MORE...... MAKING THINKING VISIBLE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Victoria Terrace is a small but mighty school in Fergus, Ontario! In our mission statement we strive to help our students become "Stewards of the Earth". Since 2009, we have been been a Gold Eco School. For the last three years we are very proud of the distinction of becoming a Platinum Eco School. One of the ways we develop our students knowledge of environmental issues is through school wide inquiry. This year we developed a TTLP proposal for another inquiry, which would incorporate the "21st Century Competencies". Through effective STEAM, Makerspace and Design challenges we wanted our curious students to answer the essential question…”Can Fergus be a Fossil Fuel Free Community?” In an effort to develop the 21st Century Competencies with our students we wanted them to solve messy, complex problems and be actively engaged citizens. Our students will be empowered with the knowledge that they can have a personal impact on our community through environmental stewardship and becoming ethical entrepreneurs. Please join us!
When you see one of these green "buttons" just click on it! You will be taken to a site to help deepen your understanding of having an Inquiry Stance in your classroom.
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"The Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP) is an annual project-based professional learning opportunity for experienced classroom teachers. The program funds proposals from classroom teachers seeking peer leadership roles in curriculum, instructional practice or supporting other teachers."
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Over the past few years, many of our teachers have participated in book studies to deepen our understanding of different pedagogy. It is amazing how a glass of wine and a good book can motivate teachers to collaborate together. This opportunity to share ideas and develop new knowledge has helped create a staff with a very cohesive philosophy when educating our students...and it is lots of fun! Our first book study was Natural Curiosity which is an incredible resource for starting inquiry in your school or classroom. The book was developed at OISE and is linked to Ontario curriculum. There are examples of exemplary inquiry units at different grade levels. As part of our TLLP, we have read "21Century Competencies", which made us aware of the traits our students need to take forward into their future. We are going to be reading "Invent to Learn" to help us all join the Maker Movement with greater understanding. Below you will also find other books we have used to learn together or tried and true resources we recommend.
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BOOK STUDIES
"Environmental Inquiry is an overarching approach to Environmental Education that combines Inquiry-based Learning, Experiential Learning, Integrated Learnig and Stewardship in a dynamic and cohesive four branch pedagogical framework." (Google Books)
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"Visible Thinking is a research-based approach to teaching thinking, begun at Harvard's Project Zero, that develops students' thinking dispositions, while at the same time deepening their understanding of the topics they study." (Google Books)
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These are questions that are not answerable with finality in a single lesson or a brief sentence—and that's the point. Their aim is to stimulate thought, to provoke inquiry, and to spark more questions, including thoughtful student questions, not just pat answers. They are provocative and generative. are used to stimulate students discussions and promote a deeper understanding of the content. (Google Books)
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"To support this goal, the government committed to defining and developing measures for higher-order skills, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and entrepreneurship, or what can be called “21st century competencies”. (Google Books)
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"Join the maker movement!There's a global technological and creative revolution underway. Amazing new tools, materials and skills turn us all into makers!" (Google Books)
"Invent To Learn ... this maker movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing."
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"Makerspaces: Your questions answered here! Get the nuts and bolts on imagining, planning, creating, and managing a cutting-edge Makerspace for your school community". (Google Books)
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OTHER TRIED AND TRUE RESOURCES
"EduGAINS is a website that houses ministry developed resources to support policies and programs related to improved learning and teaching - Kindergarten to Grade 12 - in Ontario schools."
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"The book covers an important topic, one needed to develop thinkers and children's curiosity for the jobs of the twenty-first century" (Google Books)
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Discover numerous practical ways — setting up "wonder centres", gathering data through the senses, teaching nonfiction craft — you can create a classroom where students' questions and observations are a part of daily learning. (Google Books)
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"This professional resource provides a clear and practical tool for educators, curriculum leaders, and administrators! Highly visual and accessible, it explains the inquiry process and offers practical suggestions and tools for successfully implementing inquiry-based learning in the classroom." (Google Books)
ALBERTA EDUCATION FOCUS ON LEARNING: A TEACHERS GUIDE TO IMPLEMENTING INQUIRY IN THE CLASSROOM |
WATER INQUIRY
About three years ago, we started to do school wide inquiries. Since we were a GOLD-ECO school at the time, we decided to start with wondering about water. Initially, we turned the Gym into a Water World! All of the children from Kindergarten to Grade Six, came to play at different water centres. Through this play experience we wanted the students to get their "minds on" what they knew about water and what they might like to know. Then we wanted all of the children from Grade One to Kindergarten to ask a question they have about water, since all good inquiries are driven by good questions! These questions needed to be generated by our students so that there was authentic learning. These were things that they were actually wondering about. We took all of the questions and sorted them into different areas of interest. ...from "Why is water blue? to "How is water treated?" The teachers used a Q-chart (See Essential Questions) to help the children develop more thoughtful questions. The questions were sorted into groups which had a similar theme. Then each teacher picked a question that they wanted to help the students explore. The children got a sheet to pick their top three questions and then each child was assigned a group. Over a few weeks the students would meet with the teacher for a 100 minute block to explore their question. As questions were answered and new ones generated, this information was documented and displayed on bulletin boards to make all of the learning visible. The one thing we did learn form this experience was that we did not culminate this inquiry and explore the questions with all of the students. We did not build knowledge as a collective group. We felt the children might learn from looking at the bulletin boards but we did not evaluate this in any way. This was something that needed to be remembered and explored for our next inquiry. However, the children were interested in the bulletin board about how plastic water bottles are affecting the environment. An effective bulletin board Re- Think What You Drink" was a powerful reminder about how much garbage these bottles create. The students became aware that there were five gyres in the ocean which are filled with plastic. Hmmm...this made us wonder about next years inquiry..."Garbage and how man is affecting the environment." In the meantime, Barb Caunter continued to raise awareness through announcements and bake sales. With her leadership the children raised money so that every child in the school could have a reusable water bottle. This was our first foray into ethical entrepreneurialism. The children were empowered to change the world by using these bottles daily.
GARBAGE INQUIRY
The next year, we started the garbage inquiry with a provocation. We had two bulletin boards to inspire thinking around this topic. One bulletin board said "What do we wonder about garbage?" All of the students participated by generated a question and they were displayed on the bulletin board. Since the children were so interested in the five gyres of plastic in the oceans worldwide, we put up pictures to get them thinking. They responded to the question "What do you notice?" on a large wonder jar. Once again, we took all of the questions and sorted them into piles of similar interest. The students got to pick their top three inquiry questions. We made a real effort to give each child their number one choice so that they had personal interest in helping a group answer a question. Once again the groups documented their learning in many different ways which are displayed in the school and you can see below. However, consolidating our new learning at the end continued to be a challenge. We just seemed to run out of time and loose momentum. After some discussion, we thought about using Knowledge Building Circles with future inquiries (See Making Thinking Visible for more information on this strategy). We wanted to see the students understanding throughout the process and keep developing questions to keep the inquiry going. Once again, Mrs. Caunter had another Bake Sale to raise funds for reusable bags for every family in the school. She wanted the children to be reminded to make an ethical choice while they were out shopping. The students were reminded to use the bags to reduce the plastic in our oceans. See 21st Century Learning and scroll down to Ethical Entrepreneurs....Boyan Slat's Ted Talk. As a fifteen year old, Boyan created an invention to rid the gyres of plastic perhaps even in ten years. To help him out the folks at Victoria Terrace would ask you to join us and stop using plastic water bottles and products with micro plastics in them (ie. face scrubs)! Thanks!
Here are two examples of the "Chalk Talk" . Go to MORE....MAKING THINKING VISIBLE to learn more about this routine.
The next year, we wanted the students to develop an understanding of renewable and non renewable energy. However, we wanted to try something more cross curricular. We decided to incorporate art and poetry into this inquiry. Our essential question was "Can we survive on renewable energy?" (See-More...Essential Questions) Each teacher took a source of energy to explore with the children. The primary classes were divided into groups and then rotated through the different teachers. This took us several weeks. We used the Headline Routine (See Making Thinking Visible) to document the Big Ideas about each source of energy. The students seemed engaged in this inquiry and it was lovely to see them show their understanding in creative and artistic ways. Our learning was documented throughout the school and really looked beautiful! We were starting to build knowledge about energy and we had momentum! Suddenly, we thought about asking the question..."Can Fergus be a Fossil Fuel Free Community/" and our TLLP was born!
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CAN FERGUS BE A FOSSIL FUEL FREE COMMUNITY?
January 2017
January 2017
AND SO WE BEGIN OUR TLLP!.......It has taken a true commitment from the staff at VT to bring us to this inquiry. Over the years we have learned together and buil tour knowledge around different pedagogy through our book studies. There has been valuable discourse which helped us create a shared understanding of inquiry, essential questions, making thinking visible and 21st century learning. We have tried different approaches when doing inquiry with the children and learned from our challenges. As a group we have created a growth mindset. We always strive to create an environment where students who are happy to come back to school the next day. Although we may differ in our approach, most of us are prepared and excited for the next step in our journey. It is such a joy to have so many educators in a school sharing a common goal and passion for our students.
As the interest in the Maker Movement began to percolate in our school, we wondered how we could bring STEAM into our inquiry. Perhaps our students could develop knowledge around renewable energy and then make something themselves or in a group to help Fergus become fossil fuel free (try saying that five times quickly..seems to be one of our biggest challenges so far!). After reading "21st Century Competencies" (See that section for our learning), we also know there are qualities we need to develop in our students. These residuals of education, such as perseverance, commitment, grit, compassion, problem solving and the list goes on, are what we want our children to develop to be successful in life. Throughout our inquiry we will need to foster a growth mindset in our students to prepare them for the amazing discoveries they will make and we can't even imagine yet!
With the positive encouragement of our principal, Mrs. Shannon we decided to submit a proposal to the Ministry for a TLLP and grant. As there was a very quick timeline, she cleared the way for two teachers to prepare this proposal. Through extra planning and some effort we submitted the document. Having been unsuccessful in the past with the endeavor, we had some trepidation. However, our fingers were crossed and our hopes high. It really does pay to never give up as the Ministry accepted this Teacher led Inquiry. Truly, we are very grateful for the resources that are now available to us, especially for creating a maker movement in our school. V.T. is a small school with limited resources and this support will immediately impact our children as we work on creating students who "yearn to learn" now and into their future. We would encourage all teachers in Ontario to give it a try...it's like winning the educational lottery! See the TLLP button at the top of this page to get more information.
As the interest in the Maker Movement began to percolate in our school, we wondered how we could bring STEAM into our inquiry. Perhaps our students could develop knowledge around renewable energy and then make something themselves or in a group to help Fergus become fossil fuel free (try saying that five times quickly..seems to be one of our biggest challenges so far!). After reading "21st Century Competencies" (See that section for our learning), we also know there are qualities we need to develop in our students. These residuals of education, such as perseverance, commitment, grit, compassion, problem solving and the list goes on, are what we want our children to develop to be successful in life. Throughout our inquiry we will need to foster a growth mindset in our students to prepare them for the amazing discoveries they will make and we can't even imagine yet!
With the positive encouragement of our principal, Mrs. Shannon we decided to submit a proposal to the Ministry for a TLLP and grant. As there was a very quick timeline, she cleared the way for two teachers to prepare this proposal. Through extra planning and some effort we submitted the document. Having been unsuccessful in the past with the endeavor, we had some trepidation. However, our fingers were crossed and our hopes high. It really does pay to never give up as the Ministry accepted this Teacher led Inquiry. Truly, we are very grateful for the resources that are now available to us, especially for creating a maker movement in our school. V.T. is a small school with limited resources and this support will immediately impact our children as we work on creating students who "yearn to learn" now and into their future. We would encourage all teachers in Ontario to give it a try...it's like winning the educational lottery! See the TLLP button at the top of this page to get more information.
We wanted a "making thinking visible" strategy to clearly see what the student's opinions were to this question. We decided to use the"Tug of War" strategy. (See Making Thinking Visible for this and more strategies). However, we have coined the phrase "Tug of Thought" at our school. Making thinking visible strategies provide formative assessment in so many ways. Each child is responsible for sharing their thinking throughout the learning. The teacher can immediately determine what the students know and what misunderstandings they have. By using this strategy we wanted our children to understand that although they have an opinion right now it might change over time, through new knowledge or listening attentively to others. (See Making Thinking Visible-Attentive Listening). Initially, we used a Google Doc for the teachers to access to remind them of this strategy. Then to get minds on renewable energy we asked all of the students from Grade 1 to 6 to watch a video and participate in a webinar about wind turbines. They were asked to fill out a "What do you Wonder?" and the opinion sheet . The opinion sheets were hung in our library for all of the students to see and it is still there today! The sheets were categorized from strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. Although many students thought it was possible....many did not. How could we sway those opinions? We still need to get the students to fill out their second response to see if their are any changes.
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We realized that we needed to do some direct teaching about the different sources of energy. In order for the students to make an informed decision about Fergus being fossil fuel free, they need to develop some background knowledge and learn some big ideas. We divided all the children in grades 1-6 into cross grade groupings. Each teacher helped the students explore the Pros and Cons of each kind of energy. (See the Staff Folder above to see how we did this). For several weeks the children would rotate through the teachers and their understanding were documented throughout the school to make their learning visible. After each session, the students would each fill out an opinion paper. They were to think about whether that source of energy could be used in Fergus. Some teachers had a Tug of Thought before the children filled in their opinion paper. A few times during this process, all of the students would gather in the gym to have a Knowledge Building Circle to share their new understandings. It is really quite amazing to have all of the students together, generally listening attentively to each other's opinions, to develop their own understandings. It was wonder-ful!
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HYDRO PRESENTATION
The primary children went to this presentation to develop their understanding of electricity and hydro power.
The primary children went to this presentation to develop their understanding of electricity and hydro power.
Each class participated in Dr. Green's webinar to develop the student's understanding of the Pros and Cons of wind energy. Their learning was documented in the Library to make their thinking visible. During the webinar classes could submit questions for Dr. Green to answer. This was a very engaging and thought provoking was to develop new understandings of a source of renewable energy. |
How to Design the Bet Wind Farm Blade in Tinkercad- a STEM Challenge and Lesson Plan for Teachers. (instructibles.com)
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Katie, from Trec Education came to teach the students about wind turbines. This is a charity "delivering renewable energy education to students across Canada". Initially the students had some direct instruction and then they go to build wind turbines. Then they conducted experiments with the turbines. These hands on activities were very engaging to the children. A very worthwhile activity to help develop understanding for our students. A charity delivering renewable energy education to people across Canada
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Some of the children in the Environment Club made smores with a solar oven! A very engaging activity!
At the end of the year, we had our final Knowledge Building Circle. The students were asked again if they though Fergus could be fossil fuel free. It was so apparent by their thoughtful responses that many of the students had developed a greater understanding of renewable energy. As the children left the gym, they were asked to respond to the essential question by building a little town. It is obvious by the number of blocks in "Fergus can be fossil fuel free" that some of their opinions have been shifted from disagreeing (See the Tug of Thought above). Now that the children believe it is possible, it will be incredible to see what they will develop and create.
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One of the things we discussed was that our Pros and Cons were not necessarily clearly documented throughout the school. One of our teachers, Tiffany, felt that creating an Aurasma for each source of energy with some of the students would be a way to make the documentation more interactive. At one staff meeting, she taught us all how to use Aurasma as well. See Making Thinking Visible for more information about this technology.
CONNECT CONFERENCE 2017
Barb trying out a virtual tour of a helicopter flight at "Let's Talk Science". We have done work around questioning with this amazing organization. Go to their website and check out Idea Park. There are amazing resources created by teachers to use for Science lessons.
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As part of our TLLP grant, we received funding to go to the CONNECT conference. We were particuliary excited to see TIffany Poirier who is a true "Inquiry Ninja". See Essential Questions for more information about how she uses philosophical questions to develop deeper thinking in students. Another keynote speaker was Shiza Shahid who is a true ethical entrepreneur. See "21st Century Learners" to learn more about her inspirational journey and how to encourage students to think ethically about what they are creating.
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FINDING WAYS TO PURCHASE THINGS FOR OUR MAKER SPACE
The Grade One Two and Grade Six Buddies Renewable Energy City
Since our grade sixes are graduating, we wanted them to have an opportunity to answer the question "Can Fergus be Fossil Fuel Free?" in a design challenge. They were paired with the younger students to collaborate and share their thinking. Presumably they would have more knowledge than the little ones on this topic. CHALLENGE- Build a town with similiar buildings to Fergus. Every building needed to have a renewable source of energy. The students were encouraged to think outside the box and be innovative and try to think of something new. They were shown some new ideas like Tesla to stimulate their imaginations. However, the children generally used already existing forms of renewable energy like solar and wind power. They were not very innovative in their thinking so this is something we will need to work on during next year. How do we get students to think outside box? It is also important to have a success criteria and design process template to work from. We felt they needed more time to plan and brainstorm ideas. It should be said it was in the last two weeks of school and time was of the essence. It was awesome that there was some innovative thinking to be celebrated. One of the projects was a windmill farm outside of town with solar panels on the blades to generate more electricity from the town. Another student thought about using hydro power but there is no real big waterfall in of creating a hydro pipe that kept pumping the same water so that the habitat of the fish would not be disturbed. The other happy byproduct of this design challenge was that the younger children had the opportunity to play with this town, thus making the thinking visible and interactive. |
UNPLUGGED CODING: SCAFFOLDING CODING OPPORTUNITIES MELISSA SECO for Louis Kool and Galt Barb went to this workshop hoping to win a Cubetto! Sadly no luck but she did buy one with the proceeds from her bake sale, as well as Tegu magnetic blocks! This workshop developed her understanding of unplugged coding activities for primary students. She was also able to play with other products from Louis Kool and Galt. Other products that interested her wer barrier games, loose parts for building and other coding games (ie. STEM Robot Mouse Coding Activitiy set). |
SUMMER 2017
MAKER-ED TO
Barb and Tiffany went to this opportunity to learn and share with like minded educators about the Maker Movement. There were hands on experiences with Squishy and paper circuits. They saw YouTube video on how to make an elastic powered car. There were great speakers, especially one who showed how to set up her learning commons. Barb met Kim Meldrum and she was impressed by her book "Assessment that Matters- Using Technology to Personalize Learning". |
JULY 2017
TLLP PLANNING SESSION Although you are advised not to work on the TLLP during the summer, Barb and I wanted to get a jump on things. We headed up to Sauble Beach and took a couple of days to develop a plan of action for the TLLP. We worked on formalizing our SMART goals for the year ahead. Phew, really glad we have already started with our colleagues and kids back in January!! I got this website started and had fun the rest of the summer creating it. The sign under Ocean View said Margaritaville..that helped with the planning too!! |
TRYING TO CREATE A DESIGN PROCESS TEMPLATE?!
After meeting at the cottage, one job was to create a design process template to use with all of our students throughout the year. It seemed like an easy task, as there are many such templates on the web, such at the ones included here. HOWEVER, I had started to read "Invent to Learn" in preparation for next years book study. In Chapter Three- Thinking About Thinking, the authors had a lot to say about using these templates or "models" throughout the design or scientific process. This quote caused an "Aha!" moment...."What we fear with imposed design cycle diagrams ad checklists is that children will see any set of steps as prescriptive, and as much as we tell them that it doesn't have to be done exactly like this, they will worry they aren't "doing it right." In actuality, ..., these are not distinct, sequential steps, but steps that exist in many different forms. The second problem with any design cycle diagram is that none will be perfect. Sometimes a project will require a lot of iteration during the creative process, sometimes a lot of fixing , and those iterations may happen without any sharing or testing. Design cycle diagrams are meant merely to suggest the iterative, forward-process nature of the work to be done, and the tinkering mindset that goes along with it." In the book they developed TMI, partly because there is too much information, instruction, interruption and interruptions wutg many of these models, especially for young learners. They created TMI- THINK, MAKE, IMPROVE to reduce the process into "three steps which minimizes talking and maximizes doing." The book also indicates that you should never hear "Im done in a maker classroom. Students should be encouraged to think "How can I make my/our.....faster, slower, better, more accurate, prettier, greener, cooler, stronger, smarter, more flexible, taller, more efficient, less expensive, more reliable, lighter, elegant, easier to use? Perhaps the staff will want to use the TMI Robot as a "hook" for all of the students to use as they are creating. Our librarian, who teaches art at our school would also like the seamless integration of STEM and STEAM in the book. "Tinkering is a way that allows children to naturally integrate the arts into their learning. As a project comes together, some of the decisions made by the learner will naturally be artistic ones...should I paint my robot? My space game looks boring. Can I draw a cool alien planet background. The arts and sciences are a natural marriage when student have sufficient time for project development, reflection and revision....Our focus need to be on dismantling the artificial boundaries between subject areas erected in the late 19th century....When you allow children to make personally meaningful projects, they develop the habits of mind required to solve their own problems.
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So, I went back to the drawing board! I created this template for teachers to use as they want to. I did include the "empathy" section..."Who is your invention for?" and "How will my invention be helpful?" Our motivation is to create ethical entrepreneurs, students who design things to help the world (See 21st Century Competencies for more on this topic). We want the children to care about their community and eventually design something that will make a difference environmentally in Fergus. Since we will begin the year watching Fern Gully and The Lorax, I created templates for the Lorax and Hexus, as we will compare and contrast these two characters. We want our students to care...AS the Lorax says, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot it is not going to get better, its not!" We will be working on a design challenge for our teachers to use will all of the children so everyone is on the same page. For our most at risk learners, it is very important that we give consistent messages throughout their time at VT. They are less challenged by instructions and feel empowered to complete their learning independently. We also want to have a self assessment on the back of this sheet...That will be added soon! I know this will be shared, refined and changed as I collaborate with my colleagues. A true design process!
REGGIO EMILIA "The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education. It is a pedagogy described as student-centered and constructivist that utilizes self-directed, experiential learning in relationship-driven environments." |
"We are blessed with 50 years' worth of wisdom, research, and documentation from the Reggio Emilia Approach. This may represent the world's most mature model of sustained contstructionism and progressive education. The lessons of Reggio Emilia have profound implications for every level of education, not just preschool."
INVENT TO LEARN
INVENT TO LEARN
THOUGHT BOOKS
At the end of August, Barb came back from the UGDSB's Learning Fair very excited. She had learned about something called "Thought Books" which help to sustain an inquiry. These books are used to are a response to authentic inquiries. In these books, students build upon was they have "read, heard, or learned by musing critically and creatively, in words, sketches or recordings, about emerging ideas and plans. They are to be used throughout the inquiry. "The recurring question for students for virtually every Thoughtbook is: How has what I have jus learned informed, altered, or challenged my thinking about the issue, problem, or project that I am inquiring into? ..Thoughtbooks have a dual purpose: to encourage students to think back by reviewing, critiquing, and testing what they have already proposed and thought, and also to invite them to "think forward" by imagining, hypothesizing, and extending their ideas and plans." The students deepen their understanding by focusing on the essential question and big ideas. This just seems like a perfect way to keep our children focused on the inquiry.."How Can Fergus be a Fossil Fuel Free Community?" We are thinking to use the Invent to Learn robot for the cover of this book. Stay tuned to see how this idea evolves in the school.
SEPTEMBER 2017
THE MAKER MOVEMENT BEGINS
Barb and our Librarian Patsy, started a Crocheting Club! We really want to have the "A" -Arts part of STEAM be very prevalent in our maker movement. We hope to develop many more clubs over the course of the year to bring the arts into our new library learning space. |
STEAMING AHEAD!!!!
This club is really helping the children develop 21st century competencies. One of the "Keys to Excellence" at our school is "Failure Leads to the Sweet Smell of Success". The students are developing the mindset ..."I just can't do it yet!". It is amazing to see their grit and perseverance. |
DOT DAY
Every September there is International Dot Day. There is a lovely global connection when you participate in this event. Peter Reynolds inspiring story helps the students make the connection to the 21st century competency of resilience and grit. The children learn about the "Power of Yet" and it is a great introduction into developing a growth mindset.
Every September there is International Dot Day. There is a lovely global connection when you participate in this event. Peter Reynolds inspiring story helps the students make the connection to the 21st century competency of resilience and grit. The children learn about the "Power of Yet" and it is a great introduction into developing a growth mindset.
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COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS
As part of the TLLP we are communicating with our parents monthly about our TLLP project in our school website. Here is September's newsletter as an example. We added pictures as well!
TLLP- Can Fergus be FOSSIL FUEL FREE?
Last year Mrs. Caunter and Mrs. Vonk applied to the Ministry of Education for a grant for The Teacher Learning and Leadership Program. The TLLP program funds proposals from classroom teachers seeking peer leadership roles in curriculum, instructional practice or supporting other teachers.The program has three goals:Create and support opportunities for teacher professional learning, foster teacher leadership and facilitate the sharing of exemplary practices with others for the broader benefit of Ontario’s students.
Happily, we received a bit over $30,000 for a teacher lead school wide inquiry. As we are a Platinum ECO School, the teachers wanted our students to develop an awareness of renewable resources. Last year we asked our students “Can Fergus Can Be Fossil Fuel Free?” We did a “Tug of Thought to see how our children felt about this question. In the library you can see the children’s varying opinions
The students from grades one to six then rotated to different classrooms to learn more about pros and cons of different sources of renewable energy. They were involved in a webinar with a Dr. Green to learn about wind turbines. TRECK Education brought turbines for the children to build and experiment with. Often throughout our learning all of the students would meet in the gym so we could have a “Knowledge Building Circle”. This is where the children could express their new understandings and opinions about Fergus being fossil fuel free. Happily, at the end of last year most of the the students felt that Fergus can be be fossil fuel free.
In the meantime, many of the teachers participated in a after school book study about “21st Century Competencies”. The government committed to establish the competencies for higher-order skills, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in Ontario students. We do not know what our children are going to need in the future but we need to help them develop the skills they need to be successful. Through design challenges we hope that our children will develop these skills too! Our biggest design challenge will be near the end of the year when we ask the children “How can you make Fergus Fossil fuel free?!” This just seems to be our lucky year! Our school board decided to modernize our library right at the time we wanted to create a “Maker Space. We needed an area for children to develop the competencies through design challenges and the opportunities to create. Just before summer, Mrs. Collier and wonderful volunteer Tracey started to pack up the library. It was a daunting task! We also created a plan of what we wanted the space to look like and are particularly excited by the thought of a Lego wall. Happily, this project will start in October. The library will be out of commission for a few months. However, it will be exciting for the children to be in a library which will have opportunities for designing in many different ways in many different curriculum areas science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Stay tuned as we share our learning with you over the course of the year!
As part of the TLLP we are communicating with our parents monthly about our TLLP project in our school website. Here is September's newsletter as an example. We added pictures as well!
TLLP- Can Fergus be FOSSIL FUEL FREE?
Last year Mrs. Caunter and Mrs. Vonk applied to the Ministry of Education for a grant for The Teacher Learning and Leadership Program. The TLLP program funds proposals from classroom teachers seeking peer leadership roles in curriculum, instructional practice or supporting other teachers.The program has three goals:Create and support opportunities for teacher professional learning, foster teacher leadership and facilitate the sharing of exemplary practices with others for the broader benefit of Ontario’s students.
Happily, we received a bit over $30,000 for a teacher lead school wide inquiry. As we are a Platinum ECO School, the teachers wanted our students to develop an awareness of renewable resources. Last year we asked our students “Can Fergus Can Be Fossil Fuel Free?” We did a “Tug of Thought to see how our children felt about this question. In the library you can see the children’s varying opinions
The students from grades one to six then rotated to different classrooms to learn more about pros and cons of different sources of renewable energy. They were involved in a webinar with a Dr. Green to learn about wind turbines. TRECK Education brought turbines for the children to build and experiment with. Often throughout our learning all of the students would meet in the gym so we could have a “Knowledge Building Circle”. This is where the children could express their new understandings and opinions about Fergus being fossil fuel free. Happily, at the end of last year most of the the students felt that Fergus can be be fossil fuel free.
In the meantime, many of the teachers participated in a after school book study about “21st Century Competencies”. The government committed to establish the competencies for higher-order skills, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in Ontario students. We do not know what our children are going to need in the future but we need to help them develop the skills they need to be successful. Through design challenges we hope that our children will develop these skills too! Our biggest design challenge will be near the end of the year when we ask the children “How can you make Fergus Fossil fuel free?!” This just seems to be our lucky year! Our school board decided to modernize our library right at the time we wanted to create a “Maker Space. We needed an area for children to develop the competencies through design challenges and the opportunities to create. Just before summer, Mrs. Collier and wonderful volunteer Tracey started to pack up the library. It was a daunting task! We also created a plan of what we wanted the space to look like and are particularly excited by the thought of a Lego wall. Happily, this project will start in October. The library will be out of commission for a few months. However, it will be exciting for the children to be in a library which will have opportunities for designing in many different ways in many different curriculum areas science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Stay tuned as we share our learning with you over the course of the year!
DESIGN CHALLENGES
Throughout the year we are going to provide all of the classes with design challenges. Our intention is to have the teachers see how the 21st Century Competencies can be developed in their students. These challenges also help all of our students develop a mindset of "I can't do it yet". They are working through the design process of THINK, MAKE, IMPROVE, FIX and MAKE BETTER. These are skills they will need to ultimately design and make something which will answer the essential question "What will you do to make Fergus a Fossil Fuel Free Community?" Below are some of the student voice while the children were engaged in the task.
Throughout the year we are going to provide all of the classes with design challenges. Our intention is to have the teachers see how the 21st Century Competencies can be developed in their students. These challenges also help all of our students develop a mindset of "I can't do it yet". They are working through the design process of THINK, MAKE, IMPROVE, FIX and MAKE BETTER. These are skills they will need to ultimately design and make something which will answer the essential question "What will you do to make Fergus a Fossil Fuel Free Community?" Below are some of the student voice while the children were engaged in the task.
THE INDEX (RECTANGLE) CARD CHALLENGE Everyone- I want more time! (Engagement) No one got upset when their tower tumbled! (Perseverance, Grit!) Neil-Come and join us! (Collaboration) Oliver- I want to do this at home! (Engagement) Hunter- I am pretending these are solar panels! (Innovation) Things heard- Can we make a bigger group! (Collaboration) That was a really good idea! (Compassion) Lets try another way! (Problem Solving) I quit :( (I can't do it YET!) Logan- When it broke I made it new! (Perseverence) Ethan- I made a plan (Innovation) Laney- We kept having new ideas (Problem Solving) |
PLAYING ON OUR PA DAY
PDF- PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOPS FOR TEACHERS
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OCTOBER 2017
MINDS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND OUR NEW THOUGHT BOOKS
We were finally ready to get the students thinking about "How can YOU make Fergus Fossil Fuel Free?". All of the students came to the gym to watch a slide show and video to remind them about what we did last year. From the "Tug of Thought" of their opinions about Fergus being fossil fuel free to the rotations they went to to learn the pros and cons of renewable energy. Then we had a "Knowledge Building Circle" to hear what they now know about this topic. It was lovely to see the students enthusiastically share their ideas and expand on each other's thinking. We then posed our essential question..."What will you make for Fergus to be fossil fuel free?". We gave the children their own "Thought Books" and they all drew their initial ideas and collaborated with the students beside them. We explained the "Invent to Learn" robot to the students who will be our mascot. The children will keep redesigning and modifying their work throughout the year as they participate in more activities to enrich their thinking.
We were finally ready to get the students thinking about "How can YOU make Fergus Fossil Fuel Free?". All of the students came to the gym to watch a slide show and video to remind them about what we did last year. From the "Tug of Thought" of their opinions about Fergus being fossil fuel free to the rotations they went to to learn the pros and cons of renewable energy. Then we had a "Knowledge Building Circle" to hear what they now know about this topic. It was lovely to see the students enthusiastically share their ideas and expand on each other's thinking. We then posed our essential question..."What will you make for Fergus to be fossil fuel free?". We gave the children their own "Thought Books" and they all drew their initial ideas and collaborated with the students beside them. We explained the "Invent to Learn" robot to the students who will be our mascot. The children will keep redesigning and modifying their work throughout the year as they participate in more activities to enrich their thinking.
BROCK UNIVERSITY MAKER SPACE
Through our TLLP Grant, Barb and I went to the CONNECT Conference last year. This is a great conference for educators to share learning and knowledge about technology, innovation, maker movement and many exciting things happening in education. We passed an exhibit that Brock University was hosting as they are affiliated with this conference. Barb quickly had us sign up to win the opportunity for a trip to their Maker Space in Hamilton. Happily, we were able to take our grade one and two classes to this facility for a truly WONDER-ful day. The pictures below highlight all the amazing opportunities that were available for our students. What is missing from these pictures was the absolute joy on the children's faces. The staff and student teachers were amazing at motivating and inspiring the students. The level of engagement of the children was astounding. For six hours these young learners explored and learned with very few behavioural incidents. The love of learning was so apparent in all of our kids...truly spectacular. We have many, many ideas for us to bring back to our school.
Through our TLLP Grant, Barb and I went to the CONNECT Conference last year. This is a great conference for educators to share learning and knowledge about technology, innovation, maker movement and many exciting things happening in education. We passed an exhibit that Brock University was hosting as they are affiliated with this conference. Barb quickly had us sign up to win the opportunity for a trip to their Maker Space in Hamilton. Happily, we were able to take our grade one and two classes to this facility for a truly WONDER-ful day. The pictures below highlight all the amazing opportunities that were available for our students. What is missing from these pictures was the absolute joy on the children's faces. The staff and student teachers were amazing at motivating and inspiring the students. The level of engagement of the children was astounding. For six hours these young learners explored and learned with very few behavioural incidents. The love of learning was so apparent in all of our kids...truly spectacular. We have many, many ideas for us to bring back to our school.
LEARNING to CARE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY
USING THE CSI THINKING ROUTINE
(See Making Thinking Visible)
USING THE CSI THINKING ROUTINE
(See Making Thinking Visible)
Ultimately our goal is to have our students become Ethical Entrepreneurs. We want them to care enough about their community and the world to try to make a difference through innovation. We felt that the CSI Thinking Routine (Colour Symbol Image) would help the children compare and contrast two very different characters. The first movie we showed the students was "Fern Gully". In this movie the character Hexus is made from oil and gas and wants to destroy the fairy world. Through the CSI Routine the children chose a colour Hexus, and made a symbol and an image that would remind them of the character. Then we watched to old Dr. Suess classic "The Lorax". Below you can see the documentation of the student's thinking on this mural posted in our hallway. We want the character of the Lorax to resonate for the students ....because "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, it is not going to get better...it's NOT!" Now we are challenging them to make that difference in their community.
INVENT TO LEARN BOOK STUDY
CHAPTERS 5 and 6
This week when we met, we used a Making Thinking Visible Strategy to deconstruct Chapter Five. We used "Headlines" (See Making Thinking Visible), to synthesize the big ideas in the chapter. See below for what we came up with. The book also talked about assessing student's maker projects. See below for a ruberic we happened to stumble upon. We had an interesting discussion on the topic of assessment. What do you think?
CHAPTERS 5 and 6
This week when we met, we used a Making Thinking Visible Strategy to deconstruct Chapter Five. We used "Headlines" (See Making Thinking Visible), to synthesize the big ideas in the chapter. See below for what we came up with. The book also talked about assessing student's maker projects. See below for a ruberic we happened to stumble upon. We had an interesting discussion on the topic of assessment. What do you think?
CARDBOARD CLUB
Over lunch time, a few teachers are running the "Cardboard Club". The design challenge is to use only cardboard, makedo and octoclips to make whatever they liked. Check out the student voice to see how engaged they were in this activity. Amazing ingenuity and such wonder-ful engagement!
Over lunch time, a few teachers are running the "Cardboard Club". The design challenge is to use only cardboard, makedo and octoclips to make whatever they liked. Check out the student voice to see how engaged they were in this activity. Amazing ingenuity and such wonder-ful engagement!
DESIGN CHALLENGE
Build a house that is insulated.
Then put an ice cube in it.....and see which is the last
one with an ice cube still in it rather than a puddle!
This was the challenge our Grade Five teacher gave to his class. They had been learning about energy efficiency and insulation. As always the students were very engaged in designing their homes. However, the exciting thing we are starting to see in the children is they are incorporating renewable resources in their designs. From block building in Grade one, where a child put a solar panel on a cage to keep the animal warm, to windmills attached to different structures to create energy. Already we are beginning to observe that the children are thinking about how to change their community through renewable resources. So it was quite thrilling when two of the students came into my class to share their home. Have a look below how they incorporated all kinds of sustainable, renewable and energy efficient ideas into their home. They made me want a garden on my roof! It was also wonderful when one of the girls said she , "loved the design book because it always keeps her thinking!
Build a house that is insulated.
Then put an ice cube in it.....and see which is the last
one with an ice cube still in it rather than a puddle!
This was the challenge our Grade Five teacher gave to his class. They had been learning about energy efficiency and insulation. As always the students were very engaged in designing their homes. However, the exciting thing we are starting to see in the children is they are incorporating renewable resources in their designs. From block building in Grade one, where a child put a solar panel on a cage to keep the animal warm, to windmills attached to different structures to create energy. Already we are beginning to observe that the children are thinking about how to change their community through renewable resources. So it was quite thrilling when two of the students came into my class to share their home. Have a look below how they incorporated all kinds of sustainable, renewable and energy efficient ideas into their home. They made me want a garden on my roof! It was also wonderful when one of the girls said she , "loved the design book because it always keeps her thinking!
In an effort to develop 21st Century Competencies, we wanted to have any assembly on "Growth Mindset" (See more in 21st Century Competencies). At the school, our values education program is based on "The 8 Keys of Excellence". There are two keys that fit very nicely into having a growth mindset....or believing you just can't do something yet! The keys are "Failure Leads to the Sweet Smell of Success" and "Commitment, commitment, commitment". The students at our school already have this mindset in their daily life at VT. However, we really wanted them to understand that they would also need grit and perseverence when they were faced with a design challenge. Over the next few months we will be giving them more challenges so they can develop a growth mindset. We feel they will need this attitude when they finally have to create something to answer the question "How will you make Fergus Fossil Fuel Free?"
We started the assembly with a "Philosopher's Circle" (See Essential Questions-Tiffany Poirier). All of the students gathered around a campfire and they answered the question, "What is Failure?. Many of the students described making a mistake, or not getting something right. It helped to get out minds on the idea that when you are designing something, you should have lots of "mistakes" and you can learn from all of them. Then we showed the video "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashely Spires. The little girl in the book wants to make something amazing but she gets very frustrated when it just doesn't happen. Happily, she realized that she just can't do it yet. We watched another video on Growth Mindset and listened to Bruno Mars singing "Don't give up!" Then we used our design Robot from Invent to Learn to remind the children that designing is a process that you do over and over until you are satisfied with the result or creation. At the end of the assembly, we gave everyone the "spaghetti marshmallow" challenge. With only 20 pieces of spaghetti, 1 metre of tape and string, they were to build a free standing tower to hold a marshmallow. It was incredible to watch a gym full of grade one to six, get into mixed age grouping and persevere together on this task. The level of engagement was amazing and they all kept going...even with some mighty failures!...Just means we can't all do it YET!
We started the assembly with a "Philosopher's Circle" (See Essential Questions-Tiffany Poirier). All of the students gathered around a campfire and they answered the question, "What is Failure?. Many of the students described making a mistake, or not getting something right. It helped to get out minds on the idea that when you are designing something, you should have lots of "mistakes" and you can learn from all of them. Then we showed the video "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashely Spires. The little girl in the book wants to make something amazing but she gets very frustrated when it just doesn't happen. Happily, she realized that she just can't do it yet. We watched another video on Growth Mindset and listened to Bruno Mars singing "Don't give up!" Then we used our design Robot from Invent to Learn to remind the children that designing is a process that you do over and over until you are satisfied with the result or creation. At the end of the assembly, we gave everyone the "spaghetti marshmallow" challenge. With only 20 pieces of spaghetti, 1 metre of tape and string, they were to build a free standing tower to hold a marshmallow. It was incredible to watch a gym full of grade one to six, get into mixed age grouping and persevere together on this task. The level of engagement was amazing and they all kept going...even with some mighty failures!...Just means we can't all do it YET!
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We met Joe Grabowski- the self proclaimed "Explorer in Chief" of Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants. As a teacher himself, he wanted students to have opportunities to explore their world. However, these are no ordinary field trips! He has taken virtual reality to the next level by having classes go on YouTube Live to visit with actual explorers in the field. Next week there is a scientist up in Churchill trying to find a polar bear. Another opportunity will be a chance to chat with a scientist on top of an active volcano. There will also be a chance to visit with researchers who are going to tag a cheetah. We are excited to here from a person who is using biodigesters in Africa which will produce energy.The world is at your fingertips! You can visit his You Tube channel or website (www.exploringbytheseat.com) to see other wonder-ful opportunities to explore the world. What an amazing opportunity to enrich inquiry learning in your classroom!
It was a privilege to listen to Julie Balen talk about her experience with the Craft Reconciliation movement. Wab Kinew challenged First Nations and non-First Nations students to talk together about reconciliation. He encouraged the students to show their understanding through Mine Craft or any other way that resonated with them. It was obvious that all of the studentswere impacted by their new learning. Julie invited teachers to sign up and join in with next years students. Both elementary and secondary students are welcome. For more information see below.
A gentleman walk up to us and asked if we wanted to to get a "new to us" computer while we were at the BIT Conference. Well of course we did! Andrew Dobbie has a company that renews computers and gets them out to schools for free. Please see his information below if you are interested.You can order free desktop computers from rcto.ca, then have your school buy the same number of wifi adapters, with principal support using p-card at bit.ly/peelwifi. Please share with other schools in need too!
It was a privilege to listen to Julie Balen talk about her experience with the Craft Reconciliation movement. Wab Kinew challenged First Nations and non-First Nations students to talk together about reconciliation. He encouraged the students to show their understanding through Mine Craft or any other way that resonated with them. It was obvious that all of the studentswere impacted by their new learning. Julie invited teachers to sign up and join in with next years students. Both elementary and secondary students are welcome. For more information see below.
A gentleman walk up to us and asked if we wanted to to get a "new to us" computer while we were at the BIT Conference. Well of course we did! Andrew Dobbie has a company that renews computers and gets them out to schools for free. Please see his information below if you are interested.You can order free desktop computers from rcto.ca, then have your school buy the same number of wifi adapters, with principal support using p-card at bit.ly/peelwifi. Please share with other schools in need too!
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CONNECTING OUR INQUIRY TO OTHER AREAS OR THE CURRICULUM
In my class we have started a year long unit on mapping or ...."Where in the world are you?! We made a map of Fergus and then put a structure of where the children all live on it. In an effort to engage the children in the school's inquiry..."How can you make Fergus fossil fuel free?, I challenged them to use renewable energy on their home. Lately, we have been exploring the different renewable energy sources. Happily, you will find solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal heating and cooling, plus bio mass digesters on the homes. Even in play the children are discussing how they can make things more energy friendly in the environments they are creating. So WONDER-FUL!
In my class we have started a year long unit on mapping or ...."Where in the world are you?! We made a map of Fergus and then put a structure of where the children all live on it. In an effort to engage the children in the school's inquiry..."How can you make Fergus fossil fuel free?, I challenged them to use renewable energy on their home. Lately, we have been exploring the different renewable energy sources. Happily, you will find solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal heating and cooling, plus bio mass digesters on the homes. Even in play the children are discussing how they can make things more energy friendly in the environments they are creating. So WONDER-FUL!
RENEWABLE ENERGY IS ON THE STUDENTS MINDS!
It was very exiting to observe that the students are developing a mindset about renewable energy. The grade one class was sending a get well booklet to one of their classmates. Without any prompting, their pictures showed evidence that they were thinking about creating structures that were fossil fuel free. It is very exciting to see that the thinking about our essential question is changing the culture in our school. The students are even building things at home. The "garage" below was built by a child in grade one who has significant learning needs. He saw the solar light in his "Poppas" recycle and was inspired to use it to power his garage. His Dad helped him get a battery and attached an LED bulb to create light. So wonder-ful!
Where can we find opportunities
for the curriculum to be in our inquiry?
Currently the Grade One class is doing a unit on "Structures" and the Grade Two's are developing their understanding of "Simple Machines". We are always seeking opportunities to embed the inquiry in curriculum. At the beginning of the unit the students were given the questions "What structure can you create to make Fergus fossil fuel free? or "What machine can you create to make Fergus fossil fuel free?". They will use their THOUGHT BOOKS throughout the unit to record their ideas. The culminating task will be for the students to make their creations. This will be a great prototype for their final product at the end of the inquiry.
Fair Chance Learning WORKSHOP
With our TLLP grant money we had Fair Chance Learning come to the school to develop our understanding of computational thinking. We will be able to use this knowledge with our renewable energy inquiry and school wide maker movement. All of the teachers who attended became certified in “Makey Makey”. This is an invention kit for 21st century learners. Students can turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. The teachers also learned more about coding with Scratch, which helps children learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.
With our TLLP grant money we had Fair Chance Learning come to the school to develop our understanding of computational thinking. We will be able to use this knowledge with our renewable energy inquiry and school wide maker movement. All of the teachers who attended became certified in “Makey Makey”. This is an invention kit for 21st century learners. Students can turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. The teachers also learned more about coding with Scratch, which helps children learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.
MAKING THE PATHWAYS FOR SUCCESS DOCUMENT MEANInGFUL
As part of our TLLP, we were invited to join a group of educators for a "professional learning adventure". Well that sounded too good to pass up! This group of teachers is inquiring about how to use the "Pathways to Success" document in meaningful ways. Our school board is also using "My Blueprint" as a an educational planner to help with this endeavour. This digital resource will help our students document and reflect on the four pathways to success over their school years. During the inservice, it became apparent that we could use this resource to help our students reflect on our school wide inquiry..."How can Fergus become Fossil Fuel free?". The children were asked to draw pictures of how they will care for the environment. This picture was then uploaded into the "Who am I?" section of the Blueprint. In this section the students select "My Values" and then the heading "Caring for the Environment". They will be given an opportunity to reflect on how they will create goals to accomplish this. The next step will be to involve the children in developing opportunities to reach those goals. Stay tuned! This has been an exciting way to actually have the "Pathways" document be relevant and meaningful for our students.
CONNECTING TO OTHERS WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY
We read the book "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" (Junior- chapter book and Primary -Read Aloud) to all of the students. This is the story of William Kamkwamba who is a Malawian innovator, engineer and author. A crippling famine forced Kamkwamba to drop out of school, and he was not able to return to school because his family was unable to afford the tuition fee. In a desperate attempt to retain his education, Kamkwamba began to frequently visit the village library. Kamkwamba, after reading a book called Using Energy, decided to create a makeshift wind turbine. He built a wind turbine to power a few electrical appliances in his family's house using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard. Since then, he has built a solar-powered water pump that supplies the first drinking water in his village and two other wind turbines. (Wikipedia) |
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LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN
We are a Grade One/Two class from Victoria Terrace Public School in Fergus, Ontario. Our school is doing a School-wide Inquiry about renewable energy. Our question is “How can we make Fergus a fossil free town?”. We want our town to use less oil, gasoline, coal, desiel and natural gas. These things pollute our earth. We want the town to use more biomass, geothermal, wind turbines, water turbines and solar panels. We would also like to see more people driving electric cars and some car charging stations around town. We want to know what is already being done with renewable energy? Do you have any new plans? Are there things that we students can do? Thank you for your help. Please write back soon.
Hi Barb. Thanks for your email. The Township works with CW Hydro to pursue renewable energy projects. We have installed several car charging stations across CW and we will be building more of these. Also, we are moving forward with a state-of-the-art renewable energy generator at the CW Sportsplex this year. We are also planting hundreds of new trees in our boulevards to promote natural urban forestry cover to contribute to a healthy environment.
I have ‘cc’ed our Communications Coordinator to help me figure out what the students could help us with. We’ll get back to you about this.
Thanks!
Kelly Linton | Mayor
We are a Grade One/Two class from Victoria Terrace Public School in Fergus, Ontario. Our school is doing a School-wide Inquiry about renewable energy. Our question is “How can we make Fergus a fossil free town?”. We want our town to use less oil, gasoline, coal, desiel and natural gas. These things pollute our earth. We want the town to use more biomass, geothermal, wind turbines, water turbines and solar panels. We would also like to see more people driving electric cars and some car charging stations around town. We want to know what is already being done with renewable energy? Do you have any new plans? Are there things that we students can do? Thank you for your help. Please write back soon.
Hi Barb. Thanks for your email. The Township works with CW Hydro to pursue renewable energy projects. We have installed several car charging stations across CW and we will be building more of these. Also, we are moving forward with a state-of-the-art renewable energy generator at the CW Sportsplex this year. We are also planting hundreds of new trees in our boulevards to promote natural urban forestry cover to contribute to a healthy environment.
I have ‘cc’ed our Communications Coordinator to help me figure out what the students could help us with. We’ll get back to you about this.
Thanks!
Kelly Linton | Mayor
GRADE ONE AND TWO ENERGY FAIR
It was amazing to have our youngest learners demonstrate to everyone how they would use renewable energy in a community. All of the classes rotated through their "Energy Learning Fair". The children were demonstrating the different solar and wind powered machines. They lead us through their town which was made of solar panels, wind turbines, bio mass and more.....As meta cognition suggests, when children can teach others it indicates that they truly understand the content.
It was amazing to have our youngest learners demonstrate to everyone how they would use renewable energy in a community. All of the classes rotated through their "Energy Learning Fair". The children were demonstrating the different solar and wind powered machines. They lead us through their town which was made of solar panels, wind turbines, bio mass and more.....As meta cognition suggests, when children can teach others it indicates that they truly understand the content.
THE CULMINATION OF OUR INQUIRY!!!
HOW WILL YOU MAKE FERGUS FOSSIL FUEL FREE!
HOW WILL YOU MAKE FERGUS FOSSIL FUEL FREE!
PRIMARY- How Can We Make Fergus Fossil Fuel Free
Name: ________________________ Grade: _________
Please mark your 1st and 2nd choice.
____ Engineer and Inventor: I want to build something.
____ Author and Illustrator: I want to make a book.
____ Communication and Theatre: Making public service
announcements and role playing
____ Architect: I want to make plans and blueprints.
I want to put on a puppet play.
____ Film Making: I want to make a stop motion video.
JUNIOR- How Can We Make Fergus Fossil Fuel Free?
Name: ________________________ Grade: _________
Please mark your 1st and 2nd choice.
____ Engineer and Inventor: I want to build something.
____ Video 1: I want to make a green screen video.
____ Video 2: I want to make a stop motion video.
____ Puppet Theatre: I want to perform something.
____ Author/Illustrator: I want to make a real soft cover book.
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Staff Exit Ticket
Exit ticket for STEAMing Ahead activities
* Required
Name of Activity *
Your answer
See *
Your answer
Think *
Your answer
Wonder *
Your answer
How did you document the student's learning? *
Tech - Videos
Making Thinking Visible Strategies
Bullentin Boards
Twitter, Facebook
Website
Photos
Other Tech - Picollage, Explain Everything, etc.
Thoughtbooks
Other:
What did you doucment? *
Your answer
What 21st Century Competencies did the activity include? *
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Innovation, Creativity and Entreprenship
Learning to Learn/Self-Aware and Self-directed learning
Collaboration
Communication
Global Citizenship
Comment
Your answer
SUBMIT
Exit ticket for STEAMing Ahead activities
* Required
Name of Activity *
Your answer
See *
Your answer
Think *
Your answer
Wonder *
Your answer
How did you document the student's learning? *
Tech - Videos
Making Thinking Visible Strategies
Bullentin Boards
Twitter, Facebook
Website
Photos
Other Tech - Picollage, Explain Everything, etc.
Thoughtbooks
Other:
What did you doucment? *
Your answer
What 21st Century Competencies did the activity include? *
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Innovation, Creativity and Entreprenship
Learning to Learn/Self-Aware and Self-directed learning
Collaboration
Communication
Global Citizenship
Comment
Your answer
SUBMIT
TLLP Final Staff Survey
* Required
What is your comfort level with inquiry? *
Just beginning to learn
12345
Very Comfortable (Inquiry Ninja)
Describe some positive experiences from using school-wide inquiry or an inquiry stance in your classroom. *
Your answer
What is your comfort level and/or understanding of the 21st Century Competencies? *
What's That?
12345
Well Integrating into Classroom Practice
Have you read the Draft of the 21st Century Competencies? *
Yes
No
List any comments, questions or "ahha's" about 21st Century Competencies. *
Your answer
What is your comfort level and/or understanding of STEAM? *
I have no idea what this is
12345
Know it, do it, love it
Did you read Invent to Learn? *
Yes
No
What did you like about incorporating STEAM into the school-wide inquiry and into your classroom? *
Your answer
What comments or questions do you have about STEAM? *
Your answer
Do you have any questions, suggestions or things that you are looking forward to as we continue to incorporate STEAM into our school and classrooms? *
Your answer
Overall, how would you rank your experience with Incorporating STEAM into the school-wide Inquiry of Renewable Energy this year.
Did not enjoy it all/not valuable to students
12345
It was epic for students and staff
SUBMIT
* Required
What is your comfort level with inquiry? *
Just beginning to learn
12345
Very Comfortable (Inquiry Ninja)
Describe some positive experiences from using school-wide inquiry or an inquiry stance in your classroom. *
Your answer
What is your comfort level and/or understanding of the 21st Century Competencies? *
What's That?
12345
Well Integrating into Classroom Practice
Have you read the Draft of the 21st Century Competencies? *
Yes
No
List any comments, questions or "ahha's" about 21st Century Competencies. *
Your answer
What is your comfort level and/or understanding of STEAM? *
I have no idea what this is
12345
Know it, do it, love it
Did you read Invent to Learn? *
Yes
No
What did you like about incorporating STEAM into the school-wide inquiry and into your classroom? *
Your answer
What comments or questions do you have about STEAM? *
Your answer
Do you have any questions, suggestions or things that you are looking forward to as we continue to incorporate STEAM into our school and classrooms? *
Your answer
Overall, how would you rank your experience with Incorporating STEAM into the school-wide Inquiry of Renewable Energy this year.
Did not enjoy it all/not valuable to students
12345
It was epic for students and staff
SUBMIT