I don't think I can put into words how much fun we had Friday afternoon! For an hour and a half the kids planned, built and tested boats without even realizing they were engaged in deep and meaningful learning.
Students were paired up with a partner and given a small supply of materials (6 popsicle sticks, 4 straws, tinfoil, plastercine, and an elastic) and unlimited access to tape. They first had to communicate their plan, then they had to collaboratively execute the plan and finally test the effectiveness of their design in a large bucket of water. Having tested it they were free to make modifications to their designs and test again. Some kids were crushed when their designs did not float on the first try. I reminded them that failure is an essential part of the experience and leads to greater learning opportunities. It was a pleasure for me to see how well the students were communicating with each other. They showed great respect and consideration for their partners over the course of the entire afternoon. I regularly heard kids asking each other "what do you think?" or "do you agree?" Throughout the afternoon I took video clips of each phase of the process. I used iMovie to create the video below. I should probably apologize for the length of the movie (6 minutes 50 seconds) but let me assure you I was brutal in what I cut out and simply couldn't bring myself to delete another moment of learning! I hope you enjoy seeing the engagement as much as I did. We started learning about the properties of matter today. We will be discussing the attributes of Solids, Liquids and Gases. Today we focused on Solids. We explored the density of solid shapes by testing an object's ability to sink or float. The students were given a collection of solid objects, a bucket of water and a sheet to record their observations. When that was complete, the students demonstrated their learning with an app called Pic Collage.
The kids worked in groups and were tasked with taking a picture of one item that floats and one that sinks. Next they imported the pictures into Pic Collage, added text, selected a background colour and wrote their names. Given this was our first official assignment using Pic Collage the kids did a great job! We had a phenomenal day at the museum today! First and foremost I must thank the people who accompanied us on the trip to make it a success! Karin, Marketa, Marina and Mrs. Young gave their time, patience and support to make this day wonderful for us all.
We started our morning on the second floor where we explored the Natural History Gallery and had a chance to see the current photo exhibit. We took a break around noon for lunch then headed up to the third floor. On the third floor we enjoyed the First People Gallery and the Modern History Gallery. It was wonderful to be able to explore the museum in small groups without any time limits. Doing so allowed the children to investigate, ask questions and learn at their own pace! Understanding the difference between asking a question and making a comment or statement can be tricky for many primary kids. More often than not when students are asked if they have any questions about a topic they will respond with a personal statement about their own experiences. We spent time each Wednesday afternoon of our first term together doing something we called "Wonder Wednesday". Each week we had a different topic to wonder about and we would brainstorm questions we had about the given topic. The first couple of weeks were pretty hard as the kids were more interested in telling me what they already knew (some of it accurate, some not) rather than demonstrating their natural curiosity with a question. Eventually the kids got the hang of it and the wondering became easier. The next step is to move this question asking from Wonder Wednesday and into our day to day lessons. To help transition the students from making comments to asking questions I have posted question words in the class that they can reference.
By asking questions, students are learning:
Another important aspect of questioning is anticipating what questions your audience or reader might have when presenting or writing about an idea. The children in division 13 write in their journal almost everyday. At the end of our writing block they have time to share what they have written with their peers. One of our many writing goals is to include details that would answer quick questions like what, where, when, how, who and why. For example, if a student writes that he or she went to a birthday party I encourage the author to include the name of the birthday person, where the birthday was held, what activities were arranged, what food was served, when the birthday was held etc. Including these details makes the writing more interesting for the reader. As we progress through term two we will continue with our Wonder Wednesday exercises. We will be moving towards not just asking questions but seeking answers as well. We will also be working on asking questions when we read books, listen to stories (I wonder why the main character...?), are talking about math concepts (What would happen if you flipped the equations?) and in every other part of our day. Today was the launch of our next integrated unit of study. Pirates are the theme but we will be covering story elements, community, democracy, needs versus wants, common objects in the sky, properties of light and sound, solids, liquids, gases, financial literacy, estimating quantities, measurement and the water cycle. This is an ambitious unit of study and I will certainly be leaving room in our schedule to follow topics that spark our interests. For this week though we are simply going to focus on pirates! We will be brainstorming things we know about pirates and things we want to know more about. From there we will source out some answers.
In Math today we started talking about financial literacy. The goal is to recognize coins by their name and value. We will be moving on to adding coins to values up to $1.00. You can help at home by sorting coins, adding coins together and discussing what coins you might need in order to purchase small items (for example: what coins could I use to buy an apple worth $0.55?). To compliment our pirate study I have started to read Pippi Longstocking to the class. To start off we are exploring character traits and setting but we will also be discussing story problems, how the problem is resolved and the story sequence. We are sure to have lots of fun in the coming weeks! I'm looking forward to the coming months in Division 13 for many reasons. One such reason is the addition of 6 iPad mini's to our classroom. Though I have been lucky enough to borrow sets of iPads for my classes before, and have integrated the one iPad I have to enhance student learning, having this set as a permanent addition to our classroom is very exciting.
Myself and two other primary teachers at our school applied for grant money this year so that we could explore ways to increase student metacognition in Math. Essentially, we are exploring ways to support students as they communicate their thinking about math procedures. The goal is to make thinking and learning in our classrooms more visible. With the grant money, along with money donated by a few individuals, and with support from our Principal we have been able to purchase these iPads. To ensure the iPad's are integrated meaningfully into the curriculum I will be using them as a platform for the students to create and display their learning. The students will have time to freely explore the apps I have selected as well as be assigned tasks to complete. They will be able to share their work both on our website and directly with you through Freshgrade. There will be many opportunities to share our successes and challenges in the coming months, in the meantime, If you have questions about technology or are having trouble viewing Freshgrade please let me know. |
Ms. Shawna WoodPassionate about teaching, learning, inclusion and kindness. Archives
August 2019
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