Each year I’m stuck with the same challenge… How to give students authentic influence, voice and purpose in their learning. Part of this must include cycles of reflection. Short reflections after a learning experience, longer reflection after a unit of learning and even broader after a year together. A yearbook, it seems, should be a […]
Each week we have a special “Team Time” where students are split up amongst the 4 fourth grade classes with a variety of focuses. This time, we decided to try a provocation for our new unit, an exploration of how Children are a unique part of our […]
Before visiting the Nogeyama Zoo, second grade spent an hour or so looking at the list of species we would encounter, and finding images of them in their natural habitats. We printed several dozen of these and made a book of them to bring with us to compare with their zoo enclosures.
I’ve always had an issue with the term international school. It’s probably due largely to the fact that working with lower elementary kids, the majority of my students have barely ever lived in their country. Still others have multiple nations that they’ve been told they come from.
Invariably, our schools have special days or units […]
The first unit of inquiry grade two embarked on this year was a study of ways in which we are enriched by our own cultures and the cultures we connect with throughout our lives.
As we began asking questions along a line of inquiry exploring similarities and differences between cultures, we struggled with ways to […]
