Chanting in class

My students come in from their P.E. lesson and they are NOT in a mood to learn! Sweating and over excited, they beg me not to make them sit on their chairs and open their books. You know what? If I were in their place, I would have felt the same. Why force them to learn when their brains are not ready? Instead I thought I would teach them a new skill. How to calm down, relax and think of themselves as souls without bodies.. Most grown ups try and learn this skill. I have heard of people travelling thousands of miles just to learn the art of meditatation! I know how to. I do it every day at home and those ...erm 15 minutes of bliss are priceless! So this is how it looks like in my classroom. The kids come in and lie down,arms and legs spreadeagled, giggling, until I start spraying them with scented water. They close their eyes and I chant Om (I also use words from other cultures)while breathing deeply. The amazing thing is, the kids often look forward to this.At times when we have had a hard day, or there is some conflict in class, the students ask permission to chant so that they can sort their problems with a calmer mind. Isn't this a great skill to equip the kids with? We need to add this to the list of our Learner Profiles, or Attitudes!

I love chanting too. The rhythmic nature of chants have a calming and hypnotic effect on me. When I lived in Nepal, I would often visit the the Golden Temple in Patan and experinece the hypnotic sound of Bhuddist monk chanting.

I often use this web site in my class.

http://www.d-kidz.com/dkidz_chant.html

Market place in the clasroom

By nainisingh | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

My grade 4s are buzzing with excitement. Math, reading , writing seems to have gone for a six. They are setting up a market within the class. The room is chaotic. Loud, excited voices, stalls, boards falling, cello tape, stapler guns, blue tak, me hollering from time to time... My classroom is a mess. But the kids are learning how to run a business in all that pandemonium. They are doing what people do when they set up businesses.  Making mistakes, competing, planning, organizing, observing, asking, surveying.From time to time, when some one screams really loudly, or breaks rules, like going into another persons stall, I fine them. They are living the real life. The less I controlled it, the better. The rules determine every aspect of their business and they know it!

Playing around again!

I used word mosaic to do this. You can also use wordle.

Tips of the trade

Visuwords is one of several interactive thesaurus applications that I’ve seen made available via the web. The basic concept of a visual thesaurus is to provide people with an interactive, online way to explore words and related words. After playing with the application, I’ve developed a few immediate uses for it in the classroom in conjunction with word study or vocabulary activities.

Visuwords can be:

(1) Used as a dictionary---If you hover over the key search word, it will provide a definition.


(2) Used to help locate related or word substitutes (synonyms) as in a typical thesaurus.


(3) Used for Grammar, Usage and Mechanics reinforcement. The color coding in the circle shows the part of speech of each word, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb. Students can recognize when a word WILL fit in a sentence as it is a similar part of speech, and when it will not.


(4) Used to give a great deal of exposure to process words like, is an instance of, is similar to, pertains to, attributes, opposes.


(5) A method for providing “also see” options that allow them to explore similar words.


(6) A way of exposing users to attributes which can reinforce character trait exploration in reading studies. i.e., other words for friendly include: congenial, social, companionable, affable, amiable.


(7) Used to show the derivation of a word which will help with word studies and word roots.


(8) Used to show opposites which can lead to a discussion of antonyms.


(9) Used to show word roots and the relationships between words with Latin and Greek roots.




What's Bing ?


A search engine called Bing.


Quite frankly, with a well built PLN (Personal Learning Network) and access to a wealth of well searched links through Diigo, I’ve found myself using Google less and less.
The images they’ve presented have been stunning. The images expose us to landmarks, creatures, traditions and other amazing sights from around the world. But the pictures are more than just a picture, they are informative and interactive. As you hover your mouse around different sections of the photos, Bing has embedded links to factual information about the pictures. Links that direct you sites related to the images.

As an educator I think I’ve decided what to do about this new tool that has been provided to me. Bing seems to be a terrific step in that direction. Presenting an image from Bing on a regular basis in the classroom, and sharing with students the facts associated with those photos would be a great way to expand their world. Whether I encourage them to explore it independently and provide them with an essential question to research, or simply expose them to the site and image routinely I believe it has value as an educational tool.