Dear Parents, Welcome to another week of learning in J3T! Last week was a busy one, filled with "tapping in," MAP testing, place value learning, letter-writing, friend-making and peace-building. The upcoming week promises to be just as full of great learning opportunities. UNIT STUDIES "Tapping in" is the first step in the Common Ground Collabortive inquiry cycle. At this stage, we are working to uncover each child's prior conceptions (both accurate understandings and misconceptions) as well as interests and wonders. I tell the children that this is my chance to get a peek inside of their brains, which they think is just hilarious. For our current unit, we used blended learning rotation stations. At the various stations, we were looking to see what the children knew about: issues in the world; the work of the United Nations; their ability to identify problems and express empathy through looking at images; and their idea of a Better World. I learned that the children are very aware, while also having some misunderstandings about the work of the U.N. One of my favourite conversations was around "That one guy who is the president of the whole world and who fixes everything- maybe his name is Bumpke?" To learn more about this process, talk with your children, look at the gallery above, and stop in to see some archives. Feel free to visit our PADLET pages (the assignment given to the children is shared below)as well to get a snapshot of the children's first thinking about issues at UNIS, in their community, and in the world. The tapping in stage helps me to plan for further learning, ensuring that we are building on prior-knowledge while also providing opportunities to correct misconceptions. The students report having thoroughly enjoyed the rotation stations, and are asking for more, More, MORE! It's a good day when the children are so excited about their learning!
This week, we will continue this work in our unit studies, working to develop an understanding of how we identify problems, and begin to define ways to address them. This will lead us into looking at organizations and the work that they do in addressing problems. As illustrative content, (a model example) we will be looking at the issues of hunger, homelessness, and poverty, zooming in on Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, and 3. As a class, we will examine the work of the World Food Programme and how this organization works with individuals to solve these big issues. MATH In Math, the students worked to deepen their understanding of the base ten place value system and how we can express numbers in different ways, including standard form/notation (978) expanded form/notation (900+70+8) , and in words (nine hundred seventy eight). This week we are working on rounding numbers to a defined place value and learning when it is best to estimate and round as opposed to being exact. All of this work is to ensure that the children have a strong foundation with the place value system up to thousands so that they can work with fluency and accuracy when adding and subtracting. LITERACY We have been practicing our voracious reading skills, reading to self and others, while identifying the key literary elements such as character and setting to help us comprehend what we are reading. As a class study, we are reading Because of Winn-Dixie, while the children learn how to respond to their reading. I am beginning running records with the children this week, and I look forward to setting individual goals with the children. The students deconstructed samples of letters, and have created their own checklist for the elements of a friendly letter. They then used this in our response to literature. Last week, the students responded to Each Kindness with a letter to a character in the story. The students followed the writing process to craft a first draft of their letters and then they evaluated their writing using a rubric, and finally published a revised letter. Their work will be on display by the end of the week. I encourage you to stop in and see what they've been working on. The goal right now is to celebrate the writer's process, and take note of each child's progress as they develop understanding of letter-writing. This week they will take a "baseline" writing assessment for our next genre: Persuasive Writing, and then we will begin lessons to craft effective persuasive writing pieces. I apologize in advance for any newly developed effective persuasive technique that come home with the children. Years past have shown that the children really take to this genre and try to apply it in allllllllllllllllll areas of their lives. SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING We have been working on developing a sense of empathy for others, and demonstrating our understanding by being caring and thoughtful to the feelings of those around us. To that end, we are doing a lot to imagine how others are feeling including practicing See, Think, Wonder routines with images, acting out scenes from our reading, and learning how to actively listen to others. We have also been working to identify our own interests, skills, and talents to help lead into an understanding of what wonderful things we offer the world. As a social group, the focus is looking at how we collaborate effectively with others. All of this work supports the Happiness Habit: Build Into Relationships. This habit includes taking care of ourselves and being self-expressed, as the first relationship we have is with ourselves. I tell the children that you have to be a good friend to yourself if you wish to be a good friend to others! These skills are developed an reinforced all day long, and are explicitly modelled and taught. We used the MAP opportunity to talk about STRESS, and how stressful moments can actually shut down our thinking and learning. This article from John's Hopkins School of Education outlines some of the impacts of stress. I have been slowly introducing meditation and breathing techniques to help with the stress management. The first technique I am introducing to the children is from the Transcendental Meditation Technique. HOME LEARNING The children are expected to read for 20 minutes each evening, and have had occasional "finishing up" work. We will begin the "official" home learning next week. Stay tuned! In the meantime, please talk with your children about your idea of a better world! ODDS AND ENDS CLASS PARENT NEEDED! A big thank you to Bella's dad, Scott Nadel, who has graciously offered to serve as one of our class parents. I am still looking for one more parent who can help out with PA events and class parties. Please email me if you are available! NUT FREE SNACKS: Please remember that snacks should be nut free to help us keep our classroom safe for those with allergies. Thank you for understanding. Have a great week with your lovely ones! Yours in Learning and Growing- Ms. Erin M. Threlfall
2 Comments
Ida Makansi
10/6/2015 07:26:25 am
This blog is such a treat! Thank you Erin
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Erin
10/7/2015 07:04:00 pm
My pleasure, Ida!
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SnapshotsA peek at life inside of J3T , curated by Ms. Erin M. Threlfall Archives
June 2016
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