Working in groups is a significant part of learning and decision making, in school and many career fields. This requires us to be active listeners and contributors in order to build understanding and work towards a common goal. Recently, it was time for a desk change. We’ve tried various arrangements throughout the year so far, but this time the students decided on how the desks should be organized.
As a group, we brainstormed the various arrangements experienced in the past, and discussed the possible design constraints (shape and size of the room, number of desks, etc). Then students broke into small groups, where each group used tiles to design a possible layout. They had to discuss and negotiate different possibilities before having to reach a consensus on which design they thought best suited our classroom. They recorded their designs on large paper and outlined pros and cons for their design, considering issues around use of space, mobility, and “chatter.” Groups presented their ideas to the whole class, and then students voted.
In the end, groups had varying degrees of success in terms of their ability to reach consensus and to express their ideas clearly. The layout that received the most votes was pods of 5 or 6. We agreed that we liked the table-type set-up as it was good for working in groups and for creating space to move throughout the room, but we also recognized that having a pod arrangement could contribute to more off-task talking. We also talked about the importance of self-regulation and making productive choices for ourselves and our learning, as well as our accountability to our classroom community.
For the Thread Chorus, we are aiming for a “Canadian-inspired” look. Students are encouraged to wear:
It’s that time of year to celebrate everyone’s favourite irrational number: pi!
Students in Division 7 are gearing up for their Seaforth Student-Led Conferences this week! They are coming up on Wednesday March 11th, from 2:00 to 6:00. These conferences take place in an “Open House” format, where several students are in the classroom with their families at the same time for their 15-20 minute meetings.
What are you still working on? What skills are you still growing?
This term, Division 5 learned about the history of the Métis sash, or ceinture fléchée. We tried our hand (or rather our fingers) at a textile technique called “finger weaving,” used by Indigenous peoples all over North America. Here is a video about some of the history of the Métis sash.
Students worked in pairs to help each other learn the process. One student held the yarn while the other did the weaving. Weaving was like learning some new dance steps, but once we understood the pattern we were flying!
Students practiced their paragraph writing to accompany their weaving, to be displayed at the Student-Led Conferences. Their writing should give some information about who the Métis people are, and students’ experience with the process of learning and doing finger weaving.
Today we had a wonderful presentation from a maple syrup farmer who we call “The Maple Man!” We learned a lot about Québécois culture and heritage, and how maple sap is collected and processed to become delicious maple syrup! We got a taste of the very special treat, maple taffy (or tire d’érable en français!)
Seaforth will be celebrating Literacy Week, January 19th – 23rd!
Term 1 is always a time of transition and new experiences as we come together as a new class. During this term, we review and learn new expectations and routines and meet new people. It takes time to get to know our new class identity as we have students coming from different classes (and even other schools) in order to compose our new group. Especially for our grade 4 classmates, Term 1 is a very new experience as this is their first time in an intermediate classroom—curriculum changes, more students in our shared space, and increasing independence and expectations. During this Term, all students take time to adjust to these changes. Also, students are working with a variety of staff: Ms. Coutts (new to Seaforth), Ms. Vankadari (also new to Seaforth, and co-teacher while Ms. Coutts does Head Teacher duties), Mr. Brockerville teaches Physical and Health Education, Mr. Clift teaches Music, and the students also see Ms. Bogunovic (also new to Seaforth) for Library. We also share our classroom with Ms. Bola, our Educational Assistant. It’s a busy time with many different people!