Teacher Only Week 2014 - Day 2

Reggio Emilia @ Rowandale

TED Talk - Gever Tully (Tinkering School)
"The lack of unstructured play for youngsters is associated with less enthusiasm for learning, diminished creativity, and poorer social skills." Madelie Levine, Teacher Your Children Well

Children don't have spatial awareness because they are so safe today.

Get stuff out and let kids have a go. (Suggestion: overhead projector and screen).

Amiable School - everyone is happy, everyone is engaged

Teachers role is to explore, not to have the answer - get in beside them and be excited, ask the questions that extend their learning

Use blogs to document the journey, not the product. Show the process.

"Go Play" - powerful words - make play an important part of the day, not the reward.

(Suggestion: wood with screws, screwdrivers, etc).

It's not inquiry if: 1) Students know what result they're "supposed" to get. 2) The questions and steps are predetermined for them. 3) The teachers is working harder than the students.

Don't for forget the power of "yet.." E.g. "I'm not good at math.... yet"

Using HOM in the Classroom

Why use the HOMs in the class - Make language everyday and automatic, encourage children to think about why they are doing something, Allow children to practise using the language, children and you become familiar with HOM language, Annotated displays links learning with HOMs.

Can incorporate HOM into WALTS

e.g. WALT make it right be using sticks to show tens and ones in two-digits numbers
WALT work together to follow a recipe
WALT create and innovate an environment where a dinosaur could live

WALT make it right by editing our work for capital letters and full stops.
WALT use our past knowledge to solve subtraction problems with a number line.
WALT work with others to make a vehicle.
WALT to create and innovate to design a house.
WALT use our past knowledge to predict what will happen next.

Ideas to incorporate HOM areas in the classroom:

e.g. parking lot area with post-it notes for children to write questions on to revisit later.
- Past knowledge with object/picture with questions to help language and relationships (e.g. picture of the day/week).
- we assume they know how to listen, could actively teach chd how to listen (w/ empathy)
- C3B4 Me (poster)

Challenge: have a specific area of the room related to HOM (perhaps HOM of the week).

Maths @ Rowandale

Headwork: Video/song, counting by 2s
W/U: look at strategy that will benefit the whole class
I-Can sheets need to be in front of the books - updated when assessments are done
Environment: - interactive displays, activity boxes, child made charts/posters, numbers, symbols, words, number formation posters

Diagnostic Questions - see Google Drive for copious amounts of examples of these.

Treasure
What is treasure? (used activ expressions - answered questions on them - went to excel sheet)

Writing @ Rowandale
We changed writing 5 times last year - we don't stick with things that aren't working.
The way we do it is the best way Mark's seen taught.
I-Can sheet at the front of the book - keep it up to date, WALTs can come off of these (possibly need to split them up).

RAS Alert
- Reticular Activating System
- flight or fight mechanism
- focus our attention
- context-based and filters out unnecessary stimuli to focus on the job at hand

Assignment for Thursday Trip
- 5 min presentation, 5 mins questions
- Explore the five best ideas and how they will work in the classroom.
- One idea each that will be tried in your own room and explored further.