Category: EDUC 491 Summative Practicum

This is not a figure of speech. It was literally fishy in my classroom today! Not in a questionable or mysterious kind of way but a dissection of aquatic vertebrates with gills kind of way 🐟

Yes, that’s right, Ms. H and her practicum students got to dissect salmon and learn all about their aquatic life cycle and anatomy—from their mouth, teeth, gills, and fins to their air bladders, kidneys, hearts, and lungs!

It was an amazing learning experience for my students & I, all thanks to the Baker Creek Enhancement Society and the wonderful volunteers who aim to educate students on the importance of salmon and their unique life cycle.

As part of the “Stream to Sea” program, the class received salmon eggs and have been raising them since the Fall. The eggs are now in the fry stage and the class will be releasing them this Spring, once they are ready for their trip to the ocean!

Lots of fun was had during my Benchmark Fractions mini-unit, which included a number line modelling activity, a digital sort, a think-pair-share whiteboard activity, flashcards, and a game–all intended to prepare students for the more advanced and challenging fraction work ahead.

Students were introduced to, and worked toward mastery of, estimating and comparing fractions using benchmarks (a known size or amount that helps us understand a different size or amount). The “Benchmark Strategy” is extremely useful for estimating and comparing fractions that have different numerators and denominators because it eliminates the need to find a common denominator and multiply (which can be challenging for learners at this age and stage of learning).

Here, students were encouraged to use models and visual aids (area models, fraction strips, or a number line) to estimate & compare fractions using benchmarks (zero, half, and a whole).

If you are interested in borrowing this mini-unit, feel free to check it out here: