Thursday 27 October 2016

Infusing Indigenous Perspectives into Mathematics and Science

Thanks to ETFO, Joanne and I were able to travel to Toronto to attend a conference on Infusing Aboriginal Perspectives into Science and Mathematics.  Over the course of two days, we had the opportunity to learn from other educators, try science and math activities, and review resources to help bring Indigenous culture into our classrooms.

Beading is a great way to teach patterning and algebra to elementary students.  It was an engaging, yet sometimes frustrating, activity with opportunities for rich learning.  Planning out the design in advance proved challenging for many of the teachers at the conference.  I personally went through three planning sheets before I finally decided on my pattern!

We also explored some flight concepts, through the design of a blunt-tipped arrow.  I'm sure anyone who has taught grade 6 in Ontario has done some hands on building of paper planes...this activity was a way to explore Indigenous culture and cover the Science and Tech curriculum at the same time!  I think one way to make this experience more authentic would be to include an exploration of traditional materials and tools for arrow building (with safety in mind, of course).  What type of wood/branches would work best? What tools would Indigenous people have used to shape their arrows? What types of feathers would they have used, depending on where they lived?  The learning potential is unlimited!

Overall, it was a fun experience...Thanks, ETFO!

Friday 7 October 2016

Comprehension and Collaboration

In an effort to meet curriculum expectations, encourage curiosity and questions, and include everyone I want to incorporate inquiry circles into the classroom.  Inquiry circles help students learn about the world and provide them with some choice in the matter.  

To encourage students to become thoughtful readers, thinkers, communicators, and researchers, I am teaching specific lessons in comprehension, collaboration, and inquiry.  The lessons were from Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles for Curiosity, Engagement, and Understanding by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels.




Examples of Comprehension Lessons:

  • Activate and Build Background Knowledge
  • Listen to Your Inner Voice
  • Think and Wonder About Images
  • Use TExt and Visual Features to Gain Information
  • Signal Words and Phrases and Their Purposes
Examples of Collaboration Lessons:
  • Turn and Talk
  • Active Listening in Pairs
  • Creating Group Ground Rules
  • Making and Using a Work Plan
  • Where Do You Stand?
Examples of Inquiry Lessons:
  • Model with Research Alouds
  • Install a Wonder Wall Question Board
  • Create Research Notebooks
  • Dealing with Digital Distractions
Harvey and Daniels emphasize that the lessons should be taught repeatedly at every grade level and different subject areas.  


Students practice the collaboration lesson, Turn and Talk.







Wednesday 5 October 2016

Inquiry in the 7/8 Classroom

In September, I posed the question, "Who do you think is the greatest Canadian, and why?"  Students explored notable Canadians and presented the information in a variety of ways.  It was our first foray into "Inquiry" or "Project-based" Learning.  What a learning experience it was!

Our first step was to look at Digital Citizenship.  Students investigated the concept of digital footprints, and how to stay safe online.  We also discussed fair use/fair dealing and how to credit someone when we use parts of their work.  Then the real inquiry began...

"Is Beyonce Canadian?", "The only Canadian I can think of is Terry Fox" and "I can't find anyone to do my project on!" were some of the refrains heard during the first few weeks of school.  But fortunately, we have technology.  And technology opens up a whole new world of resources.  For example, we decided to tweet out our question to some Canadian figures.

Wab Kinew, Canadian author and activist, responded to the question, "Who do you think is the greatest Canadian?" with the answer "Murray Sinclair".  This led to a discussion about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its impact on Canada.  We also tweeted the leaders of the Federal Liberal, Conservative, NDP and Green Parties, to see if they could enlighten us.  We're still awaiting a response. :)

But in spite of all of the positive learning we experienced, we also discovered that inquiry-based learning is hard work!  It requires organization, internal motivation and a desire to keep going even when it gets boring challenging.  We've also learned that sometimes when a project is too open-ended, it can be confusing.  Most importantly, we've discovered that effective inquiry-based projects have a driving question.  Behind this driving question are a series of simpler, "thin" questions that help us to answer the "thick" driving question.

This challenge, incorporating inquiry, indigenous perspectives, and technology into the classroom is going to be a journey worth taking!