2 Stars and Wish...using documentation to push student learning

Holy Doodles!!!  I just had an amazing weekend.  I spent my days travelling to visit 2 schools (specifically 3 educator spaces) and then went to a conference in Niagara Falls.  Although it was a lot of driving, it was well worth it!

I had the pleasure of visiting Jocelyn Schmidt and her DECE partner Ashley in York Region District School Board.  If you do not follow Jocelyn's blog you can check it out here.  They are amazing educators who are identified as a "Learning@School" classroom for their Board.  In a nut shell, this means that they are identified and supported by their board as a classroom that is open to visitors.  It is easy to see why as their passion, their partnership and their commitment to student achievement is so evident.

I thought a quick and easy way to sum up my visit would be to share a few of my favourite things.  Similar to an earlier post sharing great ideas from educators that I have visited this year. (You can check it out here)

By far (I think...as I am typing I am flooded by memories of great things...) my favourite "take-away" from my visit was the "2 stars and wish".

 

Although I have used this approach with providing feedback to students, this was a new way of using it for me.  I LOVED how Jocelyn and Ashley used it to review the previous day's learning, and inspire further learning the next day.

At the end of every day (it only takes about 5 minutes) one of the educators prepares a PicCollage of the days learning.  If you do not know about this app, check it out.  It is free and super user-friendly.  They title it "Our Learning Collage" with the date underneath.  The educator puts in about 5-8 photos of different happenings from the day (a child writing a book, students exploring caterpillars, students outside noticing their shadows, building a structure, etc.) and she writes a sentence of explanation with each one.  The following day they show this to the whole class during a group meeting.  They asks the students involved to explain their learning and what was happening in each photo.  Some students may actually read the note she has written on the page, but many just orally retell what was happening in the picture.  Side note:  the educators also upload this PicCollage to their class website at the end of the day so parents can be involved in the learning.  They can ask their child questions about specific things that are happening in the classroom. LOVE that!  If you do not have a class website or blog, consider making an email list with parent emails.  It would be one click of the button :)  I have found a website that has similar "Learning collages"  check them out here for a visual :)

We saw this practice being used in 2 different classrooms.  One classroom had the stars up on the board without sentences starters.  Each day the children would look at the documentation of the previous day and come up with 2 things they did well (the stars) and identify one wish (the magic wand) for what they wanted to work on or do better that day.  I thought this was a great way to involve students in the documentation, focus them on the importance of learning while at "centres", as well as develop oral language.  In the other classroom, the 2 stars had a sentence starter with them.  The first star said "We worked hard..." and the second star said "We practised..." and the magic wand said "We can learn more about.."  The students used these prompts to frame their thinking.

As you might be able to see, the students then found words from their word wall and circled them :)

If you'd like to give this a try I have provided links to images of stars and magic wands for you to use.  As always, check copyrights of images and so before use :)

Have fun!  Let me know how it goes :)

This blog post has been edited:  I was just surfing around on Jocelyn's website and found a post she did about this very activity.  I referenced her blog earlier, but here is a direct link to the post talking about it :) http://ljpskindergartenteam.blogspot.ca

Ideas for Early Years Classrooms (part 1)

In my new role I am fortunate enough to see a lot of classrooms, chat with hundreds of educators, and have amazing resources come across my desk (so to speak of course...my desk is now the trunk of my car).  I find myself trying to remember so many of the ideas and materials that I am seeing, but I worry that when I return to the classroom I will forget it all  (and be kicking myself for the next 10 years).  So my solution was to write a list.  I bought a cute little notebook - in the colour turquoise of course :) and began to write.  The other day I was mentioning my "ideas book" to some DECEs in our board.  They immediately asked if I would share it with them.  And this got me to thinking...I should share it!  I would love to see a collection of ideas that have been tried and tested or have sparked the interest of other educators.  So here is part 1, of what will likely be a big collection over the years.

I will try my best to elaborate, but if you have any questions about any items please leave me a comment and I will try to get back to you.

My list of AWESOME-NESS from my journey:

1.  "Wilderness Fridays" or "Forest Fridays".  Spend day outside - covering all subjects through nature and environment.  Use the natural curiosity website as a resource.  I posted about this idea here

2.  Put scissors and post-it notes at block centre.  Encourages labelling, fine motor, creativity.  I had done pencils and paper...but not scissors!  Love the idea of using this off and on to keep interest alive.

3.  Designate an area in the classroom for snacks - "The cafe".  In the beginning you may need to have a sign-in to keep track of who has visited the snack area.  As the students begin to be able to self-regulate their hunger you may no longer need it - but I recommend tracking it so that you know every child has eaten :)

4.  Provocation activity:  Put a box on each table filled with open-ended materials (random really).  give groups a few minutes to play.  Have them explain to other groups what they did with materials.  compare thinking and creativity.

5.  Put documentation out in community.  For example, if Students did an inquiry on bikes, put it out on community bike path.  If students explored baking, display at local bakery.

6.  Use overhead transparencies to put documentation on students work without writing right on it.

7.  Pass along project work or collaborative projects to next year's teachers.  For example, grade 1 teacher could display the number line the Kinder class made last year.  Creates a sense of connection and familiarity for September.

8.  During an inquiry of colour, have student name paint colours.  (ex. fire engine red, banana yellow).  You could use the crayons with names to provoke thinking.

9.  Hidden alphabet.  Go on a letter hunt for hidden letters.  Corner of bulletin board is letter L, lines in the bricks make letter H.  Extension: as gifts for families, print our the letters for child's last name and frame.  There a lot of books that you can use to spark this inquiry.

10.  Create a space for each child to show their development over the year.  Could have a hand print, several self-portrait drawings throughout the year, evolution of name printing, etc.

So many more to share...but baby steps lol.  I have to keep my mind organized...not an easy task ;)

Chat again soon,
Carly