no
nah
nope
never
not yet
not today
no thank you
not acceptable
I’ve used all of the above.
Postive and negative language flows like freeways in education.
Yet, many of us drive like we are on one way streets?
Consider the interactions below that evoked the responses above;
S: Do we have to hand our tests in if we need more time to complete it?
T: No. Extra time can be added to help you finish without feeling rushed.
S: Do we need to work with the same people on this project?
T: Nah. Work with who works best with you on this one.
S: Do we have any homework over the March Break?
T: Nope. Take some time to enjoy a rest.
S: Why do I always struggle to understand Math? I will never get it.
T: Not yet. Your struggle does not mean you won’t ever understand Math. Keep asking questions and practising problem solving. You will make progress.
S: Can we do a worksheet?
T: Not today.
S1: Thank you for letting us discuss what happened outside.
S2: Thank you for letting us do our presentations over again.
T: No. Thank you. I appreciate your honesty and kind words.
T: Is this your best work?
S: No. I think I’d like to change a couple of things, but I need to hand it in or it will be late.
T: Sorry, not acceptable. Take an extra period/recess/evening to work on it so you will be one hundred percent happy with your work. It will be worth the wait.
S: Thank you.
T: No. Thank you.
For many of our students the kindest words they will hear all day will come at school. The power to alter the expectations and narratives of our learners is at the tip of our tongues.
I hope that you will all have a chance to be defiant in the way you use traditionally negative language in your classrooms. Please take the time to share your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you for reading.
Have you ever wished that you could do something over again to make it better?
In education, this could be everyday, every week, every month, and every year in our classrooms. If we let it.
Have you ever taught a lesson more than once in order to ensure your students understood and could master the concept(s)? What, you’ve done this over and over!? You don’t say?
This happens more often than all of us think and that’s okay. I learnt very quickly in my career that last year’s grand slam lessons do not always guarantee success when used in the years to come. Hence the need for the do-over, or reinvention in order to revive or re-invigorate what we teach.
What about a retest? A few years ago, I completely misread my students’ progress on a Math strand and the results were glaringly obvious that I failed them. After an open discussion about the daunting unit, I had students take their tests, crumple them up, and throw them around the classroom. It was like a giant breath of fresh air had blown into the room as everyone exhaled.
We restarted the unit from ground zero and had a “do-over day” a couple of weeks later with much improved results. As a result, our class grew closer as a learning community. Students knew that I had their best interests at heart and that learning in our class did not come with an expiry date as laid out in dusty long range plans. After all the curriculum says, “by the end of each grade…” and not immediately after an assessment of learning.
Recently, my students were preparing to share a series of movie trailers they created about the book Loser by Jerry Spinelli. Each group, of 2 or 3, was asked to pull key elements from the text and to present them in the form of a live drama or digital version.
After much planning, production, and practice, the big day arrived for everyone to share their work. Not surprisingly, there were a number of interpretations of the text being shared and the trailers were being presented and screened. And then it happened.
Whether it was nerves or a case of over-preparation(I think it’s a thing), the majority of presentations shared were not the shiniest outputs from this group. Cue the do-overs. When I suggested this, the students seemed generally wary about it, but I was serious. With some descriptive class feedback, we started over again with much more positive results.
Now think about your classroom? Is there room for the do-over within your walls and halls? Imagine the opportunity to reinforce the idea that failure can still be a positive result when it is used as a stop along the way rather than the final destination to success. I believe that the more we build this into our pedagogy, the more our students will be willing to take chances, make mistakes, and move forward.
Thank you for reading. Please share your “do-over” stories in the comments section below.
In reading part one of my inquiry blog, one might think, “That’s all lots of fun, but building a bee house isn’t exactly something that I can write on the report card.” You would be absolutely right. The learning is imbedded in the exciting things. It is intentional and it is authentic. Connecting with a local expert, using technology for research and having hands on activities with students engaged scratches the surface of inquiry. Our deep learning with this unit began with the types of questions that we were asking. I noticed that when the students began asking questions on Padlet that Siri could have easily answered many of their questions with one or two word answers. This lead to a series of lessons on “THICK” vs. “Thin” questions. We added better questioning to our goals.
The students also noticed that I had included a lot of infographics on the Padlet. Infographics are seen everywhere in social media to communicate information efficiently and visually. However, students need to know how to use this information, how to synthesize it, how to put it into their own words and how to source it. We spent a significant amount of our language periods on reading and interpreting infographics.
Our learning goals and success criteria went way beyond making houses for bees and honey tasting. Students wanted to DO something to help bees. We created our learning goals and criteria together:
Early on in the inquiry we watched an informative YouTube video called, We Can Save the Bees Together. Sarah Red-Laird, bee enthusiast and scientist, gave us a number of ideas of actions that we could take. The students decided that one of the things that they wanted to do was to call for stronger legislation about mono cropping and pesticide use in farming. They wanted to write letters to politicians and change makers. In addition, when Susan Chan, local bee researcher visited, she “planted the seed” about creating a non-stinging bee friendly garden in our school yard. This prompted students to write letters to local school officials to solicit assistance and guidance. One of our students from Curve Lake First Nation decided to write the Chief and Band Council to ask them to consider building a bee friendly garden in their community. The desire for letter writing lead to a series of lessons on how to write a professional letter, how to proofread and how to edit in a meaningful and authentic learning context for students. The students also felt that educating others about conservation of bees was important so they are now working on developing presentations that they can take to other classes as well as media advertising to share their learning and call others to action.
In math, we had been focusing on data management. It fit in perfectly to what we were doing with our inquiry! There is an incredible amount of data about bees on the Statistics Canada website. We read real graphs with information that the students cared about, we labelled the important parts of the graphs and we will be creating our own surveys and graphing the information from different areas of our inquiry.
Honestly, the best part of inquiry is when the students start to direct their own learning. I guide them. I provide thought provoking questions and “what if” scenarios. They make choices and feel good about doing something that is affecting real change. Inquiry is empowerment for students. This students aren’t done with this inquiry yet-they have many more plans ahead! Stay tuned.
Just like reading and writing, music is a subject that needs built in time for guided instruction to meet students’ needs. While I have been doing guided instruction with a small group of students, the rest of my students have been working on skills that they needs to refine at Centres.
Here is what a lesson plan looks like in my class with Music Centres:
Grade: 4
Assessment for learning that informed this lesson: Students have written one piece of music on the staff 3 weeks ago. After individually performing their piece for the teacher, I have identified that playing the correct rhythm and blowing less on the lower notes are two areas of need with this class.
Grouping of Students: Students have been placed in heterogeneous grouping in order to support learning when doing independent practice.
Duration: This lesson will take between 3-4 classes to complete.
Curriculum Expectations:
Grade 4 music expectations: C1.3 create musical compositions for specific purposes and audiences (e.g., write a composition for recorder using musical notation on the five-line staff)
Minds-On Activity:
Think-Pair-Share
Ask students “When you have a new piece of music to learn, how should you learn it?
Review the following steps to learning a new song.
Read and say the rhythm of the song. (Ta, ti ti)
Read the notes of the song (B, G, E)
Read the notes according to the rhythm
Finger the song on the recorder
Play the song
Apply the steps to an eight-beat piece of music
Action:
Students will participate in 6 centres that focus on the development of skills required to write compositions on the 5 line staff.
Centre 1: (with Ms. Axt) Students will have guided practice in writing and performing their own 8 beat piece of music on the recorder following the steps for learning a new song. The requirements of their created song will be in line with their next steps from their previous assignment.
Centre 2: Roll and Compose. Students will compose their own piece of music by rolling a dice. They will record their piece on an Ipad with an introduction about how they make a good sound on the recorder.
Centre 3: Rhythm BINGO. One student will be the BINGO caller as others try to find their rhythm on the BINGO card.
Centre 4: Students will play the game musical snakes and ladders. This will help them review the beat quantities for each rhythm symbol.
Centre 5: Creating and recording their compositions. Students use cards provided by the teacher to write their own piece of music and record each other on the iPad for the teacher to review after class. Students will add an introduction about how they read the notes on the staff.
Centre 6: Rhythm Cat: Students will use the app on the iPad called rhythm cat. This app gets progressively harder as students can play more difficult rhythms. Each student will have their own tablet and headphones.
For the past eight years, in my role as a planning time teacher, I have had the privilege of working with over 50 students with a variety of special needs. Our school has been fortunate to have 4 different types of contained classes and students with a variety of special needs in the mainstream classes. It has been important to me to ensure that all of my students are successful regardless of their needs. I have set them up for success by implementing some consistent practices in my program.
Students have come with a variety of needs to my classroom. In addressing those needs, I have set goals for their alternative and modified IEPs, followed PBIPs and helped to create social stories. The contributions to these documents have ensured that students’ needs are addressed and that their best interests are taken into account. Goals have been academic, social, and life skills oriented. For example, skills such as taking turns, coping with a noisy environment, and transitioning between spaces have been areas that my students have worked on. If you are not sure how to write IEPs or contribute to behaviour plans I recommend the following resource from the ministry of education which will be helpful for writing your first IEP. IEP Resource Guide
ERFs have been important teammates in positively impacting student learning in my class. I don’t know what I would do without their talents. It is important to be able communicate effectively your expectations for the students they are assisting. I know that I am responsible for planning for my students with special needs but I am open to the ideas and suggestions of our ERFs, as they know the students they work with very well. ERFs are an integral part of my classroom and are included in the structure of our day to day activities and routines.
For students with special needs, a predictable environment is very important. Knowing what will take place during their day helps them to feel safe and secure. This feeling of security minimizes the chances of students having outbursts and other behavioural challenges. I have used visual schedules, verbal, individualized prompts, and clear instructions and expectations to ensure that students know what to expect.
With my music and drama background, I provide an engaging and interactive environment for students. Singing songs and movement are incorporated into many activities. They are encouraged to show their creativity and their individuality. Planning is done to include materials and activities that highlight students’ strengths. Humour is an essential part of my classroom environment.
In making all of these elements a part of my practice, I know that I have set up my students with special needs, both past and present, for success.
There’s more to Modern Learning than delivering lessons on to smartphones.
There’s more to Modern Learning than having a paperless class.
There’s more to Modern Learning because there just is…
And I’m fine with that because there is more to Modern Learning.
So much so, that we are seeing more and more educators trying to define it even if others seem to be defying it.
Walk into a K- 8 classroom and you’ll most likely see students and teachers using smartphones, tablets, MS desktops, Apples, and Chromebooks. Perhaps they’re inquiring about a recent lesson, or digging deeper into a passion project during Genius Hour? Maybe the whole class is playing Kahoot with their French teacher?
From a distance it looks amazing. I have been the teacher who has witnessed all of the above and I’ll throw in a Google Classroom, TED Ed Lessons, Padlet, and raise you a Twitter. Can you hear the government types and administrators applauding and patting themselves on the back for allowing it to happen. However the applause should be for the educators who have led the charge to implement Modern Learning into their spaces. They are willing to take risks, try new things, and make mistakes to reach their Modern Learners. Teachers are in the trenches of learning everyday and understand the what, why, and how of their classrooms.
Outside looking in
To outsiders, visions of devices and technology in every hand sum up their understandings of modern learning. A cynic may equate Modern Learning as simply a shift from text books and worksheets to students completing digital versions of the same old thing.
Keep in mind, “Modern learning” is not limited to tech use alone, but will be for this post. Technology in the hands of educators and learners has now become the conduit through which learning takes place. When modern tools and passionate instruction are paired, learning becomes more relevant and engaging to students. Imagine being able to ask a question and have time to search for the answer immediately with only a few keystrokes and clicks?
“Technology’s primary effect is to amplify human forces, so in education, technologies amplify whatever pedagogical capacity is already there.” Jørgen MORTENSEN
Board wide access to WiFi means more and more students are taking notes during lessons using the technology at their fingertips. At the same time, teachers are gathering evidence of learning too. And, still others are watching a cool cat video or streaming music? It’s all possible in the modern learning classroom. However, as many educators have already discovered, the use of smartphones can be a friend and foe in the classroom and comes with a few caveats.
A smart device is a tool in the learning toolbox not a cure all. It is not the only one and as such should never be relied upon for a quick fix or for ushering in the ‘educational renaissance’. Consider what Jason Lodge writes,
Enhancing education is a complex, wicked problem because learning and teaching are multifaceted phenomena, involving biological, technological, psychological, social, economic and pedagogical factors.
Reading this provides little comfort to my understanding of Modern Learning. In fact it leads me deeper down the rabbit hole in pursuit of understanding it better. Despite the wonder promised by all of this technology, students are still engaging with it far more often to connect and communicate rather than curate, create, and collaborate on content.
True story time
The other day I observed a grade 6 student using a device at an inappropriate time. As I approached, she quickly hid it(an iPhone 6+). Like a phablet that size can be hidden. I asked what she was so consumed by on her device that she was defying school policy? She shared it was a fan site for Ariana Grande.
Not the worst use of WiFi by a student, but off topic to be sure. After a few more questions I asked her to explain to me what she liked about Ariana Grande. We chatted about the March For Our Lives rally and about her performance. The convo continued and I got to know more about the student rather than defaulting to a YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER moment, followed by the standard lecture on appropriate use of technology.
Maybe this approach can be considered as Modern Learning too. If not, we can call it Modern Pedagogy that builds relationships and connections before asking students to fall into curricular compliance without context. Maybe Modern Learning has to be willing to defy convention?
By taking the time to discover her interests, some barriers were taken down. It was only afterwards that I suggested that classtime was intended for curriculum, and that I would suggest a Genius Hour activity in the near future where she could combine learning with her personal interest in Ms Grande – all the while helping other students discover, scratch, and share their own intellectual itches.
Another approach
At other schools, students are now required to lock their smartphones away for the learning day as an effort to reduce misuse and device distractions. What the link did not mention was that the school probably has students on computers or tablets as part of the instructional space. Anyone who has booked a computer cart or lab knows that students can become as easily distracted by these tools too.
So what ends up happening are these absolutes and dictums from class to class and school to school. It is obvious that some teachers are more open to embrace this more easily than others. Perhaps it is an admin or system issue, but there does not appear to be a consistent policy about device useage in schools. The dissonance in all of this for me is that we ask our students to innovate, we give them the most amazing and powerful learning/communication devices on the planet and then expect them to be able to put them aside to listen to a lesson that is being pulled from a text book or source older than they are. In other cases, students are creating multi-modal masterpieces of identity and ingenuity.
How about engaging and empowering them to use their devices for everything that is possible, trusting them to make good decisions, and having them create the criteria for use in classrooms? At the same time, educators can model appropriate use by sharing documents, links, updates, and evidence of learning via Twitter or class web sites.
The technology is not going away. The when, where, why, and how it will be used needs some defining so that students are not seen as defying school when they use their devices. Then maybe Modern Learning can be more than just more with technology.
After many years of marriage my husband realizes that any trip outside the house might result in bringing home something that will inevitably end up in my classroom. Generally a trip to Costco is pretty safe. I might come home with a few books for the classroom library. A few weeks ago, however, we came home with a bee house.
I took off the label and took it into the classroom. I set it on the desk at the front of the classroom. When the students came in the next day I asked them to write about what they thought it was used for and I got quite a few different answers.
When they came to the conclusion that it was indeed a “bee house” for non-stinging, solitary bees; the students then began asking questions and the biggest, burning question was, “Why do bees need houses?” Why indeed? I suppose we’ll have to find that out! I am not an entomologist. This is new territory for me but I was interested in the whole “Save the Bees” movement myself. Knowing that this provocation would quite like lead to a burning question for inquiry, I had already created a Padlet with all kinds of links to videos that were relevant and that I had screened and removed advertising. You can purify videos using a website called Pureview . Of course, this was only the beginning.
One of the websites included an article about a local researcher; Susan Chan. We went about contacting Susan to ask a few questions but as inquiries often take a life of their own; it got much bigger! Susan offered to come in so the students could make their own bee houses. So my husband and I were off to the local ditches to find and cut the plants needed for the task. My husband knows not to ask questions when I say things like; “I need to go and find and cut some grass that grows near swampy areas in ditches.” He is a committed husband of an elementary teacher.
After a few hours, we had enough for each student to make their own home for a non-stinging solitary bee. Likely, a mason bee. It didn’t take them long to make and it made them feel as though they were really doing something to help save some non-stinging native bees.
The students were thrilled with their bee homes for solitary mason bees. They took them home and hung them up in their backyards with the instructions to take photos so we could post them on Twitter and Seesaw. However, the students didn’t think it was enough to make 20 bee homes. They had much more planned. Stay tuned for part two of our quest to “Save the Bees.”
It’s Spring. At least that’s what the calender and the weather are telling us. Dust has replaced the snow on the playground. Tell that to our playground grass fields still resisting the urge to grow too soon. Judging by the pale straw colour a field of green is still 6 weeks out. Somehow nature has equipped itself for a chilling frost or Spring blizzard that could be only a Colorado Low or Polar Vortex away.
Hopefully, March exits like a lamb and not like a lamb being chased by a lion. At this time of year, hope, like the temperature rises and with it the rain to wash away the remnants of Winter. Hope is the promise of Spring. Warm temps, more sunshine, daylight savings, chirping birds, sap running, and buds bursting on trees cannot be missed. There are great things waiting outside the doors of our classrooms. Teachers need to enjoy them. Our students need Spring and all of its promises even more.
To no one’s surprise since the Vernal Equinox, the classroom has become a livelier place each time the warm breezes blow. Students are absorbing the Vitamin D and converting it into boundless energy. It’s like an alarm goes off the moment the snow melts and the clocks move forward. March Break has come and gone and the realization that nearly 70 percent of the school year is in and out of the books. It’s as if that once the weight of snow suits and winter boots is shed, our students have been given permission to chirp, run, and burst with energy. It should not be missed.
With all of this vivacious vim and vigour I am planning ways to take advantage of outdoor learning, walkabouts, and a little more time in the fresh air. Along with this re-invigoration comes opportunity for distraction too. How we make use of our time outdoors can be a balancing act of classroom management amidst chaos. How we harness that natural energy with our students can lead to effective outdoor fun, positive mental health activities, and memorable learning opportunities.
What this looks like can depend on a number of factors: location, mobility, and volition. In my class we are taking advantage of the good weather by shifting some of our time outside. This is not limited to Physical Education either. Sure it’s fun to do, but there is also room for book talks, journal writing, guided reading/Math groups, and Science.
What I have enjoyed sharing with students on our walk and talkabouts are the changes going on all around us. It has been fun to ask them to comment on something they’ve noticed and to create a broader awareness of the habitats and spaces they occupy at school.
As we venture out, the eyes, ears, and lungs of learners are filled. It may appear that they’ve become distracted by it all, but it is not a distraction. It is more of an awakening of the senses instead and students are excited to discover it again for another year.
In my class, we are playing social games where everyone is involved. This includes our version of Manhunt; now known as Person hunt, SPUD, Chain Tag, Kickball, and Grounders. If possible I try to play in every game rather than watch because it engages students even more to see their teacher(as able) running, laughing, getting caught, and playing alongside.
You’ve read enough. Time to go outside and get distracted with your class. Happy Spring.
Please share how your class enjoys its outdoor time in the comments section below. Thank you for reading.
Have a class that doesn’t like to dance? Me too! If my class had a choice, they would rather do anything other than dance! Instead of forcing this group of really reluctant kids to dance before they were ready, I decided to take a different approach this year. Below is how I managed to get my group of anti-dancers moving and shaking one month into term two.
The very first day together all we did was talk about their feelings towards dance. I listened closely to their concerns that dance is very embarrassing. I also listening to their concerns that they would be made to move to music that they found boring or really, really awful, as my one student put it. All in all, I spent day one with my students just listening to their reasons why they didn’t like dance.
On day two, I came back to them and honestly told them that learning dance was not an option at school but that I had heard all of their concerns and had some ideas on how to address their problems with dance. I made a commitment that they could always choose their own moves, own music and that they wouldn’t have to share until they were ready. (The music comes from a pre-approved list of songs that students submitted to me.)
On day three, I reassured them again that I would never put them in a position where they would be forced to dance in front of other people until they were ready.
On days four and five, everyone made a dance on an app. There is a free dance app that is hilarious, called Toca Dance. Everyone’s dance was hilarious and we laughed and began to look at some of the movements that the dancers made on the app.
On day six, Students watched videos of dances that they liked and shared and spoke about what they liked about the dance.
On day seven, we watched a VERY simple dance together and analyzed it. We saw that there were five moves, some locomotor and some non-locomotor. Their job was to create their own dances with five moves, both locomotor and non-locomotor. Some kids chose funny moves like those from the app and some chose serious moves. All students choose their own music.
On day eight, students created their own dance with a partner to a piece of music of their choosing.
The most important lesson for me was taking the time to understand my students’ feelings. This was a group of students that really wanted to make their own creations and not have their creative process dictated by the teacher. They also really needed a safe place to make their creations. Once both of these needs were met, lots of boogieing and shaking started to happen.
As of the writing of this blog, that is exactly how much time there is until the unveiling of the 2018 Junos.
In preparation for this monumental event, my grade four classes and I have been focusing on one particular category. We will be taking on the role of “judge” and making our own decisions about who we think should win the Juno in the category of Indigenous Music Album of The Year.
For those who are unfamiliar with this category at the Juno, to win the award, 50% of your album music must include either traditional forms, hand drums/flutes, Inuit throat singing or Métis and other fiddling. The nominees may also fuse contemporary music with traditional styles and/or reflect the aboriginal experience in Canada through words or music.
There is an incredibly musically diverse group of nominees this year in this category. The nominees are fantastic examples of a variety of musical genres, diverse instruments and singing styles.
I have focused on two curriculum expectations when introducing the music:
C2.1 express detailed personal responses to musical performances in a variety of ways
C3.2 demonstrate an awareness, through listening, of the characteristics of musical forms and traditions of diverse times, places, and communities
In each class, we have listened to one piece of music for each performer and the students have had a choice to draw, write or orally share their thoughts about the music. I have given them some guiding questions for them to think about during their response: “How does this performance make you feel?” “What do you think is the message of this song?” “Why do you think the composer wrote this piece?” “Describe the music elements that you are hearing.” “How do the elements help create the mood of the music?” I also stress with them the idea that their personal response must be detailed and the phrase “I like the music” is not enough.
After we have shared our responses, I introduce one aspect about the characteristics of indigenous music that no one shared in the class. Some examples include explanations about PowWow music, historical context for some of the lyrics, singing style, or instruments included. Below are the five nominees for this year’s Juno awards, the music videos I used in class, and a bit of information and links to get you started in preparing your class for a fun Indigenous music exploration.
She has been nominated this year for the album “Sedna” that includes the track “Fight for the Right”. The song is a combination of English and Inuktitut. This song has a direct message against land ownership. This was a song written in May 2016 to encourage people to vote “No” against the referendum happening in Nunavut that asked the question “Do you want the municipality of (city or hamlet name) to be able to sell municipal lands?”
Some additional resources for information about Kelly Fraser
DJ Shub has just started a solo career. He used to perform with the talented group a “Tribe Called Red” that fuses hip hop and electronic music with traditional drums and voice. DJ Shub has continued that tradition, and his video for Indomitable ft. Northern Cree Singers is a celebration of culture and community. An article with DJ Shub can be found at DJ Shub PowWow Step.
Buffy Sainte-Marie’s new album is full of old and new songs that will encourage any young person to become an activist. Her new song “You Got To Run” from her Medicine Songs album has an amazing message about believing in one’s own power. Medicine Songs Article, Medicine Songs Article CBC
Iskwe is Cree and Irish, and the word “Iskwe” means “woman”. Iskwe has created her music to counter the stereotypes people have and push back against the idea that indigenous people won’t or can’t succeed.
Indian City is a band that has performed all over North America. The band uses dancers, musicians and imagery to represent the vibrant indigenous culture in Canada.
