Category: General

Many teachers I work with recognize the importance of representation. The difference it can make for students to see their cultures and identities reflected in curriculum and educational spaces they occupy each day is undeniable. They feel welcome and they recognize school as a space they belong. A student’s relationship with education can be positively influenced once they know that this is a place where they are seen and celebrated.

Lately, however, I am consciously reflecting a little more intentionally about the types of representation I am including in the classroom. What guides your decision making? What are some of the considerations you have when choosing a text to analyze or share with the class?

Many typical titles I see in classes are books like The Breadwinner (Deborah Ellis, 2000) or Thirst (Varsha Bajaj, 2022). These types of books always centre identities from “far away places” that often face hardships and oppression. When we only share texts that centre stories of oppression, poverty, or underprivileged experiences, we run the risk of confirming stereotypes and biases students may already have about others. Chimamanda Adiche reminds us, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” (Adiche,Ted Talk, 2009).

For me, I’ve decided to start with centering joy. Finding texts that celebrate the joy of identity is necessary. Intentionally using texts in the classroom that centre around people and communities that are living their lives proudly and joyfully can help to debunk certain stereotypes. As a person with Filipino heritage, oftentimes my childhood classmates only knew the stories that came from the media; a country that is poverty stricken, no running water, oppressive or corrupted government systems, etc. As an adult, I imagine what I would have wanted them to know; the smells and flavours of our food, big extended family parties and get-togethers, traditional dances, wardrobes, and ways of being. Yes, parts of the Philippines may not have access to running water and electricity and some people there do live in poverty, but that is not all there is to my identity and that is not all there is to my culture.

Of course, it is important to recognize that there are societal structures and systems of oppression that are in place and strongly affect many different identities. I’m not suggesting that we ignore or gloss over injustices, but I am considering how to humanize stories so that students will be able to respectfully appreciate cultures and identities of their own and others. I don’t want any child to think that the only time their identities will be explored in school is when it is centered in oppression. Instead, let the message be that their culture and communities are valued, that I respect and recognize that there is no one single way of being and no single ‘right’ way to experience joy.

Looking for some ideas of texts that centre joy? Preview a few of these titles that might be used to frame the joy in identity:

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho
In My Mosque by M.O. Yuksel
Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass
Black Boy Joy by Kwame Mbalia
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian

Somewhere along the way in my early days of teaching ESL, I heard the phrase “math is a universal language”. At the time, that statement seemed perfectly reasonable to me. After all, math is comprised of numbers and computations, and surely that would be much easier to navigate than a verbose English or Science lesson. Math is math. 

Over the course of my career, researchers, colleagues, and students have taught me otherwise. 

The following is a short list of some reasons why math may not be as ‘universal’ as we think it is. None of these are my original findings. Rather, I am indebted to numerous educators over the years for making the language of math visible to me.

1. Vocabulary. In my last blog I recounted learning that a significant number of words in math are exclusive to math. “Divisor” and “tetrahedron” really aren’t going to come up in many other contexts. So intentional vocabulary instruction is crucial for multilingual learners (and all learners for that matter).

2. Multiple Meaning Words. Math is packed with them. Let me introduce you to some of the duplicitous characters lurking in our math lessons: Expression, Operation, Odd, Even, Order, Plot, Mean, Prime, Rational, Block, Meter, and Right. Just when a multilingual learner thinks they’ve learned the meaning of a word, they are walloped with a new definition. And I will say that the math word “Table” is more than duplicitous: times table, data table, water table, end table, off the table, under the table, table the bill … this word alone stresses to me how much language work is necessary for math. 

3. Word problems. They can be long, overwhelming, and difficult to extract salient information from, even for native speakers of English. And multilingual learners have the added burden of translating the language first before they even attempt the math.

4. Different algorithms and notations. The procedures and steps for math computations can vary widely internationally. If you have a copy of Van de Walle et al’s Teaching Student Centered Mathematics, the authors display some interesting differences in subtraction and addition algorithms. Simple web searches for “long division algorithms by country” yield fascinating variations. 

5. Different expectations of student role. Some students may not be familiar with group work, explaining their thinking, or working with manipulatives. They may be more familiar with memorization, mental math without showing their work, and deference to the teacher. 

6. Culturally-embedded word problems. It is not uncommon to see a student, skilled in math, freeze up and be unable to complete familiar computations — simply because the context of the problem was unfamiliar to them. Calculating the area of an ice rink when you have never been skating may be a more daunting task than one might think.

7. Exhaustion. This one may be original data from my own experience. I have lived and worked in a country where I did not speak the language. And one of the things that shocked me the most was the amount of time and effort everything took. Even the simplest tasks, that would take me seconds to complete in Canada, would take ages to complete overseas. I shudder to think how long it took me to make a simple withdrawal from an ATM the first few times, simply because I was trying to read and understand the characters on the screen. At times, I was worn out by mid-morning, as a full-grown adult. I cannot imagine the fatigue some of our students must feel. 

So what do we do with all this? Again, skilled educators have shared plenty of strategies with me over the years, and the following are a few of my favourites: Slowing the rate of speech, gesturing to visuals throughout lessons, explicitly modelling the use of manipulatives, initiating student-created dual language dictionaries of math terms which multilingual learners can refer to throughout math units, using sentence stems for participation in math discussions, and learning about the diverse algorithms and math experiences students may have, to capitalize on their strengths and celebrate multiple ways of doing math.

The above list only scratches the surface of possible support strategies. To this day, I find myself still on the journey of becoming “fluent” in math approaches for multilingual learners. May we continue to learn from each others’ travels. 

Works Cited

Van de Walle, John, et al. Teaching Student Centered Mathematics: Developmentally Appropriate Instruction for Grades 3-5. Pearson, 2014, New Jersey.

As we approach Indigenous Veterans’ Day, November 8th and Remembrance Day, November 11th I will proudly wear my handmade poppy by Anishinaabe beader and artist, Erin Gustafson of Couchiching First Nation.

The poppy serves as a reminder to take time to reflect on the courage of those who fought and many who died to protect our rights. In doing so, I vividly recall the story of one particular soldier.
The day a typically soft spoken, mild mannered, young girl presented her Heritage Fair project and stood in front of her classmates and proudly and confidently shared a story about a man she admired was a day I wouldn’t forget. It was about ten years ago when I, along with her classmates, first learned about Francis Pegahmagabow, my student’s grandfather (in hindsight, perhaps it was her great or great-great grandfather). Nonetheless, the sense of pride she felt while speaking of her hero was evident.

While some stories of Sergeant-Major Francis Pegahmagabow or the lives of others like him can be easily found with a quick internet search, the resonating effects of hearing these stories from direct ancestors are astonishing.
Still today, I remember the smile that crossed that young girl’s face and the pride that oozed out of her as she spoke about her family. What stood out to me then, and still today is the fact that Pegahmagabow fought to protect Canada at a time when Indigenous People were denied the rights held by most other Canadians. Can you imagine being denied the rights your partner, child, sibling, family member, or friend risked their life to protect? That is the case for many Indigenous People of that time. And when Pegahmagabow returned from war, he continued to fight for the rights of his people. He fought for civil rights for Indigenous People within Canada.

In 2016, many years after his death, a bronze statue was unveiled in Parry Sound, Ontario honouring the Anishinaabe World War I sniper, Francis Pegahmagabow. Another pride filled moment for my former student to share stories about her ancestor. These stories and others like them must be highlighted within our classrooms, painting a more accurate picture of the contributions Indigenous People play in our country’s history.

As we move through the time of remembrance and reconciliation, please seek out opportunities to honour Indigenous Peoples by sharing stories like those of Francis Pegahmagabow. Go Show the World is a fabulous book written first as a rap song by Wab Kinew. In it he describes some of his Indigenous idols, allowing others, especially young people to see themselves represented in their heroes. I urge you to share your story and provide opportunities for students to do the same. It’s incredible what we can learn from one another.

Make visible what, without you, might never have been seen.

– Robert Bresson

 

  I noticed Samira as soon as I walked into her classroom. Students were sitting in noisy clumps, some chatting over iPads, some jostling and joking. But Samira was silent. Although seated at a table with five others, she was visibly separate from the laughter and exchanges surrounding her. 

    Samira was a multilingual learner and new to English. Peer relationships are vital for all students, but Samira did not yet have the linguistic capital to easily join conversations. And on top of that, she now had to learn curriculum in a brand new language. This bright student faced many challenges — and isolation — in her new setting. 

    “All right everyone, let’s get started,” the teacher announced. Conversations trailed off and bodies settled.  After a brief review of the previous day’s math work, the teacher handed out paper, pencil crayons, and manipulatives to each group. There was one instruction: “Show 0.75.”

  The teacher and I had co-planned the day before, and decided to use visual math for the lesson. The question, “show 0.75”, prompts students to represent this number in as many different ways as they can. Some may write the fraction 75/100; others may plot it on a number line; some may colour in 3/4 of a pizza; still others may place three 25-cent coins down for the group to see. 

   Multiple studies have documented the importance of visual math, revealing a positive correlation between representing concepts pictorially and improved math performance.  On the YouCubed website, Stanford math education professor Dr. Jo Boaler describes some of these studies, as well as related neuroimaging findings. Remarkably, when people do math calculations using only symbolic digits (such as 6×3, etc), some of the neural pathways that light up in the brain are visual. As Boaler succinctly puts it, “our brain wants to think visually about maths.”1   So while visuals may help solidify conceptual understanding for all students, for multilingual learners like Samira there is an additional advantage.

    As Samira’s group attempted the question, there were several false starts. A couple of students weren’t sure what to draw. Some started sketching but then quickly erased their work. Samira however steadily jotted down fraction equivalents and drew connected visual representations for each. Before long the others noticed, and stared at her intricate work. “Is that right?” one of the boys finally asked. The classroom teacher leaned over, and smiled.  For the first time that day, someone looked at Samira and addressed her directly: “How did you know that?”

    In this simple, visual task Samira was able to demonstrate her math knowledge — free from the usual language-based constraints of our predominantly verbal linguistic classrooms. In the space of one group session, Samira had moved from near-invisibility to knowledge-holder. She had gained social currency and standing in the group.

    As the teacher bent over the group’s work, gesturing to pictures and numbers as she spoke, I could see Samira listening intently, mentally attaching English terms to math concepts she already knew. And while Samira needed this intentional highlighting of math language to learn English, all students in her group benefitted. I once heard during a seminar that 90% of the vocabulary used in math is exclusive to math. Although I have been unable to locate the original source of this data, when I think of terms such as isosceles, scalene, and divisor, anecdotally I am inclined to agree. In what other context do we ever encounter words such as these?  As for our lesson, both the visuals and vocabulary inherent in the math task were necessary for some, and undeniably good for all.

    At times, multilingual learners may be unintentionally viewed through a deficit lens.  “She can’t speak English” and “We have to help him” are common refrains. But when the bell rang that day and everyone grabbed their books for the next class, Samira rose and stood a little taller, a new confidence in expression. The task, which had been rich and beneficial for everyone, provided the first key towards unlocking her voice, and re-imagining her not as someone who needed help, but as a valued and contributing member of the class.  

 

 

 1. https://www.youcubed.org/resource/visual-mathematics/

 

(student names have been changed)

Kindergarten Communication of Learning:  Initial Observations

Are you looking for some help writing the Initial Observations report for Kindergarten? This post is for new teachers, teachers who have changed grades, and teachers covering prep in kindergarten. I have been covering Kindergarten prep for several years and recently had a year teaching Year One of the Kindergarten program. Since we have several Kindergarten classes at my school, I can bounce ideas off many educators regarding reporting. Getting support is extremely helpful, so I’ll share what I’ve learned so far.

Collaboration is key! Like all aspects of the Kindergarten program, collecting evidence of children’s learning for reports is a responsibility that teachers and designated early childhood educators (DECEs) can share. It is an essential conversation for the educator team to have early on so that observations are collected throughout the year to demonstrate each child’s growth. We had a shared Google doc for each student, organized by frames, so we could make notes, add pictures and keep the documentation all in one place. Some teachers prefer to use a slide deck. Educators need to select the practices and strategies that work best for them.

The Initial Observations report is intended to be an overview of student key learning and growth in learning during the first two months of school. I think of it as a snapshot and often remind myself that there is another report coming in about ten weeks that will have more detailed observations and cover a greater breadth of the Kindergarten program. In some cases, teachers have had limited time with students due to class restructuring and absences. In these cases, do your best to let the parents know how their child is adjusting to Kindergarten.

If you consult social media groups and other blogs, you will see a range of educators’ opinions about Kindergarten reporting. There is a consensus that the box on the Communication of Learning: Initial Observations is much larger than needed in Ontario. I have heard the message repeated for several years from many sources, “Don’t aim to fill the box!”

Ask yourself, what happens initially in the Kindergarten program? What is the essential information to communicate to parents? What are the most obvious strengths of the child? The following questions guide you through the child’s day at school and give you ideas to consider as you write the Initial Observations. You may wish to focus more on the Self Regulation and Well Being frame, but there is an opportunity to comment on the other three frames, especially if a child demonstrates strong skills in those areas. Choose a few areas to highlight about each child and support with real-life examples if possible. To avoid using jargon, educators should aim to refer to overall expectations in a natural way when writing initial observations about a child’s learning. Here are some prompts to help you in your writing. Do not try to answer all these questions! The variety in the list is to help you describe the strengths of different children.

Is the child:

– content to be at school?

– beginning to show more independence with their belongings as they unpack their backpack and change their shoes?

-engaging in conversation with peers and adults?

-asking questions of their peers and adults?

-answering questions with detail?

-beginning to follow routines?

-playing with a variety of learning tools inside and/or outside?

-participating in games and songs with the whole group?

-building, creating, role-playing?

-sorting? (e.g., when tidying up toys)

-making observations about the natural world?

You will have observed changes in many of the children, in the first ten weeks, as they have become more comfortable with the school environment.

STUDENT ONE

I’m writing this comment with a confident, enthusiastic student in mind. Here is a sample comment based on some of the questions listed above. I would personalize this comment with the correct name and pronoun when editing.

STUDENT ONE arrives at school content and excited about the day ahead. They have adapted to the morning entry routines and often greet other students by saying, “Hi!”. STUDENT ONE uses social skills when playing with their friends (e.g., at the blocks centre and when playing soccer). He/She/They often invite(s) other students to join him/her/them, especially at his/her/their favourite activities, which are: creating with loose parts or playing at the sand table. He/She/They can identify and print the letters in his/her/their name. STUDENT ONE is excited to play games that involve counting to ten and is working on pointing at objects to count accurately. Beyond the classroom, STUDENT ONE is willing to try new activities in different locations such as the gym, library or outdoors. He/She/They often take a turn with a sit-on bouncy ball during outdoor play.   He/She/They have/has recently expanded their design skills – they has been seeking out different kinds of tools and materials to construct with. When building a tower they said: “We need something to make it stronger so it doesn’t fall down”. STUDENT ONE often contributes during class discussions and is eager to learn more about animals.

STUDENT TWO

In contrast, STUDENT TWO has had some struggles adjusting to school and experiences sadness throughout the day. Since we have already communicated with parents extensively about this issue I am not dwelling on it in the Initial Observations. Instead, I deliberately frame the comments with positivity and a growth mindset.

STUDENT TWO has made progress in adjusting to the kindergarten program. He/She/They is/are independently unpacking his/her/their backpack each morning and joining the class for play. STUDENT TWO prefers the art centre where he/she/they enjoy drawing and painting. STUDENT TWO shows an interest in completing puzzles, especially when an educator is sitting nearby. She/He/They often build(s) a house using blocks or Lego. STUDENT TWO spends time outside observing his/her/their peers and often walks quietly with the educator, we will support them in making connections with their classmates. He/She/They have/has commented on the changing weather and fall colours and shows curiosity about the natural world. We look forward to helping STUDENT TWO adjust to the school environment and build his/her/their confidence and independence over the school year.  

Good luck to all educators with Initial Observations and with Progress Reports for grades 1-8. Make use of human, print and online resources.  ETFO has a website dedicated to Professional Learning in the Early Years where you will find videos and information from Kindergarten educators and their classrooms.  ETFO has also just published an engaging resource, Building and Enriching Partnerships in Kindergarten, which includes a chapter on planning and documenting.

Take care of yourselves as you take on the task of writing these reports while also planning, teaching, and assessing your students. Do a little each day to make it manageable.  I believe in you!

Key resources to assist you in this work:

The Kindergarten Program, 2016

Growing Success, The Kindergarten Addendum, 2016

Communicating with Parents about Children’s Learning: A Guide for Kindergarten Educators, Revised Draft, September 2017

ETFO’s website for Professional Learning in the Early Years

ETFO’s new resource: Building and Enriching Partnerships in Kindergarten

Why Robert Munsch?

*Robert Munsch’s books are familiar to many students.

*His books are entertaining and make students laugh.

*The characters and settings are from across Canada.

*You will be surprised by the diversity!

It is still early in the school year, and your class is still forming as a community. You want students to feel excited by your read-aloud choices, and if your students are reading independently, these books are accessible to many readers. They are also widely available as recordings. I am old enough to have them on cassette and a CD, but some are available from the publishers’ websites. You may think Munsch is for the youngest students only, but I encourage you to try some of these ideas for students up to grade 6!

K-2: Listening and Reflecting on the Story and Illustrations

Young children identify with the ridiculous antics of the characters in Robert Munsch’s books. Mortimer will not be quiet at bedtime. Jule Ann has a mud puddle jump on her in Mud Puddle. Kristen’s parents bring home animals instead of her new human sibling in Alligator Baby. Tina will not change her socks in Smelly Socks. And the classic, Love you Forever, is about a boy who is deeply loved even though he misbehaves. The list goes on!

The stories have much to offer regarding humour, patterns, and analysing human behaviour. With young students, you can also look at the different illustrators. The books mentioned above were illustrated by Michael Martchenko, Sami Suomalainen, and Sheila McGraw. Each has its own unique style. Use them as an inspiration to create your own illustrations.  How would you draw a mud puddle jumping on a kid?  You could also use many different Robert Munsch books to discuss rules and responsibilities since his characters have a habit of showing how not to behave.

Studying Robert Munsch’s books with a young audience can lead to creating a class book. I also recommend writing to Robert Munsch. In the past, I have always received a kind letter and story featuring students’ names from my class.

Grade 3-6: Recording Read Alouds and Critical Analysis

Once you have modeled a great read-aloud with your students, you could ask them to record their read-aloud using a Robert Munsch book. If the material is familiar, they will not be as intimidated to make a video of themselves. You can watch recordings of Robert Munsch’s storytelling and see how he emphasizes sound effects and uses pauses and volume to be highly entertaining and expressive. If you have a reading buddy class, your students could prepare a read-aloud to pass a love of reading to younger students. This activity could allow you to cover drama, media literacy, reading, and oral communication expectations.

If you dug deeper behind some of the stories, you would see that Robert Munsch’s sense of compassion comes through. Sometimes you have to infer the details from the illustrations. In some cases, you can listen to Robert Munsch giving interviews about the motivation for a story. Here are a few examples with a brief description of the story behind the story.

Smelly Socks:  This story takes place at K’atl’odeeche First Nation. K’atl’odeeche is not named in the story itself, but it is in the dedication. The illustrations are based on photographs of the area. There are details to note in the story to discuss life at this First Nation in the 1980s. Tina’s family had no car. There was only one store. The bridge to town (Hay River) was too far to walk. Many Canadians have never visited a First Nation and are not aware of the difficulties some First Nations face. This story could launch your class into an inquiry about life on First Nations.

The current website for K’atl’odeeche First Nation details its history and cultural celebrations.

From Far Away:  Saoussan wrote to Robert Munsch in grade two. She had been in Canada for about 18 months. He made up this story based on some of her experiences. I like to read it close to Halloween because it can help students new to school in Canada prepare for the occasion. I also find it helps students think critically about what it is like for someone who does not know the dominant language at school. It also can be a starting point for thinking about people’s experiences with war. Read this story with an awareness of whether or not the content could be disturbing to your students.

Where is Gah-Ning?: Set in Northern Ontario, this story has colourful illustrations by Hélène Desputeaux. Gah-Ning is a girl who is inventive and determined, although not very safe in her travel choices. You will relate to this character if you have ever lived in a time or place where not much was going on! Older students can compare life in their area to the small town of Hearst. The child in this story became Robert Munsch’s pen pal for decades. This story could inspire your class to begin a pen pal program with a faraway school. There are websites to help you find a match. 

I encourage you to do some further reading, viewing, and listening about Robert Munsch. He is 77 years old while I’m writing this blog and is dealing with dementia. He has stopped making public appearances. He has been open about his struggles with mental illness. 

I have a personal story about Robert Munsch. In 1995 I was teaching grade 2, and my class wrote letters to try and win a Robert Munsch visit. We mailed our good copies to the Quaker Oats Company and hoped for the best. Alas, we did not win. I still had the rough copies. They were a little marked up, but I packed them into an envelope and sent them off to Bob, hoping for a reply. I got more than I bargained for! He sent a fun story and a poster as usual, but he also included a card saying:

 “Dear Miss McClelland, I like it better if you don’t correct the kids spelling. Bob Munsch” 

Lesson learned! If you are sending rough copies that have editing marks to anyone – explain, explain, explain!

Enjoy your Robert Munsch adventures,

Brenda

P.S. If you want more information about where some of Munsch’s characters are now, try this MacLean’s article. 

Scholastic has information about Munsch, including a mailing address at this website.

Munsch has his own website where you can send an email or learn more about him.

International Pronouns Day is celebrated on the third Wednesday of October. This year it will be recognized on October 19th. According to the website pronounsday.org, “International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.” The use of pronouns represents a deeply felt sense of identity for people and using the pronouns people choose is a demonstration of respect and human dignity. Transgender and non-binary people can be especially affected by misgendering or misuse of pronouns which can be detrimental to their comfort and safety. Normalizing the sharing and educating about personal pronouns takes away any assumptions one may have about others’ identities and helps support their right to human dignity.

Most people are familiar with the pronouns he/him, she/her, they/them However, there are over 76 pronouns in usage today. You may hear of other neopronouns, such as zie/zim/zir and vi/ver/vers. The use of neopronouns or gender neutral pronouns allow for greater selection of words that people feel comfortable using to refer to themselves. Typically, you would not refer to someone with neopronouns or gender neutral pronouns unless they request you use them. However, it is acceptable to use they/them as singular gender neutral pronouns for someone who has not yet shared their pronouns with you. Good practice, in the name of allyship, is to introduce yourself and your pronouns when meeting someone for the first time. Asking in a respectful manner, such as, “If you’re comfortable sharing, I would like to be able to use your personal pronouns” would be an invitation that lets others know you are striving to create a safe and inclusive space. However, everyone needs to be aware that pronouns may change as a person learns more about their own identity or feels comfortable giving you consent to call them by pronouns that best match their lived identity.

As an educator our positionality can truly set the tone of the learning space. Egale’s Report “Every Class in Every School” found that “When all identity-related grounds for feeling unsafe are taken into account, including ethnicity and religion, more than three quarters (78%) of trans students indicated feeling unsafe in some way at school.” Those numbers are reflective of schools in Canada; the very environments in which we work. There is a lot of learning and understanding needed to make schools safer, and surely only sharing and using correct pronouns is not enough, but it is a small step toward building equity and understanding.

This year, when contemplating my own allyship in anti-Transphobia and anti-Trans Violence I am choosing to be intentional in being a visible ally. A Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) that I support is choosing to make pronoun buttons that the students choose to best represent their identities. They are also planning to invite teachers to create and wear pronoun buttons at school and emphasizing that International Pronoun Day is only the start of wearing pronoun buttons all year long. I am conscious about not making assumptions about people’s pronouns and am offering my own when I first meet new people. I am also reminding myself that it is my obligation to demonstrate respect by using everyone’s correct pronouns and it is my own responsibility to monitor my own behaviour and speech.

Understanding and accepting that people have the ability and right to choose the words that best reflect their identities is an integral part of anti-transphobic work. This October, I am encouraging you to consider how you will show up to support International Pronouns Day and how you will carry that work forward throughout the rest of the year.