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A photo of the outdoor
Katie Pryde Diverse Learning Needs, Learning in a Real Life Context, Professional Learning and Growth

Outdoor Education

Outdoor education is something I have been trying out this year in my Grade 3 classroom. I have tried giving my  students opportunities to use the outside world to explore and learn from it. As our first social studies unit was  First Nations people, we decided to go for a class walk to a nearby forest/pond area near our school. We took  some time to explore and look around at the environment we saw around us. After some exploration, we came  together and had a community circle to discuss things we have seen. We pretended to be First Nations people,  and discussed things we would use in our environment to survive (trees for building our homes, ducks for food,  water for drinking water, etc). It was a great experience, and students were able to make social studies  connections to the environment around them.

Although I have been trying out some of the outdoor education ideas, I felt I needed more. So, I signed up for an  Outdoor Education Workshop. It was called Outdoor Education: Look and Learn, which was provided to me  through my school board, Halton District School Board and Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. The  day started off with us playing some outdoor games, which came from the Project Wild resource book. Then, we  went on a hike where we were able to use our 5 senses and explore the environment. We all used our cellphones,  or were given cameras to take pictures of things that interested us. It was a rainy/foggy day, so we were able to  take some beautiful pictures. After some exploration, we were given some birds seed and these chickadees flew right down to us and ate the seeds from our hands. As adults, we were so excited about this, so I could only imagine how our younger students would have enjoyed this.

We were all assigned to choose a few leaves that stood out to us and share what types of activities we could do with them. The leaves were so beautiful with bright orange and red colours. Some ideas were to sort them leaves based on different properties, use the leaves for art (making leaf turkeys for Thanksgiving, or leaf rubbings) and using the leaves for math by looking at symmetry.

It was a wonderful workshop, I learned many things and felt more confident about doing outdoor education with my students. We also were given some wonderful resources. If you are interested in reading more on Outdoor Education, please check out:

Into Nature: A Guide to Teaching in Nearby Nature
http://www.back2nature.ca/resources-research/education

Happy Exploring!!!

Art work hung to the peace tree
Sangeeta.McAuley Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context

The Peace Tree

Recently, for Remembrance Day, I contemplated how to help my students understand the meaning of this solemn occasion.

My class is made up of students from India, Pakistan, Somalia, Czech Republic, Afghanistan and Slovakia to name a few. Through several discussions, I learned that their understanding of war from their homelands seemed different than what our Canadian soldiers went through, yet the common thread was the idea of peace.

Having seen the film, “The Peace Tree” by Mitra Sen, I thought this might be a good place to start. The film is about a young girl whose family is celebrating Eid. She shares her holidayand customs with her best friend and when Christmas draws nearer, she questions why her family can’t celebrate both occasions. This leads her to make a peace tree with symbols from different religions and cultures. After watching this film with my class, I could see them making connections to their own experiences with religion, exclusion and identity.

We became excited at the thought of making our own Peace Tree and I began the search for the right branches to hold our ideas. Together, we spent some time studying different signs of peace from around the world, such as the diya (India), the Inukshuk (North America), the Yin Yang (China), the Star of David (Israel) and more. My students took materials home in earnest to start making these signs and often came up with their own symbols: flags from different countries, chains of people, and hands.

At our school assembly, while each class was invited to bring a wreath, my class chose to bring their Peace Tree which had also been decorated with poppies. Two of my students spoke at the assembly about why we had created this tree and what it stood for. It has been an interesting experience for me to watch my students get so excited about the different symbols and how the meaning of peace is the same no matter where you live in the world.

We were asked to put our Peace Tree outside the school office for others to enjoy and my students often ask when we are getting it back…they want to add more to it!

                

Photo of Tina Ginglo
Tina.Ginglo Building Inclusion, Diverse Learning Needs, Social Justice, Use of Technology

Equity and Access to Technology

I am committed to equity and inclusive practice.  Each day I “check in” with myself and ask those important questions:  Do all my students feel included in the classroom?  Have I excluded any students from the learning I have planned today?  With technology these questions are particularly important to consider.  In particular, I want to address the concerns around students’ access to computers.   As I mentioned in my last blog post, my students and I are fortunate to have unlimited access to technology, specifically, laptops, wireless Internet and digital cameras.  Access to these tools presents us with endless opportunities to make learning meaningful and engaging for students.  The students are so excited about learning.  They want to take their flash drives home to work on writing projects and they log in from home to contribute to their Edmodo groups.  However, there are some students who don’t have computers at home.  What about these kids?  These students can quickly feel left out if they are not part of the “virtual” in-group, so how can I make the most of the technology I have and not marginalize any of my students?

I have been working closely with one of my mentors since October.   He has helped me create a vision for my class use of computers.  I want to get my students to the point where they decide when they need the computers and when they do not.  At the beginning, I had all the control.  I directed students when to take out the laptops and when to put them away.  In the first few weeks, you could walk into our classroom and see all the students working on their laptops at the same time, doing the same thing, like a computer lab.  This didn’t feel right for me.  Now, more often, you could walk into our classroom and see some students on laptops, some not.  The students using laptops will likely be doing different activities.  A few may be logged on to Edmodo contributing to their discussion groups, some may be working on a second or third draft of writing, others could be reading or doing research, while others could be engaged in  an on-line lesson from Ontario’s Education Resource Bank.   I believe that this kind of  learning environment helps students develop independent work habits, increases student engagement and by allowing students to have some control and choice in their learning, I hope to see an increase in student achievement and a decrease in classroom management issues.  I also believe that such an environment will allow all students to participate in and  keep up with on line learning during the school day.  It may not completely resolve my access concerns, but I am sure it helps.

Photo of Tina Ginglo
Tina.Ginglo Professional Learning and Growth, Use of Technology

Introducing a New Tool for Learning Takes Time and Patience

I have been absent from Heart and Art for too long!  I have not forgotten about our followers or my fellow Heart and Art bloggers, but I have been distracted with a new challenge.  Last spring, I successfully wrote a proposal requesting laptops for our third grade program.  In mid October the laptops arrived, and since then I have spent every spare moment working to integrate this new learning tool into the heart and art of my teaching and student learning. I trust that my absence from Heart and Art has not been in vain. It is my intention to share my new learning and growing pains with Heart and Art followers.   I hope that Heart and Art followers will benefit from my recent “distractions.”   Each month I will share how the third graders at my school are taking ownership of their learning and growing more independent as they use technology as a tool for learning.

The proposal I drafted commits my students to collaboratively generate inquiry questions that connect to the science and social studies curriculum. My students have begun to use laptops to mind map their ideas and questions using off-line software.   We have just started to use MS Office software (Word or Excel) to keep track of their jot notes and sources and the plan is that they will share their research through meaningful projects such as scripted video documentaries (Windows Movie Maker), scripted video/podcast how-to guides (Audacity), digital scrapbooks, pamphlets, or public service announcements.   I have recently connected with a grade 12 Media Studies teacher who teaches at our feeder high school. We are discussing the possibilities for doing a project together. I really hope this pans out!  You can trust I will share our learning on Heart and Art!

We are at the early stages, but my students are starting to share their inquiry questions, research and new learning using Web 2.0 tools.  For example, I have created a teacher account on Edmodo.com.  It is FREE!  All my students have created student accounts and they now use Edmodo to share ideas and new learning with each other in school as well as from home in this secure educational social media site.  I started by simply posting questions students to consider and discuss on-line.  To date, I created three groups for my students to join:  Science, Social Studies and Room 204- Announcements.  I will share how I use the Announcements group in another Heart and Art blog post.  I am interested to learn how other primary teachers are using Edmodo in their classrooms.  I am following a number of teacher groups on Edmodo, but most of the contributors are junior, intermediate and secondary teachers.  I do believe that Edmodo has its place in the primary classroom as well.  I will post the different ways I am using Edmodo in future blog posts.  My next Edmodo project is to take my literature circle groups on-line.

Obviously, there is a skill set that my students need to possess in order to conduct research and use spread sheets and flow charts to record their learning.  It has been a slow process.  Although most of my students have computers at home (19 of my 22 students have access computers and Internet at home), their keyboarding skills, ability to save their work and access files is limited.  There are times when I think to myself, “This is consuming so much time!”  But I am committed to using 21st century tools in my classroom and to creating an environment where students learn with and from each other within the walls of our classroom and beyond the walls of our classroom.  When I get frustrated, I just tell myself to “Trust the process!”  I hope to join an international project as well this year…all in time…one day at a time…stay tuned!

 

Alison.Board Communication with Parents and Guardians, Interviews

Preparing for Interviews

 

The interviews provide an opportunity for parents to meet the teacher, see the classroom, and ask questions about their child’s progress. It is also an opportunity for the teacher to ask questions that will provide a better background understanding of the child that is struggling in his/her adjustment to the Kindergarten program. You may want to know if the child has siblings, has opportunities for play dates, or gets enough sleep.

To prepare for interviews, I do the following:

  • review anecdotal notes, highlighting any positive comments as well as any concerns
  • look through examples of child’s work, and have it on hand to refer to during the interview
  • have a copy of the SK report
  • make note of something positive to start the interview, and something to work on with the child to end the interview.

I like to use a basic notepad and dedicate a page to each student. At the top of the page I write their name and time of interview. I copy the points that I highlighted from my anecdotal records to ensure that I can easily refer to them during the interview. (When you get in a roll of interview after interview without a break, your memory should not be relied on!) I then add parent/guardian comments from the interview and next steps for myself to follow up with. I can then refer to this notepad when I am measuring progress in the next couple of months.

Since JK students do not receive a report at this time, a half-page checklist can be created as a reference for parents. List items like; can recognize first name, can write first name, can count to 10, can follow routines independently, etc. This can also be created for your own use to guide the interview and be kept as a reference to see progress when you write the JK reports in January.

Interviews can be difficult if you need to address challenges that the child is experiencing. A good way to approach these interview is by starting with your observations in the classroom, then asking the parents/guardians, “What are you seeing at home?” Often, parents see the same behaviours or have similar struggles, which they will expand on when the discussion is directed in this way.

You may want to set up a desk or table in the hall for parents that are waiting for their interview. It can have a clock (set to the same time as your clock in the classroom), resources for parents that you may find applicable from public health, the public library, or a list of websites that you think would be beneficial. This is also an opportunity to display a project, photos (even a digital photo frame!), or some form of documentation that the parents can enjoy while waiting for your interview.

 

Social Justice Begins With Me Cover
Carmen.Oliveira Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, Social Justice

Opening Hearts and Minds Through Social Justice

I recently blogged about an excellent new resource created by ETFO entitled “Social Justice Begins With Me.”  In my post I described how we implemented one of the lessons in the classroom and then extended our learning by taking it out into the community.  It was such a meaningful experience that I decided to share it with the entire staff as well as the  teacher candidate working with me.  As a result, staff members have now begun to try the lessons in their classrooms and the faculty supervisor overseeing my teacher candidate’s progress has also shared it with the faculty students.  The feedback has been phenomenal which is why I have decided to give you all a quick overview of the resource.

Social Justice Begins With Me targets Primary, Junior, and Intermediate grades with literacy focused lessons that are linked to picture books and short novels that target social justice issues.  The lessons guide teachers through various activities that embed both social justice issues and character education.  One of my favourite aspects of this resource are the ideas that support community involvement, thus taking the learning out of the classroom into a real-life context.  The lessons are also supplemented with graphic organizers, assessment tools and strategies, along with well organized lists of texts that include each synopsis.  The reproducibles are very helpful and applicable to a variety of activities.

My students have enjoyed the experience so much that they suggested we find a way to share our learning with the community in some way or another on a monthly basis.  We have just finished our fictional narratives by writing short stories which the class suggested we share with the folks at a nearby nursing home.  “We can take some scones or biscuits and sit with the elderly to share our stories,” they suggested a few weeks ago when we started the process.  “A lot of times old people are not treated very nicely or their families forget them.  This is one way we can tell them about what we’re learning,” one student commented.  Brilliant idea.  And it all started with a lesson on thanking those in our community with unappreciated jobs.

If you want to integrate social justice into your classroom, this is one of the best resources available.  Try it and please share your experiences with us.  I would very much enjoy to know how the lessons came alive in your classrooms!

Below I have included the direct link for those who want to take a closer look at the resource.

http://www.etfo.ca/resources/new/socialjustice/Pages/default.aspx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alison.Board Building Inclusion, Planning, Resources, Social Justice

Social Justice Begins in Kindergarten

I am using the literature-based resource kit, Social Justice Begins with Me (ETFO), to introduce various themes to my Kindergarten students regarding social justice. In the first lesson lesson we used the book, The Colors of Us by Karen Katz. It is the story of a little girl that paints a self-portrait and wants to use brown for her skin. Her mother takes her on a walk in their neighbourhood where she learns that there are many different shades of brown.

Before reading the book we compared and discussed the sources of colour used in the book, such as cinnamon, chocolate, and honey. After we read the book, we used red, yellow and black paint to mix and create various shades of brown. The children were engaged in the process as they observed then commented on whether their shade was a light or dark brown. Some children were using the words from the book in their descriptions, such as “It looks like cocoa!”

For the final activity, each child looked at the shades of brown and selected the one they identified with as the colour of their own skin. We made a display of “handprints” for display in our classroom, one for each child. As they picked the shade of their choice, they made comments such as, “My hand looks like honey” or “She is that shade of brown (pointing).”

During the week we spent on these lessons, we were also asked to paint a canvas for one of the Character Traits that our school recognizes throughout the year. The canvases are hung with pride at our school entrance. Our class was given the task of creating a canvas for the trait, Co-operation. The ECE and I thought why not have the children use their selected handprint not only as a symbol of identity and self-esteem in the classroom, but as part of one panel to demonstrate how respect for one another is the first step that leads to co-operating with one another. Our canvas became a culminating activity for lessons we learned about social justice.

Photo of Erin G
Erin.Grewar Classroom Management

Classroom Management Core French Style Part 3 – Running With It

Allow the Class to Be Part of the Solution

When confronted with issues of classroom management, you need to make allies of your students who are obviously an integral part of the solution. Don’t worry, your students will be all too eager to share their perspective and insight. While a class meeting is sometimes an appropriate forum, having them provide some feedback in writing is even better. To elicit more interesting and helpful input, give them questions to answer (What is the reason why people are misbehaving? Am I contributing to the problem? How does it feel to be a student in this class? How can the situation be improved?) and ensure they are specific with comments, criticisms and suggestions. Writing anonymously allows them to be more honest and upfront. Finally, when you have read through all of their statements, make sure to address the situation the following class. Sometimes reading out a few comments aloud can have a more profound impact (they care more what their peers think of them). It’s important to reiterate what you, the teacher have understood from the message they have relayed and check with them to make sure you are all on the same page. End off with what you are going to change about the way you teach and handle situations. This may not be the end of your problems but your goodwill and sincerity will not go unappreciated.

 Hone In On the Real Troublemakers

While it may seem to be a larger issue, sometimes it actually comes down to reigning in just a few students. You may realize how the dynamic changes one day when one or two of them are absent (try not to look too excited in front of the rest of the class). After careful consideration so as not to overlook anyone, I’ve resorted to rounding up the selected individuals at the end of the day.  After a particularly frank and open conversation devoid of animosity, they are made aware of how their actions are bothering myself and the rest of the class and the next steps I intend to take if the situation is not resolved. Make sure to have a well-defined plan in place and be prepared to follow through. Again, this may not solve the problem in one shot, but it does allow you to come to some sort of mutual understanding.

 Stay Positive

This is really the part about putting it all in perspective. First of all, be thankful that you are a rotary teacher and you only have to make it through 40 min intervals – they will soon be on their way! Also, focus on those students who want to be there to learn (even if you sometimes feel you are addressing 2 people). The more out of control you feel, the easier it is to resort to screaming, sarcasm and a host of other unpleasant behaviours on your part. Just imagine what it would be like to be a student in such a negative toxic atmosphere. Sometimes that is the key to turning it around – make your class a place where kids feel comfortable to enjoy themselves and feel good about being there. 

Summary

Classroom management is the key to being an effective teacher. That being said, there are many different approaches and it is vital that whichever one(s) you decide to take, it’s a reflection of who you are as a person. When you are comfortable in your own skin, your confidence will grow will be projected to your students who can only respect you all the more for it.

Photo of Erin G
Erin.Grewar Classroom Management

Classroom Management Core French Style Part 2 – Not Losing It

Blow Them Away with Your Creativity

In my experience, this has always been my most offensive defence. Although your class might follow a predictable format, you can nonetheless incorporate a wide variety of activities and assignments. Consider the difference between using the passé composé to complete worksheets vs describing a week in the life of Kim Kardashian. When students are engaged, they will not misbehave. This means knowing what they’re interested in (music/athletes/actors) and also allowing them the freedom to be equally creative in return.

Explicitly State Your Expectations and Let Them Get to It

Students need to know exactly what you expect them to do. Make sure to always model writing and speaking to give them a clear idea of how to proceed. Saying “Okay, everyone turn to your partner and talk about …” is much different than firstly brainstorming some useful vocabulary/expressions then having a volunteer come up to model a conversation with you. Doing so allows you to reinforce the concept you were teaching or to work in a little bit of extra review. Clearly communicated expectations avoid the dreaded scenario of the hundred and one questions and ensuing mayhem.

Have an Inoffensive Signal to Bring Them Back

Instead of using a blaring whistle, shouting until you’re hoarse or flicking the lights off (which inevitably results in shrieking), come up with something noticeable that also reflects your personality (chimes for the Zen masters, catchy hand claps or simple countdown). Whatever you choose to do, the most important thing to do is wait for silence and their full attention before proceeding. If someone starts talking, immediately stop (in mid-syllable even) and wait again. Silence is more effective sometimes than lectures or endless complaints.

Become the BFFs with the Homeroom Teacher

Having a support system in place is crucial. Homeroom teachers tend to have a lot of leverage with their students (usually more than the Core French teacher anyway) and are potentially your number one ally. Not only can they provide you with much needed insight and information about your students, you can also use what works for them and apply it in your own classroom. If by chance (and the probability is high) that you are both struggling with the same student, you can coordinate your efforts (join in on any parent meetings) to gain more credibility.

Photo of Erin G
Erin.Grewar Classroom Management

Classroom Management Core French Style Part 1 – Owning It

For those of you who are fellow Core French teachers (especially those of you in middle school), classroom management is without a doubt the greatest challenge for a whole set of unique reasons. No more needs to be said about why this is so, it is just the reality of the situation. Having been approached recently by two new Core French teachers who were doubtful as to their very survival (“I hope I can make it through, I really do”), it seems to be an ongoing issue that deserves to be addressed in depth. The following “series” (in three parts) is the culmination of many years of experience, trial, error and hindsight. New teachers take heart (sort of)! It will always be more of an issue for you than your colleagues but classroom management becomes easier once you accept this and work with it instead of bemoaning your fate. Consider the following a roadmap not only to survival but also to emerging as a stronger individual.

 Strategize – Never Underestimate the Value of a Well-Crafted Seating Plan

By now, the calm and complacent behaviour of the first week of school is but a distant memory. On the plus side, you should have a much better idea of who your students really are in terms of their ability, their peer relationships and any other outstanding issues. Use this knowledge to your advantage to come up with a classroom setup and pairings of students. I usually illicit some feedback from students by getting them to give me the names of two to three other students they feel would be effective partners. Some of their input may be surprising. When it comes time to the “reveal”, you might be surprised at the amount of excitement a new seating plan generates. It’s a sure fire way to shake things up (as I am fond of saying) and keep it fresh.

 Plan Meticulously

I found when faced with management issues, knowing exactly what you wanted to accomplish and how to go about doing so was an effective way of keeping your lesson and your students on track. This means having a clear overall vision of where you’re headed but also includes accounting for every minute of the period. Being unprepared opens up the floodgates to potential problems. The amount of work this requires is daunting and relentless but it really does pay off in spades and will allow you to be more spontaneous later on.

 Break Down the Period Predictably into Chunks

Example of a 40 min period.

Warm up – 5 min

Conversation – 5 min

*Mini Lesson – 10 min

Work Time – 10 min

Review Activity – 5 min

Clean Up/Exit – 5 min

The most important time frame is the 10 minute mini lesson. When struggling with classroom control, DO NOT EXCEED THIS LIMIT. Short but sweet should be your motto. Your goal here is to be able to clearly communicate a concept without being sidetracked. No matter how tempting, do not get involved in long winded explanations about why they have to take French or why chair is a feminine word but blackboard is not. Also don’t worry if not everyone gets what you’re trying to teach. Stop after the 10 minutes and instead work with students one on one or in small groups.