tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65478558633767298442024-03-13T08:25:41.537-07:00Debbie Axiak's BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-41812225172186082492015-08-16T13:04:00.000-07:002015-08-30T20:10:51.050-07:00The 100 Day Project<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lessons from #The100DayProject<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back in March, Tina Zita invited a few people to join her in
creating something every day for 100 days and sharing it on Instagram. Here are
a few things that I have learned about the project and about myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>I Learned that I
am <i>Still</i> Impulsive </u></b>– As soon
as Tina asked, I said I would paint a painting every day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">BUT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>I Should Have
Chosen Something Less Time Consuming</u>. </b>In the evenings after work I painted.
<u>Every</u> day. For 100 days. I didn’t
read or watch t.v. (except for Game of Thrones) and there were times when my family thought that the project and I were irritating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>I Learned that ‘Real’
sharing takes guts.</u> </b>A lot of social media sharing is ‘The Best Of’ …
the best of vacations/accomplishments/ scenery/ etc. but this project meant
pressing <i>share</i> even when I thought
the painting was <s>ugly/gross/garbage/terrible
</s> NOT ‘The Best of’ myself.
Sharing something I’m not proud of was (and is) difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>There really is No
Accounting for Taste</u> – </b>One of the biggest surprises was that some
people liked the paintings that I thought were awful and some people didn’t
like the ones that I liked. Hmmmm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>If The Purpose of Sharing Art is to Elicit a
Response – </u></b> then my project was a success. Even if it was only for a split second and whether they liked it or hated it - my daily painting
caused a few people on Instagram to think. <i>That</i> is pretty cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>If The Purpose of
Creating Art is to Enjoy the Process</u></b> – then I am a success. Creating is where I find flow.
Where I can toil away for hours and end up with nothing but lessons on what I
did wrong. Once, I grew a pumpkin from a seed and then made a pie out of it. It
was terrible. I never tried it again because I learned that it was easier,
cheaper, faster and tastier to buy a ready-made pumpkin pie at the store. But I’m
proud of my attempt at the pie and I’m proud of myself for committing and
completing the 100 Day Project. Whether it is painting, planting a new garden,
coming up with a new lesson for school or making a pie - I enjoy making stuff - even
when it doesn’t turn out the way I expected. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Camaraderie is a
Gift - </u></b> The group of Peel educators who participated
in this project alongside me became a wonderful part of my daily life. I looked forward to seeing their posts each
day, their support was vital in helping me stick it out
for the 100 days and I am proud to call each one of them a friend. Please follow them on Instagram and read about their thoughts on the project via the links to their blogs below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tina Zita - <a href="https://misszita.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a> - <a href="https://instagram.com/misszita/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram</a> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Natalie Schneider - </span><a href="http://happyhourbookclub.edublogs.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Blog</a> - <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="https://instagram.com/natsschneider57/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Instagram</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Susan Campo - <a href="http://susancampo.ca/2015/08/16/100-days-project-blog-hop/" target="_blank">Blog</a> - <a href="https://instagram.com/susancampo/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></span><br />
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Jim Cash - <a href="https://pianojim.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/blog-hop/" target="_blank">Blog</a> - <a href="https://instagram.com/pianojim/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-63474231308603133592014-11-18T14:28:00.002-08:002014-11-18T17:11:19.410-08:00Blog Hop - What Does 21st Century Learning Mean to Me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What Does 21st Century Learning Mean to Me?</div>
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Over the past few weeks there has been some Twitter discussion about what 21st century teaching and learning is. Below you will find some graphics on what it means to me today (I hope you can see them on your particular device). More importantly, please check out the links at the bottom of the page to read the posts from some great #Peel21st thinkers. </div>
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Please check out the links to the following blogs and follow them on Twitter.</div>
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<a href="http://susan.campo.ca/" target="_blank">Susan Campo</a> @susancampo</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; margin: 0px;">
<a href="http://makelearn.org/" target="_blank">Jim Cash</a> @cashjim</div>
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<a href="http://slewisyoung.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Shivonne Lewis-‐Young</a> @SLewisYoung</div>
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<a href="http://leaderinadigitalworld.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Greg Pearson</a> @vptechnodork</div>
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<a href="http://sphillipyoung.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Phil Young</a> @_PhilYoung</div>
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<a href="http://joyousteaching.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">James Nunes</a> @jameseliasnunes</div>
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<a href="http://ateachingyear.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Donald Campbell</a> @libramlad</div>
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<a href="https://mysite.peelschools.org/personal/P0031112/Blog/Lists/Posts/AllPosts.aspx" target="_blank">Ken Dewar</a> Bestbefore2030</div>
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<a href="http://ideaconnect.edublogs.org/" target="_blank">Graham Whisen</a> @grahamwhisen</div>
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<a href="http://assessmentgeek.edublogs.org/" target="_blank">Lynn Filliter</a> @assessmentgeek</div>
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<a href="http://aliciaquennell.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Alicia Quennell</a> @AliciaQuennell</div>
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<a href="http://www.mrsoclassroom.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Jonathan So</a> @MrSoClassroom</div>
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<a href="http://jimmyblackwood.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Jim Blackwood</a> @jimmyblackwood</div>
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<a href="http://beyondangrybirds.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Jason Richea</a> @jrichea</div>
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<a href="http://misszita.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Tina Zita</a> @tina_zita</div>
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<a href="http://mrseanbroda.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Sean Broda</a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/4910" target="_blank">George Couros</a> @gcouros</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://wp.me/p5mdqD-8" target="_blank">Sean Coroza</a> <complete id="goog_815645910">@SRCoroza</complete> </span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-59774074621408623092014-09-16T16:30:00.001-07:002014-09-16T18:50:37.942-07:00#Peel21st Blog Hop - Cool Tools for School<div style="text-align: left;">
On Twitter, several #Peel21st folks were discussing their favourite digital tools and tools that they were planning on exploring this year. @tina_zita came up with the great idea for everyone who was interested to write a blog post and link those posts into this #Peel21st Blog Hop. Please check the other blog posts linked at the bottom of this page after you read my post titled:</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: blue;">PUPPET PALS2 - <i>Not </i>Just for Primary</span></u></b></h3>
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As the new Teacher-Librarian in my school, I wanted my orientation sessions to grab the attention of our junior students and teachers who already know the "Library Rules" but who might not already know that the possibilities are endless when you pair up with a Teacher-Librarian :)<br />
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I used a variety of my favourite digital tools and a few new ones to review the Library Routines. The new-to-me digital tool that I found most interesting was the free version of Puppet Pals. Many FDK teachers recommend this app, but I hadn't tried it until last week. Here is my first take - but I will warn you that it isn't very good.<br />
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Now the best thing about my attempt not being very good was that it prompted a lot of discussion with the grade 4s and 5s. In addition, the students were eager to come up with one important library rule or routine and create a digital text that I could share with students in lower grades.Many thought that my video would be too creepy for younger children and gave evidence from the text (creepy music, Abraham Lincoln in a police car was weird, Abe's voice was creepy). Others mentioned that the changes in music helped to set the tone for 'happy' kids and 'serious' man. Some students mentioned that the free version didn't offer multicultural choices and that they couldn't choose a character that looked like they did. They critiqued the movement of the car going through the bodies and were very serious when listing success criteria.<br />
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Not only were students engaged, they were demonstrating the expectations outlined in the Language Curriculum Overview for Grades 4-6:<br />
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<i>The expectations for Grades 4 to 6 focus on students’ ability to use their knowledge</i><br />
<i>and </i><i>skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing to </i><br />
<i>understand, </i><i>critically analyse, and communicate a broad range of information</i></div>
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<i>and ideas from and </i><i>about their multicultural, multimedia environment. </i></div>
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It is pretty exciting and powerful to see how digital tools can enhance teaching, learning, creativity, communication, collaboration, citizenship, character and critical thinking.<br />
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Puppet Pals 2 for the iPad is easy to use - just pick a setting and character(s) and record voice(s) while animating the character(s) using simple gestures. Finished videos can quickly be saved to the camera roll and shared in a variety of ways or exported to iMovie for editing. With the paid version, you can use your own photos and you have access to a larger variety of characters.<br />
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A Parent & Teacher Guide can be found <a href="http://www.polishedplay.com/parent--teacherguide.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Please visit the rest of the Blog Hop Posts below<br />
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<a href="http://wp.me/p3RGo2-1Jb%E2%80%8B" target="_blank">Notability </a>by Phil Young<br />
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<a href="http://leaderinadigitalworld.blogspot.ca/2014/09/cant-find-somethingyou-shouldve-put-it.html" target="_blank">Pocket </a>by Greg Pearson </div>
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<a href="http://ideaconnect.edublogs.org/2014/09/16/stopmo-peel21st-blog-hop/" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" target="_blank">NFB StopMo</a><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> by Graham Whisen </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://msarmstrong.ca/2014/09/my-favourite-tech-tool-code-org/" target="_blank">Code .or </a>by Erica Armstrong</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><a href="http://makelearn.org/2014/09/16/scratchjr-peel21st-blog-hop/" target="_blank">Scratch Jr</a>. by James Cash </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><a href="http://matthewoldridge.blogspot.ca/2014/09/educreations-in-math-classroom-to.html" target="_blank">Educreations </a>by Matthew Oldridge </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><a href="http://beyondangrybirds.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">IFTTT </a>by Jason Richea </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><a href="http://misszita.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/peel21st-blog-hop-my-tool-for-this-year-is-photo-editor-by-aviary/" target="_blank">Photo Editor</a> by Aviary by Tina Zita</span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-34076783392166549782014-06-04T17:34:00.002-07:002014-06-04T17:34:58.191-07:00Please Bring Your Anger to the Carpet<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday June 2, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earlier, we read and discussed the book </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anh’s Anger</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> written by Gail Silver. We looked closely at the mixed-media collages by illustrator Christiane Kromer and came up with some success criteria that students would keep in mind while creating a representation of their own anger using wallpaper samples, fabric, glue, yarn makers and paint. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="cover.JPG" height="243px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NXWei65_TjalxnmHvmQlb2bhtB_A5g8e9_Uq6CrnmKGqA8gu8sydmtqeevO5GDXhV7uxpDGVg0t8emAIPmLDINT_yy3v6OLyTuo93ckjwfoKJD4rO_obwZQdbWlnUEV8Dg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="182px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="success criteria.jpg" height="242px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6EHf2ZlL5tC4BgwYeERL-nGA3TW4RGeaaeQvTAqlz-zj5JUW3QaMjsg71tJCyJNolTf2BLxT6mdcWhbs0KteYI_rdorOAg06DEKdOwcQv-GdNfHBdcPZ7T0fVrs5WSAdYQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="242px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the carpet, students presented their anger and asked for questions, comments and feedback. Here are some samples: </span></div>
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<b style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><br /><br /><img alt="anger 6.JPG" height="201px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/j4noQjVrAxN2J9SuWKo6e5xFkH_9CBIQyIekJjGVgVbVhIqs2svSsO3dRPikTwL_dYwXDem2FJbr5HfWa-d6Er2N9HVXJ94neAyLtiLwdWJnQ1SYXjVncRpcPj001vfA3Q" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none;" width="250px;" /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Q - Why does it only have one eye?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A - I wanted it to look scary. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comment: It’s also a fact that when people are angry it’s harder for them to see right or to think clear.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); clear: left; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="anger 5.JPG" height="189px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/KIIUbPvyjGd8te3bRb61Ifq3aGZsG404_watzl54cYDrTPQCzxmg0TtBffLR7oVN_BFlh3Ph-NZbJtXopt6IFomr2M3P3d481Rmy_ZrP4Rqgvq4B5Ia8Vhw-FNtoxlErCg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none;" width="250px;" /></span><br />
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Comment - I like the sweater you weaved for your anger and the red in your background.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Response - Thanks, I’m not finished yet.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comment: My anger is hot and itchy too.</span></div>
<b style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="anger 9.JPG" height="234px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/pmm9JnNUeGMV5wFp3wUl4Lbhp3LxUhFhP7PccBcCH075yAwDsBLH5eN33zq7dzp3hnmqUNEvSSvQUsmT1AQ1dtnKiUiwjn2qLTitNyBPFb6-RE3Bbukbs8TkkfgfksIohw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none;" width="174px;" /></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Q - Why doesn’t your anger have a face?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A - It has one inside. It is tied up really tight right now in a blanket but then all of a sudden it explodes and breaks the string and freaks out.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comment - Maybe your anger should count to ten and fix the problem instead of exploding.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Response - Yeah, but it can’t talk very good when it is mad.</span></div>
<b style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img alt="anger 4.JPG" height="197px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/gSsKUb9hb_HbCRsMiGGkLud2rRhIr3EuZq5QJs0KpJ8pFlpjhAdIWfheqqYA6wznnhXKGwxQ_wMQMv-GYQmgOzVhQXISwmLYkxy6ynf0l-VdWXV4V4fqGpD_FMNpaWebhg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none;" width="97px;" /></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feedback: Maybe you could give it some arms.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Response: It doesn’t have arms so it can’t hit anyone. I gave it a big mouth and nose instead so it can breathe deep and count to ten instead of hitting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is so important to give learners of all ages the time and opportunity to create, to talk, to share, and to question. I keep reminding myself not to rush. Taking time gives us the chance to think more deeply about a topic, allows us to learn </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">from and about</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> each other, and about ourselves. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next Steps: Continue to read, write, talk, question and create as we explore other emotions and let students choose to write or record a collaborative text about one or more emotions (fiction or nonfiction).</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-85049335226863287912014-04-13T08:56:00.000-07:002014-04-13T08:57:19.414-07:00That TeacherHow many Tweets do you read that get you thinking? This morning I happened upon a #sunchat Tweet - I wasn't participating in the chat and didn't follow @LorraineKehler but it was a RT of her Tweet that led me to read through #sunchat to think about characteristics of "THAT Teacher" and to put together this Storify. You'll see @LorraineKehler 's wise words at the end.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/DebbieAxiak/that-teacher/embed?border=false" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/DebbieAxiak/that-teacher.js?border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/DebbieAxiak/that-teacher" target="_blank">View the story "That Teacher" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-61974951980997955062014-02-22T15:59:00.000-08:002014-02-22T16:01:07.750-08:00Focus<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ni0JVjcCL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ni0JVjcCL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>Over the holidays, one of the books that I read was <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Focus-The-Hidden-Driver-Excellence/dp/0062114867" target="_blank">Focus by Daniel Goleman.</a> I was looking forward to this because his book <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Emotional-Intelligence-Anniversary-Daniel-Goleman-ebook/dp/B000JMKVCG/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388982408&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Emotional Intelligence</a> was <b>excellent</b>. I was also interested in <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Focus-The-Hidden-Driver-Excellence/dp/0062114867" target="_blank">Focus</a> because of the classroom implications. </div>
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<a href="http://www.edutopia.org/daniel-goleman-focus-video" target="_blank">Edutopia</a> has a nice article and a video playlist of the <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/daniel-goleman-focus-video" target="_blank">key ideas from the book</a>. This video, on Breathing Buddies really got me thinking about how I might be able to utilize this with my students.</div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/scqFHGI_nZE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/scqFHGI_nZE&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/scqFHGI_nZE&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JEcJG0aJWNA/Uso0irYrKVI/AAAAAAAAAPo/RKzl469Wux0/s1600/breathing+buddies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JEcJG0aJWNA/Uso0irYrKVI/AAAAAAAAAPo/RKzl469Wux0/s1600/breathing+buddies.jpg" height="164" width="200" /></a>I started sewing up these Breathing Buddies for students to use, and then I realized that it would be SO much better if students sewed their own. Afterall, sewing a button is a good skill for everyone to have----- plus students would probably be more engaged when creating their own buddies.<br />
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We started by learning how to thread a needle and sew ------ up and down, up and down ------ on a paper plate. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vxDUutyvB0E/Uwk2jNdWunI/AAAAAAAAASA/xlweYQ6dpHs/s1600/Breathing+Buddies+first+sewing+step.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vxDUutyvB0E/Uwk2jNdWunI/AAAAAAAAASA/xlweYQ6dpHs/s1600/Breathing+Buddies+first+sewing+step.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Students then drew a circle, rectangle and triangle pattern on a paper plate and sewed around the perimeter of each shape (a math connection). Next, students chose their felt colour(s) and the buttons that would make the cutest, strangest or scariest face depending on student preference. After making choices, it was time to sew on the button eyes. Threading the needle and sewing on the paper plate had been great practice for students. <br />
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There was some frustration - and that was ok! We were discussing strategies that we could use when we get frustrated. We talked about how anger, sadness, frustration, fear and joy were all normal emotions. We also had discussions about how we don't always make the best decisions when we are angry or frustrated, so we all have to have strategies to help us calm down.<br />
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Here are some of the Breathing Buddies or Calming Creatures as some students named them. The idea is to put the buddy on your belly and take a slow breath that is big enough to inflate your belly like a balloon so the buddy rises up - then you slowly breathe out so the buddy doesn't fall off your belly. After your buddy rises and falls 5-10 times, we all decided that we felt more calm and relaxed.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tnb09usKOFI/Uwk49URid9I/AAAAAAAAASQ/AP6rLtibwcY/s1600/breathing+buddies+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tnb09usKOFI/Uwk49URid9I/AAAAAAAAASQ/AP6rLtibwcY/s1600/breathing+buddies+collage.jpg" height="320" width="213" /> </a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R8gOqxp2wuA/Uwk5Gfc7NzI/AAAAAAAAASY/CQZ6fJp2ocQ/s1600/breathing+buddies+collage+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R8gOqxp2wuA/Uwk5Gfc7NzI/AAAAAAAAASY/CQZ6fJp2ocQ/s1600/breathing+buddies+collage+2.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
apologies about the misalignment of the pictures....something is not working correctly :(Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-8952905370241095582014-02-22T15:20:00.002-08:002014-02-22T16:02:39.013-08:00Reader's Theater Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/616-hr5kSqL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/616-hr5kSqL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" height="200" id="original-main-image" width="200" /></a>To introduce grade 2 students to Reader's Theater, we started with a Read Aloud of <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/True-Story-Three-Little-Pigs/dp/0140544518" target="_blank">The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieska</a> and watched<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq0Ohvo_b1U" target="_blank"> an example of how this book was performed as Reader's Theater.</a> <br />
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After seeing the first Reader's Theatre example, we co-constructed success criteria. Despite my insistence that Reader's Theatre does not require masks, my students argued that without masks it would be very difficult for the audience to know which character was which. So we included masks. Here is the first iteration of our co-created success criteria. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8w3d1UF0pA/Uwkqff9FUcI/AAAAAAAAAQg/3lth1MFCh9I/s1600/succss+criteria+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8w3d1UF0pA/Uwkqff9FUcI/AAAAAAAAAQg/3lth1MFCh9I/s1600/succss+criteria+1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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We then watched a second Reader's Theater version of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs & used our success criteria to evaluate it. Students were not impressed with the performance, but thought about new items to add to our Success Criteria List.<br />
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Next came our discussion about scripts. Everyone wanted to play the role of the Wolf, so we decided that we would do several different Reader's Theater plays, ensuring that everyone who wanted to play a wolf could do so. (They did not realize how happy I was to agree to this - more Reader's Theater = more excitement about reading, more willingness to practice at home, more discussion and more opportunity for students to see the pattern of stereotypical 'wolfness' in fairy tales.)</div>
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Knowing how important the masks were for my students, I did some searching and found this instructional video for creating a wolf mask.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/BypXM3Nry2o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Each student (even the reluctant writers) jotted down a materials list while watching the video and every student gave me specific feedback on how I could improve the sample mask that I made. <br />
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Here are a few pictures of our mask making in progress (you will also see some bird masks which are for the <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/pynja60jqouhsxy/THE%20WOLF%20AND%20THE%20SEVEN%20BIRDS.docx" target="_blank">script is The Wolf and The Seven Birds</a>).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R8qv1Buu-Dc/UwkzgkT-NBI/AAAAAAAAAR0/NvwF8Pbz0hA/s1600/mask+collage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R8qv1Buu-Dc/UwkzgkT-NBI/AAAAAAAAAR0/NvwF8Pbz0hA/s1600/mask+collage.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-beEJN73brC8/UwkyuTeYLoI/AAAAAAAAARU/PjKl1Gvp0OE/s1600/RT+masks+collage.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zzaJNol70BE/UwkyxKUoIDI/AAAAAAAAARc/YWY6ALWlHP0/s1600/RT+masks+collage+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zzaJNol70BE/UwkyxKUoIDI/AAAAAAAAARc/YWY6ALWlHP0/s1600/RT+masks+collage+2.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WXGqaG3Ogg0/Uwky4gmxbII/AAAAAAAAARk/wmMxSQoVfkI/s1600/RT+mask+wolf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WXGqaG3Ogg0/Uwky4gmxbII/AAAAAAAAARk/wmMxSQoVfkI/s1600/RT+mask+wolf.JPG" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mm56BlxrlIc/Uwky7g47-nI/AAAAAAAAARs/1BwerK5pPzo/s1600/RT+masks+group+shot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mm56BlxrlIc/Uwky7g47-nI/AAAAAAAAARs/1BwerK5pPzo/s1600/RT+masks+group+shot.JPG" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
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Did you notice that the wolf in the middle is eating a bird? !!!!</div>
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Now that our masks are almost complete, students are rehearsing on their own and with their groups. Students playing the same part, but in a different group, have become Guided Reading groups (all Mother Birds in one group, etc.)<br />
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The student's Drama teacher was impressed with the masks and we've started discussing how we can work together to allow the students to move beyond Reader's Theatre by adding movement, props, etc.</div>
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I will post Part 2 when we have had some run-throughs. Hopefully I will get permission to post some video :)</div>
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***apologies for the picture formatting - something is not working correctly :(</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-88223340341789133682014-01-12T11:00:00.000-08:002014-02-22T16:02:03.082-08:00Everybody Can ImproveI watched this <a href="http://www.dylanwiliam.org/Dylan_Wiliams_website/Welcome.html" target="_blank">Dylan William</a> video this morning called "Every Teacher Can Improve" and I sent out a Tweet with a link.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/eqRcpA5rYTE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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I thought that the video was awesome because 1) it made me feel like my struggles as a teacher were normal 2) it acknowledges that teaching is difficult but rewarding, and 3) it reminded me of <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/cgi-bin/drupalm/cdweck" target="_blank">Carol Dweck</a>'s work on <a href="http://mindsetonline.com/" target="_blank">Mindset</a>. </div>
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Within a few minutes I had two Direct Messages that didn't agree with my #awesome.</div>
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"Teachers shouldn't bash teachers, we get enough from the public" was one comment. Another one said "FYI, your Tweet seemed 'preachy'"</div>
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I appreciate the feedback because it helps me reflect and gives me the opportunity to explain myself.</div>
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I didn't mean it as a 'bash' or to be 'preachy', I shared it so that others might enjoy the same feelings that I did. For me it was confirmation that I don't have to know everything, that I don't have to be perfect. While I know these things logically, there are times when I can use a reminder :)</div>
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I know that I can improve as a teacher, a parent, a spouse, a friend, etc., etc.</div>
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I find joy improving in things that are important to me.</div>
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<i>Everybody can improve in some aspect of their lives, whether it is personally or professionally.</i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-48669383022860915652014-01-04T07:29:00.002-08:002014-01-05T20:23:00.437-08:00Wheels of FictionWhen teaching the Elements of Fiction, I've usually started by discussing familiar stories with students and then randomly placing a jot note in a chart something like this (for Cinderella).<br />
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<table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 6.75pt; margin-right: 6.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: margin; mso-table-anchor-vertical: page; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; mso-table-left: left; mso-table-lspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-rspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-top: 151.35pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
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<td colspan="2" style="background: #00B0F0; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 115.4pt;" valign="top" width="154"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b> SETTING <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="background: #00B0F0; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.25pt;" valign="top" width="86"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">CHARACTER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td colspan="2" style="background: #00B0F0; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 105.7pt;" valign="top" width="141"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>PROBLEM<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td colspan="2" style="background: #00B0F0; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 110.65pt;" valign="top" width="148"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>SOLUTION<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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When</div>
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Where</div>
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Who</div>
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What</div>
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Why</div>
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How</div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Sometime<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">Somewhere<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Somebody</div>
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Wanted</div>
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But</div>
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So</div>
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Then</div>
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<tr style="height: 42.95pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 42.95pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Long Ago</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Her fairy godmother came</div>
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<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.65pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
To go to the ball</div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.65pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 51.7pt;" valign="top" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.65pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 51.35pt;" valign="top" width="68"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 28.65pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.25pt;" valign="top" width="79"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 100.25pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 100.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 100.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.25pt;" valign="top" width="79"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
In a faraway kingdom</div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 100.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.25pt;" valign="top" width="86"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 100.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 100.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 51.7pt;" valign="top" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 100.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 51.35pt;" valign="top" width="68"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 100.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.25pt;" valign="top" width="79"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
She went to the ball, met
the prince, got married and lived happily ever after</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 57.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 57.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 57.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.25pt;" valign="top" width="79"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 57.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.25pt;" valign="top" width="86"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 57.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 57.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 51.7pt;" valign="top" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Her evil stepmother would
not let her</div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 57.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 51.35pt;" valign="top" width="68"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 57.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.25pt;" valign="top" width="79"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 14.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.1pt;" valign="top" width="75"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.25pt;" valign="top" width="79"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.25pt;" valign="top" width="86"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Cinderella</div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .75in;" valign="top" width="72"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 51.7pt;" valign="top" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
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<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DBE5F1; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 14.3pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 51; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.25pt;" valign="top" width="79"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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A simple plot summary for <i>Cinderella </i>(using the SSSWBST formula) would be:<br />
<br />
Long ago, in a faraway kingdom, Cinderella wanted to go to the ball BUT her evil stepmother wouldn't let her. SO, her fairy godmother appeared and helped her. THEN she went to the ball, met and married the prince, and lived happily ever after.<br />
<br />
We would then complete the chart with elements from other shared stories, use a die to randomly select 1 item for each category and then write a new 'fractured' story summary. This would be followed-up with either a modeled or shared writing session.<br />
<br />
I wanted to move away from the chart and die format and make something that we could spin. For a minute I thought about asking my husband to help me make me a <i>big </i>and <i>real </i>wheel - like the one on Wheel of Fortune, but, as much fun as that would be, where would I keep it? Then, I was using a timer app and I thought that something like this could be modified to fit my needs.<br />
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</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.adamthole.com/ee/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/timer2-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.adamthole.com/ee/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/timer2-1.png" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
But I don't have a clue about how to develop my own app....yet, but I want to learn.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Z0A7YQbFYM/UsordGT2DLI/AAAAAAAAAPU/8ZTtWwDpqvU/s1600/wheels+of+fiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Z0A7YQbFYM/UsordGT2DLI/AAAAAAAAAPU/8ZTtWwDpqvU/s1600/wheels+of+fiction.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a>I couldn't find an online tool that was exactly what I wanted, so I spent some time on PowerPoint creating <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/xxtre2ne59djdus/Wheels%20of%20Fiction.pptx" target="_blank">Wheels of Fiction</a>. Maybe I'm impressed due to the <a href="http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/11-091.pdf" target="_blank">"IKEA Effect"</a>, but I made something that actually SPINS! (and I think my grade 2's will like the spinning action and sound effects).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L4GkheO_dcQ/Usort2bufiI/AAAAAAAAAPY/hhflKvtKZOA/s1600/wheels+of+fiction+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L4GkheO_dcQ/Usort2bufiI/AAAAAAAAAPY/hhflKvtKZOA/s1600/wheels+of+fiction+cover.jpg" height="148" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L4GkheO_dcQ/Usort2bufiI/AAAAAAAAAPY/hhflKvtKZOA/s1600/wheels+of+fiction+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
I'll use this with my grade 2's, but if I was still teaching middle school I would have students create their own spinners (while I was creating this, I realized how much math (probability, circumference, degrees in a circle, etc.), ethics/character ed (what might look random is NOT), and language was involved.<br />
<br />
In any grade, this will help students articulate a clear and simple plot summary, generate story ideas (for those who need some help), and set the scene for writing collaboratively or independently.<br />
<br />
<i>PS - Best viewed as a PowerPoint slide show. The SPIN animation doesn't work on an iPad when you use SlideShark . Spin works in Office365 PowerPoint Web App, although there is still no sound.</i><br />
<br />
<b>I've filled in all of the slides so that you can get the idea of how it works, but the beauty in this PPT is that you can customize it to suit your needs. I would love to hear how you might use the <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/xxtre2ne59djdus/Wheels%20of%20Fiction.pptx" target="_blank">Wheels of Fiction </a>:)</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-18388872991669446042013-12-20T16:12:00.000-08:002013-12-20T16:27:58.800-08:00Map Mystery<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Social Studies,
Visual Arts & Language – Mystery Map Activity in Grade 2<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our class has
explored the local school community through neighbourhood walks, with Google
Earth and with printed maps. Since many of my students enjoy hands-on
experiences & needed some extra practice with understanding and using
cardinal directions, we built our own neighbourhood using the <a href="http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=254" target="_blank">Create a Town printables.</a></div>
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I printed the map in colour and assembled it at home and then the
students put their designer touches on each building by colouring and
constructing their own structure for the community. We looked at local
buildings made of bricks, concrete or siding as well as roofing materials and
how we could use line, shape, colour and texture to make them look realistic.
Some students added chimneys to their homes as well.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t0DMHwTDUzg/UrTbD1aGRLI/AAAAAAAAAO4/Zi4OPxeg41c/s1600/map+mystery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t0DMHwTDUzg/UrTbD1aGRLI/AAAAAAAAAO4/Zi4OPxeg41c/s320/map+mystery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Once all of the
buildings were in place on the map, I asked students to compare it to the
community around the school and to think about what was missing. Students decided that we needed a Fire
Station, a hockey rink, swimming pool, and high school. The class was divided into 4 groups and each group had to come up with the best place for 1 of the
missing buildings and then explain to the rest of us why this was the best
spot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next up was the Map
Mystery which would give students the opportunity to practice using cardinal
directions, listening, speaking and writing. I told a story about buried pirate
treasure, then read my Map Mystery instructions (students could follow along on
their own copy as well). The instructions
used co-ordinates and cardinal directions to provide directions from one place
to another. Some students were able to visualize the steps, while others moved
an eraser around to represent a person walking in our 3D community. When
students arrived at the mystery destination, they lifted up the building to
find a red cardboard X.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We co-created success
criteria for a Map Mystery story and directions. Students assessed my story and
directions and provided me with feedback on how I could have made my story more
interesting and my directions more clearly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Then it was their
turn to create a Map Mystery and story. Many students wanted to make it
difficult for their partner to solve but they didn’t realize that the more
difficult the mystery, the more writing and practicing they would be doing, which
was ok by me. Some students used an X and worked with a partner and/or sentence
frames, while others worked individually to create a different paper prop to
hide under the secret building for a unique mystery story (such as a lost dog,
stolen money or a location giving away free video games). Students wrote directions themselves and others dictated
their directions to me while I scribed for them. Finally, they read their story
and directions to a peer who had to solve the mystery and find the item. If
they didn’t find the correct building & solve the mystery, the pair of
students worked together to fix up the directions OR discussed where they might
have taken a wrong turn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our local community
looks a lot like the Create a Town community. Next, we will be looking at different
houses around the world and comparing them to ours. One resource that we will
use is <u><a href="http://www.shelterpub.com/_wonderful_houses/wh-toc.html" target="_blank">Wonderful Houses Around the World</a></u> by Yoshio Komatsu. <o:p></o:p></div>
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FYI, the new Social Studies curriculum document has a nice
blurb about spatial literacy on page 24 and a Continuum of Map, Globe and Graphing Skills in Appendix C beginning on page 191.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I would definitely do the Map Mystery again. There were many
opportunities to integrate technology, so I’m hoping it will be even better next year when we have school iPads.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-85433227080917485542013-12-15T14:41:00.002-08:002013-12-15T14:41:55.676-08:00The Things Kids Say<span style="font-size: large;">Here are a few things that my students said this week that made me smile or made me laugh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hU3CITuCSw8/Uq4pO9RKsSI/AAAAAAAAAOI/o93yicZtB1s/s1600/king+solomon's+mines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hU3CITuCSw8/Uq4pO9RKsSI/AAAAAAAAAOI/o93yicZtB1s/s1600/king+solomon's+mines.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"This might be the best book I ever read. Can I read you my favourite part?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Me: "What does this mean?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Student: "It means that the elves make everything."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Can we stay in for recess and work on our Map Mystery?"</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDrHI6w3EKw/Uq4sdYoNjEI/AAAAAAAAAOo/RvoFj8HKyjc/s1600/just+dance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDrHI6w3EKw/Uq4sdYoNjEI/AAAAAAAAAOo/RvoFj8HKyjc/s320/just+dance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Mrs. Axiak, just keep trying until you catch some rhythm."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Your face is so funny when you try to dance."</span></div>
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Despite my funny face, I'm going to keep on trying to catch some rhythm :)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-73327398897833233482013-12-14T18:26:00.000-08:002013-12-14T18:28:51.398-08:00The 6 Cs Project - Communication<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The 6 C's of 21st Century Teaching & Learning - Week 3 - Communication</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week <a href="https://twitter.com/tina_zita" target="_blank">Tina Zita</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewOldridge" target="_blank">Matthew Oldridge</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/jrichea" target="_blank">Jason Richea</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/TechMagFront" target="_blank">Magdalena Front</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/DebbieAxiak" target="_blank">I</a> shared our thoughts and each came up with a 6-word definition for Communication.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewOldridge" target="_blank">Matthew Oldridge</a> says: Communication: making your voice heard</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/jrichea" target="_blank">Jason Richea</a> says: Communication: Capturing the Attention of the Masses</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/tina_zita" target="_blank">Tina Zita</a> says: Communication: Clear message, deep toolbox, understanding audience</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/TechMagFront" target="_blank">Magdalena Front</a> says: Conveying relevant messages that inspire others</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/DebbieAxiak" target="_blank">Debbie Axiak</a> says: Giving and/or receiving information</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are interested in the thinking behind these definitions, check out each of our comments below.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Week 3: Communication</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-1f9df848-f402-6e5f-962e-5db87550ea3a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@DebbieAxiak</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication: Giving and/or receiving information </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A beautiful sunset, a Van Gogh painting or a Bach concerto are forms of one-way communication. A message is delivered to the receiver. It used to be that advertisers, news channels and teachers were one-way communicators who delivered their message to their audience. In most areas of our lives now, there are fewer one-way communications. In two-way communication, the receiver can respond to the sender. We can email the news station or send a Tweet to an advertiser to voice our opinions about their messages. As teachers, we are no longer ‘pouring knowledge into empty vessels’ - we are using two-way communication to understand what students already know, what they are interested in, what they don’t like, etc. in order to build relationships that will improve teaching and learning.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Technology enhances our ability to communicate effectively. If I can’t write, I can use voice-to-text software. If I don’t like speaking in public, I can record a video ahead of time. If my family lives far away, I can Skype with them to hear their voices and see their faces. We no longer have to wait for news reports because we can see footage and hear messages about world events as they happen via social media. This ability to instantly communicate with people all over the globe has many benefits but also has the potential for problems. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether it is through body language, art, speaking, or the written word we are communicating. A clearly stated message is one goal we all hope for when we communicate, and for many of us, we also hope that our communications lead to conversations and to learning something new.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@MatthewOldridge</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have learned a lot about communication in the past number of months. Personally, I can now honestly say I can divide my career into BTE/TE (Before the Twitter Era/Twitter Era). Most of the thoughts I have about the TE probably belong in the collaboration post, but I have never communicated more effectively than I have recently, but for that to happen, I needed to learn a new text form-the 140 character tweet. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I think of 21st century learning, tweets may be just one of many forms of communication our students will need to learn. Others could be emails, text messages, posting to YouTube channels, chatting while playing Minecraft-the list goes on. Clearly, in the classroom, it's not enough to fall back on our old lists of "text forms". New types of texts are being created everyday. Yesterday's Facebook status update is today's SnapChat, is tomorrow's...? We can't possibly teach them all.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The question remains, how will we teach our students to communicate in this world we live in? What matters the most about communication in the 21st century?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether the mode of communication is writing or speaking, I think authenticity and authority of voice is probably the most important thing. Can you reach your audience, and effectively and persuasively communicate your message? Can you make a personal connection? Can your tweet (blog post, essay, speech, video, etc.) stand out from all the rest of them? Can you argue succinctly and coherently from a point of view?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Voice is what matters, regardless of the type of spoken or written text forms we teach our students. In that sense, communicating in the 21st century is not so different from the types of communication that came before.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication: making your voice heard.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Syncopate; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jason Richea @jrichea</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication, like each of the other 6 C’s, receives a lot of dialogue & discussion amongst academic professionals. We often hear in our staff rooms complaints regarding the delivery of messages by our students through their written and oral work. I find myself in these discussions quite a bit, and am constantly reminded at all the different ways messages are communicated.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These ways may have never been so numerous than they are now. And these messages conveyed in all sorts of different languages - and I’m not talking about foreign languages, but the modifications we’ve made to English/other native languages (U know? lol). I think this is a challenge for many teachers to accept and acknowledge that it’s not about the spelling, but about the message. That’s what communication is really about, is it not? Believe me, I’m not about to say that spelling & grammar does not matter; but does it matter as much as it once did? </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a world where we are bombarded by hundreds of messages each minute, it’s the message that stands out, which receives our attention. When we are in our classrooms, it’s the message that provokes thought, dialogue, discussion, critique, and our collective attention that is effective communication. Whether this is lengthy verbal conversation, or a brief 140 character message conveyed in a Twitter chat, it doesn’t really matter, so long as the results are what was originally intended. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the 21st century, it is so important that we teach our students how to access the media necessary to convey their message. How to convey their message in a way that grabs others attention. And how to use the conventions of the chosen media to do this effectively. We live in a world now where social media is King, and the communication that we receive revolves around this media. As Clay Shirky once said, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The Internet is the first medium in history that has native support for groups and conversation at the same time. The Internet gives us the many-to-many pattern. For the first time, media is natively good at supporting these kinds of conversations.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore, unlike definitions of the past, where communication is all about imparting or exchanging information between a few, 21st century communication is all about conveying your message in a way that captures the attention of hundreds (or thousands if you are Taylor Swift). Because if you want to stand out in today’s age, and have your voice heard, you are going to have to scream it from the top of the Twitter/Snapchat/YouTube/Facebook/Tumblr/etc. mountain.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication = Capturing the Attention of the Masses</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Post on Communication @tina_zita</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication sometimes feels so natural that we forget how often we are sharing messages with others in our day to day interactions. From when we wake up to when we go to bed we are tweeting, emailing, chatting, discussing, singing, dancing (well for me the last two are just in my car). If we want to help students become effective communicators in a digital world, we first need to be able to articulate what makes an effective communicator. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s my stab at it.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effective communicators have</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a clear message in mind</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I don’t mean being eloquent. There are some that can string words together in mesmerizing sentences that have no core message. Effective communicators know what they are trying to get across. They have a clear message in mind. Their voice shines through. This also means that effective communicators know they </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have something to add to the conversation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. No one’s voice is unimportant.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effective communicators know that they have </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a toolbox of communication tools </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and that text is just one of them. Whether I know it or not, through the way I stand, my body language, and facial expressions I’m participating in the conversation. In a multi-modal world, more and more of our communication tools have transformed past plain text or speech. To be an effective communicator we have to pack our toolbox full of a variety of tools with a variety of mediums. Effective communicators also understand which </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tools they communicate best </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with and how to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">switch between tools</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> which leads us to the following.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effective communicators </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">understand their audience and are able to adapt accordingly.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Firstly, if effective communicators what to understand their audience they have to listen and truly invest in understanding the other side. Secondly, they need to adapt their message to their audience. Communicating with my friend and communicating with my boss require my message to be finely tuned. Finally, they have to change their tools accordingly. A song may be an amazing form of communication when sharing an inspiring message but it may not be the best tool if I am applying for a job. Preparing to be effective communicators in the 21st century requires code switching and critical thought. Our message stays the same but how and when we communicate that message needs to transform between platforms, events, individuals. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I had one wish it would be for learners in our care to understand they have a message to share, many ways they can share it and to critically make choices on how best to do that each day with the audiences around them.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication: clear message, deep toolbox, understanding audience.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #980000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication: Conveying relevant messages that inspire others by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@techmagfront</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most effective communicators are able not only to convey their message, but also their passion about the subject, which in turn moves others to think, reflect, or take action. The way that they convey that message can take on many forms: spoken word, song, poem, video, poster, photograph, painting, etc. No matter what form the communication takes, it is ineffective unless it inspires others to care. Also, in order for others to care about the message, it needs to be conveyed in a way that will be relevant to the audience - as teachers, we know that better than anyone. Think of the greatest communicators of our century: Martin Luther King, Jr, Ronald Regan, Pope John Paul II, Steve Jobs - none of them has ever left their audiences indifferent to their message. Think of a great book, movie, song, or painting, inspiring long and heated discussions. Bottom line, good communication never 'falls on deaf ears' and a great communicator’s voice cannot be ignored.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-60945220251450780682013-12-07T09:04:00.000-08:002013-12-07T09:07:23.545-08:00"This is Boring!" <b><u>"This is Boring!!!!"</u></b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SukBrufqCGs/UqNOnVtjWKI/AAAAAAAAANI/bAx43lh8AiE/s1600/pokemon+attack+of+the+prehistoric+pokemon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SukBrufqCGs/UqNOnVtjWKI/AAAAAAAAANI/bAx43lh8AiE/s1600/pokemon+attack+of+the+prehistoric+pokemon.jpg" /></a><br />
I didn't expect to hear “This is boring!” shouted this week by
a student during my Read Aloud of the novel <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Pokemon-Chapter-Book-Attack-Prehistoric/dp/0439135508" target="_blank">Pokémon: Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon</a>.
I’d chosen it because 80% of my students are boys and they talk about Pokémon
and bring their Pokémon cards to school.<br />
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I’d planned to follow up by giving students a
Pokémon card and have them explain OR find out from someone in the class how to
read a Pokémon card, why one card was better than another and how to play the trading
card game. I thought that they would
like to create their own Pokémon monster and a trading card for that monster. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W2bmIry6t8g/UqNP46AYPjI/AAAAAAAAANU/8YGGA-Ac8V4/s1600/Jigglypuff.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W2bmIry6t8g/UqNP46AYPjI/AAAAAAAAANU/8YGGA-Ac8V4/s400/Jigglypuff.png" width="285" /></a></div>
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We
would be integrating math (Number Sense and Measurement), reading, writing, critical thinking (which card
is better and why), visual arts, and hands-on learning through what I thought
was an engaging topic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A brief flash of defensiveness and disbelief at the rudeness
of the comment and its delivery were quickly replaced by the memory of another “this
is boring!” comment from a usually quiet student last week during a bird
watching walk through the woods behind the school. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had a conversation on the bird walk with the student who
seemed more upset and on the verge of tears rather than bored. After some
questioning, I found out that the student had expected the birds to come and
land on his outstretched hand like he’d seen on television. He was frustrated that his
expectations were much different from reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xsY0lSbrLVw/UqNTAQYS9_I/AAAAAAAAANg/IiN2pLkA19Y/s1600/bird+walk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xsY0lSbrLVw/UqNTAQYS9_I/AAAAAAAAANg/IiN2pLkA19Y/s320/bird+walk.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So when I heard the comment during the Pokémon Read Aloud, I
asked “Why do you think this is boring?” He didn’t have a ready answer. A class vote decided that we would continue with the book, but I later
met with the bored student to find out what he was really feeling. I knew that
self-regulation was an issue, after all he had shouted out in an angry voice
and disrupted the Read Aloud even though we have been over this many times. The
first thing that he said when we had our talk was that the book “has too many
words” and then he said he would rather watch the Pokemon t.v. show than listen
to a “stupid book”. I explained that since he had a great imagination, he
should try to use the visualization strategy we have used in class. Together,
we came up with a plan to give everyone the choice to draw while they listen to
the next chapters. We also discussed more appropriate ways to voice his
opinions and ideas. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<v:path arrowok="t" o:connecttype="custom" o:connectlocs="819808,489159;937120,182120;1828800,522809;2720480,182120;2837792,489159;2289260,698740;2837792,908320;2720480,1215359;1828800,874670;937120,1215359;819808,908320;1368340,698740;819808,489159"
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but I've heard “I’m bored!” enough now to know that many times my
seven-year-old students aren’t bored, but they don’t have the language or the
courage to say what they really mean. Often what they mean is “I’m frustrated”. Teachers
don’t just teach students to read, to help them build vocabulary and model
fluency through Read Alouds – we also help them gain the skills to
understand their own feelings, to express themselves appropriately, to problem
solve effectively, to self-regulate, and to be responsible and respectful members of our
classroom community. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-73340212207882716502013-12-01T13:31:00.000-08:002013-12-03T19:17:18.958-08:00The 6 C's Project - Critical Thinking<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">The 6 C's of 21st Century Teaching and Learning Project</span></u></strong></div>
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<strong>Week 2 - Critical Thinking</strong></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/tina_zita" target="_blank">Tina Zita</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewOldridge" target="_blank">Matthew Oldridge</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/jrichea" target="_blank">Jason Richea</a> <span style="color: black;">and I are thinking about the 6 C's and coming up with a definition for each C that is 6 words or less. Here are the definitions that we each came up with this week for Critical Thinking.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Ubuntu; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Jason Richea - Critical Thinking = Why we Do What we Do</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Ubuntu; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Matthew Oldridge - Critical Thinking = Making sound judgements</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Ubuntu; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Debbie Axiak - Critical Thinking = not accepting things at face value</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Ubuntu; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Tina Zita - Critical Thinking = asking questions and responding</span></span><span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Please follow my colleagues on Twitter & check out their blogs. It would be great if you would join the conversation :)</span><br />
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Jason Richea - @jrichea - <a href="http://beyondangrybirds.blogspot.ca/">http://beyondangrybirds.blogspot.ca/</a><br />
Matthew Oldridge - @matthewoldridge - <a href="http://matthewoldridge.blogspot.ca/">http://matthewoldridge.blogspot.ca/</a><br />
Tina Zita - @tina_zita - <a href="http://misszita.wordpress.com/">http://misszita.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Yonnette Dey is a PDSB VP and was my Course Director at York University's Faculty of Education - Urban Diversity Program. She has taught me so much about critical thinking - here is her definition via Twitter</span> <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZH6XyL7ULSM/UpuomtBKLBI/AAAAAAAAAM0/l36m32t0yw8/s1600/yonnette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZH6XyL7ULSM/UpuomtBKLBI/AAAAAAAAAM0/l36m32t0yw8/s320/yonnette.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is some of the thinking that led to our definitions:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Debbie Axiak @Debbie Axiak</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Critical Thinking - not accepting things at face value</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I was raised in a home where children were supposed to be seen and not heard, during a time when good little girls didn’t ask questions or disagree with adults. I developed the ability to be critical, but didn’t develop good critical thinking skills. My husband on the other hand seems to naturally be a critical thinker. He analyzes every angle, digs deeper by asking great questions, uses logic more often than gut feeling, and is open minded enough to change his original position after weighing all of the facts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I began to develop a better capacity for critical thinking when I became a parent and later went to university and took a Logic / Philosophy course which was a huge eye & mind opener. At York University’s Urban Diversity Teacher Education Program, where the focus was on Social Justice, Equity & Diversity, I learned about the work of Paulo Freire - Critical Literacy & Critical Pedagogy - about ‘learning to read the world’ and further developed my Critical Thinking skills. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I've still got a way to go, but along the way I’m helping students by teaching them to dig deeper and ask better questions, to disagree in an agreeable way, and to value themselves by gathering and analyzing evidence so that they can make good decisions.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Matthew Oldridge</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>@MatthewOldridge</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>I was first challenged on my conception of critical thinking as part of a module in a Western Master’s course. Coming up with a workable definition was a challenge. The education system uses jargon as a shield against the world. We insist on overcomplicated frameworks and definitions that render concepts amorphous, and possibly strip them of their meaning. Jargon obscures more than it reveals. </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Critical thinking is a case in point. We see and hear it peppered throughout gifted IEPs, or held up as some elusive and “out there” goal, that only some of us will reach, or a final higher state of being (a higher being who has “higher order thinking skills”). We know it when we see it or hear it, but we can’t really explain WHAT IT IS.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps none of us believe in any kind of fixed mindset thinking any more. I still believe we need the most inclusive and equitable definition of critical thinking we can get, one that all students can use. So I offer you: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> making sound judgements. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If I had to add two more words, I would say </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">making sound judgements about texts</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (if we talk about “reading the world”, as my colleague Debbie does). Learning how to think critically then, is using our information, attitudes, thoughts, and feelings to make the best possible judgement we can, in any given situation. </span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Syncopate; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jason Richea @jrichea</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have only recently begun to consider what critical thinking really means, and have thus shifted my focus on trying to develop this in my students. Up until this point I never really gave it much scrutiny; as I focused on the Knowledge component of students’ learning. I wanted to ensure students ‘knew’ content and could tell me the terms, concepts, and theories. I wanted students to regurgitate studied information and demonstrate to me that they could remember key curriculum components. Why? Well this was what I was taught to be ‘learning’. Only to realize this to be a very erroneous assumption of learning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I was always a curious child growing up - yes that annoying child who constantly asked the ‘Why’ about everything. I wanted to figure out how things work, tearing apart old radios and anything else that could be taken apart to understand the inner workings of things (I never figured it out, I just liked the destruction I think). As well, my elementary teachers couldn’t tell me to do things, without providing a reason first; and if I didn’t like their reasoning, I surely wasn’t about to do what they told me (which more often than not, provided me with a reason to visit the principals office on more than one occasion). However, I lost this somewhere. Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking those questions, and just did what I needed to get by. I believe this is an unfortunate part of our education system; or has traditionally been an unfortunate part. However, I believe the focus is now shifting dramatically away from a concentration on Knowledge, to a much greater focus on a true demonstration of learning. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Critical thinking is a much more accurate definition of learning really. The ability to describe ‘Why’ things happen, ‘How’ things happen, and the ‘Impacts’ of world happenings. In the ‘AG’ era (After Google), any student can search terms, concepts, and theories, and define them using their digital devices; but it’s much more difficult for a student to ‘Google’ the ‘How’, ‘Why’, and ‘Impacts’ of world happenings. This is why Critical Thinking is so crucially important. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When students are able to critically think, they are able to truly learn about issues, events, concepts, theories, and people from around the world. When students critically think about their own learning, they begin to realize why they perform such actions, create such assessments, and present in such ways. They begin to realize what THEY DO has an impact on the World around them. That to me, is true learning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Critical Thinking = Why we Do What we Do</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span> <span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tina Zita <complete id="goog_792126513">@Tina_Zita</complete></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-1e05e913-b551-9556-57d7-e55423c509c3"><span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we started this journey of exploring the 6Cs </span><span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Critical Thinking</span><span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> seemed like the easy post till I had to write it. How do you get critical thinking into 6 words? What is critical thinking to begin with? As I walked past a Critical Literacy poster this week I was caught off guard. That couldn’t be critical thinking. It was more than just critical literacy (although it requires critical thought), it was bigger than an 11x17 sheet and needed to extended into every part of our day. </span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioning validity</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioning the bias</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioning the motive</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioning the purpose</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioning the process</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioning the given</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioning other possibilities</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-1e05e913-b551-9556-57d7-e55423c509c3"><span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think if our learners are to be critically literate they can’t just ask the questions but must also take action. The Kids React to series on youtube demonstrates that kids do this naturally (check out </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VifdBFp5pnw" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kids React to Controversial Cheerios Commercial</span></a><span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) even at a young age. Maybe I need to be less annoyed when I hear the constant WHY questions from my nephews and niece. We have to give our learners the opportunity to question in a safe environment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In preparing our learners for the future, it is paramount that they can see past the obvious, that they don’t just accept what they hear or view, but use that critical lense when observing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1e05e913-b551-4746-ad88-6b2ec6c00e3c"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Critical thinking: asking questions and responding.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #20124d; font-family: Ubuntu; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-14262405182692464432013-11-25T18:24:00.000-08:002013-12-01T13:32:22.049-08:00The 6 C's Project - CreativityAbout a week ago <a href="http://tina_zita/" target="_blank">Tina_Zita</a> & @MatthewOldridge asked the question:<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>"How do we measure creativity, <br />critical thinking, communication, or any of the 6 C's of 21st Century Learning <br />without a clear understanding of what we are hoping to <br />achieve?"</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://beyondangrybirds.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Jason Richea</a> and I decided to join Tina and Matthew in taking on the task of defining the 6 C's, beginning with creativity. You can read all of our original input <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o66KjAO_VvnC0lnkYZJj3PEnVy3u1XkaI85SmzWurt4/edit" target="_blank">here</a>. The next step was coming up with a 6 word definition. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">My assessment hat seemed to be glued on. I kept coming up with success criteria for a creative product. Then, I got stuck on the 6 word limit. While blow drying my hair this morning I wondered if I could get around the 6 word limit by using symbols - and I pictured something. When I got to school I tried to create it - ahhh, no Photoshop! So I quickly drew this (those are hands holding a brain, which represents imagination).</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rE0FDVGaYy0/UpP2GVRbpCI/AAAAAAAAAMk/4YW7EN_5y5I/s1600/blank+hands.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rE0FDVGaYy0/UpP2GVRbpCI/AAAAAAAAAMk/4YW7EN_5y5I/s200/blank+hands.JPG" width="150" /></a> I painted at recess. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pUr1Lbt4tuw/UpPkLSrMKrI/AAAAAAAAAMI/a0vhOu-PgHM/s1600/painting+hands+and+brain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pUr1Lbt4tuw/UpPkLSrMKrI/AAAAAAAAAMI/a0vhOu-PgHM/s200/painting+hands+and+brain.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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At the Tim Horton's drive thru at lunch I finally came up with my 6 word definition and went back to school to put this together.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-No964LWIxZk/UpPmf94I97I/AAAAAAAAAMU/RMO-qxrgSOU/s1600/Creativity+Is.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-No964LWIxZk/UpPmf94I97I/AAAAAAAAAMU/RMO-qxrgSOU/s400/Creativity+Is.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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Driving home, I wasn't satisfied. The hands were too stagnant - they should be transforming something! (and now I see that I wrote trasnforming - oops). Even though I liked that it was a visual representation & used symbols, my definition really called for some movement. I got the Play-Doh out and borrowed my husband's hands and filmed a quick Vine. Wasn't happy with it. So we tried something else and experienced audio problems. Finally, we came up with this:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyGS2vLHKblvg7ToPDfOoCQkz97e7LBTSFczg4yXvaxElGO3PvB1z6D3lL5RCWfb0Ygp5VGLpx4j6Pdxuz5xg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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It is still not exactly what I wanted, but it makes me laugh.</div>
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<strong>Creativity: transforming imagination into new, relevant products.</strong></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Please
visit:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Jason
Richea's</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> blog at </span><a href="http://beyondangrybirds.blogspot.ca/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">http://beyondangrybirds.blogspot.ca/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> and follow him on Twitter
@jrichea<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Tina
Zita's</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> blog at </span><a href="http://misszita.wordpress.com/"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">http://misszita.wordpress.com/</span></b></a><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">and follow her on
Twitter @tina_zita </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">and follow <b>Matthew Oldridge</b> @MatthewOldridge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Join the conversation & let us know how you define CREATIVITY and the 5 other C's</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-27132335518918707882013-11-19T14:12:00.000-08:002013-11-20T18:20:42.970-08:00Bullying, Violence, Pictures Books - Oh My!This week our school is doing several activities for Bullying Prevention and Awareness Month. <br />
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In class today, I read <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/I-Want-My-Hat-Back/dp/0763655988" target="_blank">I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen</a><br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41fQgc37gWL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41fQgc37gWL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" id="original-main-image" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41fQgc37gWL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" /></a><br />
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I thought it would be great because I've been hearing a lot of 'somebody took my.....' and because it might help prompt some discussion about the difference between bullying and conflict and how we can Stand Up rather than Stand By. Our slogan has been Choose Action.<br />
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At the point in the book where the bear realizes who has his hat - several students started chanting<br />
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"fight, fight, fight"<br />
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I was quite taken back. These are seven year olds who thought that the bear should solve his problem with violence - despite the fact that we'd just watched a video and talked about 'choosing nonviolent responses'.<br />
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Some of the chanters said "but that's how we solve things in hockey" & "the bear has to make sure that the rabbit doesn't do it again - he has to stand up and not stand by".<br />
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Yikes!<br />
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This book has won the E.B. White Read Aloud Award and is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. I've read it before, but didn't understand the book the same way that some of my grade 2 students did.<br />
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After some more discussion, I finished the story. Well, the chanting group loved it and cheered loudly. They were able to infer (because it isn't explicitly stated) that the bear ate the rabbit.<br />
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"See Mrs. Axiak - the bear didn't just Stand By - he CHOSE ACTION".<br />
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Not only does the bear eat the rabbit - he lies about it. <br />
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Once again, the lesson I planned for my students turned into some lessons for me, such as<br />
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- read more critically, think critically about the author's message & try to imagine how a group of 7 year olds might understand the book/lesson & many more!<br />
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Update: Today we went on a walking trip to the public library. The librarian read the book <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/That-Is-Not-Good-Idea/dp/0062203096" target="_blank">That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems</a><br />
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SPOILER ALERT*** The duck boils the wolf and makes soup for the ducklings.<br />
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There is a lot of talk about the violence in video games that kids play 'these days', but now that I'm seeing stories through the eyes of seven-year-old students, I'm noticing a lot of violence used in the service of sending a message.<br />
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As an adult, I guess I've been getting the messages without thinking critically about the way that the message is delivered, or the way that younger children might interpret the message differently than I do. I survived the violent stories of my childhood, like Little Red Riding Hood (wolf tries to eat girl but gets chopped to pieces by a huntsman with an axe) and The 3 Little Pigs (who almost get killed by wolf but then they boil him alive), etc. and I 'turned out alright', but I'll definitely be reading children's books more critically from now on.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-80007345552382353152013-11-09T10:08:00.000-08:002013-11-09T10:16:20.615-08:00Specific FeedbackAfter reading some books and watching a few short videos about Remembrance Day, students noticed that poppies, Peace Doves, crosses and soldiers were the most prominent symbols associated with this important day.<br />
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At home, I made a batch of salt dough and sculpted a quick salt-dough Peace Dove. My 23 year-old daughter said "It looks like a baby seal with bad wings". It is true.<br />
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In our grade 2 class, we have been giving and using specific feedback across all areas of the curriculum. This dove/seal provided another opportunity 1) for me to model an openness to feedback 2) for students to see that giving and accepting specific feedback helps everyone improve, and 3) for students to think about details and success criteria before beginning a task.<br />
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When I showed them the seal/dove, many were delighted and gave me positive feedback. When I told them what my daughter had said, showed them a picture of a real dove as well as several excellent examples of dove sculptures on Google images, and asked them to be critical and to help me improve my next dove. They gave me very this feedback:<br />
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Students were then given their own salt dough and began sculpting. Some students were frustrated because they weren't able to get the results that they could see in their minds. Many students created their dove and then kneaded the dough back into a ball to start over - again and again. Some students used pencils and other tools at their desks to create details in the dough. <br />
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When students finished their doves and wanted to know what I thought, I reminded them that I wasn't the expert - that the students were the ones who gave me great pointers, so they should ask at least 2 of their peers to give them feedback. <br />
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Here are just a few of the doves that are waiting to be dried and then painted.<br />
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Throughout the process we have been making mistakes, solving problems together, communicating effectively, getting frustrated and then demonstrating resilience. On Thursday, when it was time to paint, we encountered even more frustrations - a few of the doves were damaged and a few people were unhappy with their work. Most students painted their doves but not everyone was happy with the results.<br />
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Despite the icky feeling of dried salt dough on our hands, the mess we have to clean, and the many frustrations we have encountered - students asked if we could start again from the beginning on Monday. <br />
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I'm not encouraging perfectionism - I'm encouraging students to care about their work, to not give up when things go wrong, to accept & give help ...... many of the 6 C's associated with 21st Century skills.<br />
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<a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/FullanReport_EN_07.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/FullanReport_EN_07.pdf" border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QrfsX31UY14/Un538veYhdI/AAAAAAAAALk/vzC1z-YCOgU/s320/6+cs.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/FullanReport_EN_07.pdf">http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/FullanReport_EN_07.pdf</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-43716828838107171312013-11-02T19:44:00.000-07:002013-11-09T10:10:09.356-08:00Creating Galimotos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
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This week in our grade 2 class, we read <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=galimoto&sprefix=galimoto%2Caps%2C308" target="_blank">Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams.</a> I posted the <a href="http://vimeo.com/6277730" target="_blank">Reading Rainbow episode</a> on our class web page so that parents could watch it with their child. </div>
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The class came up with a definition for galimoto - a toy vehicle made of wire. I explained to the class that I had purchased 600 pipe cleaners so that everyone could make their own galimoto, but we had to figure out how many pipe cleaners each student should receive. This could be a difficult question for grade 2 students, but we've been working on problem solving and students were up for the challenge. Many students drew pictures to solve the problem, others counted by 20s since there are 20 students in the class, and a few students were able to solve the problem with division.</div>
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When we reflected on the book and the activities, most students agreed that building their galimoto was the best part. They said it was difficult - but fun. Getting pipe cleaners to take the shape of a vehicle required a lot of creative problem solving. I'm so proud of how they worked together to solve problems and the best part was that they didn't give up.</div>
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After building their galimoto, students took a photograph of their work and then used the Skitch app to label their photo.</div>
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Next week, we will be comparing our galimotos to a variety of toy vehicles in our work on Movement in Science. We will also be writing about our favourite toys and talking about how our toys are different than the toys that Kondi plays with.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-21173317557688409882013-10-24T18:27:00.000-07:002013-10-24T18:27:45.454-07:00Where the Magic Happens - #ECOO13As I drove to Niagara Falls this morning to attend the <a href="http://bringittogether.ca/" target="_blank">#ecoo13 Bring IT Together conference</a>, I was feeling a little anxious. I didn't know if it was because I was feeling guilty for leaving my class for two days, or if it was driving to a new place with bright sun in my eyes that made seeing my exit difficult, or if it was because I'd be getting the chance to meet and learn from some incredible people.<br />
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Then I gave myself a little pep talk - thinking about a scene from the T.V. show "Girls"<br />
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Yes, it would have been easier to go to school today. No application for funding, no lesson plans to leave behind, no waking up before the crack of dawn or driving for an hour. </div>
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But pushing myself beyond what is 'easier' or comfortable (and I'm NOT saying that teaching is easy) might be scary, but it is also exciting. The 'magic' often happens outside of your comfort zone.</div>
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I gave myself a little pep talk - told myself that I should be proud of myself for doing whatever it took to get to ECOO13, because it is something that interests me and will be good for me & for my students and co-workers when I share my learning back at school. Go Debbie!<br />
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Then I met Magdalena Front @<span class="screen-name">TechMagFront who wasn't just attending ECOO, she gave a fantastic presentation on Projects for Fostering Creativity. I listened to <a href="http://heatherdurnin.com/" target="_blank">Heather Durnin</a> who shared the ways she has been Connecting With Purpose with her intermediate students - and she WOWed me. I got to meet @<span class="screen-name">LeBlancPeter and @dougpete - two men who have taught me so much via Twitter over the last six months.</span></span><br />
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<span class="screen-name"><span class="screen-name">Needless to say, I felt a little silly for feeling any anxiety about just showing up and learning when so many people were really putting themselves out there and sharing so much of themselves and so much great information.</span></span><br />
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<span class="screen-name"><span class="screen-name">Day 2 tomorrow - no anxiety & no guilt, just gratefulness for all of the presenters and excitement about all of the learning I'm getting to do.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-60581212076069528292013-10-14T08:37:00.000-07:002013-10-14T08:37:34.046-07:00Who Brings KFC to a Turkey Dinner?Driving alone for hours with the radio must have put me in a nostalgic frame of mind on Saturday. I heard a song that reminded me of a wedding I went to as a kid (Knock 3 Times), songs that reminded me of students I've taught & that I still think about all the time (Somebody That I Used To Know), and songs that took me back to places and times that I thought were long forgotten.<br />
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As I pulled off the highway with the intention to stop at a grocery store to buy the things I would contribute to the Thanksgiving dinner at my dad's farm, I saw a KFC store and pulled in there instead. I thought about the jingle "Colonel Sanders and his boys make it finger lickin' good" and about how getting Kentucky Fried Chicken was a huge deal when I was a kid. I bought a big bucket and got back into the car for the final leg of the drive - memories of childhood, my sisters, mom &dad flooding in.<br />
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When I arrived, smiling brightly, my brother-in-law asked "Who brings Kentucky Fried chicken to a Thanksgiving turkey dinner?" He looked seriously concerned about my mental health.<br />
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My sisters and my dad were smiling - I didn't have to explain it to them. <br />
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BTW, my brother-in-law was the first to grab a piece of the chicken :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-25152057490943605812013-10-06T10:23:00.002-07:002013-10-06T10:23:14.667-07:00Thank You Alec, Tina and CarlaI've been thinking a lot about why I was so energized by Alec Couros's presentation at PDSB's Leadership Launch in the post I started <a href="http://debbieaxiak.blogspot.ca/2013/10/inspired-by-alec-couros-leading.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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And why I love Carla Pereira's post Bring<a href="http://bringtheawesomealways.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Awesome Always</a> and Tina Zita's post <a href="http://misszita.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/can-we-stop-longing-for-the-good-old-days/" target="_blank">Can We Stop Longing for the Good Old Days</a><br />
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The positive energy, the honesty, the warmth and the passion that these people bring into my life is incredible. I have had the pleasure of meeting each of these people in person just once, but through Twitter, I am able to have a connection with them that wouldn't otherwise be possible.<br />
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These connections don't replace my in-person relationships with friends and family - they add value to my life both professionally and personally.<br />
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Alec Couros, Carla Pereira and Tina Zita are incredibly hard working and positive people. They make me laugh, make me think, inspire me, and best of all they shine the light on the possibilities in education, in relationships, connectedness, and in teaching & learning. <br />
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Thank you Tina, Carla & Alec!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-23264794845770435962013-10-06T09:43:00.000-07:002013-10-06T09:43:33.422-07:00SpellingOur school has a spelling program. Everyone in the grade gets the same spelling words and work. I'm new to the school, and new to primary, so I just went with it (even though I wasn't 100% comfortable with it).<br />
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I think that learning to spell is important. I think that some spelling work really helps with phonics and reading. But I was never convinced that spelling tests on Fridays helped everyone become better spellers.<br />
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This past Friday, there were students who got every word correct on the test and there were students who didn't get any words correct on the test. A few students didn't even try - their paper was blank except for their name.<br />
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Could they tell I wasn't 100% committed to this spelling program? Or was it because they thought it was too hard, or because they really didn't care? I'm sure there were as many reasons as there are children.<br />
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On Friday afternoon we had a discussion about Thanksgiving coming up and what we are thankful for. Everyone was involved, everyone had something to say. Everybody planned a Thank You card for someone in their life. <br />
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As they completed their rough draft(s) and final products- EVERYONE CARED ABOUT SPELLING! Some of the words they NEEDED help with had been on the test that day, but now they were interested, now they CARED.<br />
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When recess came, nobody wanted to go outside - they wanted to finish their work. This has never happened before. I asked them to check their foreheads for signs of fever. I called our Vice Principal and told her that something amazing was happening in our classroom. I wrote a note to parents on our classroom website. <br />
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The students were involved in an authentic task and they wanted it to be neat, they wanted it to be special. I have never seen them work so hard on a writing task. I'm so proud of their hard work and so interested to see if this will be replicated when we get started on our blogs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-12118082795538019732013-10-02T18:03:00.001-07:002013-10-02T18:03:35.940-07:00Inspired by Alec Couros - Leading a Learning CultureToday I was very fortunate to have been a participant in Peel's MFO Leadership Launch.<br />
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I'd had a tough few days and I almost didn't get there, but when it was over, I felt energized. On the drive home I wondered what exactly had inspired this renewed sense of excitement about teaching and learning.<br />
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Was it the energy in the room? Was it getting the chance to meet <span class="profile-field">Carla Pereira</span> and others who I've only ever 'met' online before this? Was it catching up with colleagues I've worked with in the past and meeting new ones? Was it because I'm part of a phenomenal school board?<br />
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Yes to all of the above! But it was more than that.<br />
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Alec Couros is an engaging speaker whose warmth and humour captivates everyone. It wouldn't matter if a participant was already a Connected Educator with a huge PLN or if they had never heard of a hashtag before, because Alec, like every great teacher, provided a safe environment with multiple entry points. <br />
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Alec Couros inspired me to think further about the possibilities that connection allows us.<br />
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I'm going to keep thinking and will post again tomorrow.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-1530338497737529722013-09-30T16:58:00.000-07:002013-09-30T16:58:01.471-07:00Global Read Aloud & The Frog PrinceToday we started the novel <u>Mary McGuire</u> as part of <a href="http://www.globalreadaloud.com/" target="_blank">The Global Read Aloud.</a> <br />
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In Chapter 1 we are introduced to the main character, Marty McGuire, who is a bit of a tomboy. The teacher announces that the class will be doing a play of The Frog Prince.<br />
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A Term One focus for our grade 2s is to be able to retell a story, so we read a version of The Frog Prince fairy tale. Students then had the choice to retell the story in pictures and words, orally, or to use the puppet print-outs from the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/misc/stories/misc-thefrogprince/" target="_blank">BBC's CBeebies website</a>. The puppet option was the favourite.<br />
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Students formed their own groups and had the task of coming up with a plan. They decided who would cut out and colour each puppet, which backgrounds they would use, and who would be in charge of the voice for each puppet.<br />
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A few students had the idea to film the puppet shows and to put them onto YouTube. Someone in class said that they think that their video will go viral :) We will continue to work on the puppets and backgrounds this week and then we will start video taping the performances.<br />
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Stay tuned for the videos!!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780106976689658119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547855863376729844.post-55993136214108250152013-09-18T19:00:00.000-07:002013-09-18T19:00:50.120-07:00Self-Portraits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Students explored colour mixing with chalk pastels on a regular sheet of paper. Next, we placed a photograph printed on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper inside a plastic page protector and students used Sharpie markers to trace the outline of their face. The photograph was taken out of the plastic sheet protector & we inserted their chalk pastel sheets. Simple but cool!<br />
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