Job Interview Season

It’s that time of year again when students in grade 7/8 create their very own resumes based on their volunteer experiences in and outside of school. My students got to thinking about all of their volunteering that they had done this school year. It was so impressive to see how full their resumes already are and they are only 13/14 years old. Some of their experiences include:

  • Student leaders during school-wide events: Pink Day, Winterfest, Mardi Gras, etc.
  • Selling pizza on pizza day
  • Scorekeeping at volleyball/basketball games
  • Reffing soccer games
  • Coaching junior sports teams 
  • Helping in the music room 
  • Selling cookies and popcorn

The list could go on and on as so many students are involved in our school community. So as students came up with these volunteer experiences, they also had to list skills on their resume that they thought could relate to a part-time job. It was very interesting to read all of the things students considered to be within their skill set. 

After writing the resumes, students once again had the opportunity to interview for the food sales job at the soccer tournament. I created five interview questions for students to answer:

  1. What experience do you have selling food?
  2. Tell me how you would deal with a challenging customer.
  3. Why should you be hired to sell food?
  4. Why do you want to sell food?
  5. Who are your two staff references?

Students had to answer three of the five questions and I also spoke to their two references. It was quite the process as over 42 students interviewed and staff had a hard time selecting between all of the students. We narrowed it down to the top 12 and let them know that they had gotten the job. Students were so thrilled and are looking forward to representing our school in this unique experience. Many of the students I hired last year have now started part time jobs and have let me know that this experience selling food helped them prepare for not only the interview process but also their actual job. This real-life skill is something that I look forward to each year and once again, was thrilled with the results. 

 

Not your usual reading groups

Recently I have been working a lot with flexible grouping in the classroom since I have been experimenting with Liljedahls’s thinking classroom in math. But flexible grouping does not need to stop in math, it can work in your literacy classroom as well. 

I know most of us are used to ability groupings when it comes to literacy centers but recently I have been using random groupings in the literacy classroom. I wanted to take you through a quick journey of my literacy centers. 

Our focus as an intermediate team this year is reading, more specifically fluency. We are happy with the comprehension of our intermediate so we are digging deeper into their actual reading fluency. For this, I decided to allow each student to select a novel. We discussed what to look for when selecting a novel and what to do if we end up deciding we dislike that novel. Students are welcome to return the book if they do not find it intriguing enough. Once they have selected a novel, we read for about 15 minutes during our literacy lesson. Then students can answer one question related to their book in their language duotangs. These questions are centered around vocabulary with a small percentage based on comprehension. Students keep a vocabulary journal to write down any words they are unsure of. They then have to define them and use them in a sentence. 

While my students are doing this, I take three random grade sevens and three random grade eights. I use a random name generator. Students then read one page from their book in a circle with myself and their classmates. I use this as a fluency mark. We then discuss their books orally including questions such as:

  1. If you could read any of the other books in this circle other than yours, which one would you read and why?
  2. Were there any words heard here today that you are unsure of?
  3. What would you rate your book so far out of 10 and why?

This random grouping makes all students feel comfortable as they can tell it was done randomly and that they are all created randomly. They also feel confident in their abilities as they get to work with students whom they may view as a stronger reader than them. The fluency skill is still being assessed but in a way that makes all students feel equal. I enjoy getting to work with each student in my class at least once a week as I meet with all students (five days x six students per day). I think my students enjoy the personal connections they get to have during these groups as well. Also, some of my students who usually sit at their desk with their book shut are now participating in literacy at least once a week as opposed to not at all.

I encourage you all to try random groupings in your literacy classroom to increase confidence!

 

The Streets Belong to Us: Seeing One’s self in their Environment.

 

Teaching kids to see themselves in their environment is crucial for holistic development. Author, Karleen Pendleton-Jimenez takes readers on a journey of the importance of this (the environment, self-awareness, and community) in her book, ‘The Streets Belongs to Us.’

“I don’t recognize our street anymore. It’s turned into a big mess of piles of brown dirt and deep holes. It’s like a garden right before you plant the seeds. Everything is torn up and ready for new life to grow. It’s the summer of 1984 in Los Angeles. Twelve-year-old Alex Richardson-Salazar is a mixed-race, Mexican American tomboy who would rather wear her hair short and her older brother’s hand-me-downs. And Wolf is a troubled kid who’s been wearing the same soldier’s uniform since his mom died. But when the city’s digging machines tear up their street to build sidewalks, the best friends seize the opportunity to turn Muscatel Avenue into a muddy wonderland” (Pendleton-Jimenez, 2021).

Navigating difficult and exciting changes is essential to a child’s growth and development. These experiences help children develop important life skills, build resilience, and learn how to adapt to new situations. As educators, we have unique gifts, tools, and resources to guide and encourage students in this meaningful development.

When kids are able to see themselves in their environment, it helps them develop a sense of self-identity and self-awareness. They begin to understand who they are, what makes them unique, and how they fit into the world around them. This self-identity and self-awareness are fundamental aspects of healthy psychological development and can contribute to positive self-esteem and confidence.

How is this evident in this book? Encouraging kids to see themselves in their environment promotes cultural and social awareness. It helps them understand their culture, heritage, and background and appreciate and respect the diversity of cultures and communities around them. This can foster empathy, tolerance, and inclusivity and contribute to the development of socially responsible individuals who can thrive in a multicultural world.

By seeing themselves in their environment (being a part of their environment), kids can develop a connection and appreciation for the natural world. They can learn to value and respect nature, understand their role in protecting the environment, and develop a sense of environmental consciousness. This can foster a sense of stewardship towards the planet, leading to responsible environmental behaviours and actions.

When kids learn to see themselves in their environment, they develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They learn to observe, analyze, and interpret their surroundings, which promotes cognitive development and nurtures their ability to think critically and solve problems. This skill can benefit them in various aspects of life, from academics to personal and professional relationships.

Emotional and Mental Well-Being is developed richly and deeply rooted when children see themselves and can be themselves in their environment. It helps them develop a sense of belonging and connectedness, which is crucial for healthy emotional development. When kids feel like they belong in their environment, they are more likely to have positive emotional experiences, develop resilience, and have better mental health outcomes.

Teaching kids to see themselves in their environment is vital for their overall development, including self-identity, cultural and social awareness, environmental consciousness, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and emotional and mental well-being. It nurtures their sense of self and connection with the world around them, preparing them to thrive as responsible and engaged individuals in their communities and beyond.

Karleen invites us as educators to explore what our classrooms and communities could sound like, look like, and feel like when we foster spaces for students to see (inquire) and to be seen (explore). Or, as she said in her own words, “Bursting with life and feeling, both the people and the land come alive… The Street Belongs to Us is a story of family, friendship, and unconditional acceptance, even when it breaks your heart.” (Pendleton-Jimenez, 2021).

 

References:

Pendleton-Jimenez, K. (2021). The Streets Belong to Us. Vancouver, BC: Arsenal Pulp Press.

Spring Has Sprung!

After what has felt like a long, cold winter, I think it’s safe to say that spring has sprung. Well, at least in our classroom! The kindergarten students have been hard at work learning about plants and what they need to grow. We’ve even started growing our own grass heads. We’re pretty excited about it!

During the first week back after the break, we were talking all about spring and we were also building. Students used Lego to build something that reminded them of the season. Many students built gardens that were full of interesting flowers and animals. They were quite beautiful and this sparked some of our conversations about all the changes that we expect to see over the next few weeks.

After seeing all of the beautiful Lego gardens and I must admit that I have quite a love for plants, we thought it might be great to try our hand at a little gardening. Using some eye, nose and mouth stickers, students were tasked with creating a face for their grass head. Once they added the faces, cups were filled with soil and they began drawing and writing in their journals about what their grass heads would need to grow. Now, I think that I mentioned before that I’m relatively new to kindergarten so it was definitely interesting to see students trying to copy off the whiteboard. EEK! I can’t say enough how grateful I am to work with and learn from two amazing ECEs! Of course, they were there to the rescue and showed me that some students required more support and that tracing might be a way to get them to practice forming their letters. I tucked this one away for our next class together.

Time truly flies when you are having fun. During our first class, we were able to prepare our cups but the fun came during our second class when we had the chance to mix our soil and grass seeds and add water. Let me tell you how excited the students were. Little fingers got mixing seeds in soil as students were reminded that we needed soil, water, sun and seeds to make their grass heads grow. During this class, we also wrote the first entry in our observation journal and this time, we were able to do some tracing. Students also had the opportunity to draw a picture of what they observed. I asked students to make predictions on how long it would take to see the grass grow and we got answers anywhere from the next day to two weeks. This was on a Friday and imagine my surprise on a Monday morning when I started to see some little green bits popping out of some of the soil.

 

We haven’t yet had a class together this week but I’ve had a few visitors come up to water and I’ve taken down some of our grass heads for students to see their growth. They are amazed that they started growing so soon and that some already have a lot of “hair”. Yesterday, one student noticed that in some cups, the grass is growing really long roots. On Friday when we meet again, we’ll start to measure our grass and we’ll continue to record our observations. I wonder at what point our grass heads will need a trim!

 

Scratching the Pollution in Our Oceans

Last year I blogged about a new book – The Global Ocean. This past month we were lucky to have a virtual visit with the author, Rochelle Strauss. Rochelle gave students context on the importance of her book and read passages in order to support students in understanding the need for immediate actions for change. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about how the actions of each of us can have a significant impact on the environment, and ultimately our world.  There we a number of students who had questions and based on our visit, one student said that he was inspired to think about his passions and how he might use writing to share that with the world. It was a great visit and our learning didn’t stop there.

During our visit, students learned more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and were eager to find out how that much garbage got into the oceans in the first place. Students researched about causes and also learned about the work being done to clean up the oceans. During our visit, we learned about the Turtle Extruder and one student was particularly interested in how people who fish might use different kinds of nets so as to be more responsible when fishing. 

This term, students are furthering their knowledge of coding and are specifically learning to use Scratch. As part of our action to raise greater awareness, students were tasked with creating a story, PSA, or game in Scratch that they could share with others about what they learned. Some students were excited to remix an existing catch game, changing the sprites and adding additional text to share their learning. Other students were excited to use the program to create stories to inspire others to learn in an interactive way.  Projects were due last week and yet there are still some students who are eagerly wanting to add more information to their projects, so their work is ongoing. 

This entire experience reminded me of the importance of purposeful uses of technology. While we could have spent time learning about the different blocks in Scratch, I think this activity allowed students to learn how to use blocks in an authentic way. If they wanted their sprite to do something specifically, they learned about how they might use specific blocks to achieve the task.  Students learned how to effectively use the blocks in their code because they had a purpose for learning how to use them. They were also able to share how they used the code to perform different tasks with others, allowing them to be “the experts” in the room. 

Last year I found a great picture book that spoke to the urgency of protecting our oceans. Little did I know that a year later, students would have the opportunity to hear from the author, get inspired, and then share their learning with others in a creative way. What a great journey!

From Consumption to Creation – Media Literacy

Over the while, I’ve noticed that content creators are getting younger and younger. While many of our students are consuming media, many are also creating on a variety of platforms, often in their spare time. Keeping this in mind, I’m realizing more and more that my media lessons of creating a poster or a cereal box also need to evolve. While there is still value in these lessons, this year, I’ve been trying to see how I can support students in using technology tools that are board approved to extend these lessons. One tool that I have found great success in using this year is Adobe Express. In this post, I’m sharing what we’ve been working on and how I’m hoping to support students in creating media connected to curricular areas.

Media is all around us. Simply put, media can be described as words, images, graphics and/or sounds working together to convey a message to the reader. When teaching Media Literacy, I often start off by having students identify the purpose, meaning and audience for a text. Almost every time, I start off with print media which is probably something that I could expand on since there are so many different forms of media. We often do move into commercials. From there, we often create a list of conventions and techniques associated with media and how they are used to create meaning. Finally, students often are asked to demonstrate their learning by creating their own media work; speaking to the specific conventions and techniques they have used. 

This year, I had students design a new menu item for a fast-food restaurant. The item had to be something that would be appealing to a specific audience and would have to be in line with the identity of that specific restaurant, but elevating its existing offerings. Some students picked well-known fast food places in our school community, while others chose local less-known places where they enjoyed meals with their families. They designed their menu items and then we jumped into Adobe Express to learn about how they could create a short commercial, pitching their item. The idea of being able to create their own short commercial took the activity to a whole new level of excitement. Once I helped students to log in and showed them a couple of features, they were off to the races. With limited tech, we’re taking turns and have used it as an opportunity to get feedback from peers.

The results so far have been incredible. Students have added sound effects and some tried to create their own music to add to their commercials. All of the images they have used have been their own creations and some have even worked on creating clay images to represent their food. Many of their commercials have far exceeded my expectations and it’s been a pleasant surprise. While there has been great value in my lessons of the past with posters and cereal boxes, this has been a reminder of how extending this work and using tech can really spark some great ideas that far exceed my expectations. While students enjoy consuming media, they’re really excited to create and share with others.

Mental Health Activities

January 25th was an important day to talk about mental health as each year, “Bell Let’s Talk Day” reminds us all that conversations are such an important part of our day as educators. As educators, it is our duty to ensure the mental well-being of each of our students is thought about daily. Some students keep their feelings inside and some claim to be happy 24/7. How do we dive deep into these important conversations and make sure that we are providing opportunities for our students to speak out? Here are some ways to get talking about mental health without making it the central focus. Starting small to get kids talking.

Math Activity

My students were looking at topics to create an infographic about and as a class, decided the most important infographic that should be on display in every intermediate class was one about mental health. So students looked for statistics related to youth mental health in Canada. They found fractions, percentages and various facts that told a story about the mental health of youth in Canada. They shared these infographics with their peers and discussed many important facts. Then, yesterday I pulled up the website about “Bell Let’s Talk Day” and students found many statistics on this page that they had used in their own infographics. We looked at the resources available and then talked about resources to help within our own school (Positive space groups, social worker, clubs, talking to teachers, etc.)

Drama Activity

I wanted to try an activity with my grade two and three students yesterday that connected to their mental health and it went very well. I encourage you to try it out with any grade in a future drama class or just as a class activity. Here is how the activity worked:

A student would be selected to be the actor and that actor would have some sort of problem that they were needing help with. Some examples are:

  • Getting a bad mark on a test
  • Getting into a fight with their best friend
  • Their best friend was moving
  • They felt sad but did not know why
  • Their goldfish passed away

It was actually challenging to think of situations that would not be triggering for students. I made sure that the actor was okay with the situation and then they proceeded to act out their feelings towards the situation. Then, they would pick three friends from the audience who would one at a time come up and try to make them feel better. It was incredible to hear all of the solutions that their friends had. Students who had not participated in drama class in the past put up their hand for the first time. They were excited to come up and comfort their friend. After the lesson, I asked the students if they could use these strategies in real life and they all agreed that they could. I know this activity comes with a risk of students having to be vulnerable but I think it was useful. I even heard a student say, “I wish I had gotten that advice a month ago!” I loved this activity and hope to try it with my intermediate students in the future.

Language Activity

As report card season is in the midst, I decided to try a different reflection activity this term. I asked students to write one word or sentence  on a cue card that best described their feelings towards report cards. This was an anonymous activity as when I collected the cards, I did not ask them to write their names on them. I then handed out a random card to each student. I asked them to think about why the student had written down that word/sentence. What could have been going through their head? Can you relate to what they wrote? Why or why not? I often hear grumblings about report cards around this time of year so I thought this would be a good chance for students to get it all out. An optional part of this activity could be having students share their word at the end if they felt comfortable doing so.

Art Activity

Last month, we were lucky enough to have someone from the Art Gallery of Hamilton come in to our classrooms. We were involved in a four week program working with watercolours with a focus on mental health. Students completed watercolour techniques in a very relaxing environment, using tape, string and tissues to create different looks. This was my favourite part of the day as every student felt connected to their work and rarely left to access a different space. Students were proud of their work and loved the simplicity of this. The arts have a way of making everyone at peace and I look forward to incorporating more periods to just create without a given set of rules.

These activities are just a few I have tried over the last month or so and I am always looking for new ways to get my students feeling comfortable around their peers and with themselves. I would love to hear about more if you have some that have worked in your own classrooms. I hope to include some photos once I am back in the classroom next week so stay tuned.

Pausing and Teaching for Deeper Learning

Have you ever created an assignment or activity only to realize that you need to take a few steps back to do a bit more teaching? This month I found myself once again in this position. I love it because just as we ask our students to be reflective, we as teachers have the chance to do the same. It’s in these moments of reflection that I find better ways of teaching something or supporting students in deeper learning. 

For the last few months, I’ve been working on a design project with students. We started by working on identifying problems; picking one and telling the story of our problem by answering the 5Ws and how. From there, students had the opportunity to focus on a specific user so that they could create a new and innovative solution for that type of person. After coming up with great ideas, students determined the solution that they wanted to work on, storyboarded their solutions and got feedback from peers. As a part of our work, I always believe in the importance of having students share their ideas with authentic audiences and they do this through pitches. Throughout the process, there has been lots of learning and this point was no different. To do our pitches, we are using Google Slides. I realized that as much online learning as we have done over the years, students needed some teaching on how to insert pictures and how to change the font size. When the questions started coming in, I quickly realized that we were a little in over our heads. I wasn’t expecting this. 

We’ve taken a pause and have been working through a Google Slides Scavenger Hunt that was adapted from one created by Caitlin Tucker a few years ago. 

As we’re going through, students are working in partners trying to solve each challenge and are learning some of the basics of Google Slides. We’re taking our time, making sure that we understand how to do each of the tasks so that when it comes time to go back to our pitches, we can easily add pictures and text that will appeal to our audience.

With everything that we feel we have to “get through”, this has been a great reminder of taking the time to pause and explicitly teach so that students can successfully complete a task. I’m certain that after the scavenger hunt there will be things that we might forget about using Google Slides but I do know that with a few simple reminders, students will feel more successful in using the tool to share their innovative solutions with the world. More often than not, our pauses lead to deeper learning.

The Best October Student-led Project

This is my ninth year teaching which means it is my ninth October with a class. October is one of my favourite months in the classroom as it lends room for so many exciting activities. For the past seven years, my class has created some sort of Halloween related show or haunted house at the end of the month. Sadly, I missed one year while I was teaching online. I wonder each year if it is something I am doing because I enjoy the tradition or if students are genuinely interested in this activity. So this year, I asked students if they had any ideas rather than share what we could do.

My class of 27 students all celebrate Halloween so we were all set for a brainstorm session. Here are the ideas my students came up with:

  • Escape Room
  • Haunted Gym
  • Student skits in a classroom
  • Student activity centres in the gym

After discussing it with a student-created drama committee, my students came up with student-created skits in a decorated classroom as their favourite idea. Then, we went about discussing how the planning process works. This is what my grade 7/8 drama committee came up with:

  1. Decide on a date (October 27th)
  2. Ask the other 7/8 classes if they would like to participate
  3. Ask permission from our school administration if grade 7/8 classes can show their skits to the other classes
  4. Send an email to all staff
  5. Start to advertise our idea
  6. Sign up classes for the viewing of each show
  7. Come up with a schedule

Yesterday, my four students who had a meeting with admin. were approved for this idea and were reminded to have a fall activity such as a word search or other for students to work on if they do not celebrate Halloween. As teachers, it is important that we use this opportunity to help students and even challenge them to think critically. With our support/modelling they will recognize the importance of being inclusive when the activities are being planned for all students in the school. We can challenge our students to plan alternatives that are equally valued and engaging and still connected to the curriculum. 

Then, we focused on the actual drama part of the project. In our language class, we are working on short spooky stories. My students (along with the other grade 7/8 classes) are working on creating a story where they need to identify the characters, the setting, the problem and the solution. My students presented their plot ideas today to the class and two were selected to be turned into scripts. The rest will be writing short stories and which will be one of their writing marks this term. This was such a fun class activity today as I put on some spooky music and students read their ideas.

During drama class, we came up with seven exciting roles that students can sign up for to be involved in this class project:

  1. Acting in the shows (there will be five shows total)
  2. Script writing (working with the students who had their plot selected)
  3. Sound effects
  4. Set design (how to transform a classroom into a haunted stage)
  5. Costumes, hair and makeup
  6. Classroom sign up
  7. Advertising the event (email, posters, imovie trailer and announcements)

Almost all of my students signed up for three or more roles and are excited to get started on this right away.

Each year, I look forward to this project so much as it includes so many curriculum connections in all of the below listed subjects:

  • Art
  • Drama
  • Language- writing, media literacy and oral communication
  • Learning skills- collaboration

Overall, this is a tradition I really look forward to each year but of course, would not proceed with it if students were not interested.  Learning that is integrated like this, with student voice and leadership at the core and has strong curriculum connections does not have to be limited to a holiday or season. A big idea, social issue or other relevant theme helps to connect and motivate the students’ learning. Knowing your learners, who they are and what is important to them will guide you on selecting themes and connections for your students! I am lucky my students want to make such an impact in their school community as each year even in June, I hear students in the halls still talking about the haunted house/stories. I look forward to this year being better than ever as we are not limited to staying within our cohorts, etc. I look forward to sharing about how it went and perhaps even sharing some spooky photos!

World Oceans Day

Did you know that World Oceans Day is June 8th? Neither did I! That is until I read Rochelle Strauss’ new book, The Global Ocean. As a long-time fan of Rochelle’s other books – Tree of Life and One Well – I was overjoyed to hear that she was writing a new book and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. In this post, I write about my new learnings as I consider ways to use this book with students. 

The Global Ocean? I Thought There Were 5 Oceans!

Situated in different parts of the world, I always thought of oceans and their wildlife as being separate and unique, without thinking of the interconnectedness of the different bodies of water. Sure, I understood that one body of water flowed into the next but I compartmentalized them thinking of the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. Distinct and separate, mainly due to geography and/or climate. Page 7 of the book brought home the reality of a Global Ocean in sharing about the 1992 cargo ship that fell overboard, spilling nearly 28 000 animal bath toys into the ocean. Over the next 20 years, tracking the rubber ducks was an incredible real-time science experiment on how all of the ocean basins are connected. The results and hearing this blew my mind!

Plastics!

For years I’ve shared about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and had conversations with students about actions we can take to ensure that we aren’t contributing additional waste into our waterways. We’ve talked about plastic bags, straws and can holders and how they impact wildlife when they enter oceans. Years ago, we also had lots of conversations around products that contained microplastics that were used as exfoliants. I hadn’t realized that there are plastics found in many common human-made fabrics. What blew my mind when reading about plastics was the fact that “with every load [of laundry], as many as 17 million tiny plastic fibres get washed down the drain” (pg. 21). What?!?! I got out the calculator and further realized the impact of my actions and have made a commitment to change by being cautious about what I purchase. Tips are peppered throughout this incredible book but I have to say that pages 26 to 35 really offer some fantastic ways to bring about tangible change. 

Why Students?

Sections of this book share about the actions of young people who are making a difference. Individuals speaking out. Groups creating projects. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, children really are the most incredible people on the planet. When they learn of injustice or see something that needs to be made right, they are eager and get creative to bring about change. Much like the interconnectedness of the oceans, when students learn about how their individual actions can have a global impact, they get excited and want to do more.  Inherently, children like to know that their actions can change the world and add to the greater good. I love that this book makes learning approachable and I am seeing so many uses for it within the classroom. Students are eager to act. How might we support them in learning and in turn using this eagerness to bring about change in our world?

This is seriously an incredible book that I think every educator should read, for their own learning and also help students in understanding the importance of our actions on the environment. Students are open and ready to make changes that will result in a better world for everyone. Through incredible texts like these, there’s so much learning and inspiration that can happen, that will lead to much-needed action, and ultimately change. June 8th is World Oceans Day. What action will you take?