Articles: Collaboration with students

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SEEN: What Can Collaboration With Students Look Like?

Edutopia: How Collaborative Learning Leads to Student Success


VLN forum: http://www.vln.school.nz/discussion/view/956355

DRIVE Term One 2016: In Great Shape!

DRIVE - the Inquiry process at Edendale Primary School:
Discover  Reflect & ask questions  Investigate  Vision and create  Evaluate

Term One 2016: HEALTH 

"IN GREAT SHAPE"

- What makes me a healthy person? 

PURPOSE/AUTHENTICITY:
* Personal Health and Physical Development is where students develop the knowledge, understanding, skills, and attitudes that they need in order to maintain and enhance their personal well-being and physical development.
* Healthy Communities and Environment is where students contribute to healthy communities and environments by taking responsible and critical action.

KEY UNDERSTANDINGS:
* Health and well-being (hauora) is physical, mental and emotional/spiritual.
* My health is my responsibility.
* I can support others as they keep themselves healthy and safe.
* We mature physically and mentally as we get older.
* We all have feelings and emotions that we express in different ways.

CORE KNOWLEDGE:
* We all have a range of feelings and emotions to describe our experiences in different situations.
* If I don’t take care of myself I will become ill.
* Healthy eating, hygiene, exercise, sleep, relationships, positive thinking, Sunsmart, water safety etc. SMARTS/learning styles, values and principles
* Our bodies and minds change at different rates.





RESOURCES FOR DISCOVERY AND INVESTIGATION STAGES OF 'DRIVE'

General
templates for tracking healthy habits
a variety of health/body templates

Food/Eating  - AN APPLE A DAY pupil group resource links blog-post
track your diet for a week - template   and five food groups tracking chart
Healthy eating for kids
expert: Mel McKenzie, Heart Foundation (Linda Harris)

Exercise - WARRANT OF FITNESS pupil group resource links blog-post
tracking your movement minutes chart
expert: Jane Muir

Hygiene - KEEP IT CLEAN pupil group resource links blog-post
healthy hands templates and unit
teeth - experiments to show why we should brush
toothbrushing tracking chart
kidshealth.org - why we need to brush our teeth
expert: Dental Health service educator

The Body - ENGINE PARTS pupil group resource links blog-post
variety of games/activities to print out
skeleton cut out
skeleton labelling sheets
heart health
expert: NZ Heart Foundation (Linda Harris)

The Brain - BRAIN POWER! pupil group resource links blog-post
multiple intelligences pupil survey printable
another printable smarts survey
expert: Maureen Deuchrass, Road Safety Southland

Writing revision -cool pupil video

This is a great video to show pupils how to revise and why it is important...

Beginning of the year!

This year (and this week coming!) I plan to make use of these links that I have pinned on my Pinterest boards...mostly free downloads from Teachers Pay Teachers...

Link to image source

'All About Me' pupil info sheet - though I have had to twink and change the American spellings eg favorite into NZ's favourite etc - thanks Science Doodles at Teachers pay Teachers!

And some discussion points from this Hot Spot activity sheet thanks to Kristine from the Young Teacher Love blog.

We will be doing the "In Team Kahu we..." mural again, as I have a whole new team of pupils - let's set up our expectations right from the start!

'Parents' 3-2-1' question sheet - asking parents for info about their child - thanks LA Beach Teacher at TpT as well as asking them for their most appropriate contact information.

'Student Rights and Responsibilities' - gets everyone on the same page about the expectations in the classroom - thanks Angelia at TpT!

I always do What Kind of Teacher Do You Want? and so does Miss Freundlich, it works with any age-group and helps the pupils see that you are wanting to work with them as a team and will respect their opinions and needs.

And we look also at What a good pupil does, says, is and is not - here is Sarah's example.

We will build our own version of this Respect chart and also look at this How Big is My Problem chart.

I will be sharing a copy of Stephanie's poster of Glasser's What We Learn chart.

Star of the Week certificate -  I've ordered this, printed with Team Kahu in the title - thanks Creative Classrooms!

'Uh-oh!' - a note pupils can take home with any work that they need to finish because they didn't do it during their allocated class time - thanks Sally at TpT!

Attention grabbers - you call out, the pupils respond - thanks Traci at TpT! I will be adding "To infinity..." (pupils call out "and beyond!") - sound familiar??

Link to image source

When talking about our learning and skills progression, I will share this Assess Yourself Novice-Expert chart and I also love this Which Step Have You Reached Today chart posted on a Lifetime of Wisdom.

We will also be referring to this Positive Self-Talking chart as shared by Elliott Seif.

For group work and partner discussions I will have these on display, as shown here by Tanja:
Partners  and   Groups

Take Two News episode

My Year Six pupils take turns to work in teams of three to write, film and present a short video about a current event or issue happening at our school...I do the editing using Windows MovieMaker...


2014 Take Two News - We Sell Worm Tea! (Team Kahu, Year Six) from Edendale Primary School on Vimeo.

Using Padlet | a blog post link from Minds in Bloom

Another suggestion for using Padlet as a tool...click the link below...

Integrating Technology in the Classroom Using Padlet | Minds in Bloom

READ - PAIR - SHARE

I like this idea for extension of silent reading time - a directed pair activity that involves comprehension skills, fluency and oral language and cooperative skills - and it just takes ten minutes extra above the silent reading time!

From the awesome Jen at http://www.rundesroom.com/2014/09/pair-share-daily-language-activity.html

There are also links to another 100 great tips from other awesome teaching blogs...

THINK before you speak

I have had this poster on my quotes Pinterest board for a while - this time of year (nearing the end of the third term, senior pupils starting to think/worry/get excited about heading to college) is a good time to bring it out for the classroom - even though we have a great team culture in the classroom, the pupils have had three terms together and, as they are so familiar with each other and it is easy to get 'ratty' with those we know so well, we just need a little reminder right now that kind words always have more effect than unkind words...

The Teach Junkie blog has these posters available for free download...

Shannon's version

and Leslie's version

Pass The Plate poetry

I love this idea from the E is for Explore! blog :    pass the plate poetry

Maths - lines and angles challenge

Today the pupils are using the iPads to photograph lines and angles around the school to use in a Comic Life page, to put together in a book for other pupils to be able to learn about the different types of lines and angles that shapes can have.

Some pupils wanted to label or draw on their photos so we are trying out the Skitch app as well.

New ICT tool - padlet.com

Padlet.com is an online app that is designed to work just as beautifully on an ipad as it does on a laptop or similar device - accessed viz the internet, its uses are numerous: for independent, group or whole class activities, for teaching, for learning - you are only limited by your imagination!

This is a great overview of some ideas, created by Suzy of the Technically Invisible blog and you can get your own free copy of it here

My class have been used the site for reading responses and inquiry brainstorming/sharing of ideas.

Classroom layout and displays

Photos from the beginning of Term 3 2013:

Job list - pupil pictures are rotated weekly

Year Sixes have special school-wide jobs

My desk: by the front door, laptop runs the IWB

View along the windows

View along the IWB/whiteboard wall

View from front door, across classroom to cloakbay door - we have a mixture of options for seating -
pupils select a numbered counter when enter the room on Monday morning (corresponds to a workspace/seat/table)
and that is their 'base' space for the week.  They are allowed to move to other spots during the day eg when working with a partner or on an ipad, or if I want a guided group to be in a certain place.

Computer cupboard area

Marking shelf - pupils place books or completed work here for me to look at

Basket for the DIY (do-it-yourself) learning folders and resources; shelf for flag, stickers box, guided group resources.

Games cupboard (due for a paint-job!)

Literacy/spelling resources, atlases and large reference books.

Library corner

Inquiry display table, reporting books in boxes underneath

Inquiry wall - has question, key understandings, a relevant quote or two;
work or other material still to be added as inquiry progresses.

Personal learning goals display - wearing a motorbike helmet in honour of Burt Munro

Inside the computer cupboard

Guidelines on doors of computer cupboard

This lets me know who to respond to on their blog

School agreement for pupils using computers

A work in progress - poem of the week, current events

Suggestions board for what to blog about and a playtime/lunchtime computer roster

Bulldog clips attached to wall for displaying class-made publishing books.

Displaying the expectations of learning for writing.

Motivation for the Year Sixes towards the end of year prize-giving.

Wall shelves - homework books are kept each day in the empty space; modelling books to the right,
Bible in Schools books below, refill pads and handwriting cards,
maths text books at bottom - all within easy reach.

Maths equipment

As we have no desks we store our books for each subject in these bins.

The chairs get stacked at the end of the day.

We have some stools as an option.

Another version of stools.

Handwriting levels

Noise signal lights

Reward system - when board is full the dodecahedron dice (to 12) is rolled
and the winner chooses from the prize-box.

And for inappropriate behaviour...(steps two plus are hardly ever referred to thankfully!)

Guided groups on display

Low table, cushions are a seating option - due for paintjob too!

As we have no storage desks the pencil cases are kept in these trays;
everyone shares the rulers and glue-sticks.

The centre of the maths shelves/homework book shelves -
spelling and basic facts resources, literacy CDs, music CDs etc.

My personal collection of teaching resources, kept on shelves in the art bay.

More of my resources, on a higher shelf on other side of artbay.

More of my resources - the bits and pieces stuff!

Pupils can use these art supplies.

My everyday trolley - planning and resources for the week are easy to access.

Reward system - using obsolete library cards, points given for tidy handwriting as well as three points per day
as "work pay" for being at school.  Pupils can 'buy' from the shopping list.

My marking system for book work.

I use groups of three for cooperative tasks. Change each term.