tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57305149951996301782024-03-11T21:51:13.842-07:00Learning and Sharing with Ms. LirenmanI am a K-4 teacher with the Vancouver School District (formerly teaching in Surrey Schools). With 30+ years of experience and a bunch of improvements along the way, I still have so much more to learn. This blog is a way to help me process and share all that I'm discovering on my quest to be the best educator I can be.K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.comBlogger255125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-14587875411848595582022-10-29T18:46:00.006-07:002022-10-29T20:31:45.919-07:00What Keeps Me Going? Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl<div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhMfunu5s-oO1jRGiY7lxGJigQxMOKPopRfuzbwuStctqnb54roUXm029Tw1e_wom_r0z49K3AJEJKXfiimS8RKj3QNyMGEQsacNAaiWAlO6Nz1J4ER8T7nL2D_Pm-vfdLbGnqVR5Kh5TYnjQDoM9CSXM2Z7EZ9HOmL_FbHtl9CdZioW_LF5rlJsz1w/w400-h240/idea-g196e3dac9_1920.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhMfunu5s-oO1jRGiY7lxGJigQxMOKPopRfuzbwuStctqnb54roUXm029Tw1e_wom_r0z49K3AJEJKXfiimS8RKj3QNyMGEQsacNAaiWAlO6Nz1J4ER8T7nL2D_Pm-vfdLbGnqVR5Kh5TYnjQDoM9CSXM2Z7EZ9HOmL_FbHtl9CdZioW_LF5rlJsz1w/s1920/idea-g196e3dac9_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div><span><br /></span></div>As I continue to find my place in my. not so new anymore school district I continue to struggle with many things about the change. Sadly, much of what I have been passionate about in the past has slowly been removed from me. I still very strongly believe that technology use can and should be a game changer in the classroom to help children create content and have new ways to share their learning but I'm tried of hitting barriers and roadblocks. I'm still reminded from time to time about the positive impact I once had on educators (and their students) and that brings me both happiness and sadness. I am not who I once was. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This summer while having lunch with my friend <a href="https://twitter.com/swise_bc">Sasha Wise</a> she started talking about the things she had been experimenting with in her classroom after reading Peter Liljedahl's <a href="https://buildingthinkingclassrooms.com/publications/">Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics</a> book. I listened carefully and knew I was already doing a lot of what she was talking about. I'm usually skeptical of new things at first, so I sat on the idea for a bit. However, the more I thought about what Sasha was saying the more I wanted to learn.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This led me to purchasing the book and joining three groups on Facebook - Building Thinking Classrooms in K-2, Building Thinking Classrooms in 3-5, and the general Building Thinking Classrooms group. If you're not aware of Peter's work, he shares 14 researched based practices. You can get a quick snapshot of them <a href="https://buildingthinkingclassrooms.com/14-practices/">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlggrQMIqtkZueGYMCCQDsALCTj1e8MTbrnwg9Gaj22xhduzHGQYQddttfB-nLNlPLKlHwpJMOcRExJql2GbdVqtxFI0b2s5VrsiB2hViBazWPKcMSYPuSr02i6202zoYMuZ3k7ZRpmZeMTdspkjN1i7HeNgA9D-SlNA1D0jes3bm08vwjCvNU8ddQQ/s1800/IMG_2104.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlggrQMIqtkZueGYMCCQDsALCTj1e8MTbrnwg9Gaj22xhduzHGQYQddttfB-nLNlPLKlHwpJMOcRExJql2GbdVqtxFI0b2s5VrsiB2hViBazWPKcMSYPuSr02i6202zoYMuZ3k7ZRpmZeMTdspkjN1i7HeNgA9D-SlNA1D0jes3bm08vwjCvNU8ddQQ/s320/IMG_2104.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This are two students working at our original vertical surfaces.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In his book Peter suggests trying the first three practices first and I did just that. At first, I didn't have enough non-permanent vertical surfaces for my class. I teach grade two and three this year, so it's suggested that my students work in pairs. I needed 11 vertical non-permanent surfaces. I found cellophane paper in my school art supplies and so I put that up on my walls to supplement the white board space I already had. We were set.</p><p>Sasha also shared a website called <a href="https://flippity.net/RandomNamePicker.htm">Flippity</a> with me and I quickly set up my bookmark with my students' names in it. It's super-fast and easy to randomize my students. I can also quickly edit out the students who are away. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxS1LdkTTbUGrTmYLorcL_KXpMgyea6jm6pbR9eYbldeW-_u5tVcFl9q-11kwwMNWVSo2MfAhOtX8QBK9cpASZs4-0s1mhIWOJvPos76WHGG_nIFBLZ-rd6bXUgK1KJJ9VMt6P-3iUnlj5JPN81EAFuQCmueUVD3jtH0issFMnRc8l1ZehpOJhqeQpog/s2048/IMG_2122.PNG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxS1LdkTTbUGrTmYLorcL_KXpMgyea6jm6pbR9eYbldeW-_u5tVcFl9q-11kwwMNWVSo2MfAhOtX8QBK9cpASZs4-0s1mhIWOJvPos76WHGG_nIFBLZ-rd6bXUgK1KJJ9VMt6P-3iUnlj5JPN81EAFuQCmueUVD3jtH0issFMnRc8l1ZehpOJhqeQpog/w320-h240/IMG_2122.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>The third thing I needed was engaging thinking tasks. I'm quite familiar with websites like <a href="https://www.openmiddle.com/">Open Middle</a> , <a href="https://nrich.maths.org/">NRICH</a>, and <a href="https://www.youcubed.org/">YouCubed</a> (to name a few great websites) as well as math educators like <a href="https://mindfull.wordpress.com/">Carol Fullerton</a> and <a href="http://www.onetwoinfinity.ca/ ">Marian Small</a> (again just to name a few fabulous math educators) so finding tasks wasn't as hard as I thought. Peter has some at the end of every chapter in the book too. There are also TONS of people sharing tasks in the Facebook groups. I quickly created my own PowerPoint to help keep me (and my tasks) organized. I have "header" slides so I can ensure my specific content tasks are organized and easy to access with my learners. I have begun going through what I already had and started to add those tasks to my PowerPoint. As you can imagine my document keeps growing as new tasks are shared with me and I create my own.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZR9-JYhjoic2uuyYl3R42XhXpvK3tgpuut2Dn05CHKn7qoZnKJPbveIq9ZJdrtLWviw2-UFMR9XTXSjHc63lAUp_1nAIyHADYuQJej5qKWgVpBVpzVBoky9M4wA0lctKxzCh1kFyYDKPbY9q2Sz-4M6rL-7Xo3rbla3KVERZtndr5KwQnGEijFV3PQ/s1800/IMG_2117.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZR9-JYhjoic2uuyYl3R42XhXpvK3tgpuut2Dn05CHKn7qoZnKJPbveIq9ZJdrtLWviw2-UFMR9XTXSjHc63lAUp_1nAIyHADYuQJej5qKWgVpBVpzVBoky9M4wA0lctKxzCh1kFyYDKPbY9q2Sz-4M6rL-7Xo3rbla3KVERZtndr5KwQnGEijFV3PQ/w200-h200/IMG_2117.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><p>Peter suggests that you start with non-curricular tasks so that's exactly what I did. I started with the 3x3 square grid asking my students how many squares they saw. A shout out to <a href="https://www.aliciaburdess.com/ ">Alicia Burdess</a> for this and so many other fabulous tasks. The obvious answer was nine but that isn't the correct answer. The students kept working on it and finally some of them figured it out. They were hooked so I challenged many of them with a 4x4 grid and they moved into "choice time" at the end of the day a few students continued trying to figure out how many squares were in larger grids. We were certainly on to something. </p><p>I did a few more tasks over the next little while and things continued to improve. Peter talks about knowledge mobility in his book and as long as 20% of your students are capable of solving the problem the rest will be okay. Knowledge travels when you work standing up at a vertical board.</p><p><br />Of course, Peter writes about many more practices in his book (14 in total) and so if you know me, I go all in. My desks are spaced somewhat "mishmashy" in pairs around the room. We stand when I give my short instructions. I present my lessons at various boards around the room so not to assume one board is the "front" board. We randomize ALL the time as my student desks are completely empty. My students know if their name is listed first it's their job to collect the tools for the board while the second person finds the board. I'm still working on integrating more of the strategies into my practice. I'm certainly not done yet.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3N1AtlllOAhyalwHFJQbxkw9OS5w98PoopQB0oFYwavJe0rmyapJFPwIWRliYMR8RJnz0EtcYTTc6PmvVecuySPid8MHjNFOzdCU4i02TqdM4Y1eZ-L4EXa5SEef1qBfzYpq8DhNkEJrS9WqAW8WhW8cKAmYZZutepnzr6LAc_Gv2fRAo80kiVq5Prw/s2448/IMG_2823.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="2448" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3N1AtlllOAhyalwHFJQbxkw9OS5w98PoopQB0oFYwavJe0rmyapJFPwIWRliYMR8RJnz0EtcYTTc6PmvVecuySPid8MHjNFOzdCU4i02TqdM4Y1eZ-L4EXa5SEef1qBfzYpq8DhNkEJrS9WqAW8WhW8cKAmYZZutepnzr6LAc_Gv2fRAo80kiVq5Prw/w200-h200/IMG_2823.HEIC" width="200" /></a></div>Another person who has inspired me is <a href="https://twitter.com/TammyMcMorrow">Tammy McMorrow</a>. She is one of the administrators of the K-2 Facebook group. She's constantly sharing her thinking there which in turn pushes my thinking. Because of her sharing my class has also made a list of expected and unexpected behaviours at our "Thinking Boards" (a term shared by someone else in the group). In my class we've talked about being a "Hog" (someone who hogs the pen) and a "Log" (someone who doesn't contribute to the board work). I've also found student conversation starters which I've added near our boards. All these resources have been found in these fabulous Facebook groups. When you have a ferocious appetite for learning it's great to have places and people like this who are constantly sharing. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6iCSTSsbWk8IEMTkp3bqQyO_ikUFPFCXNCm1QMnTZep5uYyV_QIIzuXGDu-i5cmdPMCWb5JkbRYvVyeNPTQ6gciig1m_5vWil8DHoLoJO8FEY5b02Pn4RIJlIBiUgmlF-WerXff2fzxgokhJW_v50VqDlSxjOCh1uYMOsDEUK3tUoTnNch77bRnaOg/s1316/List.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="896" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6iCSTSsbWk8IEMTkp3bqQyO_ikUFPFCXNCm1QMnTZep5uYyV_QIIzuXGDu-i5cmdPMCWb5JkbRYvVyeNPTQ6gciig1m_5vWil8DHoLoJO8FEY5b02Pn4RIJlIBiUgmlF-WerXff2fzxgokhJW_v50VqDlSxjOCh1uYMOsDEUK3tUoTnNch77bRnaOg/s320/List.png" width="218" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>So where are we now? I quickly moved on to curricular tasks and they are going well too. Number sense, place value, even/odd etc. all had their own tasks. I supplement some of the tasks with pencil and paper or other hands on tasks. Now we've moved on to operations and I'm giving "Thin Slicing" a try using <a href="https://numberstrings.com/">number strings</a> . And do you know what? My students are loving math! It was a comment that came up over and over again during our goal setting conferences last week. Plus, the students like being randomly grouped. Like really like it, even when they have to work with someone who they aren't close friends with. There is something about visibly randomly grouping students. It takes away any social pressure of finding the right partner, or me making assumptions that one student is stronger than another so needs to play the leadership roll. When I visibly randomly group my students, I am telling them that I believe they can ALL do the math. It's TRUE and Peter has research to back this up.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CiBoS3cS7LOmbKeCbhkE2GP7mWmVqpka8aI4SmW5ORTamaKMsS7-gC7K6AQqXkNH4N0yYDV02wJHqVAxRSrKD5wmgdTpFj7CmYtfLJjryfHDFOdWZZNok5m7Jd7FU9OecVXgmTIVqVYkwOXO5nFcgK8Kwg1q9w2E2wfeUligOeTxkONN4YP2e99aCw/s1800/IMG_2115.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CiBoS3cS7LOmbKeCbhkE2GP7mWmVqpka8aI4SmW5ORTamaKMsS7-gC7K6AQqXkNH4N0yYDV02wJHqVAxRSrKD5wmgdTpFj7CmYtfLJjryfHDFOdWZZNok5m7Jd7FU9OecVXgmTIVqVYkwOXO5nFcgK8Kwg1q9w2E2wfeUligOeTxkONN4YP2e99aCw/w200-h150/IMG_2115.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p>I still have so much more to learn and implement but I feel like I'm on a pretty great journey so far. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work. Not only are you changing the learning in classrooms around the world, but you've also brought my passion back. It's been a rough few years so I'm grateful to be where I am now.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJPvyXNMMoSUKkx9x7LDHjQQxbUy5gmdEN570O5wtFLqsNN4KBaM_VvESlc-JS1Oq_nz2LdNAcYc0zEtx5DpaTG8waioOgls_wLmmJwaoAQcOYjo9uPlPqYitlG-kVhHBrotoDP0QM1XMO7KV8j_JynDMRz3qu4L7uO-G2VG0kyBBlOQM3-TtB9vo1w/s1800/IMG_2119.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJPvyXNMMoSUKkx9x7LDHjQQxbUy5gmdEN570O5wtFLqsNN4KBaM_VvESlc-JS1Oq_nz2LdNAcYc0zEtx5DpaTG8waioOgls_wLmmJwaoAQcOYjo9uPlPqYitlG-kVhHBrotoDP0QM1XMO7KV8j_JynDMRz3qu4L7uO-G2VG0kyBBlOQM3-TtB9vo1w/w200-h150/IMG_2119.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />As a side note last weekend when I was able to hear Peter speak in Whistler and he mentioned a math podcast called <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sum-of-it-all/id1557517718">Sum of it All</a>. In their first season they do a book study on Peter's book. If you're curious to learn more do give it a listen. Who knows, it might spark your curiosity to try it too.<p></p><p>Who knows, maybe this new found passion will get me blogging again. Or at the very least I might be able to inspire others to give this work a try too. Our students certainly deserve it. </p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> </span><p></p>K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-78121776553707424942019-08-26T07:00:00.000-07:002019-08-26T07:54:14.997-07:006 Ways to Transform Learning with iPad Integration<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f17ac511-7fff-8b84-dbd6-a22abbb5daa8"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Imagine this scenario. You’ve just been given the opportunity to use an iPad with your class and you have no idea how you should use it. I mean really, you are already doing great things in your classroom without technology, so what’s the point of adding technology? In fact you’ve heard children already have enough screen time and more can’t be good for them. You even have colleagues who are already using technology for engaging drill and practice games yet they aren’t seeing any benefit from having kids pinch, swipe, and tap on consumption apps. With so much negative information surrounding the use of technology in schools why were you given an iPad to use with your students?</span></span></span><br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-905c4644-7fff-b889-1483-0ba4737e87c7"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, leadership knows and agrees that using technology to replicate what you’re already doing without technology adds very little value to student learning and achievement. In fact, it may even negatively impact learning so obviously that isn’t why it’s been given to you. So how can iPad integration in the classroom help support your learners in a positive way?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Capturing the Learning</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">To begin with, having an iPad to use does not mean that you have to change everything you are already doing. Your engaging lessons and student driven inquiries continue to be excellent teaching practices and technology isn’t going to change that. However, by adding an iPad into the mix you are making that good practice even better. An iPad allows your students to capture and document in images, text, voice, and video. Take for example what is happening in the image below. This student has created a house for a bear using hands on materials. He then took a photo of his house and is measuring the dimensions and recording them onto the image on his iPad. Later he’ll be able to add his voice to this annotated image to document his thinking and learning from this task. </span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An iPad allows you create and capture learning in images, text, voice, and video. </span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An iPad captures and enhances hands-on learning. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img height="339" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/VdvAxhNwfrErv6UcPp0lpaWkspIir9qlSYZ3-g4wjiAmSRigj2tkHkWDxQ5zAOu75fj9kpAwwgixUpvKKVoTfLWsfry04hgeNNor8bx1N0Zc6U0eIpD50QHPiEdGO696azLOJa9t" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="455" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-8ea05238-7fff-d023-11a5-3bf0cd7fbad9"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-8ea05238-7fff-d023-11a5-3bf0cd7fbad9"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This student has created a home for a bear and is using an iPad to capture and record the dimensions of the home.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Make Learning Accessible</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An app such as Draw and Tell allows even our youngest learners to take pictures of their work and annotate that work. For example a student can take a picture outside their classroom door, outline the shapes that they see on it and then record their voice explaining what they have done. It allows the teacher to hear the thinking of the student even if they were busy with another student while the thinking was captured. It’s a far more meaningful task than asking your student to find and colour in shapes on a piece of paper. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An iPad supports personalized learning for each individual student.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An iPad offers a low entry point for all learners, yet also provides a high ceiling for those who require it.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An iPad gives each student the opportunity to record their voice and explain thinking.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">An iPad allows the teacher to hear a student’s voice even if they were not there when it was captured.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img height="319" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/CFhXjyqyhoDLThLm6n7hcHRZ3d3c3KsKi8dgiuvC7VzBi7k0l-_y4KE5avxASnzrnvyt79oc2yHAKOhfU2is4xFQwA9p3yRhkdrLBwJycyHscA-ejeEdFMVLfQc0YtQOw1BZ_SGl" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="446" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This student has utilized annotation tools to capture and show their understanding of shapes in their environment.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-1fe97ed5-7fff-00fe-05d6-77dcf1cc88ff"><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Flexible Learning Environment</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition, an iPad is a portable device which means it can capture learning wherever it is happening. It can be brought on a forest walk to document different types of trees, used on the playground to capture shapes in the real world, or come along on a field trip to the science museum to capture the highlights. An app such as Popplet can help a student create authentic artifacts of learning of what has been captured outside of the classroom. An iPad allows your students to capture their learning anywhere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad allows any environment to become a place to create and capture learning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a818484-7fff-67ce-a62a-1627b0b50880"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="487" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/pmL3JWVk1S6yaFAi-e8HdDsviftJ7HdvkpF4Hs5rVpQXApFGJxKKbq-onZbvs0MudpMzqxeV0N41iNP717ddHcbS5qoOnbjBZkxI0GDZNoS_HhJDpCF0wBGqHGVutfvU7xuxFRch" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="372" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">An artifact of learning created by a student using personal images they captured in their environment.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a818484-7fff-67ce-a62a-1627b0b50880"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Document the Learning</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a818484-7fff-67ce-a62a-1627b0b50880"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">An iPad also allows a student to document their learning in images, text, voice, and video in an ongoing manner. The documentation doesn’t have to be perfect the first time around because mistakes can easily be fixed on an iPad. Yet, the work can easily be captured from the beginning of a project and stored in an app such as Book Creator. Book Creator allows a student to keep their self created artifacts (and the thinking behind them) organized and in one place. </span>
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<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a818484-7fff-67ce-a62a-1627b0b50880"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">An iPad is a safe place to make mistakes as they can easily be fixed.</span></span></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad is a safe place to capture and store on-going documentation of learning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a818484-7fff-67ce-a62a-1627b0b50880"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-320361a3-7fff-e2d1-6a9b-620e8012d54c"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="357" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/IZMOivGNWlyJZ2lad-809N4rRHoV0_IMdQxuGc9WZtMV2K-nyK-7UAShR9HxowE-rKv9rnps2DQp1DXSb-SeiyM73Y9Pp6iNFXSfKVqvWbQ0WgGPt5Seuj79FcDoM788E1WkkVhJ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="478" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">These children are using the Book Creator app to create an artifact of learning. They know that with this app they can personalize their pages, add text, shapes, images, voice, and videos to make a high quality finished product. </span></td></tr>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-de958a0e-7fff-0c7b-5ea1-a04e38752eab"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Differentiate the Learning</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">An iPad also allows students to create their own evidence of learning and this fits in very well within a student-centered differentiated classroom. Each child can be doing a similar math activity at the same time and yet the activity can be personalized to best meet each students’ individual needs. For example an app like PicCollage can be used to create a poster that shows an understanding of measurement. One child may focus on the tools used for measurement and focus on using the image search feature within the app to create their artifact of learning. Another student may focus on units of measurement and use the camera feature of the device to capture some images and use the image search feature within the device to create their personal artifact of knowledge. Differentiation is made much easier when you use an iPad to support that differentiation. There is an entry point for all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad supports student content creation</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad supports student differentiation.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-de958a0e-7fff-0c7b-5ea1-a04e38752eab"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f0044fac-7fff-6cbd-17e6-1bf70667ac75"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="441" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pCLNzl50aQcIqUIcsUHyQqgwXxrwFHSW2vglhtB96U3-sexrE3XzH32aKhRATtpwnPpV63OtZPTmE8hfhkXNMFKn8ygH20iZjw-LjEHRT0HIkgYVIZ4AgOro_gGhiLlOa5mlmu00" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="333" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This student has used both the iPad camera and the image search feature of PicCollage to show is understanding of units of linear measurement and when it would be best to use which unit. </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="508" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/tm4fnelFvFM3aFXJdsPhwYXQdJjX5VXq3JIq1GJnCKVcX39UGAGh8XttaWddhVovdtoZmEDnQNST9cU08e6vGBGhR9LHahEFzVpc0z7m-fPfBnTq9wKwQ5KyFnObmf8lSWFRh3lS" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="380" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This student used the image feature in PicCollage to create an artifact showing their understanding of tools used for various types of measurement.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-104900bf-7fff-c575-3b76-c2ecaa16b678"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collaborate and Learn</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-104900bf-7fff-c575-3b76-c2ecaa16b678"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad is also a social tool that supports creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. Each child doesn’t need to have their own device to gain from the value of an iPad. Students can co-create artifacts of learning using an app like Book Creator. For example, they can use it to write non-fiction texts, create interactive stories, document the process of playing a sport, and capture positional language just to name a few ideas. They can use it for stop motion animation to document the life cycle of a salmon or to retell a favourite fairy tale. Learning together often supports creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking as two brains are better than one.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad supports creativity by the various ways it can help students create their own content.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad supports collaboration through working together to co-create an artifact of learning.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An iPad supports critical thinking by being a tool that has so many options and variables to create with. </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3bc289d9-7fff-7ab5-c29c-6e5d4baac1f4"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="357" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/gPLUMYMtMDzXHUwBTVk6cXSyCmddr-xjwzNDVuyh5nVrzUuJ0wq1ZDy8zOQ9r9EW4Q4d9ybgfEAjUvKg92EkRQVs-hGQx0YwZ4-RvTDPzxjQDLbZlRL2VyI5OD5vSFDMZ01mypxy" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="478" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">These children are working together to create a story with images drawn by other students. They are talking about the story they want to create using the iPad. They know that they can easily change fonts, add their voice, and create a polished finished product.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3bc289d9-7fff-7ab5-c29c-6e5d4baac1f4"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With open ended creation apps such as PicCollage, Popplet, Draw and Tell, Book Creator, and Explain Everything anything is possible with iPad. To learn more about how you can use an iPad in an elementary classroom check out</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovate-iPad-Transform-Learning-Classroom/dp/1945167084/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=innovate+with+iPad&qid=1566673356&s=gateway&sr=8-1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning written by Karen Lirenman and Kristen Wideen</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-62943973206357798302018-12-31T17:59:00.002-08:002019-01-01T21:55:04.355-08:00My One Word for 2019 - Gratitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIi2Hk2KuHa-UYuGkTDqLJ0A7QBdOK0GKHiDycB8Vkosb2qQ2HaVI_LmGPQjgbW5d7QtLUyTjAjplhJRrErYk81I5CBD6pZSid6HEWe3mn0iWA-KMz9rD3e8LV_Dv2-wR5sQRpAN72RVq/s1600/IMG_1342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIi2Hk2KuHa-UYuGkTDqLJ0A7QBdOK0GKHiDycB8Vkosb2qQ2HaVI_LmGPQjgbW5d7QtLUyTjAjplhJRrErYk81I5CBD6pZSid6HEWe3mn0iWA-KMz9rD3e8LV_Dv2-wR5sQRpAN72RVq/s320/IMG_1342.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I realize for the past few years this blog has remained relatively silent and I do apologize for that. I am still around, and still teaching too although I have been through quite a few transformations. In 2013 I left a school I called home for over 18 years, to move to a new school. I liked my new school but two years later an exciting new program was forming in my school district and I jumped at the opportunity to get in on the ground floor.<br />
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The Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning aka <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/programs/steam-k7/">SAIL</a> was born. I thrived as an educator working at SAIL meeting children with so many unique challenges, but more importantly so many unique gifts. I was stretched professionally to go from teaching one or two grades at a time, to four and I loved every minute of it. It made me rethink what mattered most and while I'm far from perfect I did work hard to find a good balance for each of my students and the team that I was a part of. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity.<br />
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It seems though once I became unhooked from my "long time" school, moving schools became a lot easier for me. I loved working at SAIL, even with all the challenges that it came with, yet the opportunity to teach closer to home presented itself for the first time in my 26 year career. I spoke with my admin and with their full support I started the process to make the jump to work closer to home. This fall, after over 26 years, I made the move and quit my dream job with the Surrey School District, and became an employee of the Vancouver School District. While there are teaching jobs available in Vancouver, as someone new it isn't easy to land your own job right away. I was fortunate to land a job as a Perm Sub. But more than being able to get a contract right away (which means my pay and benefits remain the same in my new district), I was placed on the first day of the school year in a good school and I've spent the past few months as a member of the wonderful MAPLE community at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IULSZz1u5ZM">Norma Rose Point</a> teaching the most kind and caring kindergarten children who happen to come with lovely families too.<br />
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Even in this new job in a good school with good people there is so much of who I am as an educator that I've shelved for the year as I find my place in a new school district. At times it gets me down, but then I remember that this was my choice and how fortunate I am to spend my work days with the people (little and big) that I do. I'm learning tons (it's been over 20 years since I taught Kindergarten on its own) and I am finding my place in my school and hopefully in time my new school district.<br />
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The future beyond the year is still unknown for me but I have to have faith that the right job will show up at just the right time. Where that will be I have no idea.<br />
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So why is my word for 2019 GRATITUDE? To be honest GRATITUDE has been my word for a while now. I have been a glass half full type of person for most of my life, looking for and finding the good in even the toughest situations. As my mother was fighting her brave and courages battle with cancer, I would see what she could still do and enjoy instead of what she couldn't. As I was training for my triathlons, I would find the good that came out of some of the toughest training periods. There is bad all around us but I make the effort to focus on the good.<br />
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More recently though, while I continue to focus on the good, I want to make a better effort at acknowledging the good in my life. This is where GRATITUDE comes in. Even in the toughest times I have so much to be grateful for and I want to recognize and acknowledge that on a regular basis. I want to keep focussing on GRATITUDE to help remind me of how truly blessed I am. While life isn't perfect for me, and perhaps I am just as good as the next at keeping a brave face in public while I deal with my own demons in private, I know that even in my darkest hours I STILL have so much to be grateful for. GRATITUDE helps keep me moving forward, It helps keep me grounded in who I am as a person, and it helps me gain strength from those I share this world with. I am grateful for the similarities and the differences we all share as it's what makes me unique. I am grateful for who I am and what I have in my life. This year I will do my best to verbally express how grateful I am, even when I'm struggling.<br />
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What is your word for 2019?K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-3747631353743726082018-09-30T20:31:00.002-07:002018-09-30T20:31:34.456-07:00Motivating Ourselves to Be Excellent in the K-2 Classroom!I was totally honoured when Cool Cat Teacher, <a href="https://twitter.com/coolcatteacher">Vicki Davis</a>, invited me on to her podcast The 10-Minute Teacher Show. I love teaching that age level so I jumped at the opportunity to share. Have a listen...<br />
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To learn more about the podcast check out her <a href="http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e371/">blog</a>. To hear this and other episodes subscribe <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/10mt-10-minute-teacher-show/id1201263130">here </a>on iTunes.K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-42188043804423810282018-09-30T19:57:00.001-07:002018-09-30T19:57:16.145-07:00Yes, I'm still here!I do apologize for letting my blog get so quiet for the past few years. A lot has been happening professionally but taking the time to share on this blog hasn't been a priority.<br />
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Back in June 2018 I had the pleasure of creating a digital book in Book Creator for Book Creator, one of my favourite iPad apps. The book was written with an elementary audience in mind and highlights many different ways the app can be used to help students create their own content and share what they know. It was a real labour of love, and with permission, I was able to share some of the fabulous things my K-3 students at <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/programs/steam-k7/">SAIL</a> were getting up to with iPad. The resource is completely free and if you haven't checked it out yet, I highly encourage you to. You can learn more about it <a href="https://bookcreator.com/2018/06/using-book-creator-in-the-elementary-classroom/">here</a> and can download you're own copy to read off line <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/using-book-creator-in-the-elementary-classroom/id1401946319?ls=1&mt=11">here</a>.<br />
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I hope to get back to blogging once things settle for me. I just recently switched school districts and I am working hard at finding my place in my new district.K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-31853006767988615042017-04-17T19:49:00.000-07:002017-04-17T19:49:09.107-07:00Thoughts from My Brian...I started this blog post back in September 2016 as I was starting my 25th year of teaching. It was never finished but figured I should share what was written.<br />
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As I begin my 25th year of teaching I will admit that there is still so much that I don't know. As I often say the more I learn the more I realize how little I know. Here are things I think about often and what I strive to support with my teaching practice.<br />
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All children are gifts to this world.<br />
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Children are far more capable than many give them credit for.<br />
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Children do not behave poorly to simply behave poorly.<br />
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Everyone wants/needs to belong.<br />
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Each child has a book that will successfully entice them into the world of reading.<br />
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Technology can open up a world of creativity, self expression, and creation for all children.<br />
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Kindness can change the world.<br />
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Things don't always go as planned and that's okay.<br />
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I'd love your thoughts on my thinking.<br />
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-6777232297577878182016-08-18T12:36:00.000-07:002016-08-29T08:06:16.596-07:00Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning in the Classroom<a href="http://mrswideen.com/" target="_blank">Kristen Wideen</a> and I are pretty excited to have our book <a href="http://www.innovatewithipad.com/" target="_blank">Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning in the Classroom</a> available for purchase worldwide through <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovate-iPad-Transform-Learning-Classroom/dp/1945167084/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468287568&sr=1-1&keywords=innovate+with+ipad" target="_blank">amazon.com</a>. It was certainly a labour of love but we are so excited it to see it in the hands of technology coaches and classroom teachers around the globe. If you aren't familiar with our book like me tell you a little bit about it.<br />
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Kristen and I are both elementary school teachers with a range of teaching experience. We are also both Apple Distinguished Educators who have access to iPad for our students. She and I both quickly learned that iPad is far more than a tool to do "fun" drill and practice activities with but a tool that can allow students to create their own content. While we realize there are some great drill and practice type apps, and there is a time and place for those too, we certainly spend far more of our day having our students create their own work, then rely on consumption apps. What we've learned by having our students create content, particularly in an open-ended environment, they know far more than we've given them credit for. Open-ended activities allow our students to really show us what they know or in many cases what they don't actually know even though they are able to answer questions correctly or quickly. Using iPad in our classrooms has really made a difference with our students thinking and understanding. Their learning has improved.<br />
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Our book features five open-ended creative apps. These apps include Pic Collage, Popplet, Draw and Tell, Book Creator, and Explain Everything. We have found with these five apps our students can create most of the content they need. However if you are using different apps with your students, many of our lessons can apply to your specific apps as well. We have also done our best to include other apps that can replace these apps. We realize many districts are limited to free apps, but even with free apps (PicCollage, Popplet Lite, and Draw and Tell are all free!) there is so much that can be done with iPad.<br />
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After introducing the five key apps we also talk about some of the features of the book. Kristen and I spent a great deal of time creating the ideal layout for this book so that it can help teachers quickly find what they are looking for. We have labeled the lessons into specific grade levels, and iPad comfort levels, as well as possible lesson extensions. In addition most lessons have student samples and some even have links to video samples. Many of the lessons also have downloadable task cards that you can give to your students to help them work more independently in an iPad station setting. Our book is beneficial for teachers with one iPad or with one iPad per student and everything in between.<br />
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There are five key chapters in this book that divide our lessons up. The first chapter has lessons focussed around numeracy and iPad. I think Kristen and I could have written an entire book on just numeracy and iPad lessons as there are so many ways to use iPad in a numeracy classroom. We have provide many lessons, most of which can be adapted up or down to meet your students specific numeracy needs. In fact one of our reviews actually mentioned how he could use some of our numeracy lessons with his university students.<br />
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The next chapter focuses on literacy and ways iPad can be used to enhance and support your literacy program. Again many of the lessons can be used at various grade levels. Our hope is that you will see the lessons that we have shared and you will be inspired to create some new lessons for your students. Our book is meant to be a starting point, not an end point for innovation with iPad.<br />
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We then have chapters focussed on science and social studies lessons. Once again the content part of the lesson can be swapped out to meet your students' individual needs.<br />
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In the final chapter of the book we take a look at ways an iPad can help with student self assessment. At the simplest level having students be able to add voice to their work, and talk about what they did, what they are proud of, what they worked hard at, what they still struggle with, and set goals for their future learning can have a huge impact on future student learning. It's exciting that iPad can play an integral part of this learning and growth.<br />
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To accompany the book Kristen and I have created a <a href="http://www.innovatewithipad.com/" target="_blank">website</a>. Here you will find all the student examples as well as access to the downloadable task cards. Many teachers have found both the student examples and the downloadable extremely helpful in their classroom environments.<br />
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As I mentioned earlier, Kristen and I would love for this book to continue long beyond its purchase. To help support this vision we have created a space on the book's website to collect and share the great ideas this book is inspiring in your classrooms. You can find this special sharing area under the "<a href="http://www.innovatewithipad.com/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">Let's Share"</a> section of the website. Here you will find four Google Slide presentations with easy to follow instructions on how to add your ideas to the slide decks. Our vision is that this book will continue to inspire educators for years to come.<br />
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Kristen and I also have created the hashtag #InnovatewithiPad as a place to continue the sharing. Stay tuned as well as we hope to host some twitter chats to accompany the book. We really want this to be a living book that will continue to grow in usefulness. If you want to stay up to date on these twitter chats and other future adventures with the book please add your name and contact information to <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB9GbH-V6Cg9P7Xf9hO44y6gPMfDHgMNRnKYxElxIzx6gvnw/viewform" target="_blank">this form</a>. We will do our best not to send out too many emails, and of course you can be removed from the list at any time. We respect your privacy. </div>
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As you can imagine, Kristen and I are excited about the resource we have created and we hope that you will find it of value too. If you have not yet purchased your copy please head over to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovate-iPad-Transform-Learning-Classroom/dp/1945167084/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468287568&sr=1-1&keywords=innovate+with+ipad">Amazon.com</a> or <a href="http://amazon.cahttps//www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1945167084/ref=s9_simh_gw_g14_i1_r?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=YKBP32H0C1BKZW7W9286&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=b06971ce-9992-44c1-9ee0-eb9792e71b5e&pf_rd_i=desktop">Amazon.ca</a> and order yours. If you are reading this and work for a district or school and would like to purchase multiple copies for your environment, please leave us a message with the approximate number you'd like to order and contact information (email works best) and we will be in touch as quickly as possible. You can leave us a message through the <a href="http://www.innovatewithipad.com/p/contact-us.html" target="_blank">contact us link</a> on the book's blog (or via twitter, this website, Kristen's website, or any other method you have to get a hold of one of us :-) ) . Thank you!!</div>
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-6267106847943389902016-07-11T23:53:00.004-07:002016-07-11T23:53:58.220-07:00Today's the Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://mrswideen.com/" target="_blank">Kristen Wideen</a> and I couldn't be more excited about our first book Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning in the Classroom. This has been a complete labour of love, and proof that two friends and dedicated educators can co-write while living over 4,000 km apart.</div>
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Today, we are excited to announce that our book is available for purchase on Amazon. Here is what Amazon has to say. </div>
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In “Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning in the Classroom” primary teachers Karen Lirenman and Kristen Wideen provide a complete selection of clearly laid out engaging open-ended lessons to change the way you use iPad in the classroom. By simply downloading a few basic, open-ended creation apps, your students will engage in the learning process and demonstrate their newfound knowledge in the way that works best for them. In addition, throughout the book Karen and Kristen provide beginner and advanced lessons and quick tips and practical suggestions to make the integration of iPad go as seamlessly as possible.<br />
This beautifully laid out book also features downloadable task cards, student generated examples and extension ideas to use with your students.<br />
Whether you have access to one iPad for your entire class or one for each student, these lessons will help you transform learning in your classroom.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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For more information be sure to check out <a href="http://www.innovatewithipad.com/">http://www.innovatewithipad.com/</a>. <br />
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-7905116882942177532016-07-03T15:13:00.000-07:002016-07-03T15:13:17.817-07:00The K-3 SAIL StoryThis past week I had the pleasure of sharing the beta year of the SAIL K-3 story at ISTE. While I presented several times over the conference, this session was the one nearest and dearest to my heart. It is a story that needs to be shared. At SAIL we are looking at school differently and we are trying to change the way school is done. I have been fortunate to get in on the ground level and this past year I had the opportunity to reinvent school at the K-3 level. I won't lie though, it was one of my more challenging years of my career, but it was also one of the most rewarding. Let me share some of my slides and a bit of our story with you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBb5OVQoS-z-KsOHBXKfbw7lGnh32ZAMXFBj9HrPevC7OiAVDn3RBu1ZCbcwi1PVLnDpKuqtvXZbzTDma_GO6F7a-wgaoy8BY_DjeyXSce_CX7LVrDhRJQB5HGm3Qc4qM7NEeUFyWGXsv/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBb5OVQoS-z-KsOHBXKfbw7lGnh32ZAMXFBj9HrPevC7OiAVDn3RBu1ZCbcwi1PVLnDpKuqtvXZbzTDma_GO6F7a-wgaoy8BY_DjeyXSce_CX7LVrDhRJQB5HGm3Qc4qM7NEeUFyWGXsv/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.001.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The SAIL program came out of the rebranding of the previous Surrey Connect program. Things weren't as good as they could be with Surrey Connect and SAIL was designed to change that. <br />
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In case you are wondering SAIL is a FREE PUBLIC school program which welcomes students from all over the lower mainland. This means you do not have to live in Surrey to attend SAIL. <br />
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SAIL is a distributed learning program which means some of the learning must take place away from school. For us that means four full days in school, and one day away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFqrLOL5YWiiahXmGFSy0Z2orOasAz316ugWNLBqqgGpbokuMZjkALzLjR72l65BttwlyC_OmMiLp4tWT3isf9Ktdy3znbN9DzcOu8vddXC1tFrIaCFb-YNrG9ouOsYJUAoutP3RLW3pZ/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.017.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFqrLOL5YWiiahXmGFSy0Z2orOasAz316ugWNLBqqgGpbokuMZjkALzLjR72l65BttwlyC_OmMiLp4tWT3isf9Ktdy3znbN9DzcOu8vddXC1tFrIaCFb-YNrG9ouOsYJUAoutP3RLW3pZ/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.017.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The weekly home learning includes parent involvement, family learning, and community learning. I will admit, that this has been one of the challenges of the past year as I'm constantly trying to be creative with my planning so that the home learning that goes home is meaningful, engaging, and connected to our classroom big ideas. Having my students only 80% of the time means the home learning piece is an important part of the program.</div>
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At ISTE I focussed the presentation on the fact that with SAIL we are trying hard to put structures in place for successful student learning. You need to understand that some of my students were losing patience with their neighbourhood schools for one reason or another. Some of the structures we've put in place include valuing student choice and voice AND using child centered reflective teaching practices. From the slides below you can see that I spoke about some of the ways we value student voice and choice. I don't think it's so much that we are doing something innovative, but more so that we are open to letting our students have more voice and choice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4KAwVpUWHE8d2VnVTK8g36QG1t9nXl_Io-cHdqNASRHxObMjUr1b5cSyWJqhGCohcifIpv0Ut0O5QKMevaL0oAIdo2R58SFfawhp-4x2RSE8t7WFEtR4hm5c3Y1KpA4JGk8sSuHVfGbx/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.075.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4KAwVpUWHE8d2VnVTK8g36QG1t9nXl_Io-cHdqNASRHxObMjUr1b5cSyWJqhGCohcifIpv0Ut0O5QKMevaL0oAIdo2R58SFfawhp-4x2RSE8t7WFEtR4hm5c3Y1KpA4JGk8sSuHVfGbx/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.075.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Below are a few snapshots of our classroom. You'll see that we have no assigned seating and my students can work where they want to within the room. Some get pretty creative from time to time, but as long as they are on task doing what is expected of them, they select where and how they work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYL9JH8ZTMm2BVN18Iyzy2cmicruuH5RbpOwfJHcxGSC-iiQEISQW16ZPblrZjrFFhGaA-QzYvLCBRIP7MzsMXpAD-aLFHKyuwWzTpvaA3v2eYcHaLzq-qKP3utyC5GASAY9jO8qyDUgS/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.028.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYL9JH8ZTMm2BVN18Iyzy2cmicruuH5RbpOwfJHcxGSC-iiQEISQW16ZPblrZjrFFhGaA-QzYvLCBRIP7MzsMXpAD-aLFHKyuwWzTpvaA3v2eYcHaLzq-qKP3utyC5GASAY9jO8qyDUgS/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.028.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fhaLUmF6clOOvQKudLk3zzjlW204dkAN8NRcPv1536sus7E6OtO5h4gYLNz6oSwl_Ilk2pYHURwYl7rwef5zRzDlU62wuqBqe4pQYCaQZNAusjuhXBrUirbkIw4Yb1JYaPLQx7ALVItz/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.031.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fhaLUmF6clOOvQKudLk3zzjlW204dkAN8NRcPv1536sus7E6OtO5h4gYLNz6oSwl_Ilk2pYHURwYl7rwef5zRzDlU62wuqBqe4pQYCaQZNAusjuhXBrUirbkIw4Yb1JYaPLQx7ALVItz/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.031.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeXRGv2zQFFhodizGtYDBN0OO-5sF6TwlVLp9qGDbtXdCmRvgNw0obWl6tU58nKk4o5te53JlgkOV0DfIAf6kTmjS0cOE8rxlZgrhMMMnxzAzsTNwtn8P4RmZZupryuARTfsePwJvyK8X/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.034.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeXRGv2zQFFhodizGtYDBN0OO-5sF6TwlVLp9qGDbtXdCmRvgNw0obWl6tU58nKk4o5te53JlgkOV0DfIAf6kTmjS0cOE8rxlZgrhMMMnxzAzsTNwtn8P4RmZZupryuARTfsePwJvyK8X/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.034.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My students also have the choice of selecting the tool that works best for them. While we do have access to technology in my room, technology isn't always the first tool chosen. It really depends on the task and the learner.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhQPaWXhz-196fDZzdqshfxF9l-Aaz_Q7Rcd1_ZJ_WvBiuMpEA2EYI3eKIX49rhiQDl4LNDvQwrh3oYwMFffPlCDYRbDfoDwBD_8YgXkMHedJ0HS421e3BeKjNuPVwwQuG5dnk37_5FS7/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.036.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhQPaWXhz-196fDZzdqshfxF9l-Aaz_Q7Rcd1_ZJ_WvBiuMpEA2EYI3eKIX49rhiQDl4LNDvQwrh3oYwMFffPlCDYRbDfoDwBD_8YgXkMHedJ0HS421e3BeKjNuPVwwQuG5dnk37_5FS7/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.036.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also have a lot of self regulation toys in our classroom. We are trying to create an environment where the students have control over their learning. In a more traditional class these toys may all be available but more often than not it is the teacher deciding who needs what. For example the noise reduction headsets may be assigned to the child who is sensitive to noise. In my classroom these are just tools that any student can grab as needed. My students are not singled out. They use the tools available to them as they feel they need them. And yes, there was pre teaching around this and my students have become much more aware of their unique and individual needs. Teaching self regulation is a very powerful strategy for student success.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeVPjYYVuhmTa1gLOz3xk8bJf1ffPwHaack6mLpd6yBhlUzvaHfm9oOXMGC7vlgH2K7PiX-XaETvaCnPL2q3-LLxQoeT4rSHjTyASUD3BUx4pfR8XIU8F77lLb5yGaPaLj_QJrPGEVNm3/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.039.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeVPjYYVuhmTa1gLOz3xk8bJf1ffPwHaack6mLpd6yBhlUzvaHfm9oOXMGC7vlgH2K7PiX-XaETvaCnPL2q3-LLxQoeT4rSHjTyASUD3BUx4pfR8XIU8F77lLb5yGaPaLj_QJrPGEVNm3/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.039.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've also broken down some of the more traditional things I've done. I've spent lot of time rethinking what structures I have in place to keep me happy, and found ways to open them up to allow my students to be happy. At such a simple level, the Valentine's folders below are just one place where I let go. Yes, my students did have criteria for making them (they had to hold valentines, their name had to be clear, and there needed to be at least one moving part) but how they were made was up to them. As you can see everyone had a different take on the task, and I did what I could to support them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87mElgnef0H5FcAA0Yki0YEhTqC2jvvnLrvPauSQnZATgNRV8vToIkmWI2t4g0DC2nizdYsZjrOqD1S-5TuDy02niIc4-bWgYuDZ1RLS4r8bQZI_x9vZSLtg4nHO8W1O5MUpCADs98MRa/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.041.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87mElgnef0H5FcAA0Yki0YEhTqC2jvvnLrvPauSQnZATgNRV8vToIkmWI2t4g0DC2nizdYsZjrOqD1S-5TuDy02niIc4-bWgYuDZ1RLS4r8bQZI_x9vZSLtg4nHO8W1O5MUpCADs98MRa/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.041.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My students often have a variety of ways to show what they are learning. Take for example the image below. As part of our inquiry on trout my students were required to create a trout habitat and explain the key features of their habitat. As you can see by the images below my students created in a variety of different ways, yet each one was able to explain what they did to create their artifact and why.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVk36gN33fcEwATe2sb45Bynypo_7AASBnHdSESY-RkQYg8XHoC68fWPxaUsjCK0sXzjw6JVKx3gqzgCIN74NKmvJiTMLsPXoM06Yu59qL60A4BBX4DTWeKLTYKbHBnopJ63ctv2_ravFY/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.043.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVk36gN33fcEwATe2sb45Bynypo_7AASBnHdSESY-RkQYg8XHoC68fWPxaUsjCK0sXzjw6JVKx3gqzgCIN74NKmvJiTMLsPXoM06Yu59qL60A4BBX4DTWeKLTYKbHBnopJ63ctv2_ravFY/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.043.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Inquiry was another big theme in our classroom. At times I would wonder if we were in fact doing inquiry but as I started to collect a sample of their inquiry projects I was quickly reminded about how much inquiry my students did do. Below is a list of just a few of the inquiry projects my students explored.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOP8y1fuYrmPlLnIwGHNgKKbBvaOvZ4SUq6RegAHR2E9e96VUADGB68OaaQFJuksD0KSuMH6OcC5xTWVHmbNn6D-4K0YXxD6i65wOZZcdUjnd8kCbQVccqAPf3yu1PTb62gu1GzwF893u/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.054.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOP8y1fuYrmPlLnIwGHNgKKbBvaOvZ4SUq6RegAHR2E9e96VUADGB68OaaQFJuksD0KSuMH6OcC5xTWVHmbNn6D-4K0YXxD6i65wOZZcdUjnd8kCbQVccqAPf3yu1PTb62gu1GzwF893u/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.054.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In our classroom we also do a lot of learning by design. Below are "dream" playgrounds created and designed in Lego. It was through their creations, and the discussion and reflections that followed, I learned a lot more about my students and what they valued.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganp713bnzwn4yAZ0odGLyqYB8UfpEl6WW8yFiQA09CZpA6PD2hlxLKS45d3ORvH8LmjjpzUR4zf81N-SCuXdlMi9pBooRRKawSVMBmPF4MWctstiypKkJhzLz1IRwES3VNYtemvMewF1N/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.056.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganp713bnzwn4yAZ0odGLyqYB8UfpEl6WW8yFiQA09CZpA6PD2hlxLKS45d3ORvH8LmjjpzUR4zf81N-SCuXdlMi9pBooRRKawSVMBmPF4MWctstiypKkJhzLz1IRwES3VNYtemvMewF1N/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.056.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My students also worked through many design challenges to solve problems linked to real life situations. Here my students are creating a prototype of a shelter for a plant that was stuck in an environment with way too much rain. My students worked with simple items but explained their thinking at a complex level. Each part they added to the prototype had a purpose.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsA9cEefwGSNd07LNgQDFBpCskxibz9ftIaYUKccZzIuf08EzCc9zfDiy-_EtsA62bylEOUgG1yZsXt_JqiuljtqiGWuPKrLF6Q3QvMlI4e9wwBG_eUozqFlwYgN9TUdbUfcWGkceNoP2/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.061.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsA9cEefwGSNd07LNgQDFBpCskxibz9ftIaYUKccZzIuf08EzCc9zfDiy-_EtsA62bylEOUgG1yZsXt_JqiuljtqiGWuPKrLF6Q3QvMlI4e9wwBG_eUozqFlwYgN9TUdbUfcWGkceNoP2/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.061.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And of course we have a maker mindset in our classroom. My students knit, sew, garden, bake etc. They create with and without technology.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9V7R745xhj08bn8JQcFlLqtBHV3DmvuLcohfuJgL1qWnrH-uiuA0dKw2xnEM1vSeSpEWWTLd5AXHrZGoC8EnZ5kULx-bH6ERcHj1hCrc9M5rc8Ibw1R5aFPpu-eNd-6vIOrQAxKIUtlW/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.070.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9V7R745xhj08bn8JQcFlLqtBHV3DmvuLcohfuJgL1qWnrH-uiuA0dKw2xnEM1vSeSpEWWTLd5AXHrZGoC8EnZ5kULx-bH6ERcHj1hCrc9M5rc8Ibw1R5aFPpu-eNd-6vIOrQAxKIUtlW/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.070.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you haven't figured it out yet my approach to teaching is very student focussed. My students help guide the direction of my planning. As a teacher I strive for child centred reflective teaching practices. I speak of innovative teaching practices and authentic learning but really what I'm trying to do is what's best for my students.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIz4RL_LSRliFU0sO-VZbPoY0_rUJb9wmNV_9mSSyoIUc454iNn-WcgnDy4-97nTtntd2mhzxolvRcMBOt48NIxwWBcSjiWAOkIUdohjW64yDSMzVSmnwMqZc0J6G7KrhyphenhyphengFyOatPPGWJ3/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.100.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIz4RL_LSRliFU0sO-VZbPoY0_rUJb9wmNV_9mSSyoIUc454iNn-WcgnDy4-97nTtntd2mhzxolvRcMBOt48NIxwWBcSjiWAOkIUdohjW64yDSMzVSmnwMqZc0J6G7KrhyphenhyphengFyOatPPGWJ3/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.100.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Below are just a few of the ways my students learn. They aren't extra "events" in our room, they are just how we learn.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauEZe3v5SUShh-8kQHCmqqyJRlR2C8N8yIG1is-h2J9N5r7Hb5T_7-gh2cd1ebrjGZHoxRDQOnA2qz91NvONCr80BLmNHHXCAA5egQhOtQf9UGWB7MiPrch_AeTr_yMlipE966JsuCe0N/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.083.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauEZe3v5SUShh-8kQHCmqqyJRlR2C8N8yIG1is-h2J9N5r7Hb5T_7-gh2cd1ebrjGZHoxRDQOnA2qz91NvONCr80BLmNHHXCAA5egQhOtQf9UGWB7MiPrch_AeTr_yMlipE966JsuCe0N/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.083.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCg6PRA5TkRbinAbC_1K0x4iyipP4mnaembFujad3u1YyS4R6ogzIRYGM-Ix20lsv2nRmsfKBci-Sq9hk24215_hlndxxuIHKZL8hHNsR9Jl4K6aQGftv_cJYtkWbZ3i8if-bYU6jtOaK/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.089.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCg6PRA5TkRbinAbC_1K0x4iyipP4mnaembFujad3u1YyS4R6ogzIRYGM-Ix20lsv2nRmsfKBci-Sq9hk24215_hlndxxuIHKZL8hHNsR9Jl4K6aQGftv_cJYtkWbZ3i8if-bYU6jtOaK/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.089.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaz9PItn2jxo5Yf1tIUbK4x2Q4H0tve2eWP_sNmPgE-wnuvd1LtsDjepMTXIiCIz4Th4xpz6zf9GGYrSkEetpoI8T92FsI6GhLg_-dyBdCI1xLbpLz9Y51R_zitLqTXhpYEzICw7ChHJOq/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.090.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaz9PItn2jxo5Yf1tIUbK4x2Q4H0tve2eWP_sNmPgE-wnuvd1LtsDjepMTXIiCIz4Th4xpz6zf9GGYrSkEetpoI8T92FsI6GhLg_-dyBdCI1xLbpLz9Y51R_zitLqTXhpYEzICw7ChHJOq/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.090.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7mFL5XEMjNMuCbJk6_F2Y9k6_BGcANV2bZsQxfdIPORv2BmV4ESL4tcBthf4wKreY45wSvET4tH7h3Vm0QLmGVltMExabtfHYuGO_su7brEovYM5V26xgYEcmBJtbBxVXhSlH40kf_6w/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.091.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7mFL5XEMjNMuCbJk6_F2Y9k6_BGcANV2bZsQxfdIPORv2BmV4ESL4tcBthf4wKreY45wSvET4tH7h3Vm0QLmGVltMExabtfHYuGO_su7brEovYM5V26xgYEcmBJtbBxVXhSlH40kf_6w/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.091.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also try, as best as I can, to bring in real life learning. We are makers by nature growing flowers and food (yes we grew, harvested, prepared and ate potatoes), learning to knit, and creating for purpose, using anything we can get our hands on.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDbxOxyvKjrXtqZUMtbr8jwXuOSYO3-jYhprVl0ViLrTfcvDGas8mEhhZ617-pKMwi2JBt6LaPsOJzo06noR_47Vy1Qndy_VLWWBfNoqqlIeboE565H4vRbg9qAcHurCWMmwX9RToM2ve/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.094.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDbxOxyvKjrXtqZUMtbr8jwXuOSYO3-jYhprVl0ViLrTfcvDGas8mEhhZ617-pKMwi2JBt6LaPsOJzo06noR_47Vy1Qndy_VLWWBfNoqqlIeboE565H4vRbg9qAcHurCWMmwX9RToM2ve/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.094.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4WBrEbf8Omd0xwCdyozTIQvA9MniovjjleMPGZSVlecohlTpHTYxE9UMJ2U2MdXD6_EO-0JnQj5uHAQqbofSnn2nuQ0mDLplcUtJR9t8H6JPmDJ4FQ_OERyKEmB24yKyv1l0ZO7cX4fB/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.095.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4WBrEbf8Omd0xwCdyozTIQvA9MniovjjleMPGZSVlecohlTpHTYxE9UMJ2U2MdXD6_EO-0JnQj5uHAQqbofSnn2nuQ0mDLplcUtJR9t8H6JPmDJ4FQ_OERyKEmB24yKyv1l0ZO7cX4fB/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.095.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have come up with ways we can help our classmates, our school, our community and our world. The Earth Rangers program was a huge catalyst for many of my students as they got right to fundraising to help save endangered Canadian animals. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtz0AYgyxOUnVEG7YgUervfF87Tm_Yh3KtB9a_ecqS0u9xDlOj5cMFDNboEPcS-ht2n0JB74O80lBkgJpVNmBBGusvZTGHzM3N2AMWoGp3cSGl5CYgFSSYD-o_Jm17tiaY8Y9vbI-ACFvu/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.099.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtz0AYgyxOUnVEG7YgUervfF87Tm_Yh3KtB9a_ecqS0u9xDlOj5cMFDNboEPcS-ht2n0JB74O80lBkgJpVNmBBGusvZTGHzM3N2AMWoGp3cSGl5CYgFSSYD-o_Jm17tiaY8Y9vbI-ACFvu/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.099.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also have a very STRONG motto of kindness and even when we are upset with one another we keep our words kind. Kindness penetrates everything we do in our room. My behaviour management system is building relationships with my students, and supporting them with theirs. </div>
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Many think our program is an accelerated one, that you need to be a gifted learning to join, but none of that is true. The real beauty of the program is that we dig deeper with our learning so the skills that we are gaining will transfer to different situations.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFrSV7q5kJI9EIo0jbFaznJYIbZFNGDHnb-zjfwKlJl1iEdtQufk-HzMzz9JIs1jH8LpsssW5z8ttwN0D6jO773G3sUSdYa9nZT6zMyEGrAdfJNhVjzhfvvuR7nDEak0p0OGJtsgcuZFW/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.101.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFrSV7q5kJI9EIo0jbFaznJYIbZFNGDHnb-zjfwKlJl1iEdtQufk-HzMzz9JIs1jH8LpsssW5z8ttwN0D6jO773G3sUSdYa9nZT6zMyEGrAdfJNhVjzhfvvuR7nDEak0p0OGJtsgcuZFW/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.101.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have many other structures in place to support student success. Our flexible furniture allows our learning spaces to change as needed. We learn in multi aged cluster classes which means we focus far less on individual grades and far more on who we are as learners. Yes, each child does work through their required curriculum, but the focus is on them as learners. We have both interdisciplinary learning where many content areas are uncovered together through some of the projects or activities my students do, and disciplinary learning too.</div>
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Technology is seamlessly used in the class. Those who need a device will grab one as necessary. Many of our devices are shared too if that's what is need. In general we work pretty collaboratively. There is no point in me being the only teacher in the room when I have a room full of teachers. My students knowledge is valued.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChMfOvMBdoM42gwxecQCDPx8br8DdOyX0iHzoDdOt1ls6_dGkMBAql5Kr_0LaysD9UWTtqjhCwCg0dYC41ImFPkj1gGTQSHe1qtkoFdr462kmfTpAFVAsba8mFqwvuzN0_esL4brXmKA8/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.103.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChMfOvMBdoM42gwxecQCDPx8br8DdOyX0iHzoDdOt1ls6_dGkMBAql5Kr_0LaysD9UWTtqjhCwCg0dYC41ImFPkj1gGTQSHe1qtkoFdr462kmfTpAFVAsba8mFqwvuzN0_esL4brXmKA8/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.103.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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What I believe has been some key successes of this program is that we have engaged learners whose anxiety has decreased and there is increased empathy in all situations. It's really quite wonderful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbDddOjYYD0gYZQUGCNZIyK8cI_IpsgZkUm7jCFvORZ8FyYNJdeqJnxwXrBCWD21-cCKgTXh_BYxZvGhKDzFUpAY563E586ycLautpbDRCaE9bsiyqQr3gu82gTh7Kdm0NWAQWMbrXvLz/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.104.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbDddOjYYD0gYZQUGCNZIyK8cI_IpsgZkUm7jCFvORZ8FyYNJdeqJnxwXrBCWD21-cCKgTXh_BYxZvGhKDzFUpAY563E586ycLautpbDRCaE9bsiyqQr3gu82gTh7Kdm0NWAQWMbrXvLz/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.104.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But of course everything hasn't been perfect and I'm already thinking about ways to improve and change for the next school year. You see, that reflective piece is so key for both me as the teacher, and for my students. My students regularly reflect on what they have done well or are proud of, and what they'd like to get better at. They have both their blogs and their digital portfolios to do just that. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62-cXfv0kvfiT1bXLk1cfdGkCRsk9diY9hEYkv-ibvEBvfcv73WFzIRkpNX1k_gnOyyVyCCkhbs2fCJkZ99ItpeKpaRZUOg2mSsCFRHM7Pq40UOxPjf_TKhjYXb2YDc4V26tLBknAVFx9/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.108.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62-cXfv0kvfiT1bXLk1cfdGkCRsk9diY9hEYkv-ibvEBvfcv73WFzIRkpNX1k_gnOyyVyCCkhbs2fCJkZ99ItpeKpaRZUOg2mSsCFRHM7Pq40UOxPjf_TKhjYXb2YDc4V26tLBknAVFx9/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.108.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Below are a list of a few of the things I'd like to keep working on to improve as we move towards are second year of SAIL.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9t3ybgKrAcLNwkurkHNNqom-Y52MQQL43YVEFaUGbjJ6vB-hDpVVNmyfukbnpHMTAbMAnFWakqAMdjSNgl5S87VRPdzD4wyovI5FwLMK-QCfm9A6wkxXx24sLoeFKIw1lKerBY0Z-dmT6/s1600/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.109.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9t3ybgKrAcLNwkurkHNNqom-Y52MQQL43YVEFaUGbjJ6vB-hDpVVNmyfukbnpHMTAbMAnFWakqAMdjSNgl5S87VRPdzD4wyovI5FwLMK-QCfm9A6wkxXx24sLoeFKIw1lKerBY0Z-dmT6/s320/+Images+K-3+SAIL+Presentation+ISTE%253ABLC.109.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So that is just a little snapshot of the SAIL program. If you're curious to learn more about SAIL please be sure to check out the website <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/programs/steam-k7">https://sailacademy.ca/programs/steam-k7</a>/. There is a great video on the k-7 page that I think you might enjoy.<br />
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-73434474772417948032016-05-12T20:15:00.002-07:002016-05-15T22:10:39.157-07:00Exciting News to Share!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; line-height: 19.32px;">Excited to be making this official. My good friend </span><a href="http://www.mrswideen.com/">Kristen Wideen</a> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; line-height: 19.32px;">and I have a book coming out soon. </span></span>We hope our book will help transform how iPad is being used in classrooms because the potential of iPad goes way beyond just practicing math facts and listening to stories.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.32px;">To be one of the first to know when it's available for purchase fill in this short <a href="http://bit.ly/innovatewithipad" target="_blank">form</a>. In the meantime check out our very cool book cover and stay tuned for more details on how you can get your hands on your own copy! </span><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="background-color: white; color: #4267b2; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.32px; text-decoration: none;"><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/feelingverygrateful?source=feed_text&story_id=10153469196261555" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.32px; text-decoration: none;"></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.32px;">We can't wait to share our book with you. </span></div>
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-556904247677346172016-04-18T23:57:00.000-07:002016-04-18T23:57:06.721-07:00Still Affected, Many Years Later: The Impact of TeacherToday I attended a fantastic professional development opportunity which focused on the design process and making. I was part of a group of four and together we went through the process of design thinking followed by creating a prototype for a new and improved lunch kit. As a team we had many great ideas. However when it came time to use the tools to bring our idea to life, I struggled. It wasn't that I couldn't add to the ideas, and help with the design, it was that I really had a fear of using the tools to create.<br />
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You see back when I was in grade eight sewing and art something happened in both classes that still haunts me to this day. I never really realized how badly it has affected me but it was very obvious today as I tried to be hands on with my group as we began to create the prototype of our idea. You see when I was in both grade eight sewing and grade eight art my teachers used my products as the examples of what not to do. In one case my work was referred to as a "dog's breakfast". Needless to say I've never felt so humiliated. <br />
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To cope I developed strategies, I'd come to class when no one was there and make sure my work was not in sight. I'd do my sewing when no one was really around - before/after school or over lunch etc. I did complete all the required projects - yes I even made a jacket - but I showed no one anything I made. <br />
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Art class was the same. I'd sneak in and grab my work when no one was looking. There was no way that I was going to be humiliated in front of my peers again.<br />
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Fast forward to today, and I'm back in a maker environment. I've got tons of ideas and have a real vision for what our product should look like. I listen well and feel I'm a good group member. But when it came to actually using tools to create I nearly froze. I was able to clearly direct what I wanted to be done, but I could not do it on my own. In fact I made just one cut with a knife before passing it off to someone one else. I was truly afraid that I was going to mess up our project. Crazy right?<br />
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I'm still baffled several hours later at how much the "making" process flooded me with these terrible memories from high school. I know the whole thing is irrational but it's crazy how much of an impact it has had on me.<br />
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So please, if you have a student who may not have the strongest skill set in a particular area honour them for where they are at. Provide with the support and guidance to help them improve but DO NOT humiliate them to the point that it still affects them many years later.<br />
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As a side note, when it came time to show case our finished prototypes I received rave reviews for my selling capabilities. That made me laugh, and smile. After the flood of negative memories, I needed that.<br />
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So, when you are making in your classroom, be mindful that there may be a student like me. One who has had a bad experience with making even though the rational side of their brain knows better.<br />
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And as an educator, be good to your students always. Even, or more likely especially when they are struggling. We have an impact far deeper than we probably realize.K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-42362603465043400552016-04-16T18:28:00.002-07:002016-04-16T18:28:41.989-07:00Learning to Listen<br />
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One of my big goals has been to listen more and speak less. By listening more I mean to listen with the intent to understand, not just to listen to hear. This has been a particularly important goal with my students this year although it really started back a few years ago when I taught an inquisitive young man who was often questioning what was happening in the classroom.<br />
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It was this same young man who asked, "Ms. Lirenman why do you tell us which math station to go to and why can't we just choose our own"? The first response that popped into my head (and thankfully stayed there) was that I'm the teacher and I want it this way. I liked the control it gave me to keep the class organized and well run. I liked that it meant every student would make it to every activity. I liked it that way. But I didn't say that instead I said, "let me think about it". </div>
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I went home that weekend and did think about it and when I returned on Monday I told that student that he was right, and that if he and his classmates could make choices about their learning and pick the math stations that best met their learning need to fully understand the concepts we were learning about I would be cool with that. I did say that I would jump in and support those learners who weren't able to make those choices yet, but I'd jump in with the intent to help them learn how to make those choices on their own. </div>
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Really to no surprise, my students were amazing. I still set up the activities but they were able to make their own choices about what they needed most. Yes, I did step in at the beginning for a few students, but quickly they were successful too. They showed me what they really are cable of doing if and when I let them show me.</div>
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Fast forward a few more years. I'm now teaching in a multi-aged, home/school blended classroom which is part of <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/">SAIL</a> (Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning). I have highly inquisitive students in fact I'd say that most of my class is exactly like that inquisitive young man I taught a few years back. I still write a day plan based on my students and what I know about them as learners. I understand the curriculum and have ideas of how we are going to learn what we are going to learn. However I've created an classroom environment where it's okay for my students to suggest other ways to meet the learning objectives. The rewards have been incredible. <br />
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My listening with the intend to better understand and know my students has paid off greatly. How are you listening to your students as a way to support their learning?</div>
K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-53234069912263314322016-04-16T17:15:00.000-07:002016-04-16T17:15:42.972-07:00Nap Every Day: A Metaphor for Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This past Wednesday night I was given the honour to present as one of the speakers for <a href="https://findinganswersinlife.com/">edvent 2016</a> where each speaker was asked to chose one line from Robert Fulghum's <span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18.2px;"> </span>poem Everything I Learned in Kindergarten and relate it to education. After my first choice was already chosen by some else, the line I spoke to was "Take a Nap Every Afternoon". </div>
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For those of you who were not able to attend, here is more or less what I said, with the images that I shared as I went.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9_6GMcMUqntCyO6SZn_Q_cuPHfUI9CSTDBPoup51WSzt0AUjXOtkPtsWp7yC6-BUrCafyXPSDkY3vBH2udI0hPsXzpP9FxNQe24X5c7IrzvzR_9bznCzbZAE2mihiqSoZ2DI1HdACthk/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9_6GMcMUqntCyO6SZn_Q_cuPHfUI9CSTDBPoup51WSzt0AUjXOtkPtsWp7yC6-BUrCafyXPSDkY3vBH2udI0hPsXzpP9FxNQe24X5c7IrzvzR_9bznCzbZAE2mihiqSoZ2DI1HdACthk/s320/Slide1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the Miriam-Webster dictionary a nap is defined as a sleep in the middle of the afternoon. As a grade one, two, and three teacher I think if I tried to have a nap in the middle of the afternoon, while my students were still in class, more than likely I'd no longer have a job. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having said that though, there is a lot </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we can learn about from a daily nap, even if a metaphoric one.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'd like to start with a story, but I must admit there are many truths to my story. This year I work at <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/">SAIL</a>, the Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning. It is a blended home school program and falls under distributed learning. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">My students are most likely no different than yours. They are keen, curious, eager learners. They specifically have chosen to come to SAIL and travel from all over to attend. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for some of my students there is a very specific reason why they left their previous schools. It let them down. When they entered school they thought it was a place to explore their curiosities, but instead they quickly learned it was a place to please their teachers</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of my students were disillusioned with the notion of school and felt their voices had little place in THEIR learning.</span><div>
<span style="line-height: 22.08px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">So again what does this story have to do with a daily nap? What can we learn from that daily nap?</span><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsabFtC-hoY288TDN2g145eMJ-TipPPXpc_RXmkguZb7P0-Ma4HrbMR6brNKqDfWJOElrl8bb7kVLY-CWjxyW1wj0mjHznERMvm2rDSusz3WxmtGkhG3W81jzqtnsq7i1xZZ7SaJLuVn-T/s1600/Slide2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsabFtC-hoY288TDN2g145eMJ-TipPPXpc_RXmkguZb7P0-Ma4HrbMR6brNKqDfWJOElrl8bb7kVLY-CWjxyW1wj0mjHznERMvm2rDSusz3WxmtGkhG3W81jzqtnsq7i1xZZ7SaJLuVn-T/s320/Slide2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">A nap forces us to slow down. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">As educators we never have enough time. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are always in a rush - We need to cover curriculum, attend required meetings, do our supervisions, learn new things, connect with our colleagues and of course teach our students. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And sometimes in the rush I think we fail to truly get to know our students. I know I certainly can be guilty of that. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need naps to slow down so we can watch and listen more. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not watch and listen to see and hear but to <b>understand</b> our students better.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A nap allows us to pause and reflect. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">It helps us learn more about our students interes</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">ts, passions and learning styles. We learn what makes them happy and what scares them greatly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A nap allows us to absorb all of this, and worry less about who we expect our students to be and celebrate more of who they truly are.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEK7a7iIKP4_Xu3CoLFpmxI4A-x6kEwfu8bI1Hr0iKRNbo8-hSvrPLuXCp3B-fn_RNLzb-BRTvtpMAD1ksgBSkfujkpVSua4eqOt9EbtTlIYHUEZl7bNg6hNMmT8yze9zWbkn8xtwTtm6/s1600/Slide5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEK7a7iIKP4_Xu3CoLFpmxI4A-x6kEwfu8bI1Hr0iKRNbo8-hSvrPLuXCp3B-fn_RNLzb-BRTvtpMAD1ksgBSkfujkpVSua4eqOt9EbtTlIYHUEZl7bNg6hNMmT8yze9zWbkn8xtwTtm6/s320/Slide5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each day a metaphorical nap gives us the strength and the courage to reboot and re examine our roll as an educator. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">We no longer have to expect our students to do it our way, and we can be open to them learning ways that works best for them. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">It gives us the opportunity to put our learners back in the centre of their learning where they belong. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">It can help remind us to switch from saying, “this is how I’d like you to do it” to more of “that sounds like a great idea, I can’t wait to see how it turns out”. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Regular naps give us the opportunity to make a change to better meet our students needs. Not our needs, our students needs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, there are perks to those naps. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">The process of shutting down, even for just a few minutes allow us to refresh and be more creative. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are less frazzled and more open to new and different ideas. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can better handle adversity, and develop better resilience and our judgment gets stronger too. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6On-b-oE9vtZyRhGgHnnFd5Oip1w_Ffu-saQBbTDitUn4DAMHLKTgazIJlhED91u-5UCU2KHNKlja0q-OdL6Uf7TQHR1Qiadg5sjzpozHGjTzP4ab4GTLDe2w8Y6_f_VWyDVm5dVWfb_d/s1600/Slide7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6On-b-oE9vtZyRhGgHnnFd5Oip1w_Ffu-saQBbTDitUn4DAMHLKTgazIJlhED91u-5UCU2KHNKlja0q-OdL6Uf7TQHR1Qiadg5sjzpozHGjTzP4ab4GTLDe2w8Y6_f_VWyDVm5dVWfb_d/s320/Slide7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh0lGTUNv01U-6dDLJs-XfSn75r6oFf5yyWnilwWpK6l2yzB8BuuimN9KNrk_whHH2NE6C1KsoKFbUxviuCqJTplLDhcuVh5XAMxlZRWEcna93ExqxKH4aoPQUQQF9EoyV97SjAb9oc_N/s1600/Slide8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh0lGTUNv01U-6dDLJs-XfSn75r6oFf5yyWnilwWpK6l2yzB8BuuimN9KNrk_whHH2NE6C1KsoKFbUxviuCqJTplLDhcuVh5XAMxlZRWEcna93ExqxKH4aoPQUQQF9EoyV97SjAb9oc_N/s320/Slide8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyFMQtqggcIFkW8yyOebUZ0IwTegGvV0SKu5U32vCgIQM_14Uicbgtfa_vjQBhk_kxqc4o81ecemjq5Fr3UrLIbsVLJ1-rVWRsrcxD0F4lCIcXMeG2vtWJDrUMyR-LBdDwEtKWffWiLfc/s1600/Slide9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyFMQtqggcIFkW8yyOebUZ0IwTegGvV0SKu5U32vCgIQM_14Uicbgtfa_vjQBhk_kxqc4o81ecemjq5Fr3UrLIbsVLJ1-rVWRsrcxD0F4lCIcXMeG2vtWJDrUMyR-LBdDwEtKWffWiLfc/s320/Slide9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-18815688199798216662016-02-13T19:25:00.000-08:002016-02-13T19:44:48.608-08:00Teaching in Beta at SAIL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQd8yFwZjEjHZmArrjplLMLb-FTM_xVXJmFFYjmvFdqYu8Gc7BGlpeO2yljq77iQxEuNGu0ZKPkpOXMBacWTDLiI4HPsOeCLGiiFeVB5bVQrmjps94FpVwAdx8Qhcsjo91nlIz1baRRcx/s1600/IMG_0820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQd8yFwZjEjHZmArrjplLMLb-FTM_xVXJmFFYjmvFdqYu8Gc7BGlpeO2yljq77iQxEuNGu0ZKPkpOXMBacWTDLiI4HPsOeCLGiiFeVB5bVQrmjps94FpVwAdx8Qhcsjo91nlIz1baRRcx/s320/IMG_0820.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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This year I am teaching at a new district program with Surrey Schools called SAIL - Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning. This is the "beta" year for the program so there is a lot more unknown than known as we create this unique learning opportunity for our students. The students who are in my class are there because of a personal decision by their parents to find a program that hopefully better meets their child's needs at this time. For some it's to get their child excited about coming to school again and for others it's to support their passion for science, technology, engineering, math and art. There are many other reasons why parents have chosen to take a chance and learn with us at SAIL. I feel honoured to be given such a responsibility.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2aAM2WVmJ9QusraGpFjSAwdiAQ4YdZ5ZMd3Xhd-8i_c5ViS4gCayvCj9EVQZjRCkReh9jQnR4mBVAVBUkVmQtszAm6TzIxCQkrxc_VvF4Qexp3U6nc1S5rPhY19hC1D6Ga7a9KuoAvckb/s1600/IMG_1478+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2aAM2WVmJ9QusraGpFjSAwdiAQ4YdZ5ZMd3Xhd-8i_c5ViS4gCayvCj9EVQZjRCkReh9jQnR4mBVAVBUkVmQtszAm6TzIxCQkrxc_VvF4Qexp3U6nc1S5rPhY19hC1D6Ga7a9KuoAvckb/s320/IMG_1478+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
SAIL is a home/school blended program and falls under the distributed learning mandate. My students are in the building with me four days a week with some flexibility around start and end times. In some cases the children are the building less than four days a week. But because school is not just being done in a "brick and mortar" school I am also responsible for ensuring my students have "school work" to do with their families in their homes. It allows for the parents of my students to have a much more active role in their child's learning since they are uncovering 20% (or more) of the curriculum with them directly. There is an important, on-going relationship between myself, my students, and their families.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsJXNmiy2IHZBwKnxem5KAc1lTi9vIC2irgPif0dDcisRqmlAYfU88qRktPOqESKvwTRCdtbf5C0jrWko1DwZTcJNlIQF_OrP2YZCvXyybC9XCQTh79H84oMiwJXs7gkc1VQyy1BBjLSF/s1600/IMG_1194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsJXNmiy2IHZBwKnxem5KAc1lTi9vIC2irgPif0dDcisRqmlAYfU88qRktPOqESKvwTRCdtbf5C0jrWko1DwZTcJNlIQF_OrP2YZCvXyybC9XCQTh79H84oMiwJXs7gkc1VQyy1BBjLSF/s320/IMG_1194.jpg" width="320" /></a>SAIL is also multi-aged classes. I am the official K-3 classroom teacher. For the first few months of school I had quite a unique multi-aged class with students in grade one and students in grade three. Yes, you read that correct, I had a one/three without the grade twos. Because I was missing the 'bridge" between the grades there were times that things were a bit more challenging to best meet every ones needs. But the beauty of missing the bridge is that it really made me focus on what my students need in spite of what grade they are officially in. I think that's one of the beauties of teaching a multi-aged class. As much as government issued curriculum is always something I need to keep in mind, I worry far less about what "grade" each child is in and I focus more on who they are as learners.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXJaRshTMBOLYc9MkGS3waCeiHsWwMUFRaRzEKHf-X6kT8OSOtrDhQdoYCXRsj5s7o9c_9QoIEl9FKAeaRBf1gfWmuvs4T9qGd6SujKtWlpqtoumY6pJgtM2TufhahOQutYAk-Ha3g2XO/s1600/IMG_0894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXJaRshTMBOLYc9MkGS3waCeiHsWwMUFRaRzEKHf-X6kT8OSOtrDhQdoYCXRsj5s7o9c_9QoIEl9FKAeaRBf1gfWmuvs4T9qGd6SujKtWlpqtoumY6pJgtM2TufhahOQutYAk-Ha3g2XO/s320/IMG_0894.jpg" width="320" /></a>The slight glitch to all of this is that I do, as the teacher, have mandated curriculum that needs to be covered and so I need to find ways to uncover this curriculum in ways that work for my students. This isn't always an easy task, particularly when uncovering content for three grade levels at once, but with the new BC curriculum, and the curricular competencies which can apply to most of my students passions, it provides me with the opportunity to uncover the curricular content in new and hopefully exciting ways. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1V1VsEDBQ6nMS6pHKpiO4MApZdtSOu4MxezRK-6bMlRIPho6oUXSCBJ7BngjhRoIJN7W7YyDGABd78ACG_BPvyaCf2FTq0byO8HmBo8gA6GStVVcnd06TYWig6JHbn1EdzFrnOJ1PQIFm/s1600/IMG_1125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1V1VsEDBQ6nMS6pHKpiO4MApZdtSOu4MxezRK-6bMlRIPho6oUXSCBJ7BngjhRoIJN7W7YyDGABd78ACG_BPvyaCf2FTq0byO8HmBo8gA6GStVVcnd06TYWig6JHbn1EdzFrnOJ1PQIFm/s320/IMG_1125.jpg" width="320" /></a>One of the struggles I have with this home/blended learning piece is that each week I need to design home learning plans for my students that will be engaging for them, and that their families can help with as necessary. I also need to be mindful of the required curriculum because the reality is 20% of my students' learning is done in their own environment. (Okay that line makes me laugh because I know my students do a lot more than 20% of their learning at home, but in terms of the BC Curriculum and what needs to be uncovered I am leading 80% in the building, and planning for the other 20% to be done in the student's home). Each week it takes me a while to come up with ideas that are meaningful to my students and tie back to my students' learning. I will admit some weeks I do a better job at that than others.<br />
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A couple of the more recent successful home learning plans that stick out are when we were learning about sound, and when we were learning about trout. During out sound inquiry one of the activities for the home learning plan involved them creating an instrument from items they found in their home, and then being able to share their instrument, and where/how the sound was made with their classmates on Monday. It tied in with both the hands on nature of our class, the science content (for my grade one students), and the science curricular competencies for all of my students. Click the image below to hear them play their instruments. (Or <a href="http://mslirenmansroom.blogspot.ca/2016/01/k-3-sail-band.html">here</a> if the image link doesn't work)<br />
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We were then able to extend the use of these instruments through classroom discussions, in music class, and with reflection. It was an activity that went beyond the home.<br />
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A second home learning activity that made me smile was when we were studying trout in preparation to a visit to a trout hatchery. For home learning my students were encouraged to design a habitat for a trout to show me what they had learned through our inquiry on trout, and in preparation for our field trip to a local trout hatchery. As usual the expectations were quite open ended and the children were able to create in ways that worked best for them. I still smile when I think of the products my students created. Some took the time to build a trout habitat in minecraft, and explain each of the areas they built. Others used paper and coloured pencils to draw a trout habitat. Another used modelling clay to design their habitat. One even programmed Dash to travel up a river and back to the home where the trout would lay its eggs. The acceptance of these different ways of showing learning is what I believe is one of the greatest strengths of our program. As much as I cover mandated curriculum, my focus is on my students, and finding ways to help them learn in ways they are excited about.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywJdvcyyq-PB5HWEFE0PRW2LqC2Yonl-GY15E7CAcjHcLcCKA6z6EUDUIgWhKygNOKHISlNd-UL1uOrnXJkmciCMUt0xgpSav7BaI-sL0IJ0g0Mz47FYwPxa-jgh26lVJrXsA7YJBUtlr/s1600/IMG_1286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywJdvcyyq-PB5HWEFE0PRW2LqC2Yonl-GY15E7CAcjHcLcCKA6z6EUDUIgWhKygNOKHISlNd-UL1uOrnXJkmciCMUt0xgpSav7BaI-sL0IJ0g0Mz47FYwPxa-jgh26lVJrXsA7YJBUtlr/s320/IMG_1286.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The program is also built around a maker mindset where I believe my students have more hands on opportunities for their learning. My students make bread most weeks and have documented the process through images, blog posts, digital books, and coding adventures. During Valentine's Day they were expected to create their own Valentine folder's. Those folders had to hold their valentines, have their name clearly written, and have a moving part. I'm always inspired by the way their brains work and what they are able to create.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3-RWgq1WpWnrLIScd0FJOO_wEUM8rVVX_cqdqjJKkW2lGIUYKDTYFBOFKX9eY6zWayAV7vt-6UAYA_2T_1OKCGely6xPtSFiDd1rvbyR1IrZ1khOQ4tUjWjBuzw3lbkBG7-RUKhcu9aN/s1600/IMG_1196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3-RWgq1WpWnrLIScd0FJOO_wEUM8rVVX_cqdqjJKkW2lGIUYKDTYFBOFKX9eY6zWayAV7vt-6UAYA_2T_1OKCGely6xPtSFiDd1rvbyR1IrZ1khOQ4tUjWjBuzw3lbkBG7-RUKhcu9aN/s320/IMG_1196.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The SAIL program provides me with some innovative freedoms that aren't always available in other environments. The past few years I have been innovative with my teaching when I felt it better met my students needs. But my innovative ideas weren't always welcomed by parents who see school in the more traditional way. So I'm extremely fortunate to be working with children and families who are excited about new ways of teaching and learning.<br />
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While we are still in the BETA year and our numbers are low at the moment the registration forms keep coming in for the new school year. Who knows where we'll be a year from now! #excitingtimesarehere<br />
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Curious to learn more? Check out the SAIL website. <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/">https://sailacademy.ca/</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vED4N_SQMMUYI9GE_FNV8drybACOHXaKP7OkGihQB-To5cjYORyGnHC2RJUVm_w3y6z7lnzznz35QZB30jcd4GeLcGmtIhHPxUUmSC9CLT2z3RNu7gIegHgq9ZZ14TU-2EbvyngW4T6J/s1600/SAIL_Logo_CMYK_FA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vED4N_SQMMUYI9GE_FNV8drybACOHXaKP7OkGihQB-To5cjYORyGnHC2RJUVm_w3y6z7lnzznz35QZB30jcd4GeLcGmtIhHPxUUmSC9CLT2z3RNu7gIegHgq9ZZ14TU-2EbvyngW4T6J/s320/SAIL_Logo_CMYK_FA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-65594702953549987672015-12-25T22:00:00.000-08:002015-12-25T22:00:30.914-08:00Show What You Know with iPad: Using an iPad to Create and Self Assess in the Early Years<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/course/show-what-you-know-with-ipad/id1070360187"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfMk5q3My3A8IjNLICKj8ANQa1EUyttp_2a5RG7jVCFIG1xHlaFHC_OIM-4W0VDxbKYbil43FqK32RrpAhhiCP0wmoh-y2i_N9-3A6kOtbh_o2VPT5Cf99DPHRkveBpy2KHksGyL8uw49/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-12-25+at+9.43.05+PM.png" width="263" /></a></div>
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I'm often approached by educators looking for the best iPad app. While my students have their favourite go to apps, what works for my students may not work for theirs. In fact even my own students can't decide which app is best because each has their own preference depending on what they are trying to do. It's far less about the specific app, then what that app can do to show learning.<br />
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For me, the beauty of the iPad and more specifically the apps available for it, is that it allows my students to create, and show their learning in ways that work best for them. For this reason I have created an iTunes U course titled <b><u>Show What You Know with iPad: Using an iPad to Create and Self Assess in the Early Years</u></b>. This is a free course but does require an iOS device to access it through iTunes U . It can be downloaded onto an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.<br />
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This FREE iTunes U course explores five open-ended creative apps including Skitch, Popplet, Book Creator, Draw and Tell, and Explain Everything. The course walks the reader through how to use these specific apps and provides examples of how the various apps can been used in a variety of content areas. The course makes you think about how these apps can work best for your students' learning.<br />
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In addition the course also explores ways these same five apps can be used as a tool for student self assessment in a variety of content areas. Curious to learn more? Download the course. It's free! You've got nothing to lose. :-)<br />
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/course/show-what-you-know-with-ipad/id1070360187"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0umy47MzgZjzrYHHc502A_yhZlL1Sy8i7XqwIqRAspaUrEJGVEgjzbMqJ0u8TYjbQSYn4aJU0Tkr0r7-564zXgj0tY_RIc7GtWItHrmXbYet7hs6Z4kwy_4EwGGTCbuIk_nejRBvnoGl/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-12-25+at+9.31.16+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here is a direct link to the course <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/course/show-what-you-know-with-ipad/id1070360187">https://itunes.apple.com/ca/course/show-what-you-know-with-ipad/id1070360187</a> . For those of you who are already familiar with iTunes U the enrol code is DCL-MYW-YNB.<br />
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-2831129859347172342015-12-14T23:05:00.003-08:002015-12-14T23:05:57.344-08:00Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As part of being recognized as a "Top 12 Global Teacher
Blogger" by Cathy Rubin for Huffington Post, I am asked each month to
respond to a question. This blog post is in response to " What are
the best ways for a teacher to engage their classroom in a global
conversation?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before I talk about how to engage students
in a global conversation I very strongly believe that a teacher should be
involved in one first before expecting their students to engage globally.
For me, personally and professionally, that means connecting with the
world through twitter, blogs, and various other on-line platforms. I ask
my questions of other educators both near and far and I learn with and from
them. I strongly believe if I expect my students to have a global
conversation, then I should be too. This is not to say that every educator needs
to connect the way I connect, but I do feel in this day it is important that
you get yourself connected and learn beyond your classroom, school, or
district. Imagine only reading books from one bookshelf, when you have an
entire library of great books to read. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As for my students, I equally believe that
they need to be able to learn far beyond their classroom walls. For this
reason our teaching and learning goes beyond our class, school, and district. My
students use tools such as blogs, twitter, and video conferencing to connect
and learn with others. We've taken part in collaborative projects such as
the Global Read Aloud with children in other parts of the world. Video
conferencing has allowed my students to learn with others. Just this morning
my students taught children 2,000 km away about Hanukkah. Tomorrow they will be
teaching a class within our school. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So how do you get started?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Start small and bring a friend along. Find
a venue that takes you out of your local comfort level. This may mean
joining a collaborative project such as one from <a href="http://projectsbyjen.com/">Projects by Jen</a> , or looking through
the learning opportunities available on <a href="http://blogs.skype.com/tag/skype-in-the-classroom/">Skype in the
Classroom</a>. This isn't meant to be "another thing" to add to
your teaching. Learning globally adds to what you're already doing. For
example, to help my students with their number sense, they played "guess
my number" with several classes around North America. When they were
learning about community they video conferenced with children in different
communities to learn what features were common in all communities, and which
were specific to where they lived.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Asking experts through twitter, or inviting
them to video conference with your class is another small way to learn with the
world. Connecting with an author through twitter has been a pretty
straightforward way to learn with others. There's nothing like havin a
tweet replied by someone your students see as important. There are a lot
of great people out there that are willing to help your students learn from an
authentic audience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So whether your first step is a small one
or a big one, just be sure to take that first step. There is so much learning
to happen beyond your classroom walls.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-67496903278272873062015-12-13T12:37:00.000-08:002015-12-13T12:37:13.111-08:00More Than Just an Hour of CodeThis past week I hosted the Hour of Code at my <a href="http://learningandsharingwithmsl.blogspot.ca/2015/09/changes-ahead.html">new school</a>. As I mentioned earlier, this school is new to me and as much as I am part of this new school community, I am also the primary teacher for the new <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/programs/steam-k7/">SAIL program</a> within our district. This means in some ways I work for both SAIL, and I work for my new school. <br />
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A few of the students in the new school know me because my students and I integrate into their PE classes, or I know them as my "field trip friends" because my class will be sharing a school bus with them. We've also connected with a class when we have our presentations from the aboriginal culture workers. I've had small chat with many students, but my reality is, I don't know many of the students outside of the SAIL program. <br />
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One way to try to fix that is that I decided to host the Hour of Code for the entire school. A week earlier I had daily announcements made inviting students down to my classroom (a part of the school most students don't even know exists) to sign up for <a href="https://code.org/learn">one of five code.org tutorials</a>. Throughout the week I had heaps of children drop by and by Friday afternoon over 100 students had signed up. How exciting I thought to myself.<br />
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Unfortunately (or fortunately) because of the large numbers of students, and the limited access to devices, and the size of my classroom, I broke the groups down into thirds with each group being invited either Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday at lunch. These students did not disappoint and my room was packed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Each child had their own log in card and I was able to get them all up and running. The beauty of code.org is that students can start a coding tutorial at school, then continue it at home. <br />
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As the week progressed things started to change for me. As I was walking in the hallways more students were coming up to me to say hello, and to ask if was their day to come for coding. They wondered what would happen on Thursday and Friday after every group and been through for their first attempt at the hour of code. I was slowly becoming the teacher who does coding vs just a body that was seen in the hallways from time to time. Student were starting to say hello to me by name.<br />
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I continued the week of coding over lunch, and on Thursday and Friday anyone was invited to spend the lunch hour with me. Slowly I too got to know more of their names, and it made me smile to be able to feed their coding curiosity. I was able to set them up in other code.org tutorials, and to send a few of them home with some <a href="https://bitsbox.com/hoc2015.html">bitsbox</a> information. I was no longer that person they saw in the hallways from time to time, I was an equally important teacher in the school.<br />
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I hope that with time the rest of the school community will take notice that as much as I teach in a district program of choice, I am still a teacher, and I want to have a positive influence on any students I come into contact with. Sometimes being part of something different, people think you aren't really there for them, but that is so far from the truth.<br />
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Hosting the Hour of Code has helped bring me into the school's community, and it has made the rest of the school community know that I am there for them too. It's gone way beyond just "the hour of code". The best part for me (and I hope the students too) is how excited I am to continue this "coding" with a weekly coding club the rest of the year. I can't wait to share some of the incredible things these wonderful students will get up to.<br />
<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-73226050352842848942015-12-07T21:53:00.000-08:002015-12-07T21:53:03.334-08:00Using Scratch Jr to Code How to Make Bread<div>
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Each Wednesday morning my students start the day by measuring out and adding ingredients to our class breadmaker. They then get on with their day until the bread is ready to enjoy and share with others.</div>
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This past Wednesday they did things a bit differently. With all the ingredients in the machine, my students turned to the free iPad app Scratch Jr to create a program that tells others how to make bread. While they have worked with Scratch Jr before, this was the first time that their "coding" had a real purpose. They were coding to teach others how to make bread too.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5730514995199630178" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>My students could choose to work on their own or with a friend. They then got down to work. And boy did they work. For close to 90 minutes my students worked on problem solving their coding needs. They wanted their final product to look as close to what they do themselves each Wednesday morning. They added repeats to their coding so that a spoon would go back and forth to match how many scoops they added to the bread machine. They played with the appear/disappear feature so that they could make it look like their ingredients were dropping into the bread machine. They added "characters" you could touch so that you could hear what was happening in the picture. They added other links that took you to the next step in the process. Along the way they learned that you can only have four "scenes" in each Scratch Jr project so a few of them had to make more than one project.</div>
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Now this wasn't easy for them. There was a ton of trial and error. There were math computations to figure out to ensure the spoons and scoops stopped at the right place. There was timing of items becoming visible, and then becoming invisible. There were repeat codes.
Here's a small sampling of some of their coding. You'll notice that many of their pages had several items to code. Remember anything they've added to the page that moves or makes a sound, needed to be coded.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2jbsif-zFFYhGKSqGOiz4cSKJugFmHhmcBvK7-eoyiAicG7Pn8k50I7qr-vabXXJERPR_abh1HR46xOumiK49sMoGZ17Nbsyso0iwBPTWWq7tS_d-vj2WjJW2sBjwcaHYjj5LaJgDsfF/s1600/IMG_3613.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2jbsif-zFFYhGKSqGOiz4cSKJugFmHhmcBvK7-eoyiAicG7Pn8k50I7qr-vabXXJERPR_abh1HR46xOumiK49sMoGZ17Nbsyso0iwBPTWWq7tS_d-vj2WjJW2sBjwcaHYjj5LaJgDsfF/s320/IMG_3613.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This code is making the ingredient drop into the bread machine at just the right time to match the ingredient moving toward the bread maker. They have also programmed the dropping ingredient to disappear into the bread machine.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARnslUPNzAZXG5QSW30nXiK-GwyfM3t4rRyn0NH07dx5FSBHIPf9-IJFizloNAnwtdInchZQ-ZOmKLjdCiZrJ1N4d4I9Ca2rQszVgyhiHDmKBn_QX1kFwDRYMQHYJyi6udtGrNpQEnnuq/s1600/IMG_3614.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARnslUPNzAZXG5QSW30nXiK-GwyfM3t4rRyn0NH07dx5FSBHIPf9-IJFizloNAnwtdInchZQ-ZOmKLjdCiZrJ1N4d4I9Ca2rQszVgyhiHDmKBn_QX1kFwDRYMQHYJyi6udtGrNpQEnnuq/s320/IMG_3614.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This code is ensuring that the flour fall from the spoon at the right time, and then disappear after it drops.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwEqHpTYXnggkEVopY5M1aBTHngkmWHb75zh_R9sBjHU74hE4h7SWSH1eCOtupjJfez9wpPefHoF7DuApAdiOdkEkeUnhyphenhyphenMUIRENosf3-8oWj990Y1gK2rfxzVIw_yT0EjBaKqoQyyJni/s1600/IMG_3615.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwEqHpTYXnggkEVopY5M1aBTHngkmWHb75zh_R9sBjHU74hE4h7SWSH1eCOtupjJfez9wpPefHoF7DuApAdiOdkEkeUnhyphenhyphenMUIRENosf3-8oWj990Y1gK2rfxzVIw_yT0EjBaKqoQyyJni/s320/IMG_3615.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This code is programming the scope to make it from the flour to the bread maker and then tip into the bread maker.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ATSkSiYGvS5VCNit7gu4YbzsRdavlzmw_EurBhobL6cqmUDD_h3Yb6n53IGkX1u9_UkPCQwNWWKk_9xj9y0m-gGDmGymKJqIYsGBVP7OHQV648vxv0vfkxTpV4zrEzLUmF5bgfbZVu8X/s1600/IMG_3616.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ATSkSiYGvS5VCNit7gu4YbzsRdavlzmw_EurBhobL6cqmUDD_h3Yb6n53IGkX1u9_UkPCQwNWWKk_9xj9y0m-gGDmGymKJqIYsGBVP7OHQV648vxv0vfkxTpV4zrEzLUmF5bgfbZVu8X/s320/IMG_3616.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This code is making the spoon go up and over to the bread maker, tip into the bread maker, then return back to the beginning and repeat the process four times since they have to add 4 scoops of this ingredient to the bread maker.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WpFocg2PZaNepgTJ0LFTksPepOwME-xCKIv9wG8JHlIpHnY9_lD4mefZ4pZy4fTx2Y7f3V3cDlLI95rTlnR3hzKHwxUmlA7xrHi-9fHfeiAn6s2OJQhNIfGd12QAZXNJyfd9C8xmKovA/s1600/IMG_3617.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WpFocg2PZaNepgTJ0LFTksPepOwME-xCKIv9wG8JHlIpHnY9_lD4mefZ4pZy4fTx2Y7f3V3cDlLI95rTlnR3hzKHwxUmlA7xrHi-9fHfeiAn6s2OJQhNIfGd12QAZXNJyfd9C8xmKovA/s320/IMG_3617.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This code has the spoon travel from the left to the right side of the page, up the page and then over the bread maker where it tips into the machine</td></tr>
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Curious what they looked like? Here are a couple to check out. Now please note in the transfer process the sound was lost so these are silent movies. Remember though every action in each movie was created by a specific code telling the object to do exactly what it's doing. Enjoy</div>
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-65039298493327499772015-11-07T21:36:00.000-08:002015-11-08T13:09:49.995-08:00Learning By Design in a Primary ClassroomFirst off, I'm not an expert here, nor am I doing something new. I am not the first, nor will I be the last but I still want to share my story.<br />
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As many of you are away this year I'm in a brand new position with my school district as part of a brand new program. I am the only K-3 teacher for my district's choice program <a href="https://sailacademy.ca/about/">SAIL - Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning</a>. Being a new program means I am building a program as it runs. I will admit there are some challenges because of this but there are a lot more positive adventures.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN88Q85W-9ojFhbCiXH39ZV-zOYPTVW5O9dhY73yZTmZcWUqQ6gGjGyrCOWJjpIkHgFA7uB0WTz-DXvROL7szG1ZyjiwBuaMQ2YW72rkM-vtpBAj_VyVj9EQvZ3aHAN3tmI5oGPzjxP1DY/s1600/JPEG+image-27A1E86397AE-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN88Q85W-9ojFhbCiXH39ZV-zOYPTVW5O9dhY73yZTmZcWUqQ6gGjGyrCOWJjpIkHgFA7uB0WTz-DXvROL7szG1ZyjiwBuaMQ2YW72rkM-vtpBAj_VyVj9EQvZ3aHAN3tmI5oGPzjxP1DY/s320/JPEG+image-27A1E86397AE-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creating their own problem, then finding their own solution through trial and error.<br />
Student driven learning.</td></tr>
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I have incredible students who love to explore, create and design. I've spent a lot of time watching them do this and have been trying to find ways to make our new curriculum fit with their passions, instead of in spite of their passions. So this week we began to explore design challenges.<br />
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The challenges themselves are quite simple but the beauty of them is that they are using tools my students love to learn with, they were co-created with the students, and the criteria for success was determined by the students. I provided the opportunity for them to learn this way, but they came up with the purpose. Along the way they learned that they have to collaborate to be successful. That sometimes, even with the best laid out plans, that they aren't successful. That mistakes just lead to new learning. That perseverance is a skill, and some of us need to work hard to have some, and for some of us it comes naturally. But above all they learned, once again, that learning is and can be student centered and fun!<br />
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So what exactly were our challenges this week?<br />
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The first was "The Contraption Lab"<br />
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Inspired by seeing<a href="https://twitter.com/teachingjake"> Jake Lee</a> use a product called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SmartLab-Toys-Weird-Wacky-Contraption/dp/B005AHICA8">Weird Wacky Contraption Lab</a> with his grade one students in Hawaii, and how they were working through the design process with it, I knew we needed one too.<br />
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The goal of the first challenge was to "launch the pig". After some discussion, and actually counting how many pieces the toy had, the students decided that to be successful they needed to use between 5 - 10 pieces.<br />
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The first group thought they were successful until they counted their pieces and realized they didn't have between 5-10. It was certainly a task in trial an error as the marble was flying of the track, or not landing where they thought it should. As I mentioned it naturally included communication through discussion, problem solving, and a lot of failure. Not every group that has been through this challenge has been successful... yet. Perseverance is key!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZCepGyNlHCYHw5j3KYClYMjSQD1me1p_QM1sKWbzu1pafTcuzDzP-BUyxMBlbetdlTyGJHkR02mMSfDmsYJaiKKwAXB4-ODp0d0CWDdxr42JaWXIsVsBgTMXz55sAri2ekbqdM2O63eZ/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-A59E41B2F3D9-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZCepGyNlHCYHw5j3KYClYMjSQD1me1p_QM1sKWbzu1pafTcuzDzP-BUyxMBlbetdlTyGJHkR02mMSfDmsYJaiKKwAXB4-ODp0d0CWDdxr42JaWXIsVsBgTMXz55sAri2ekbqdM2O63eZ/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-A59E41B2F3D9-1.png" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working together to design a track that will allow a marble to travel from the top to the bottom and then launch a pig.</td></tr>
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The second challenge was called Sphero. In this challenge we talked about making a maze and using a pretty new (to them ) app called Tickle to program the Sphero through the maze. We decided that as much as it would great to have a complicated maze, the reality was this is still quite a new app so just having a one turn maze would be enough. My students learned a little bit about angles, and speed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRH6HbSteTf6WLTj6KmB2eVy-xyEmyP3e9gq9DfCTLEL1x7SCy9pNULObHEQMBhjSnfw8qNbFGhigzKPk1nuojWs7sdwSOjWE8nCSgf8-VGsEytYfB-8OGu1fri4Umj7mnl-X7QEk7LZ-/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-209083B2751E-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRH6HbSteTf6WLTj6KmB2eVy-xyEmyP3e9gq9DfCTLEL1x7SCy9pNULObHEQMBhjSnfw8qNbFGhigzKPk1nuojWs7sdwSOjWE8nCSgf8-VGsEytYfB-8OGu1fri4Umj7mnl-X7QEk7LZ-/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-209083B2751E-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trial and error to program a sphero through the maze.</td></tr>
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The goal for this challenge was to program the Sphero using the Tickle app. In order to be successful at the challenge the program had to get the Sphero through the maze without hitting the walls. This challenge also required my students to do a lot of trial and error - or as we called it test, modify, and re test. For my younger students the angles and speed variables were a bit too much for them, so we modified the app they used and instead of programming, they guided the Sphero through their maze using the Sphero app. They still had to control the speed, but they had more control when it came to the turn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUFW0WIHPbmJ8e39A2MilRNC9vzm7i4fiLnjdfIU7jTGrg44nW33eirtepEwFuXiLoATLQWPZz0KshLYqEaYStdwyfMCG1kS2dCYLK0NQTQ5K6dLdhgkqHwxUdTivSTojPMT4gfjOx9fU/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-EA6F92805F5B-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUFW0WIHPbmJ8e39A2MilRNC9vzm7i4fiLnjdfIU7jTGrg44nW33eirtepEwFuXiLoATLQWPZz0KshLYqEaYStdwyfMCG1kS2dCYLK0NQTQ5K6dLdhgkqHwxUdTivSTojPMT4gfjOx9fU/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-EA6F92805F5B-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Design, test, redesign as necessary. Perseverance is key.</td></tr>
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The third challenge we worked though was the "Dash" challenge. My students have named Dash, Robo Don. The goal of the challenge was to program Robo Don to play Hot Cross Bun and an original tune on the attached xylophone. To be successful their program had to work and play the two songs as required. Hot Cross Bun was chosen because the students were learning how to play it on their tin whistles in music class. This challenge was a bit easier than the others but it sill required the same skills - communcation, collaboration, problem solving, and test, modify, and retest. One group's version of Hot Cross Bun had a note or two out of place, for another group there were long pauses. The students had to figure out how to use the program and then program it to do what they needed it to do. They had to listen to the tunes they were composing, and correct any errors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vMLTC3m32GwCgcBWCt7MBoAYuN6CneFISHE8g8OCGcwHORdzjFhaNjv0WXCszevttXDhw7M0sH0upU2Di8dpDzlwvc-t2LL4Etj1vMGo9nhiK8XP4Hg4GP311nEhvsQ_Z4A4_ITalDFT/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-477CB781807A-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vMLTC3m32GwCgcBWCt7MBoAYuN6CneFISHE8g8OCGcwHORdzjFhaNjv0WXCszevttXDhw7M0sH0upU2Di8dpDzlwvc-t2LL4Etj1vMGo9nhiK8XP4Hg4GP311nEhvsQ_Z4A4_ITalDFT/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-477CB781807A-1.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sounds, just about right. Time to tweak the tune and try again.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEgFYmlbKxAXZ392I1S8x69CODH_uaZyf0Snjdj6kIDkIFXH8gE3U5YbjdiKFZGnBZ0oPoyzuXGHC91YLZEadxdMPoE6yrDE59xjfulUsfcN7KDb6voNUgPs4mnXdTrJ5nZRDcWkgbez4/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-494D76D78C7E-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEgFYmlbKxAXZ392I1S8x69CODH_uaZyf0Snjdj6kIDkIFXH8gE3U5YbjdiKFZGnBZ0oPoyzuXGHC91YLZEadxdMPoE6yrDE59xjfulUsfcN7KDb6voNUgPs4mnXdTrJ5nZRDcWkgbez4/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-494D76D78C7E-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figuring out which notes we want "Robo Don" to play and then programming those notes.</td></tr>
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Now learning by design challenges haven't been new to my class. Each Thursday morning, before we go to the school library, we have a lego challenge. We've written our name in lego, our numbers, made animals, built vehicles, and shelters. This past week our challenge was to make a plant, and some of my students made a full garden including a shed. My students thrive in this challenge based environment.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmvLymWITdgWrjBCjnVr_Va91EkrFR4Vf2RU_WMOGAb6lUEh97ew_1gzGXwd0G8O_-6uBnWoP2MSvb65oytY0lO2CNInkGcAYOQ-uBd4HsQ7qz7TbnJDvpHuFmOlPksAqCI6IpxV2Z8-b/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-3AFA798A46E6-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmvLymWITdgWrjBCjnVr_Va91EkrFR4Vf2RU_WMOGAb6lUEh97ew_1gzGXwd0G8O_-6uBnWoP2MSvb65oytY0lO2CNInkGcAYOQ-uBd4HsQ7qz7TbnJDvpHuFmOlPksAqCI6IpxV2Z8-b/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-3AFA798A46E6-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our Lego shelters</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEHw6str1Mvr0hXMimIS-uwQWd7kf8jTAS0vj-hJr8fF0IsOEtCDkVRaK-xMJDxXCIKVtjegEHoHLmBN0BJNV9uOSoYDN3HrtcDQG2djrV-7IS1iSkreY2t1s64KIfhyphenhyphen5JPxdbTvkZuyH/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-16A83CEAB610-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEHw6str1Mvr0hXMimIS-uwQWd7kf8jTAS0vj-hJr8fF0IsOEtCDkVRaK-xMJDxXCIKVtjegEHoHLmBN0BJNV9uOSoYDN3HrtcDQG2djrV-7IS1iSkreY2t1s64KIfhyphenhyphen5JPxdbTvkZuyH/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-16A83CEAB610-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odd numbers made with Lego.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP4zo2bX7u7PgkFcmUP-DmeAzHYEVtXvASBQt0Ek64oS3NR_oscbrjBvMxV6CuxKOJLU7tki_6xKK_YY1PKvzK14lfmMCkyMME_VGFj94ANvfRMCOpkqSWWsEIGtO-BOmMJi4MmSyTmUr/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-D470407BA2D3-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP4zo2bX7u7PgkFcmUP-DmeAzHYEVtXvASBQt0Ek64oS3NR_oscbrjBvMxV6CuxKOJLU7tki_6xKK_YY1PKvzK14lfmMCkyMME_VGFj94ANvfRMCOpkqSWWsEIGtO-BOmMJi4MmSyTmUr/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-D470407BA2D3-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego Ducks!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpWDhdFPpOInlLsUBionD-OxprXFDyvEQsxu_1zLr3hkGyis8Pn6yB7-9f7bLoW8GYZ7cZhwvdNW3l5HX4s1advvmFtsX3MwuF8mwS3x2_nUKrl7S5E1xsNG7bPJUQep4QDiP73H15bC3/s1600/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-FF937BFC99BE-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpWDhdFPpOInlLsUBionD-OxprXFDyvEQsxu_1zLr3hkGyis8Pn6yB7-9f7bLoW8GYZ7cZhwvdNW3l5HX4s1advvmFtsX3MwuF8mwS3x2_nUKrl7S5E1xsNG7bPJUQep4QDiP73H15bC3/s320/Portable+Network+Graphics+image-FF937BFC99BE-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego Farm Animals</td></tr>
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So I'm curious, do you offer design challenges for your students? Are they part of the design process? Please share! I'd love to learn from you.<br />
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*An update: As my students are only in the building four days a week they have one day a week for home learning. This weekend one of my students went home and designed their own challenge. They wanted to create a marble run that went from the top of their staircase, through tubes, and into a box at the bottom of the staircase. They filmed an elaborate video (which I can not share here as it identifies a name with a face) and wrote this accompanying blog post.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 25.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 25.2px;">"My goal was to make a marble run and get it in the bucket. I used tunnels to make it go through them. I messed up on some of them but I got it don. Some of the parts started to move out of place and then the marble didnt go through all the way. On each tunnel I put up I ran a marble to test it and see if it was good where it is. If it was good I taped it in place and did it over and over again. And I finished my goal and got the marble to go in the box.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 25.2px;"> "</span><br />
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WOW! Our students are eager learners. We need to continue to find ways to tap into their passions and help them learn in ways that work best for them. I have a huge smile on my face right now as this child not only took what was of interest to her, but involved her family with her learning too. This is a form of teaching and learning I won't be too quick to walk away from anytime soon.<br />
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-57029471170879505302015-10-12T18:15:00.001-07:002015-10-12T21:47:12.642-07:00Social Media CAN Help Manage a Successful ClassroomAs part of being recognized as a "Top 12 Global Teacher Blogger" by Cathy Rubin for Huffington Post, I am asked each month to respond to a question. This blog post is in response to " Can social media have a role to play in managing a successful classroom?"<br />
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If you've spent anytime on this blog, or you've seen what I've shared on social media or what I present at conferences, you'll know that for me and my students, utilizing social media has been an important tool for learning. Let me explain some of the reasons why I believe this.<br />
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<u>Social Media Teaches Children that Learning is Social</u><br />
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I've always valued the co-operative nature of a classroom. I work to turn my class into a family where we genuinely care about helping each other become the best we can be. For my students and I learning is social. Utilizing social media allows us to be social far beyond the walls of our classroom. My students have made connections with their weekly reading buddies two time zones over. The have learned math with children in another country. They have connected with children all around the world. These children share a similar interest to them. In one instance one of my students wrote about how much he loved soccer. A few students in Korea read what he wrote and responded back through a comment on his blog. They then took it a step further and created a soccer gift for him. Social media helps my students see the power of learning with others.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkN2auuTkphF2gl1DiLInT-tLB-Rszg9a9o3wZHrH75hmu2qwGchIu37WwYL2i2ObYSeDlGvXdU-pT9bsfTmhdHtEYBfjdIgn8LLs7Lp6CxhgPdpeJruSoYwuMro4P9YPbpI4Dvs1dl0S/s1600/IMG_1226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkN2auuTkphF2gl1DiLInT-tLB-Rszg9a9o3wZHrH75hmu2qwGchIu37WwYL2i2ObYSeDlGvXdU-pT9bsfTmhdHtEYBfjdIgn8LLs7Lp6CxhgPdpeJruSoYwuMro4P9YPbpI4Dvs1dl0S/s320/IMG_1226.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u>Social Media Teaches Children that Their Voice Matters</u><br />
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Social media also helps teach my students that their voice matters. Whether it be through tweeting an opinion on a book, or sharing their way of solving a math problem, children and adults around the world hear what they have to say. Social media allowed my students to interact with Elise Gravel, a Canadian children's book author. My students had questions they wanted answered about her story the Rat, and they wanted to let her know what they liked about her book. Social media allowed them to speak to her directly, and to ask their questions. The best part in this interaction was that Elise Gravel heard my students loud and clear and created this image for them, which is the main character in her book. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIS5NP7XxltXuOI9iyQVt8Vn9VBwmbiVoosR1AVA0lG8viCIQAz-2PlQlewA-cE9FG7Ba3-w_aN_ifHNv0f6849AeATiEuBn4d65VYWYix9RLbCYzf5diGOL1eJP5TditCB_J6Dd0M31D/s1600/IMG_7217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIS5NP7XxltXuOI9iyQVt8Vn9VBwmbiVoosR1AVA0lG8viCIQAz-2PlQlewA-cE9FG7Ba3-w_aN_ifHNv0f6849AeATiEuBn4d65VYWYix9RLbCYzf5diGOL1eJP5TditCB_J6Dd0M31D/s320/IMG_7217.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
To read more about this interaction please check out <a href="http://learningandsharingwithmsl.blogspot.ca/2014/11/a-positive-use-of-social-media-strikes.html">this blog post</a>. </div>
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<u>Social Media Teaches Children About the World</u></div>
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Through tools like blogs, video conferencing, and twitter my students have been able to learn about other children around the world. A couple years ago we started our year with one simple tweet, "This is what it looks like out our classroom window. What does it look like outside of your window today?" <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwemi6JJAg0-bn93zniYedU_82QintcgTmi2diUOadV504s6AZN2Z83jbOq2rWFW1AL3TbMDe0GBeWLTV3ONTQIaoGA0TYl7c1ZEmLCSxQD6usRHQ97-vdWVez97npBjloFSLou9IJYJOM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-10-12+at+5.48.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwemi6JJAg0-bn93zniYedU_82QintcgTmi2diUOadV504s6AZN2Z83jbOq2rWFW1AL3TbMDe0GBeWLTV3ONTQIaoGA0TYl7c1ZEmLCSxQD6usRHQ97-vdWVez97npBjloFSLou9IJYJOM/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-10-12+at+5.48.27+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The result was that we received tweets from all over the world. Each tweet brought a set of curiousity questions to my students. "Ms. Lirenman, why are they wearing uniforms?" or "Ms. Lirenman why do they have a guard at their school?". Things are different around the world and it's important for my students to know and try to understand that. Yet, things are equally as similar around the world. My students were able to play "guess my number" with children as far away as New Zealand all because our learning is shared through social media. People see what we are learning, and want to learn with us OR we see what people are learning and we want to learn with or from them. Social media helps us do that.</div>
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Those are just a few reasons why I feel social media can play a role in managing a successful classroom. How can or does social media play a role in your classroom?<br />
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-6941202915332137362015-09-19T12:38:00.000-07:002015-09-19T13:11:45.505-07:00Changes Ahead...Back in June, I applied and successful acquired a new job. <br />
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Here was the job posting...<br />
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What appealed to me most about the job was that is was a position that supports my vision of education and it was housed in a building being run by an administrator I highly respect. While I wasn't looking to move schools, it was a job opportunity I couldn't let pass me by.</div>
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This new job means that I ...</div>
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<li>have a multi aged classroom ( a possible k-3 class although at the moment I have students in grade one and grade three)</li>
<li>will continue to support inquiry learning</li>
<li>have students who are not in the building every day as there is distributed learning piece where children are learning from home </li>
<li>have the responsibility to plan appropriate/meaningful learning tasks for the home learning piece</li>
<li>am available to meet with parents to help support home learning</li>
<li>keep a focus on STEAM learning and integrate seamlessly</li>
<li>foster and support wonder and inquiry</li>
<li>embrace the maker movement as a way of learning</li>
<li>have my students look for and solve real world problems</li>
<li>continue to have my students learn with the world</li>
<li>teach the new BC curriculum and find meaningful ways to go deeper with it </li>
<li>have on-going communication with families</li>
<li>OF COURSE honour my students as who they are and support them as passionate learners</li>
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Much of this is not new to me, or my way of teaching but it's in an environment that completely supports what I believe is best for kids. To no surprise I have some pretty big dreams for my new adventure but first and foremost I am listening and learning from my students. Within this first week I have learned that I am working with a capable curious bunch of learners. I have a train expert and a dinosaur expert, and I have a group of students who need to move to learn. The class magnifying glasses have been a hit for many, and our adventures in coding taught me a lot more about my students and their ability to persevere when things got tough. I have also learned that I have some compassionate people, willing to use "I messages" to let their classmates know how they are feeling. It's been a really great first week, and I can't wait to see where our year together takes us.<br />
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I am super excited to work with these children who are looking at a new approach to learning. And yes, my class is technically a k-3 class, but in my mind my class is a group of learners, who together will create, inspire, and support one another on each of their personal learning journals. Yes, there is curriculum that needs to be embedded into our learning, but student centered learning will be what we focus on most.</div>
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The program is available to most students in the province, but the reality is you need to be face to face in the classroom at least 3 days a week. If you're curious to learn more about this new school be sure to check out the website at <a href="http://sailacademy.ca/">sailacademy.ca</a>. Exciting times are upon us.</div>
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K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-15638257696627710372015-08-19T17:59:00.003-07:002015-08-25T08:58:25.519-07:00*Together We Are Stronger<div style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe that as a classroom teacher, together we are stronger. For this reason I create a classroom climate
where students support each other with their learning, and where student ideas
are listened to and valued. When a classroom supports the learning of all, then
all are able to flourish. But it takes
more than just fostering a supportive classroom environment, parents need to be equal partners too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">As part of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/the-global-search-for-edu_b_6401572.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;"><span lang="EN-US">The Top 12 Global Teacher Bloggers</span></span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">”, each month we
are asked to share our views on a specific question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This month’s question is “What are the best
ways parents can help teachers and that teachers can help parents?’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I see each of my students as unique learners with unique needs so I'm leary to give "advice" that will be of benefit for every student. However at the most basic level parents can help teachers by being there for their children. It is far less about what I need as a teacher, and far more about what their child (or my student) needs. It's about making the child's learning a priority. This does not mean I expect parents to be on their child's case all the time because learning in a toxic environment doesn't benefit anyone. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">What I'd love to see is a family who creates a home learning environment that is encouraging and supportive. A family that makes time for a child by being interested in their learning. And yes, I realize that many families are very "busy" but if a family it too busy for quality time with their own children, then maybe what's keeping everyone "busy" needs to be looked at again. Quality time together doesn't have to take a lot of actual "time" but it should be meaningful. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">As a teacher I appreciate when I am provided information about a child that I might not already have. However it's usually not ideal for a parent to show up unannounced or try to share this important information during school pick up or drop off. It's best if we can prearrange a time to meet and discuss, or if the information could be put into writing so that when I have a spare moment, I can give the information the attention it deserves. Open communication between the home and the school is crucial.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">As a classroom teacher, we can help by providing a variety of ways for parents to connect with us and to see into our classroom. What we do in the confines of our classroom walls should not be a secret. One way I am </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">open and transparent is by maintaining a class blog. I also provide my students with their own individual blogs. In addition each child in my class has their own digital portfolio housed in Fresh Grade which highlights individual student learning and includes feedback from myself, the student, and ideally the parent too. Other ways teachers might share student learning wih families might be via </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">a daily agenda messages, e-mail updates, </span><a href="https://www.remind.com/">Remind</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> messages, and/or traditional newsletters. Social media sites such as twitter, facebook, or Instagram could help keep the communication open between home and school. The tool is some what irrelevant, what is important is that teachers and parents have clear avenues for ongoing communication. With authentic relationships and open teacher-student-home communication all children should have the opportunity to flourish. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Together we are stronger.</span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #616161; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">*This post is part of a series of monthly questions that </span><a href="http://www.cmrubinworld.com/"><span style="background: white; color: #9ad175; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Cathy Rubin</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #616161; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> is asking several education bloggers to respond to. This month's question was "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">What are the best ways parents can help teachers and that teachers can help parents?</span>" It is an honour to be a part of this group. Please check out the complete list of posts <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/the-global-search-for-edu_b_8028948.html">here </a> . </span></div>
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K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-48640952743538842592015-08-10T20:09:00.000-07:002015-08-10T20:09:39.874-07:00Celebrating Picture Book 10 for 10 #pb10for10Today marks the anniversary of the picture book celebration #PB10for10. It is a day where fellow educators share some of their favourite picture books with each other. You can find many links to their blog posts (with some really great book recommendations) by checking out #pb10for10 on twitter.<br />
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It's been a couple of years since I first participated but it's something I've always hoped to get back to. Thankfully this year I am back. Below you will find 10 pictures books that are near and dear to my heart for one reason or another. I didn't really follow a theme, like many do, but instead I went to the small pile of books that are sitting in my apartment right now as most of my classroom library is packed up tightly in boxes in my brand new school for the 2015/16 school year. (A blog post on this change is still to come). So I guess I could say my theme is... books that I just couldn't leave packed up in boxes over the summer. In no particular order here are my ten books...<br />
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Ok-Book-Amy-Krouse-Rosenthal/dp/0061152552/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439222454&sr=8-1&keywords=the+Ok+book">The OK Book</a> - By Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eC-_B_9cX6MfWAgVGU2BiTl74byYmfR_RQhrDeR4AF92gCnnlTVfGedzi0Vw7ZaNb_qqNg0IARtgICB7eD4jtLYc65zcuaQx_gPPgxNJEPDy-Ld5mcjBugMaDPmBS_UhW_22b7s8L5UK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+9.01.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eC-_B_9cX6MfWAgVGU2BiTl74byYmfR_RQhrDeR4AF92gCnnlTVfGedzi0Vw7ZaNb_qqNg0IARtgICB7eD4jtLYc65zcuaQx_gPPgxNJEPDy-Ld5mcjBugMaDPmBS_UhW_22b7s8L5UK/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+9.01.07+AM.png" width="291" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">There is something about a book that celebrates us not for being the best at something but for being okay. I love the message this book shares and I love how everyone I've ever shared it with can relate.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Most-Magnificent-Thing-Ashley-Spires/dp/1554537045/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439222578&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Most+Magnificent+Thing+-+Ashley+Spires">The Most Magnificent Thing</a> - by Ashley Spires</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Bw38ptSF9PeG7XoByVzFjkIhAb8Vv9vCFdHSfLveVzmG5EpUUIW4FEjUq1LWZLIY5saLlj57zETtalQ1zMfcdY6ojWh-oowRaBwmVARBk8qvf6QSBsCPPNWuAQGoETvCNm9WpfcOxhyphenhyphenm/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+9.03.05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Bw38ptSF9PeG7XoByVzFjkIhAb8Vv9vCFdHSfLveVzmG5EpUUIW4FEjUq1LWZLIY5saLlj57zETtalQ1zMfcdY6ojWh-oowRaBwmVARBk8qvf6QSBsCPPNWuAQGoETvCNm9WpfcOxhyphenhyphenm/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+9.03.05+AM.png" width="318" /></a></div>
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I love that through things going wrong (and don't they for all of us at one point or another) something new and exciting comes out of the mistakes.<br />
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Good-News-Bad-Jeff-Mack/dp/1452101108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439256226&sr=8-1&keywords=good+news+bad+news">Good News Bad News</a> by Jeff Mack</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlixM7SW8yjBh9LjS_JUD1Y_uiU5EbMuXDCe-30VJkIGrh8ztGoXNTZ3sgkQsAg5BGq1x_xx9kIpO7HnZx2v05RxeQ1wehCE0OCtcEabrvf8SJhK9Z86fFh-6mQAIpI_jdA4pxOx8forq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+6.24.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlixM7SW8yjBh9LjS_JUD1Y_uiU5EbMuXDCe-30VJkIGrh8ztGoXNTZ3sgkQsAg5BGq1x_xx9kIpO7HnZx2v05RxeQ1wehCE0OCtcEabrvf8SJhK9Z86fFh-6mQAIpI_jdA4pxOx8forq/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+6.24.20+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This book in nature is really quite simple. Something good happens, then something bad happens, then something good, then something bad and that's how the story goes. But what I like about it is how most students can connect with this story and can usually come up with their own version of this book. It's a great book to inspire writing in the early years (and most likely beyond).</div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Stuck-Oliver-Jeffers/dp/0007263899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439256503&sr=8-1&keywords=stuck">Stuck</a> by Oliver Jeffers</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoDTfhJtZEclSWsGGc5R-yt1k39JSiPKu3JPlTRYZMXmW5Jwj_DQXDgXfsw1FqiN8MrefDVtNrrorizACaLHVD5sHrlZwc38FjU8WX0saSz9DfF9D8ROLgLhBbP-O16nPwuzBsnSeB3A-/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+6.35.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoDTfhJtZEclSWsGGc5R-yt1k39JSiPKu3JPlTRYZMXmW5Jwj_DQXDgXfsw1FqiN8MrefDVtNrrorizACaLHVD5sHrlZwc38FjU8WX0saSz9DfF9D8ROLgLhBbP-O16nPwuzBsnSeB3A-/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+6.35.24+PM.png" width="232" /></a></div>
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There is something about Oliver Jeffers that I can't get enough of. What a great author writing such crazy stories. Here a boy gets his kite stuck in a tree and a whole bunch of silly activities follow. I love the giggles that come with this story when I share it with my class, and the guess they make about what might get stuck next.<br />
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Hey-Little-Ant-Phillip-Hoose/dp/1883672546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439257171&sr=8-1&keywords=hey+little+ant">Hey Little Ant</a> - by Phillip and Hannah Hoose Illustrated by Debbie Tilley</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkCxXtackRIrx7QNkFiXV2gPEYi4xW4Q-pugTlSeSCHYeRLtD4MFfj2TSlFSUwbSjMgDok1__YwtESSqoXHbVqE4yVqv1BU6wuYl5SKhuupw6qO9hE3DGdEnkI7NBhROxdhX_xIrs529B/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+6.42.49+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkCxXtackRIrx7QNkFiXV2gPEYi4xW4Q-pugTlSeSCHYeRLtD4MFfj2TSlFSUwbSjMgDok1__YwtESSqoXHbVqE4yVqv1BU6wuYl5SKhuupw6qO9hE3DGdEnkI7NBhROxdhX_xIrs529B/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+6.42.49+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">Another older book but one that always brings up good discussion and writing with the students I've shared it with. Everyone has an opinion around what should happen in this book.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Lillys-Purple-Plastic-Purse-Henkes/dp/0688128971/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439259134&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Lillie%27s+purple+plastic+purse">Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse</a> - by Kevin Henkes</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKL3U6cPbw72ULZD6h4EnDw916zTp2mjruPPGx1Al8b6xQlX03u1TBhy1UjggG-iyoy1wPUWQtJ5MKKRaZPjf8aLu6U4jbgslL-3_PyezR-xnkcTtVCncYZQbDTlwCBsr7J9YTParmCBD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.12.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKL3U6cPbw72ULZD6h4EnDw916zTp2mjruPPGx1Al8b6xQlX03u1TBhy1UjggG-iyoy1wPUWQtJ5MKKRaZPjf8aLu6U4jbgslL-3_PyezR-xnkcTtVCncYZQbDTlwCBsr7J9YTParmCBD/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.12.42+PM.png" width="254" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">How can you not like Kevin Henkes. What stands out for me with this book (and in all honestly all his picture books could make this list) , is that it's another story both my students and I can easily connect with. Waiting is hard, and sometimes, we just don't want to do it. I also love how creative she gets when she's angry.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Anything-Possible-Giulia-Belloni/dp/1926973917/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439261299&sr=8-1&keywords=Anything+is+Possible">Anything is Possible</a> by Giulia Belloni and Marco Trevisan</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksTnbkfgBeadKBIFgbHpe824-pO0L2zjwfnMSleOOBY3wAnpFVqThoIqdocN6a5xx9bXqWU8cW3qraMznN_-x9ZPOcWRDD7QxCkwn_jS49a-MTjCHxQlpZoxbUjRHcrafBf3u2F98LxJS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.49.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksTnbkfgBeadKBIFgbHpe824-pO0L2zjwfnMSleOOBY3wAnpFVqThoIqdocN6a5xx9bXqWU8cW3qraMznN_-x9ZPOcWRDD7QxCkwn_jS49a-MTjCHxQlpZoxbUjRHcrafBf3u2F98LxJS/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.49.30+PM.png" width="316" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">Such a great book to keep our dreams alive. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Day-Crayons-Quit-Drew-Daywalt/dp/0399255370/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439261636&sr=1-1&keywords=the+day+the+crayons+quit">The Day the Crayons Quit</a> - Drew Daywalt illustrated by Oliver Jeffers</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4dSdPRGn-nPOjORI4OGF39egn4pmk6U6cBsMLF4o8IqzEoVuiluRxQU82xYK6VV4BYj9Uq8mnJ5yGdLfpr64JxCO28FPPs9LcapL0uRdoMN-pp_9c3SrYFJH6gQl2CGrx3Q-5VQGrN5m/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.54.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4dSdPRGn-nPOjORI4OGF39egn4pmk6U6cBsMLF4o8IqzEoVuiluRxQU82xYK6VV4BYj9Uq8mnJ5yGdLfpr64JxCO28FPPs9LcapL0uRdoMN-pp_9c3SrYFJH6gQl2CGrx3Q-5VQGrN5m/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.54.57+PM.png" width="311" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">I love listening to stories, and every time I share this book with my students they get right into the crayons stories too. When given the chance to write their favourite crayon back the writing is always passionate and purposeful. A keeper for certain. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/This-Plus-That-Little-Equations/dp/0061726559/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439261919&sr=1-1&keywords=this+plus+that">This Plus That: Life’s Little Equations</a> by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Illustrated by Jen Corace</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyA4IN7ltYQT9Bq4v4GvMMoB9TpHrBy1Z_XXUz5e5owOCoEOPIMIxObU33fAY7QWNB0s_MZzwIH5vQu5oDgqdzH8DFdknWZ_6sM7FOR6_4WWDn55ZppWlRN_3K0GUxetChv6RFiL0_YL-0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.59.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyA4IN7ltYQT9Bq4v4GvMMoB9TpHrBy1Z_XXUz5e5owOCoEOPIMIxObU33fAY7QWNB0s_MZzwIH5vQu5oDgqdzH8DFdknWZ_6sM7FOR6_4WWDn55ZppWlRN_3K0GUxetChv6RFiL0_YL-0/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+7.59.03+PM.png" width="318" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">This is the sweetest book ever and really gets you thinking about how things all aroud you are connected. My students have always loved coming up with their own "Life's Little Equations" each time coming up with something different. It's the book that keeps on giving. :-)</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Reading-Makes-You-Feel-Good/dp/0316043486/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439262144&sr=1-1&keywords=reading+makes+you+feel+good">Reading Makes You Feel Good</a> by Todd Parr</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQveVMO_1JW4iZl1a7kt7LVB0CfH7I3Z4UbWoKGEHdEg4eMgiLJ0K9rRozQFCNqKZZa_qQgGu0WxVYo4tLTgSmwrM-S0dabUYrSVXaGe24HI5rxrvYUaUvHOtJtzyWUDN7ZF5DOJV442L7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+8.03.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQveVMO_1JW4iZl1a7kt7LVB0CfH7I3Z4UbWoKGEHdEg4eMgiLJ0K9rRozQFCNqKZZa_qQgGu0WxVYo4tLTgSmwrM-S0dabUYrSVXaGe24HI5rxrvYUaUvHOtJtzyWUDN7ZF5DOJV442L7/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-10+at+8.03.05+PM.png" width="318" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">My students and I are huge Todd Parr fans. There is something great about the topics he writes about in such a child friendly manner. His illustrations are super colourful too. This book always brings about great discussion around reading, and it helps me build that love for reading to my students.</span></div>
K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-22231291089267011832015-08-05T23:52:00.001-07:002015-08-05T23:52:35.698-07:00What's Your Students' Ideal Workspace?<br />
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I strongly believe that we all learn in our own unique learning environments. I tend to do a lot of my writing while sitting on my couch with my feet up. I often prefer to stand instead of sit. And just like me, my students work best in different environments too. It's kind of sad that many teachers expect children to sit in desks (or tables) with little or no say around where they can do their work. I wonder if it's a control issue (I'm pretty sure that's what it was for me when I had assigned seats for my students), or if it's the only furniture that's available to them. In either case, for the sake of our learners ,shouldn't we be creating the best learning environments we can to help our students be the best that they can be?</div>
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Now don't get me wrong, I'm not about to run off to the nearest furniture store (or thrift store) to buy what my students need. I'd be broke before I started and personally I'd much rather spend my money on good children's books. But I can be open to letting my students work around the room in spots that are best for them. And the thing is, when you let them choose where to work, they will surprise you with where they want to work. For some that has meant always standing up, and learning against a higher piece of furniture. For others it's meant taking a plastic TV tray and finding a quiet place to get things done. Some students love to work on bean bag chairs, while putting their writing on a hard surface. Some love to be under a desk, or inside an inexpensive tent. Some work on their belly's, some work on their backs. But the thing they all have in common, is that wherever they chose to work, they DO THEIR WORK! Crazy right?!</div>
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So as you set up your classroom for the 2015/16 school year be sure to think about how you can let your students work in environments that are best for them. You'll be surprised to see where they chose to work.</div>
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Curious about some of the places my students have chosen to work? It's nothing mind shattering, but perhaps it might give you a bit more confidence to let your assigned seating plan go. Here are a few of their favourite learning spaces...</div>
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730514995199630178.post-48998254275036984762015-07-21T18:05:00.003-07:002015-07-27T10:06:32.596-07:00Some Reflections on ISTE 2015When I returned from ISTE I immediately started writing a blog post as a way to share my experience. I wrote about some of the great things I got up to while I was there both at the convention center and in the community (I love Philadelphia if you were wondering). Things like heading to a Phillies game with people I'd never met in person and having a really great time, or heading to a party where someone was so supportive of me and tried hard to get me networked and more known by others. There were many highlights. But the more I typed the more I felt like I was trying to make more of my experience. Yes, I did have many incredible experiences while in Philadelphia, and I'm thankful for each and everyone of them, but I'm not so sure my take away was as incredible. ISTE was so much more about my own personal self reflection this year than all the good that I was surrounded by.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJ343tRNzQYq_FVst1U_2ij8OQHn5kungCJFBRIfdKLTPpmnkV3x2kgCzupspt9tuNFgwdsToF3cvl_D_aAIX-NlCfiUOvFaMrPiDopNJA10IFoO77AfA-3VWW3mIkX030ntWVhvC7bLS/s1600/IMG_7555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>For me ISTE is about the face to face meetings of "My People". It's the ability to share what I have learned and to learn from others doing similar and different things. It's about the hugs, the smiles, the conversations and the multiple opportunities to connect with people who get me. ISTE brings together a large collection of people who understand my work, my purpose, and my passions. It's a place where I can truly be me, floating around with the people who get me. It's these same people that push my learning, and make me really think about my why and my purpose. It is through them that I am a stronger educator, a more reflective educator, and hopefully a better educator. For me ISTE is far more about the face to face interactions with people then the sessions that I'm able to attend.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCaoUnbvjJGWURRj9IWVTT1oIEZXopAbxHotKZCbKTA7fhTwdwQi6wM68QgO4yPa4kwghcdSDz5J7YqWa7a9ujYQcG0PtCwgE2BAhsktXmw25tIIY9YOHfQg_-5DdQdo1nMDVLoijzd3G/s1600/IMG_7528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCaoUnbvjJGWURRj9IWVTT1oIEZXopAbxHotKZCbKTA7fhTwdwQi6wM68QgO4yPa4kwghcdSDz5J7YqWa7a9ujYQcG0PtCwgE2BAhsktXmw25tIIY9YOHfQg_-5DdQdo1nMDVLoijzd3G/s320/IMG_7528.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This years ISTE was different for me though. I took on way too much and so I ended up being pretty stressed most of the convention. I had sessions every day and between the workshops I was giving (three 3 hour workshops) , the Ignite and 1:3 adventures and the rehearsal time they required, I presented over 15 hours over the three and a half days of the conference. I didn't get even remotely enough time to connect with many of the people I wanted to connect with. When I saw someone in the convention centre I'd often be able to offer them a little more than a couple of sentences of small talk, but in most cases my reality was that I was off to get to my next obligation. I missed events I was really looking forward to attending but I also needed a lot more time for me. As extroverted most believe I am, I get drained by people and need quiet time to recharge. <br />
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In addition I felt like I was being pulled by too many people and constantly letting people down. Despite my logical brain saying "you can't be everywhere with everyone at the same time" it bothered me and made me feel guilty. Eventually I did get stronger at listening to myself and what I needed. I also realized that others were feeling just as I was, being pulled in various directions, wanting to do more than was possible with so many great options happening at the same time. I learned a lot more about myself this year at ISTE. I learned that I love to share with others, but when the sharing takes so much time (and causes me so much unnecessary stress) that I don't have enough time to connect with people who matter most to me, then something is wrong. This year I barely connected with anyone beyond the surface level and that's not something I'm proud of.<br />
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However despite feeling extremely stressed most of my time at ISTE, constantly running from one place to another, and feeling awful for having so few quality interactions with people, I did manage to sneak in some highlights. One of the highlights was my IGNITE session on the first day of the conference, but more specifically the support I had from my friends and district AND the luxury of time that I had with the people who I shared the backstage of this Ignite with. I can't even begin to thank the wonderful people that I was back stage with. While our conversations may not have gotten deep enough - there is still so much more I'd love talk to you all about - we had a special bond behind the scenes. I love how supportive the group was. What most of you don't know is that when we finished our ignite the "team" was waiting backstage to congratulate one another. I will admit it took me a few ignites to join the ritual but I think that was just the fact that it took me a while to come down after my Ignite. </div>
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The Ignite also scared me a lot and required me to dig deep to keep calm and be brave. As nervous as I was about going first, in the end it was probably a blessing because I got it over with first. And the thing is when you try something that really scares you, you get stronger as a person to try something frightening again and no one can take that confidence away from you.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The room for the Ignite<br />
(I stood in front of the little screen in the middle)<br />
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If you're interested, here's a recorded copy of my Ignite. Thank you Petra for capturing and sharing this with me.</div>
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Other ISTE highlights included...</div>
<ul>
<li>attending a ballgame with a great crew of people</li>
<li>connecting with friends from my part of the world</li>
<li>reconnecting with far away friends from my various learning communities</li>
<li>meeting on-line friends in real life for the first time!</li>
<li>connecting with brand new friends </li>
<li>sharing meals or drinks with people near and dear to my heart </li>
<li>attending sponsored social events </li>
<li>connecting with developers creating products I'm very interested in</li>
<li>eating all types of food from Reading Market</li>
<li>visiting the String Theory School </li>
<li>running up the "Rocky Stairs"</li>
<li>visiting historical sights</li>
<li>and learning - about coding, robotics, makerspace, minecraft , STEAM, and so much more!</li>
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I have already reserved a hotel room for next years ISTE in Denver. I just need someone to remind me that I don't need to submit or be a part of so many presentation proposals. And the Ignite and 1:3, I'll let others give those a try next year. I'm not sure anything can top going first on the BIG stage at ISTE.<br />
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<br />K Lirenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16058037226665551154noreply@blogger.com1