It's that time of year- SPEECHES! Had a great time today working with the Grade 7's and 8's on their writing process. Such a variety of topics, followed by some great ideas. Cant wait to see the final presentations in the speech showcase, coming up! Written by anonymous student: Sigh… You look down at your empty pad of paper with no clue where to start. The clock ticks away, mocking you and your blank sheets. Your mind is as empty as a broken heart. You decide to daydream, getting lost in your imagination. Hopefully you’ll think of something soon. Then, suddenly an amazing burst of creativity pops into your mind, as you struggle to jot your ideas down while they’re still fresh. All thanks to your good ol’ trusty friend, imagination. Imagination sparks creativity. Imagination inspires, and drives us to live our best life. Have you ever daydreamed of that perfect life? The life where you no longer attend school and you are as free as a bird, ready to take on the word. The happy thoughts of jumping on a plane and exploring outside of your small town. Imagination gives us the inspiration to do just that. By imagining what it would be like to adventure and explore, we can activate our creativity. For once, we feel motivated to get off our lazy butts, to do something incredible, worthwhile, and meaningful in the world. Whatever is your cup of tea, is yours for the taking. With imagination, we are inspired to live a life that we have always felt was just out of our reach.
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Well, after taking a break from my blog and finding time to travel and get myself settled in my career, I am back- and excited to share!
Since I last posted on this blog, I have had the opportunity to explore South Africa, and Cozumel. I have started some new coaching adventures, and have been supply teaching for several schools. Things have been exciting to say the least! I look forward to keeping up with my blogging and sharing new activities and ideas that come up in both the classroom and on the field. Talk soon! Here is my Digital Story that I created in my MDL4000 (Digital and Media Literacy) course. * Compilation of quotes from Gary Turk, and Sherry Turkle. ENJOY! By the time children reach four and five years of age, they spend much of their day in schools. So, it makes sense that schools are important places for them to learn about healthy eating. If children don't know how to make healthy food choices, they can’t make them. That being said, students also require critical thinking skills to make smart decisions about food and a supportive environment in which to do so. It is crucial for parents to take responsibility in modelling good eating behaviours at home, though teachers also play an important role in the child's understanding of nutritional education. If teachers are able to talk about healthy eating with confidence and sensitivity, while also making healthy food choices themselves, they can be terrific role models for their students. Children need opportunities to practice critical thinking about nutrition, so they learn to recognize factors (media, friends, culture) that influence their own eating decisions. This, in turn, encourages learners to develop a sense of personal responsibility about their nutrition, and how to develop the lifelong skill of making good choices. Let's face it, we all want our students/children to make smart decisions for themselves, right? In December, I worked with my kindergarten students on an activity regarding nutritional awareness. The students were required to cut out images of different foods from the newspapers provided. As a class, they gathered these images in a basket. Once each student had been given an opportunity to cut-out some images, we began our discussion. I began by asking the students to tell me what healthy means. What does unhealthy mean? Then, we collaboratively sorted our food cut-outs into 'healthy foods' and 'junk foods'. This activity went fairly well, though there were some disagreements over certain foods- for example, cheese, or bread. When reflecting back on this activity, I have realized a few things. Next time, I will direct the lesson as 'healthy foods' and 'sometimes foods'. Why? It is important to teach students to think of food as fuel for the body. When we talk about junk foods, they gather the impression that they are to avoid those foods entirely. However, unhealthy foods are okay in your diet in small portions. By teaching students that they are 'sometimes foods', they can better understand that they can still be eaten, but there is a lack in nutritional value. It is important to provide students with a realistic understanding, and to avoid the dichotomy of good vs. bad.
Secondly, I noticed that careful consideration should be paid to the ways we talk about food and nutrition. It is important that as teachers, we do not make students feel that one value system or food practice is superior to another, and that no foods, food groups, or eating practices are criticized. Teachers must avoid making assumptions about students based on their country of origin, culture, or religion. On the contrary, we need to create an inclusive environment by recognizing and celebrating both the wonderful variety of foods consumed by each student, and the multitude of ways those foods are enjoyed. There are many ways to incorporate multicultural food and festivities into your classroom! Check out my first video tutorial for Comic Life 3- using a program called Camtasia What is Comic Life? Comic Life is a program, or app, that allows students to create posters or comic books full of rich media. The program encourages student freedom, expression and creativity while developing literary skills. I would suggest using Comic Life for older elementary students, such as the junior grades (4 to 6). However, younger students can also be introduced to this program. Though, they will require more assistance with manipulating the technology, and program itself Why Use Comic Life? Comic Life is an excellent program for teachers to introduce in the classroom. As it tackles all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, it can be applicable throughout many contexts of a unit; ranging from the gathering of information, to the sharing of ideas, to demonstrating understanding and knowledge in summative assessments. Using this program as a summative assessment can be ideal when looking for students to explain their answers in a unique and creative way. This program can be used to assess student mastery in literacy, for any standard in any subject level. One of the greatest things about this program, is that it can be applied to any subject across the curriculum, such as Math, Science, Language, Social Studies, Gym, Drama, Music, Dance, etc. It can even be used cross-curricular! Each comic can be started from a template or started from scratch, providing students with freedom and choice, while encouraging them to use their creativity and imagination.
USE IT TO EVALUATE Students can use Comic Life to evaluate an answer by creating a comic and using the narration bubbles to defend or support the steps of a math problem. Using Comic Life, students can argue whether the character in the book was a hero or a villain, using evidence displayed throughout the comic that they create. In Social Studies, students can select and justify a current event through a comic rather than simply writing out their response! (Stevens, 2017) USE IT TO ANALYZE Using Comic Life, students can differentiate between metaphors and similes. In math, students can compare fractions with pictures of real life examples. In Science, students can distinguish the physical characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases (states of matter). (Stevens, 2017) USE IT TO APPLY Students can use Comic Life to illustrate their understanding of the steps required for solving equations in math. They can also use a comic to sketch or interpret the number line. Students can create a comic that demonstrates the proper use of a particular part of speech (ie; verbs, adjectives, etc). In Social Studies, students can illustrate the journey of a famous person. (Stevens, 2017) USE IT TO UNDERSTAND Using Comic Life, students can identify sight words by taking pictures and annotating over them. In math, students can locate various types of shapes. You can also have students design a comic to describe how society has changed over time. Having students take pictures of proof that explains their position. For Science, students can report their results of a lab or classify various species on a number. (Stevens, 2017) USE IT TO REMEMBER Students can use Comic Life to define vocabulary words within a unit. As a spelling assessment, students can list the spelling of words with an accompanying picture for additional support. In math, students can use a comic to identify and relate types of triangles with pictures and text. In Social Studies, students can recall historical figures or time periods. (Stevens, 2017)
Today in media class, we were introduced to a brilliant creative writing program. This program is called 5 Card Flickr. This is a great program to use in the classroom, to help motivate students to write, as well as to spark creativity. Students will be given 5 images, and will have somewhat of choice as per their image selection. The idea is to have students develop and create a short story, incorporating the 5 images that they have selected. Students can get imaginative and creative. As each story will be unique to the student, encourage students to share their stories with the class.
In today’s Digital and Media Literacy class, we discussed the meaning and importance of participatory culture. Prior to our discussion, I had no recollection of what this meant, but certainly was intrigued to find out. After becoming familiar with a video by Henry Jenkins, I learned that participatory culture is all around us. As a teacher-to-be, I immediately discovered what this means for our students today. As Jenkins mentioned, we are in a ‘moment of transition’, where the old media platforms are dying, and new media is being born. As students of today’s classrooms, there is ample opportunity to use and reflect on new media, wherein the students and teacher can learn and grow together. As a classroom, we can explore and expand many imaginations. In doing so, students can learn from one another through the sharing of stories and ideas. Participatory culture can lead to diversity; where different representations and perspectives begin to emerge. It truly is a world of connecting, contributing, sharing, engaging and expressing. Bringing it into the classroom If you want to pull elements of participatory culture into your classroom, there are a variety of ways to get started:
Entering my first week of placement with my grade 6 class, I was nothing but eager to introduce and implement the many digitally interactive lessons that I had prepared. As for the students, they were anxious and excited to be my guinea pigs! Before I discuss some ways in which I incorporated media in my classroom, I will briefly share the importance of media in the classroom, and some tips that I quickly discovered during my placement experience. Why use media in the classroom? Media can be used in almost any discipline to enhance learning, both in class, and out of-class assignments. Short videos and television clips, written articles, and blog postings can be viewed to reinforce concepts and spark further discussion. Songs and music videos, especially when the lyrics are made available, can be used to the same effect. Research suggests that people learn abstract, new, and novel concepts more easily when they are presented in both verbal and visual form (Salomon, 1979). Advantages of using media in the classroom Using media sources during lessons can help interest, engage, and connect learners. Students can interact with one another and share their learning, through a variety of different digital platforms. For example, popular media (films, music, etc.) can be used to gain attention and maintain student interest in class discussions. Students can analyze their favourite media sources by taking a deeper look, or different approach in understanding content. In doing so, students can see concepts and new examples when they are watching television, listening to music, or at the movies with friends. Students can also experience worlds beyond their own, using media to spark their unknown imagination. In Willingham's (2009) research he asks, "Why do students remember everything that's on television and forget what we lecture?" – as global research has proven, this is because visual media helps students retain concepts and ideas. Bransford, Browning, and Cocking (1999, p 194) also discuss the crucial role that technology plays for creating learning environments that enhance the possibilities of media, such as movies, documentaries, television shows and music into new areas that require interactive learning like visualizations and student-created content. Tips that I learned when using media
When did I incorporate media in my lessons?
As I mentioned previously, I was extremely eager to incorporate and test out different media platforms with my grade 6’s. Well, now I am just as eager to share them with you! Here are some examples of media used in my lessons: While I sit here and complete my last assignment for first term, I can't help but feel the excitement and fluttering of butterflies throughout my body, as I enter my first placement. Since high school, I have helped babysit children; I have coached soccer and hockey; and I have tutored in an elementary school setting. I have always been passionate about working with children. I am inspired to play an important role in the development and growth of students through both sport, and academics.
I have been very privileged this term to have had a visual art class with a teacher who demonstrated an enormous amount of passion in her teaching. Throughout the term, I have been introduced to a variety of new ideas, activities, and techniques. I usually have trouble initiating an activity or project, because I just don’t know where to start. Reading “The Dot” has motivated me to put my paintbrush or pencil down, and just go with it! I was also really touched by the video ”The Present”- encouraging myself, and others, to maintain a growth mindset when trying something new. During the many great activities that we were able to complete this semester, I have challenged myself to be braver and more of a risk-taker when developing new ideas. I have learned that it’s okay to have ‘beautiful oops’ on your paper; but let it be used to spark your imagination and create something from it. I have really enjoyed this course, and I am walking away with an endless amount of ideas for my classroom; providing each student with a chance to motivate, challenge, and express themselves through art. |