Examining Conflict a PYP Perspective

Theme: How We Express Ourselves.
Central Idea: People use various forms of expression in times of conflict.
An inquiry into the ways in which we  discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, believes and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

     So how do you teach conflict and expression to children? How do you make it global and yet make it relevant to them so they can take action?  Well this year we approached it a little different than last. For the week prior I had images on my door of various conflicts, Civil Rights Movement, Holocaust, and Japanese interment camps, throughout the week students posted questions about the images- they were very curious to say the least.  We then moved into our provocation to create a conflict within our room.  We selected a few students who were to be our "privileged" ones throughout the day. Boy, were the other students upset.  The chosen ones got candy, computer time, extra lunch time.  There was definitely conflict and the rest could not understand what they did to get so much special treatment!

    Next we had the kids look at how our the idea of conflict was related to the key concepts of Change, Causation, and Perspective. The kids worked in groups to find the relation between the key concepts and related concept of conflict. For example:
               Perspective - What the are the points of view?
               Change- How is it changing?
               Causation- Why is it like this?

    This provocation and concept study led us right into our study of the Civil Rights Movement. The kids looked at expression as a means to create change.  They watched Martin Luther King Jr give his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, they studied how the children expressed their desire for change with the Children's March.  We also looked at the other side- how those that were opposed to integration expressed themselves, violently or with politics.  It was very powerful for the students to see just how our country has changed in the past 50 years.  They began to understand that expression is not just art, or song- but also protest, and action.
    We have continued our study by next looking at the Holocaust.  Believe me teaching this topic is very difficult- but I feel that it is important that children understand all aspects of our history, even those parts that are most difficult to understand.  Now, that being said, I did have to tread lightly on the topic they are only 10 after all! But, in the end they have developed a true understanding of this injustice and have really thought about our role in preventing such atrocities again.  The students each researched and wrote about a different aspect of the Holocaust from the Ghettos to the Death Marches. We looked at the amazing poetry and artwork of the time- including propoganda.

     Our study is coming to a close so it's time to bring it back to them.  Our school recently adopted the Olweus anti-bullying program.  So we are going to look at how we express ourselves within our conflicts here at school and at home.  They are going to use what they learned about propoganda to create some posters (for the poster contest) to put up at our school.  As part of their summative assessment they will look at images, art, or writing from different conflicts and reflect & respond to how they see the use of expression.  

 
   

Teaching Kindness

"Nothing can make our life, or the lives  of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness." 
- Leo Tolstoy 

      This idea of kindness has never been more prevalent in my building that it has been this past few weeks.  Some staff members noticed the stress that was consuming so many of the teachers and they decided to take action! (IB in action).  Each week these teachers have challenged us to acknowledge each other and our successes.  It is not big things that make a difference, but just these little moments that can change someone's day.
  It started with #fantastic5  find 5 people and give them a postive shout out on instagram, twitter, or other media.

    This week, inspired by this video, the staff have been leaving little messages for one another. I tell you, it does put a little smile on your face when you see a little post it on your door with a positive message.  I love this staff!! 

Sharing the Planet

     Today we launched our first UOI, Sharing the Planet.  This is one of my favorite UOIs of the year.  Why? Well, the science link of course.  Our children are examining the central ideas of how natural disasters affect people and the environment. 
    Yesterday I started by giving the children post it flags with the magnitude of earthquakes written on them.  I did not tell them what the numbers meant- only the number and where it happened. They were to place their flag on our classroom map of the location they were given. There was a great deal of speculation yesterday as to what they were plotting.  Nobody guessed!  I love that they were thinking and completely engaged in the mystery of the numbers.
     Today we continued plotting data, which can be found here.  After we plotted more you could really see a pattern!  I then showed them this prezi that I made and afterwards returned to our map.  Voila!! The light bulbs came on and they now saw what the relationship was between the numbers- it was awesome!! They were suddenly so enthralled- even my child who told me he "hated science" was excited. 
    This was a great provocation to start the conversation about natural disasters.  They began to formulate questions which will later guide some of our inquiries and their genius hour projects.  It was also an excellent way for me to see the gaps in their knowledge and get an idea of where I needed to start in the teaching of earth system and processes. 
    I cannot wait for tomorrow as we start to look closer at the natural disasters and their impact on humans and the environment!!

Technology Integration

     Day two the reflective teaching and I am thinking about technology.  What would I like to integrate? How will I integrate? 
    I have to say that being 1:1 this year, so far, is amazing!  I am using Google Classroom each and everyday. I love that I can post an assignment for my students and the minute they come in the classroom they are connecting to our classroom and getting right to work.  It is a great tool to use and makes sharing of assignments and other resources a breeze!
    My students love the fact that they can work on assignments at home, or modify according to my comments and critique.  The use of classroom opens up so many possibilities for differentiation. I can easily modify any document and share with all my students or just a few without them feeling left out or anyone else knowing that their assignment is just a little bit different. 
  The one piece of technology that I would like to use more is a student blog. I have set up Kidblog for my class as we connect with other classrooms in the Global Read Aloud.  This is new to me so it comes with a learning curve for both me and my class.  Teaching blogging to children is something that I hope they will continue to use in the future. Blogs are great for reflecting and sharing a piece of ourselves with the world. I hope they can see, through our use in the classroom, the benefit of blogging.  I am always on the lookout for ways to engage children, especially in the area of writing.  This medium is different than what they are used to and so far as really hit home with some of my reluctant writers.  Let's hope the interest continues!!

In the Name of Science!!

    So even though today was the first day of Spring, and we pry should be admiring any blooms that are coming instead of destroying them...but we just couldn't help ourselves!!
     We've begun our new inquiry into how the structures of plants and animals help them to survive.  We began with a concept cartoon that the students examined and chose the statement they most agreed with, of course they had to support their choice with reason.

We then gathered together to fill out our OWL chart and see where we were at in our learning and what misconceptions we may have still carried.  

Yesterday we discussed the internal structures of plants and the importance each part has to the survival, growth and reproduction of plants.  But, today, today was the fun part! Today we got to dissect a flower, specifically an alstromeria.  These are a great specimen to use because you can clearly identify all the parts, and they are cheap!   

Designing and Constructing our Devices

     So as seen in previous posts we are working in our current science and IB unit on the idea that innovations of today will affect our lives in the future.  We spent three days designing blueprints for our solution to a problem within the city of Ember.
     Today was the day they students go to finally build their devices.  They spent the first few minutes gathering supplies from our "trash heap", then it was off to work!  It was amazing to see them working so well together and the conversations about their devices were awesome.  While they were working I kept the rubric on the overhead so they could constantly refer to it through the design process.  One group discovered after building that they were actually below basic! Yikes!! So, they had to revise their design to meet the criteria listed.  The students will have 3 days to build and test before they present on Friday.  I can't wait to see how some of their ideas pan out!
Check out the video of our engineers!

Creating Compassion- Beating Bullying

Over the past few weeks our grade level has experienced some issues with bullying and name calling.  We took this as a sign that we needed to go back and revisit expectations and clear up just what bullying is and is not.  Even with doing my own reading and research I found information that could be considered confusing. I truly believe that we have done some injustice to the world of bullying by using the word so loosely, that kids with true bully concerns, are not being addressed.  By the end of our work I wanted the children to see how their actions and choices affect not only them, but at times those around them.  And, that those actions can have lasting, unintended, consequences.  So here begins my lengthy post (sorry about that) into what we did to beat bullying in our room.  

As I set out to find sources that were grade level appropriate and would paint a clear picture for my students, I came across this blog.  I loved her ideas, which she had seen also on another site, and the fact that they really broke it down into small steps that sparked discussion each day.  So, following her example I set off to get a grip on the bullying issue in our grade level.  

Day 1: I didn't take a picture of my board,  but it was completely void of anything! No anchor charts, notices, books etc...NOTHING.  The only thing on my board was one word written quite largely in the center, "MEAN".  As the children entered the room it definitely sparked some conversations and questions. I also showed them this video and had a short discussion about their reaction to it afterward.  

Day 2: I spent day one after school writing a whole slew of words on my board that are reflect characteristics of meanness and negativity.   We also watched another short video that were sited on the Nerdy, Nerdy, Nerdy blog.  "Stand Up, Stand Out"  and again discussed after.  I also brought in one of my most favorite books for teaching about bullying and friendship- Enemy Pie.  I love that this book speaks to the judgement we make about people before we even give them a chance!  

Day 3: On this day I had written over our list of words " How Do You Want To Be Remembered?".  As the children filed in there were some great discussions about what this meant and some of them even started saying, " Well I don't want to be remembered as uncaring!" (or any word that was written on the board).  We watched a few more quick clips including, Mark Wills' "Don't Laugh at Me" and "Being a Friend".  We then continued our discussion from yesterday about how we can  judge another without even knowing the truth about that person.  I chose to read aloud Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  I love this book! I think I've read it a few times this year already. But, why I like it is because it is a great example of bullying and how it changes how someone acts or thinks about themselves.  

As the day progressed, I asked the kids to think about how they would like to be remembered.  As they came up with ideas, they were given the opportunity to erase and replace the words written on the board.  They came up with some great ideas!! 

Finally, the last day just happened to be the due date for our door decor contest for Dr. Seuss week and they kids had the most awesome idea! We saw the quote that was hanging above and they took it from there.  They decided on characters they would most like to emulate and then they finished the thought, " I want to be remembered as..."  Wouldn't you know--- WE WON!!!