Monthly Archives: January 2015

Science Fair

Getting started on our science fair!

I chose to introduce the science fair using an activity called “Compass”.

It’s all part of the theory and practice that goes with Ron Ritchart’s- Making Thinking Visible project. I’ve been itching to try out some of the “thinking routines” since I read the book over the winter break and then attended the workshop.

I of course ended up adapting it quite a bit for my class but I think I hit the key goals of a “minds on” activity that provides documentation of learning. The compass was also perfect because the class had just recently started learning about maps.

This activity gave me tons of information about where the students are at before our science fair gets underway. I’m very serious about gathering student input and interest in the projects I do. I wanted the students in our class to have the opportunity to voice their thoughts right from the beginning.

Here is what the centres stand for:

N- is “Needs” – What do you think you will need to do the science fair project?

E- is “Excited”- What are you excited about for science fair?

S- is “Steps and Supports”- What steps will you need to take to be successful in your project? Who can support you?

W- is “Wonder”- What do you wonder about? In this case- what is a “W” question you might want to explore or learn about during the science fair.

These four directions got students thinking about how much time they would need, what questions they had, what they were interested in, who they would turn to for help, what they like… and it’s all documented for us to look at and think about!

The documentation is meaningful- it’s not for ornamental purposes- it informs and guides our future learning.

“We are everybody’s buddies”

A really exciting day. The students in this class love being role models. Many students have leadership positions within the school. Some students have been asking about getting “a buddy class”. We decided instead of having one buddy class- we would offer to be buddies to any class. Our class put it out to the whole school that any class would be welcome to come by our room to see our recently hatched alevins. Alevins are baby salmon who are still holding onto their yolk sack. Division 15 took us up on our offer! We spent a little bit of time in the morning working on our graphic novels (Grasper!) but after that we got busy preparing for the arrival of the Ks and 1s!

I facilitated the preparations and supported the students in planning all kinds of details:

-where the students would sit (we decided they might like the carpet inside the bleachers because that area was the most similar to their classroom)

-what kind of voices we should use when talking to the Ks and 1s (slow and soft voices, a loud room might scare them)

-how to help someone in kindergarten with printing their name or other words (tell them they are doing a good job- or let them trace your writing-)

-how to make a skit of the salmon life cycle seem funny to younger children (we thought about using objects they were used to- like using a lunch kit to represent the yolk sac!)

-how to get the students to pay attention to us and know we are ready to start (I taught the students a criss-cross-applesauce song I knew so that they had something to get the K/1s attention)

After all the basics were planned one group of students asked to stay in at lunch to decorate the room in a special way for the Ks. I helped the group get organized. We put oil pastels in small cups and even decorated the tables with small rocks, shells and glass beads to represent the bottom of a river.

The Ks and 1s may have learned a lot about salmon, but the grade 5 students did a lot of learning too! Every student was incredibly kind and gentle when interacting with younger students. The student’s planning and organization skills were excellent. I was very proud of the students.

Favourite moment: A K student gets really excited, one of the students in my class notices and brings over a glittery sensory bottle for the student. “Here you can shake this and then watch it, it will help you calm down”

The Reggio Emilia Approach

Over the winter break I started doing some reading about the Reggio Emilia Approach which I learned a little bit about in my ECED 417 course “Supporting Learning in The Kindergarten Year”. I especially enjoyed the book “Authentic Childhood -Experiencing Reggio Emilia in The Classroom.”

What I liked best about this book is the detailed descriptions of how teachers on Quadra Island and in Marpole used children’s ideas and curiosities to develop highly engaging units of study. The emergent curriculum described in the books has a very different feel than the themes usually explored in more traditional settings such as “Fairy Tales” – a unit I have done myself with grade 2’s. Turning children’s curiosities into entire units sends a clear message in the classroom – this is a place where student’s ideas are respected. Students are co-constructors of knowledge.

After reading this book I took to pinterest to look around and see what pins had been “tagged” as Reggio. I wanted to see how other teachers, parents, and community leaders had conceptualized what Reggio looks like. I’m in the process of collecting a variety of pins and evaluating them based on the image alone. In the comment box I have written a quick evaluation on what I see in the picture.

I know this is not the way people typically use pinterest but I’m trying something new out. I want to use pinterest as a powerful tool for my own learning and creativity instead of solely relying on other people’s knowledge. Just like the Reggio approach views children as active co-constructers, I am also eager to be a producer of knowledge in this situation. I don’t want to just consume the ideas on pinterest- I also want to be a part of the conversation.

Here is the link to my board! (-just click on the picture!)

https://www.pinterest.com/mahimal/reggio-inspiration/