Ready for the student-led cnferences

Sunshine gave a bright promising start to a day.
The classroom is set and waiting for the students and parents.

 Evernote is an easy to use, easy to access tool for creating portfolios.
Each student has a notebook stack "Portfolio" with subject notebooks inside. Each subject notebook holds fall and spring reflections:

In their notes students included both text and pictures. Many students preferred to write in Google Drive first and then copy-paste their reflections to notes:

In class we have set up stations. It is possible for up to four students to be in the class at the same time.

In math satation the students can share some of the games we have learned to help practice large number addition and subtraction,. They can share their daily math journal and explain what they think and do when adding and subtracting large numbers.

In the reading station the students will read a book that they chose, give a summary, share their thoughts, explain what goes on in the head of a reader, and how literature circles work:

In the writing center they will share their writing work, show their journal and class blog, explain what is a writing process and craft. if time permits they can do 5-Minute-Friday writing:

For the unit of inquiry we have up the displays about Energy topics that the students explored and presented:

I breathe in. I breathe out.  I know that the students have learned and grown over the several months. They have work to show, they have portfolios to share, they practiced what to do during the 30 minutes in our classroom. I will be present and help out when needed, but the spotlight is going to be on the students. They own the show. I can only hope that the children will shine and you, the parents, will celebrate your wonderful children and all the learning that has happened.

A different kind of a day

On Tuesday I had a different kind of a day. Instead of being at school, I was at an international conference "Quality Education for Children at Social Risk. Sharing best practices and starting a dialogue."  Ms. Sirje and I had been invited to give a workshop at this conference. Hesitant at first (we had given workshops to teachers and parents, but here the audience was unclear; we had given workshops in English, but it's not our mother tongue) we still said yes. Reading and supporting readers matters to us. We titled our workshop "Supporting Literacy Development of Children" and included five topics: importance of reading, role of adults, reading nest, read aloud and supporting readers.

Today we felt well prepared: we knew our message; had a slide show with pictures and no more than six words on each slide; had practiced our text several times; had a balance of suggestions, facts and stories; and had brought two suitcases of books. At first we were worried that the participants might not be our target audience and the may feel bored. Then we worried that because of many parallel sessions no one would come. The latter came almost true. Never in my life have I been at a workshop with only five people in the audience. Nevertheless, it was a positive learning experience. Letting our passion show and keeping expectations high for ourselves we engaged the five people in a dialogue with us, and we know that we would be ready for a bigger audience too.

Besides our workshop we got to listen to different people.  I enjoyed a session by Estonian storyteller Piret Päär. The storyteller was a small-sized woman, barely reaching the microphone at the podium, yet her words filled every corner of the conference hall, reached every heart, and carried the listeners to different places and times, stirred emotions, and changed us all in some way. 

Finishing the day with listening to the storyteller made me almost cry. She weaved together the stories she grew up with, her personal stories, her storytelling experiences and stories of other people. She shared how stories had shaped her, how stories had touched tough audiences in the most unexpected ways, how in a trusting community people had really understood their own stories.

Here are some ideas for food of thought:
We have to tell our stories to understand how beautiful they are.
Our stories are beautiful.

and

It's our job to tell the stories not to wait for the kids to ask. They don't know that they need to ask.
Children need to hear stories. Many stories.

Almost ready to share and assess

When I see the pile of unfinished posters on top of the cupboard, I get a bit nervous. We have discussed what our Energy project posters should look like, we created criteria, the students have been working on their projects for two weeks, yet I worry. Have they challenged themselves with inquiry? Is their growth in their learning and understanding? Are they pushing themselves to create quality presentations?
Then I pause and take a deep breath. I remind myself that I am working with third graders, that inquiry and independent work can be challenging at all ages, and mistakes and failure are also part of learning.
I hope for the best and promise to look for the positive in what they will share with me on Monday.

Here is the criteria (based on student input) for the projects:

Name:

Date:

Project:

Grade
1	The work does not meet the basic requirements
2	The work product achieves some of the requirements set for the task
3	The work product achieves many of the requirements set for the task
4	The work product achieves all of the requirements set for the task
5	The work goes beyond the requirements

Criteria

The project:

1.   Is interesting – has a hook

·       Makes people react

·       Gives information

·       Has many details

·       Is strong

2.    Has accurate facts/information

·       You can show where you got your information

·       You are able to explain when somebody asks you to elaborate

3.   Is clear and understandable:

·       The work makes sense

·       The work is in order

·       Child friendly text

·       Spelling is correct

·       Important info (title etc) is more noticeable

·       Sentences and pictures are related to the topic

4.    Is neat and clean (if on paper)

·       Proper handwriting or typed text

·       Colouring within the lines

·       All edges glued down

·       No stains or smears

5.   Is completed on time

6. Shows effort

Reflections, reflections, reflections

When was the last time you had to write a reflection about yourself?
Twice a year the students in PYP pause and ponder about who they are as writers and readers, what attitudes do they show in math and UOI, what are some things they have created, what are their strengths and areas to grow, what have they learned and how much they have grown.

As a teacher it is fascinating to see how different students approach the task and what is that they find most important to include in their reflections.

We take writing reflections similarly to writing any texts. We think what is the purpose, who is the audience, what ideas and details to include, how to structure the text, and what words to use so it would be interesting to read.

Writing reflections takes time, yet it is important not to just plow on with learning, but to stop and see where we started,  where we are now and where we are heading.

I hope that when you see the student portfolios, you will take time to read what they have written, compliment their achievements and discuss their future goals.

International Day

On Tuesday we had our annual International Day.

Great and warm thank you to all the parents who helped to organize it!

More photos on ISE Facebook page.

This week: in the words of the students

 This is what the students say about learning this week:


Assessment:

This week we had our three MAP tests. First we had reading, then we had math, then language. When we have our MAP tests we have to sit quietly and take our time. When we are done, we raise our hand and the teacher takes our score, then we take our books and read until everyone has finished. The MAP tests make your brain ache. The challenge on a MAP test is that it asks you questions you haven't learned because the test doesn't know you. The test helps teachers to know how good you are, and how easy or hard things to give you.

We write reflections for the portfolio. Writing reflections is challenging because some things you have to write about are difficult like: who are you as a reader and why do you like to read...

There is not only one answer. Writing reflections makes you think harder. It is good because it helps you tell parents what you are good about. It's good for us, so we can see what we are capable of.

UOI:

Inside UOI we are making projects. Some people have partners and some people don't. Since our topic is energy, we picked a form of energy, so now we are working on the texts When we are done, we will share it with the lower school.

Reading:

This week  Ms.Terje  is reading The Tale of Despereaux for  snack/read aloud and we do work, like for example we tell the feelings of the main character. We learn how to write about reading. We think along when the teacher reads. You get to listen to a story.  This story is about bravery, about being different, and it tells you how some might feel when you treat them badly because they are different.

In independent reading people choose what they want to read, and read.

Independent reading

In Literature Circles we discuss about a book. The main idea is to be cooperative, work with a team. You need notes to make a good discussion, so you remember your ideas.

Math:

In math we learn to multiply. We practice on paper or apps on iPad. The important thing with practicing times table is that when you practice a lot, it will be in your head. Learning is about practicing and being enthusiastic.

A wordless glimpse of this week: