Check it out:
Friday 27 February 2015
The International Children's Digital Library: Free, Multi-Lingual Children's Literature
Wednesday 25 February 2015
An Opportunity
The National Gallery of Canada is now offering Distance Learning Programs for elementary and high school students. Their interactive programs, delivered via webinar, get students discussing a range of artworks while exploring curriculum-linked themes...free of charge.
A sample: http://youtu.be/FGRr5PYt5zY
To register: http://www.gallery.ca/en/learn/reservations.php
The only art class I am teaching right now is in Kindergarten, so I registered for the Kindergarten "People and Relationships" webinar: "How can people speak to us without saying a word? Discover the role of body language and facial expression in relating stories in artworks.
I'll let you know how it goes...
Sunday 22 February 2015
Assessing Listening in French
New to the Ontario FSL curriculum this year is the component of Listening. (Before it used to be just Speaking, Reading, and Writing). This has raised the question for me, as well as for other teachers I am sure, just how does one assess how a student listens?
I am part of a group of fsl teachers who are trying to work this out. We have come up with a rubric, which I am in the early stages of using with my classes.
So far, for me, the focus has been on listening to understand, because I feel it is measurable. Based on a student's responses, I can tell whether they have heard, and understood what they have heard.
The implications are more far- reaching than I had initially understood. It's starting to become a bit of a game in the classes. Basically any time someone speaks in French I have the opportunity to ask another student to respond, based on what they've understood. They are talking to each other much more, which is a great thing for second language acquisition. We're actually in the very early stages of getting a conversation going.
Here is the rubric, in case anyone else is a second language teacher, or assessing listening as part of an oral language mark. It's free: help yourself:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rubric-for-Listening-to-Interact-French-1724028
I am part of a group of fsl teachers who are trying to work this out. We have come up with a rubric, which I am in the early stages of using with my classes.
So far, for me, the focus has been on listening to understand, because I feel it is measurable. Based on a student's responses, I can tell whether they have heard, and understood what they have heard.
The implications are more far- reaching than I had initially understood. It's starting to become a bit of a game in the classes. Basically any time someone speaks in French I have the opportunity to ask another student to respond, based on what they've understood. They are talking to each other much more, which is a great thing for second language acquisition. We're actually in the very early stages of getting a conversation going.
Here is the rubric, in case anyone else is a second language teacher, or assessing listening as part of an oral language mark. It's free: help yourself:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rubric-for-Listening-to-Interact-French-1724028
The Writing on The Wall
This idea was inspired by the Basquiat exhibit at the AGO. I don't live in Toronto, but was visiting for the weekend, and saw the exhibition. After going through the show, patrons were invited to share their impressions on a big blackboard- creating a kind of graffiti- style collage, similar in spirit to some of the works of Basquiat.
I teach core French in Ontario and have many reluctant writers. But I think this would be an idea to get any students engaged with writing, not just French students.
I covered the bulletin board outside my classroom with brown paper, laid down a few ground rules: (what you write must be respectful of the feelings of others, it must be appropriate for school, and it must be in French), provided some markers, and (for French, some suggestions of things that they know how to say in French, like describing things about themselves, for example), and invited them to write.
The response has been overwhelming. Kids who would just sit and look at a blank piece of paper at their desk in the classroom, are happy to "write on the wall".
I also prepared a short presentation about Basquiat, including some photographs of his paintings to give some context for the activity. It ties in nicely with the building of cultural awareness that is a component of the French curriculum here. The kids were really engaged in learning about this artist and a bit about his story. And they have flocked to the wall to write in French about themselves.
I think this would also work well with emerging writers in English too. With older students it might be an interesting way to have them register and support their opinions about controversial topics.
If you are inspired to try something similar with a class of yours, I would love to hear how it goes.
If you are interested in the whole presentation it is at:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lecriture-sur-le-mur-1723381
I teach core French in Ontario and have many reluctant writers. But I think this would be an idea to get any students engaged with writing, not just French students.
I covered the bulletin board outside my classroom with brown paper, laid down a few ground rules: (what you write must be respectful of the feelings of others, it must be appropriate for school, and it must be in French), provided some markers, and (for French, some suggestions of things that they know how to say in French, like describing things about themselves, for example), and invited them to write.
The response has been overwhelming. Kids who would just sit and look at a blank piece of paper at their desk in the classroom, are happy to "write on the wall".
I also prepared a short presentation about Basquiat, including some photographs of his paintings to give some context for the activity. It ties in nicely with the building of cultural awareness that is a component of the French curriculum here. The kids were really engaged in learning about this artist and a bit about his story. And they have flocked to the wall to write in French about themselves.
I think this would also work well with emerging writers in English too. With older students it might be an interesting way to have them register and support their opinions about controversial topics.
If you are inspired to try something similar with a class of yours, I would love to hear how it goes.
If you are interested in the whole presentation it is at:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lecriture-sur-le-mur-1723381
Saturday 21 February 2015
A Fearless Education
A Fearless Education is what I hope for- for myself and for my students.
I think most educators would agree about the importance of creating a classroom environment that feels safe and secure to students: a place where they can take risks, be willing to experiment, learn, and grow.
But how often do we, as teachers, take risks? How often do we move outside of our comfort zone or routine? Speaking for myself, I can say that I have definitely spent too much energy striving for perfection, and not nearly enough striving to attempt something challenging/ new/ unfamiliar.
Striving for perfection sounds like a nice idea. But it is actually extremely limiting. If you want to be perfect, you cannot, by definition, make mistakes. Not being able to make mistakes means you cannot learn. We know this for our students.
Instead of perfection, I would like to strive for excellence. I would like to let go of my fear of making mistakes, which is also a fear of failure. In order to really grow, I may have to try some things that will fail. Yikes!
Ironically, I think that it is once I can let go of my fears that the fun can begin. Once I can laugh at myself, and my mistakes, all that fear loses its power.
I want to start to have more fun in my job. I want to allow myself to make a mess now and again. I want to go out on a limb and stretch myself. I want to be free to explore, play, create and dream.
I'm sure it will help encourage my students to do the same.
I think most educators would agree about the importance of creating a classroom environment that feels safe and secure to students: a place where they can take risks, be willing to experiment, learn, and grow.
But how often do we, as teachers, take risks? How often do we move outside of our comfort zone or routine? Speaking for myself, I can say that I have definitely spent too much energy striving for perfection, and not nearly enough striving to attempt something challenging/ new/ unfamiliar.
Striving for perfection sounds like a nice idea. But it is actually extremely limiting. If you want to be perfect, you cannot, by definition, make mistakes. Not being able to make mistakes means you cannot learn. We know this for our students.
Instead of perfection, I would like to strive for excellence. I would like to let go of my fear of making mistakes, which is also a fear of failure. In order to really grow, I may have to try some things that will fail. Yikes!
Ironically, I think that it is once I can let go of my fears that the fun can begin. Once I can laugh at myself, and my mistakes, all that fear loses its power.
I want to start to have more fun in my job. I want to allow myself to make a mess now and again. I want to go out on a limb and stretch myself. I want to be free to explore, play, create and dream.
I'm sure it will help encourage my students to do the same.
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