the activity. For example, K2LP1 – Identify
beginning sounds heard in words

Table 4: Development of Early Writing Skills (Example)

Developmental Supporting Activities Links to the ADEC Curriculum
Writing Stage
(Identify the ADEC Outcome)
3 – Strings of Link sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of
Letters the alphabet.

Writing letters
in shaving Begin to form recognizable letters
foam

Link sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of

the alphabet.
Using small
whiteboards and
whiteboard
markers to practice Use a pencil (whiteboard marker) and hold it effectively to
letter formation form recognizable letters, most of which are correctly
formed.
Link sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of
the alphabet.

Writing letters in wet sand

Begin to form recognizable letters

Link sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of

the alphabet.

Using tracing cards to form

letters correctly. Use a pencil (marker) and hold it effectively to form
recognizable letters, most of which are correctly formed

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 Link sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of
the alphabet.
Using a playdough mat to
form letters

Begin to form recognizable letters

Suggestions for the further development of early writing skills

 Using tracing cards to write own name

 Using letter stencils to correctly form letters
 Labeling own work; pictures, paintings, collage, worksheets etc.

Reflections on Observation Task 4: Development of Early Writing Skills

1. What developmental writing stages are the majority of the students in?

2. Describe and explain two (2) suggested strategies that the teacher can use to help the majority of
the students within their developmental writing stage.

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Observation Task 5: Literacy Software /Web based
Programs

Focus: Identify types of literacy software / web based programs used in the
classroom

Objective: To encourage student teachers to use various literacy software / web based
programs in the classroom which support the development of early childhood literacy skills

Procedure: Familiarize yourself with the Observation Table: Documenting Computer

Software / Web based Programs. Describe how each program / website that was used in the
classroom supports the current unit of study, the ADEC curriculum and multiple
intelligences

Table 5: Documenting Computer Software / Web based Programs (Example)

Software Title Age Links to the ADEC Curriculum Links to Multiple Comments
Range Intelligences

3-5 Communication, Language Verbal-Linguistic This software package is

years and Literacy
Topics covered include reading
and language skills like phonics,
letter recognition, rhyming,
written communication and
vocabulary.
Millie & Bailey Problem Solving, Reasoning
Preschool and Numeracy
(2000) Edmark
Early maths skills include
number recognition, same and
different, quantities, size and
shapes.
Personal, Social and
Emotional Development
Children can work in pairs, take
turns and cooperate with each
other whilst exploring this
software.
Knowledge and
Understanding of the World
Intelligence very easy to use and clearly
supports learning across
Logical-Mathematical domains in the preschool.
Intelligence
The children also love the
characters that assist them
Interpersonal in navigating through the
Intelligence wide variety of interesting
activities provided.
Bodily-Kinesthetic
Intelligence
Developing hand-eye
coordination in using
the keyboard and
mouse.
Visual-Spatial
intelligence
Navigating pathways
through a range of
computer screens

Use a mouse and keyboard to

interact with age-appropriate
computer software to support
their learning.

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