We need answers to get answers

"We need answers to get answers," a student reflected, as he shared his 3-2-1 after out lesson on measurement. I was thrilled. He often blurts out replies that are not connected with anything in particular.

If was a very powerful lesson I picked up from G. Fletchy's website. The students were engaged and everyone participated with enthusiasm.

I wanted the students to understand the following:

We can :

use different tools to measure things.
connect certain measurements with our body parts to make good estimates or get an idea of "howmuchness" of measurement units. (10 cm spans the the outer edge of my right eye to the outer edge of my left eye.)
chunk objects - visually break up an objects into parts.

Lesson starter:

A 3-Act lesson with this picture:

Question: What is the difference in height of the children?

What do you notice?

What questions do you have?

Then I showed the next picture for 5 seconds.

Followed by this one: (5 seconds)

Questions/wonderings generated from the students:

How many cubes could there be?
I think there might be 5. ( I show them the picture for another 5 seconds)....no there are 10!

Me: Can you guess how many cubes there are now?

64 and 53!

Me: How did you count so quickly?

Students shared their counting strategies:

I counted the colours and multiplied by 10.
Then I spent more time focusing on the top part which was not in tens.

The next day, we worked on the following task and reflection.

Task Unifix cubes

Sample students responses-

Reflection

Sample student reflection:

Comments

Unravelling the inquiry cycle in a PYP class room

“ People can make choices to support the sustainability of the Earth’s energy resources .” Me to students : Does that make sense? Students to me : (after a while)...not really... Their understanding of "energy" during the pre-assessment task also reflected a superficial knowledge of the term. And thus our unit of inquiry started. As I was browsing the net, I came across this picture prompt- a map, which I thought would serve as a great provocation. The annual energy consumption per person . Kids love guessing where countries are, so it was a great way to address some geography at this point. I had also been reading Craig Dwyer's post which inspired me to change my inquiry cycle and use a simpler one. Wonder (while exploring)- Explore (while wondering)- Create (while reflecting)- Reflect (with subsequent wonderings). I was feeling more at ease now. The map allowed the students to make a lot of inferences based on patterns whi...

A teacher's antidote to stress

Life can become hectic for us teachers. What does a Friday feel like to you sometimes? By the end of the day, I feel like having a hot bath, switching off my mobile phone, and ignoring everyone around me. For my Masters program, the first thing we were made aware of was the intense stress teachers go through and how important it is to make time for yourself. I always felt selfish when I took out a little 'me' time. My kids would be banging on the door while I was getting a massage done at home. When I would come out after one hour, feeling happy, I would get sarcastic looks from everyone in the house! But I always knew that if I did not take out some time for myself, I would get mad! I love Hatha Yoga. Every morning I feel and enjoy the stretches; I am conscious of how I breath. I silently communicate with my body and get to know it. With a little practice, this becomes a really good habit. I love smooth pebbles! I collect them whenever I see one that intrigues me...

Famous and the infamous

A reflection: It's funny how people start addressing women as Sir in India once they do something heroic! A step by step process of my inquiry lesson. I think I'll keep updating the same post in order to keep this on one page! 23rd August My class is learning all about heroes, and I have created a short but provocative video ( I hope! ) using Animoto. What a wonderful tool :) Famous and the infamous This was my provocation. I decided not to tell the kids what they were going to inquire into. By carefully watching the video they will have to identify the characters they know. I posted a power point of the famous and infamous characters on the new class blog (The kids are absolutely thrilled and amazed to see themselves on it) so that they can go home and show their parents the ones they had trouble identifying. 24th August The following day we made a Venn diagram. A three way one. I used http://billsteachingnotes.wikispaces.com/Graphic+Organisers to make copies ...

Learning Never Stops

Search This Blog