How Interested Are You In...?

Each day for the last couple of weeks, we have been responding to a question on the wall in our classroom.

'How interested are you in...?'

The topics change and we put our name on the concentric circles display where we feel it belongs. The centre of the display represents 'very interested', with names placed towards the outside telling us that those people are less interested in the topic. We have one rule - Don't judge.

The reason for this was to provide an interesting discussion point for when we enter the classroom each morning. It also links with our inquiry theme, helping us to understand that we share interests, but we are also interested in different things. This adds to our understanding of uniqueness and diversity.

There have been many lively discussions around this display that have carried over into learning conversations about topics we would like to investigate further.

Check out some of our responses. What do they tell us?

Learner Licences

These play an important part in developing a culture of learning in our classroom. They allow us to identify learning role models, as well as giving us a clear vision of what great learners do.

Learner licences are not necessarily for 'high-achieving' children. They recognise those who always display a love of learning and attitudes that we truly value. Their peers have identified them as having these characteristics. An achievement to take great pride in.

Writing Process - Information Reports

We are well underway with our report writing focus.

How will we know when we have written an information report that ticks all the boxes?

This week we've been developing a better understanding of the process required. Beginning with asking the right questions and developing an understanding of the topic, through to the editing and sharing stages, we've been working our way through a step-by-step process.

This pyramid has been a guide to our learning this week. The reflective questions at each stage have provided a point for daily discussion...

In taking ownership of our learning, we have been using our general class writing process to keep track of the stage we are at. This emphasises editing routines, something we are working hard on, where we self-edit, peer-edit, then communicate that we are ready for a teacher conference (in green).

We are looking forward to sharing more of our writing in a range of mediums. 

Personal Treasures

Today we shared some of our personal treasures.

We were able to share a part of ourselves with our peers. Some of the back-stories behind our items had a lot of meaning to us and represented who we are and powerful experiences we have had. From memories of loved ones who have passed away, to family stories and our interests, we learned something special about each other. In many cases, we learned something about ourselves and the diversity that is represented in our classroom.

Take a look...



Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing more family stories and experiences that have helped shape who we are.

25:1

Twenty-five children. One teacher.

25:1 is an idea we have been referring to this week.

If it would take Mr K twenty-five minutes to tidy up our classroom, it would take the children in our class one minute to do this together.

What other situations can you think of where 25:1 could be applied?

Numeracy - Buddy Challenges

This week we were paired up with a buddy from our numeracy group.

Our task was to...

• Create a maths test for a buddy using certain criteria.
• Create an answer sheet for the test. 
• Swap and complete. 

Each of our numeracy groups had different types of questions that their tests had to contain.

What did we already know about numeracy, our buddy and ourselves? What could we learn?

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By doing this task, we were able to...

• Reinforce our learning by teaching others.
• Fill in any gaps in our learning (as we notice things that our peers know and we don't).
• Have strategies explained in 'child-speak'.
• Be reflective about our abilities and notice the skills we need to develop.

Task: Collaborating

This week we've been asking questions about celebrations and festivals around the world. After discussing traditional kiwi celebrations and our experiences, we've been looking into other cultures with the hope of making connections between the purposes of their celebrations and our own (and with each other).

We're very lucky to have a diverse group of learners in our class. Listening to stories of cultural traditions in Afghanistan, the United States and the Pacific Islands from Shukoor, Logan, Kyan and Matthew has provided a great insight into celebrations around the world. It has also given us ideas for questions we would ask about others that we research. Thank you boys for your input.

Collaboration has also been a focus for us in our research. This is a graphic we've been discussing with regards to this...


It tells us that collaboration is about working together to achieve something. Sometimes we aren't doing the same thing when we collaborate. Sometimes it is better to be finding out different things and have different jobs, then come together and communicate what we have learned to create something great as a team.

Over the coming weeks, we will be reflecting on and investigating how we can better collaborate.

TASK: Watch the video below. It features a remake of a popular festival in Europe. Can we work together to gather lots of information about this festival? See what you can find out and leave a comment (think WWWWWH).

If you see that someone has already mentioned what you were going to say, challenge yourself to find some new information!