Each year, we aspire to foster a sense of wonder and passion within our students. For us, it started when our students forged a bond with a professional athlete, subsequently focusing our learning around the question: “What is the relationship between Science and Sport?”

This mentorship has fuelled our students’ enthusiasm to learn, explore, and grow. They have grilled a World Champion to consider the impact of friction on his bicycle, inspired an impromptu lesson on aerodynamics from an Olympic gold medalist, and challenged a CFL receiver to describe how physics influences his strategy. Others have connected by taking up knitting to demonstrate perseverance or by interpreting principles of of human kinetics through the arts.

The impact on others has been less explicit, but by no means less valuable. The language of fair play has become engrained in their values. Reflecting on their mentor’s experiences will encourage the use of a new strategy rather than giving up when encountering an academic challenge. Some now live the continual cycle of goal (re)setting after witnessing its importance to someone they admire.

A role model is powerful. Seeing that person discover, commit to, and pursue their passion can be everything.

These moments of learning and personal connection always serve to remind us of the power of a relationship and how any small interaction can be a pivotal moment in a shaping the narrative of student experience.

Not all of our students will become scientists – fewer will pursue professional athletics – but we will endeavor to empower each to ask questions, take risks, and pursue their passions, in whatever form that might take.

C. Ware (@shelware) & E. McCrady (@elainemccrady) are passionate Gr. 5 team teachers who won’t stop exploring & are science nerds at heart.

The trouble with citing finished examples of classroom work is that something inevitably gets lost in translation. It is near impossible to capture in words the richness of a conversation or the magic of a smile.

But I’ll try…

This year, after many years in grades 1 to 3, I decided to teach Kindergarten. I made a promise to myself that literacy for our youngest learners would be as much about discovery as Science is and as much about problem solving as Math.  It would be as much about creating as Art is and as much about community as Social Studies. It would not be systematically delivered; letters first, then sounds, then words, then sentences. No.

Where is the wonder in that?

Today you would have seen a child (who has yet to know all her letters) write a prescription in the hospital center before moving on to work with a peer to craft a thank you letter for a class visitor. You would have seen a group working on a sign for our fire station. You would have seen tracings of flowers, labeled sketches of tomato plants, and pencil rubbings of nasturtium leaves “Look Mrs. George, I drew a nasturtium. Mrs. George, how do you spell “shum?”

Today in Kindergarten, you would have seen invitations to write in every corner of our space, a topography of sorts Gk. Topographia, from topos “place” and graphein “to write.” Because when students have something real, worldly and relevant to write about, the “shum” in “nasturtium” matters.

Jennifer George (@firgeorge) is a Learning Leader at Evergreen School. She is passionate about literacy and learning spaces that inspire.

I had an amazing math lesson planned.  Engaging, linked to Friday’s work, kicking off a great classroom discussion.  And five minutes into class, I threw my plan out.

Why?  Because of a lesson that I already knew, but was retaught today – my student’s know what they need and will show me, through their actions if not their words, as long as I just pay attention.  

Class started with a few division questions –to get them thinking while I got other activities set up.  I had intended for this to last for about five minutes, but my students had other ideas.  Realizing that working independently wasn’t working, some went to classmates for help.  Others discovered their inner teacher and started running mini-lessons for friends.  I turned around to remind them all that they should be working quietly but stopped in my tracks when I overheard one student say, “Not quite.  Come to the easel and we can go step by step.”  I paused, trying to focus in on other conversations and heard, “I know you have that one wrong because the remainder can’t be bigger than the divisor.  Can you tell me why that’s true?”  

Fantastic lesson or not, they weren’t ready to move on.  They needed more time to explore… talk… work things through.  Instead of my lesson, I spent the next 40 minutes walking around my room, listening for my student’s voices telling me, in oh so many ways, just what it was that they needed to learn. 

Allison Smeltzer teaches grade four at Brentwood TLC

A few weeks ago, my granddaughter, Stacy, and I were eating dinner when she told me that she failed level 2 of swimming. “What happened?” I asked.

“I couldn’t finish my distance swim - but it’s OK, I can just go to level three,” Stacy responded.

I wanted to tell her that it was no big deal - she could just move on to the next level. She failed to meet only one requirement. However, this was an opportunity to talk about something important: the need for perseverance.

“Stacy, you shouldn’t go to level 3.” I said. She looked crestfallen.

I continued, “in our family, we do things that are hard. Sometimes, they’re so hard that we fail. When we fail, we try again until we succeed.”

I asked her how many times she fell off her bike when learning to ride. Then I asked her how she felt when she could stay upright all the time.

“Proud,” she said.

“I want you to have that feeling, Stacy, and sometimes you have to struggle to get it.”

The we watched a video and talked about Diana Nyad.

Two weeks later, Stacy started climbing lessons. Her first three attempts to climb the entire height of the wall were unsuccessful. On her fourth she made it.

She came off belay and bounded over to me. We shared a high five as she grinned at me and said, “that was HARD!”

I smiled and told her that I was proud of her.

Angie Tarasoff (@angietarasoff) is a Senior Manager with the School Technology Branch in Alberta Education. She believes that it’s better to do hard things and fail than it is to do easy things and succeed.

Our responsible little citizens.

I had the honour of helping out Langevin School on Earth Day. Just like when I went to school in the 70's and 80's, we were tasked with picking up litter in the immediate area of the school. So what did I learn? The difference the students are making day to day within the school is really what makes the societal differences.

I saw this on the wall:

Why the Landfill? Cups made of styrofoam take more than 900 years to properly break down. Cups made with Petroleum bases  (Waxy) take 10-100 years to decompose.

Recycle mixed beverage containers:

 “Rinse first please” is not something we see in your everyday beverage recycling container. Great advice. 

            How are disposable cups made? Mass produced in factories. Starbucks makes 2.52 billion cups every year.

            This is remarkable.

Since September 2012, with 3 weeks down for repairs, Langevin students have saved 53,092 water bottles by filling their bottles in this fountain.

So what I learned, is that these yearly, awareness type events are nice, but Langevin shows in it's day to day studies that it is a lifestyle of environmental awareness, knowledge and good habits that will put our next generation on the right path.

Larry Leach (@ARTICSchair) is a parent volunteer at Langevin School and is the Chair for the Association for Responsive Trusteeship in Calgary Schools.

Tasha Roa-Yaremkowycz, Kathleen Shaver, Brianna Bolivar, Grade 4 Teachers at Andrew Sibbald School

Mathematics in our classroom takes on an experiential form where students explore their curiosity and interests through a variety of methods. We strive to create an environment where students feel safe to take risks and challenge their thinking. 

We realize that community is an essential part for students to develop a positive self-identity in mathematics. One way we support this is by engaging students in number talks where they are given the opportunity to think critically and challenge each other’s thinking in a respectful way. These types of rich mathematical tasks build community amongst students and encourage willingness to participate as well as confidence in self-efficacy.

When teaching is going well it takes on a life of its own. Students work in different groups, at their own pace, and explore concepts through a variety of conceptual approaches.  When working through fractions, students visualize concepts of ‘parts of a whole’ and are then encouraged to use whatever visual framework works best for them when solving problems, as long as they are efficient and effective. We overheard in our classroom today:  “If that is how you calculate the area for a rectangle, how you do calculate it for a triangle or a circle?”  This is when logic prevails in our room… As students grasp the meanings of the numbers, the formula, the fraction line or the reason for using a manipulative to reinforce a concept they are more likely to apply logic to solve problems. The result: passionate mathematicians. 

 
@TashaRoa Kathleen Shaver (@therealmomblog) & @bribolivar10 are grade 4 teachers seeking to instill curiosity, stewardship and collaboration amongst our students.  Join our journey: @grade4wonders

If Something Isn’t Working

A class that I work with is creating life-size wooden puppets for an original production at their school. The students are using scraps of wood and metal as their materials.

This week I noticed that the limbs of the puppets had been carved down significantly – in fact about half of the original wooden leg had been cut out and sanded down. I asked Jordan who busy re-attaching the bottom portion of the leg to the knee component, why he had changed the legs and arms so significantly.

He replied, “Well, it wasn’t working. We did a trial run of attaching the puppet to the puppeteer and he couldn’t move himself or the puppet. It is supposed to look realistic. Not really realistic, but you know, suggest at being realistic. So then Yazi (the puppeteer), and the other puppet maker and I figured out that it was all because we hadn’t thought about how heavy all the pieces together would be. It just wasn’t working. So, if something isn’t working, you change it, right?”

In just a few sentences Jordan very simply explained how he, having criteria, having peers to think through his problem, and the power to make decisions about his learning and the product of his learning, was able to adjust from something that wasn’t working for him, to something that would.  Jordan reminded me that as an educator, sometimes it isn’t about getting it right, but about having the courage to change something that isn’t working.

Erica, @eboycegraham is a learner, a teacher, a lover of adventures and a drifter of the fine classrooms and schools of the CBE.

What Did I Learn Today?

Nineteen curious five year olds entered the room, greeting each other and chatting. During carpet time, we gathered together to decide how the day would unfold. Before going to their centres, I let students know that I would stop their play at some point to have them draw their thinking.

It was a busy hour of play, with students engaging in a huge variety of activities. Some worked on creating a movie with light and shadows in our shadow room.  One student settled into a beanbag to quietly research snakes. A small group built animal homes with blocks, some drew and others figured out how to remove the flesh from the coconut. Moving from teacher to guide, I assisted with materials, listened to conversations and worked on targeted strategies with some students.

Our teaching goal this year was to embed joyful writing and math throughout the classroom.  We often discuss how to show our thinking through drawings, messages and plans at different centres and ask questions about where we see math in our play. I stopped the class well into playtime to drop everything and write. I was surprised to see the students clamoring for their journals! While they sketched snakes with patterns, structures, art projects and more, the engagement was palpable.  

Later, my partners and I met for a post-dismissal chat. We have developed a protocol: we talk about what happened in our classrooms, share student, discuss the plan for the following day and then we go big with blue sky ideas.  Today, we discussed the journal entries that my class did, spent a few moments talking about our sustainability inquiry that we are developing, then our discussion turned to the importance of collaborative space.

Reflecting at the end of the day, I realized that my students are learning how to think, collaborate and ask questions and I am learning just how much student voice, collaboration and intrinsic motivation can drive my practice.

 

Stephanie Bartlett (@sj_bartlett) teaches Kindergarten FI at Chinook Park. Passionate about infusing creativity & teaching. Life long learner.

Midway through class, graphic novel closes.  James looks up at Ms. Gale thrilled, “I’ve finished all five acts!”

Now smiling, she laughs, “Well, that’s great!  You do know I’m your Social Studies teacher though, right?”  

It’s James’ turn to laugh, letting out a relieved sigh, “Yes. I just had to tell someone.”  He’s now joined the ranks of those having experienced Verona’s most woeful tale.

With this being Academic Focus time, time to work alone or collaboratively through learning plans, some learners are finishing up Energy Audits. Others are considering and reconsidering a baffling Expanding Cube problem.  The double classroom and Learning Commons are dynamic spaces right now; teachers are providing targeted support. Around James, across blended academic streams, students are determining Romeo and Juliet’s central themes, some utilizing the Shakespeare in Bits app, others skillfully rehearsing the heartbeat rhythm of iambic pentameter. 
 
It’s all a reminder: we’re better together. Connection and community aren’t exclusive to our building; personalizing, connecting, and thriving are, though, central to the learning culture at Thirsk. Our communities, schools within the school, provide many opportunities for our learners. Rigorous interdisciplinary work isn’t (always) contained to one subject area. Students have supportive peers and adults they know meaningfully. Less isolated, with intentionality and flexibility, choices and new perspectives often surface.  

Later, separately, James and Ms. Gale share with me the excitement of the day’s accomplishment.  Yet again, I’m reminded of the privilege to teach and learn, celebrating successes and sharing challenges, as a member of this learning community.