Covid Passion Project - Guest Blogger Rachael

Throughout the last two months of distance learning for my students, Passion Projects have been encouraged. Choosing to pursue a curiosity or create something meaningful is certainly more valuable and enjoyable than simply completing ten hours of prescribed tasks -- regardless of how engaging I attempt to make them. 

Wonderfully, several have embraced this challenge. Some explored this Canadian History Choice Board to spark their creativity. Their efforts have been posted to our class web page. One student has analyzed the deeper meaning behind the lyrics from her favourite songs, sharing her throughts through well-crafted essays and engaging Flipgrid presentations. 

Today, I present the work of Rachael, who has created fabric bookmarks for Mother's Day. She has also documented the  procedure through photographs and text and is a guest blogger on this site. Enjoy.

This is a passion project I did with my aunt. I was hoping it could contribute to my art mark. It uses the colour wheel and the elements of design. I have explained the processes and methods I used below.

For Mother’s Day, I made my mom, my grandma and my great-grandma fabric bookmarks. Because of the virus, we had to think of a creative way to make gifts, especially since we can’t go to the store and buy something.

I made a template out of hard, clear plastic, because I wanted the triangles in my pattern to be the same. I had to account for the seam allowance, and that’s why there's a smaller triangle within the template. The middle vertical line is to show where the bookmark loops around. The middle horizontal line is for the top and bottom half triangles that I needed for the top and bottom of the bookmark to ensure they had parallel edges with the pages of a book. The other horizontal line is for the seam allowance.

The last step in making the bookmarks was putting names on them.

Here are all the finished bookmarks.

As you can see, beyond the obvious engagement, passion projects have the following advantages:

• It is an activity that threads through multiple curriculum areas -- Art, Math, Writing & Media Literacy.
• Several Learning Skill expectations from the Ontario Report Card are addressed -- Independent Work, Initiative and Responsibility.
• Rather than just submitting work to a teacher, Rachael has chosen to share her work with an authentic audience.
• (a) The mothers in her world who receive the bookmarks and...
• (b) the people who read this blog.

Thanks for reading, any comments or feedback you provide here or through my social media accounts will be directed back to Rachael.

Comic Life - Gone but not forgotten

About 10 years ago, our board invested in a computer program called Comic Life. It was an online platform that helped students make beautiful, comic-book-style pages - complete with fonts, templates, panels, balloons and lettering art. It was easy to use, the kids loved working with it and the results were terrific.

I made good use of it, particularly at the start of the school year, to engage students in literacy & media activities, particularly as a way to share their identity & interests creatively. Recently, as I prepare to return to the classroom, I have been reevaluating the utility of these lessons. Unfortunately, Comic Life is no longer available...for free. I looked into similar programs but realized that Google Draw could easily be adapted to fit my needs. 

So, it was time for me to create and determine...

• Do these activities still meet standards (both my own & the curriculum)?
• Can Google Draw be employed to replicate the features of Comic Life?
• Do I think students would enjoy this activity & add it to their repertoire as a method to share their learning?

Here is the first activity (I'll post another in a future blog).

In this cross-curricular literacy & media project, Comic Life (now Google Draw) is used to present an Autobiographical Poem visually.

Step One: Students create their unique Autobiographical poem by filling in blanks to simple questions about their lives. I provide them with a copy of a Google Doc bit.ly/biopoem1 but the questions are...

What's your First Name?
List 4 Adjectives that describe you.
Who are you a brother/sister/son/daughter of?
Name three things you love.
Name three feelings you enjoy and where you enjoy them
What do you give ...and to whom?
What do you fear...or dislike?
What would you like to see?
Name three friends.
Describe where you live.
Last Name

Here is mine (it is also provided as an example in the Doc)

Marc
Active, Funny, Creative, Happy.
Husband of Angela.
Who loves Cats, Music & Hockey
Who feels content in front of the TV,
Creative at the computer &
Happy when sleeping.
Who gives time to writing, 
Energy to Exercising &
Laughter to Friends.
Who fears losing loved ones,
confined spaces &
cottage cheese.
Who would like to see more concerts,
Paris &
Austrailia
Who is friends with Robbie, Steve & James
Who lives in a 3 storey brownstone near downtown
Hodgkinson

Step Two: Students are given time to collect digital photos related to the answers that make up their poem. Photos can be brought from home on a portable USB drive or through Google Photos. I have, in the past, borrowed digital cameras from our Board and, after securing parent's permission, loaned them overnight.

Step Three: Students use Google Draw to create a 1-3 magazine style "splash pages" that amplify their poem. Page Set-up to 8.5 x 11 for easy printing.

Here are links to full-sized versions of my examples
Bio Poem Page 1
Bio Poem Page 2
Bio Poem Page 3

Step 4: Print and Display (with student permission of course).

Some Notes

• The word biography appears in the Grade 4, 5, 6 and 8 Ontario Language Curriculum - so this activity will connect easily. I have a Grade 7 class next year and this expectation from the Writing section is perfect.

Purpose and Audience 1.1
Students will identify the topic, purpose, and audience for more complex writing forms (e.g., a rap poem or jingle, to express a personal view to the class; a report for a community newspaper about a public meeting on an environmental issue affecting local neighbourhoods; an autobiography for a youth magazine, web page, blog, or zine)

• You will want to add font choices to Google Accounts. The style called "Covered by Your Grace" is very close to a typical comic dialogue font.
• Remind them to keep images and text clear from the edge - or it gets "cut-off" when printing.
• Rather than lessons on using the program - talk about the term aesthetic or aesthetically pleasing. Let the students discover the Google tools and encourage them to share their discoveries with each other. I call this "making our ideas go viral".
• You could choose to mention that the following features are useful...but offer no instructions.

• Word Art
• Border Colour & Weight
• Picture Orientation
• Searching for Hi Def Backgrounds in Images

I'll be trying this in September and hope to update this with the results & feedback from students. Please let me know if this works for you or if you find a way to remix it.

Rivalries & Project Based Learning

Earlier this year, I wrote about Project Based Learning using The Triangle Approach. With that in mind, I have been mulling over the best way to introduce elements of the PBL experience to my students in the next school year. In particular, the approach depicted by the triangle on the left - One unifying topic with many project presentation options.

Fortunately, I am still working with a terrific Grade 7 class at Northridge Public School and the they have allowed me to "workshop" a few ideas with them to get some feedback. 

Here is one idea I am mulling over. It is an upgrade on an activity I did ten years ago.

Part One: Mind's On

• Display the following quote and allow some group discussion

"Les hivers de mon enfance étaient des saisons longues, longues. Nous vivions en trois lieux: l'école, l'église et la patinoire; mais la vraie vie était sur la patinoire."

• The Northridge class teased out 90% of it pretty easily.

"The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places—the school, the church and the skating rink—but our real life was on the skating rink."

• Ten years ago, I would ask students if they had seen the quote before - then reveal that it was printed on the back of the Canadian Five Dollar Bill.  
  
• Unfortunately, that bill is no longer in circulation. Probably for the best, according to this clip from the television program "How I Met Your Mother" where an American character visiting Canada declares...

"What's wrong? Other than the fact that this $5 dollar bill they gave you is blue...and there's kids playing hockey on the back - it's like you want us to make fun of you."

Part Two: Read Aloud 

Read the short story "The Hockey Sweater" by Roch Carrier. It can be found in most school libraries; but, if you can find it, there is an incredible anthology called Sightlines (The Grade 8 edition) that has it and many other terrific selections. 

You can also find it here or you can screen the animated short. I typically do both. (I love the chance to do my "Quebecois man speaking English" accent.)

The short story is based on an experience from author Roch Carrier's childhood in Sainte-Justine, Quebec in the 1940's. In it, a young fan of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team (and its star player Maurice Richard) mistakenly receives a Toronto Maple Leaf's hockey jersey. His mother insists he wear it and the young boy must face the scorn and persecution of his peers and even his coach.

Part Three: Activities

There are lots of discussions, activities and connections that can be made with this story. Here are a couple ideas from Literacy, Drama, History & Physical Education.

• Have you ever received a gift that you did not like? How did you deal with it? (Talk about it, Write about it, Blog about it, Flipgrid it, Present it as a short skit).
•  It connects nicely with the Grade 7 & 8 History curriculum - which examines the relationships between French & English settlers and includes the Big Idea that: "Social and political conflicts and changes in the first half of the nineteenth century have had a lasting impact on Canada".
• It is a fun way to launch a floor hockey unit in gym class.

Part Four: Project Based Learning

• Advance a discussion about Rivalries. 
• What is a Rivalry?
• Why is the Leaf/Canadien Rivalry important?
• Have you ever had a rival?
• How is a rival different than an enemy?
• Provide them access to this Multi-Media Tech Set which has links to 32 well documented rivalries from Sport, Buisness, Music, Pop Culture & Life.  

• Each box has an embedded link to a Google Search of the rivalry. Additional links are at the bottom of the page. Invite students to spend time exploring the websites, articles and videos that interest them.
• With a partner select a rivalry that interests you both and research it. Make use of this template to help organize your discoveries.
• Share your research any way you choose - a visual display, a class presentation, an Animoto video, an interactive slideshow or Makey Makey bulletin board.
• As a class - set a deadline for a sharing day.

To help students - I have this research example using the Leafs vs Canadiens rivalry. 

Additionally, I worked with a Grade 7 student from the aforementioned class at Northridge to create this podcast script and also this podcast which includes video.

Stay tuned...I'll be tweeting and posting the results next winter.

Take the Test

Last week, the Ontario Government passed legislation requiring all new teaching graduates to pass a mathematics test before receiving their teaching certification. Premier Ford has also suggested that the government was considering expanding that requirement so it applied to all teachers every year.

"I have an idea: Why don't we test all the teachers, rather than just new ones, on learning how to deliver math?" he said during question period.

A colleague and I were discussing this the other day and he is all for it. His primary argument makes sense - we should know the math we are teaching. However, we concluded our chat with some skepticism - will this be executed effectively. Like many bold statements from government officials - this is one of those soundbites that seem to make good common sense - but are rife with issues and require a good understanding of many nuances. 

•  It will be expensive - proctors, scheduling, classrooms, marking, etc. Is that the best use for this money? 
• Is it a test of a teacher's ability to do math or to teach math? How does one test "teaching ability" in a single session? Our board already has Principals evaluate teacher efficacy every five years (and that is a multi-day prospect).
• Does the teacher only have to successfully meet the expectations for the grade they are teaching? Do kindergarten teachers simply need to demonstrate that they can count to five?
• If you don't teach math - do you still need to take the test? Imagine removing an exceptional art, history or biology teacher from a school because they can't remember quadratic equations.
• There is some suggestion that it will be administered annually. "So, if I pass the test in 2019 ... the assumption is that I will forget those skills in a calendar year?"

I was an English and History major - but I have a university mathematics credit (I had to get one for my first degree). I was not a great math teacher when I began in this profession. I often joke that I need to find the students who were in my classrooms during the early 00's and apologize to them. The truth is that, although I wasn't great, I also wasn't awful. I used the curriculum and text books and learned from my mentors. The Crosby, Stills & Nash line from "Suite:Judy Blue Eyes" always assuages my conscience. "Don't let the past remind you of what you are not now."

In the past two years, I have been fortunate to receive exceptional Professional Development and I know that when I return to the classroom I will be an even better mathematics educator than I was two years ago. I will also continue to improve and I will leave this profession at the top of my game. 

Mr. Ford, I encourage you to take the money you plan to spend on testing teachers and invest it into providing them with the same PD I have received. 

Here's the thing about teaching Health Education

I have been an educator for over 20 years and I love what I do.

Sure, there are subjects I enjoy teaching more than others. 

• There is nothing like reading an engaging novel to a room full of excited 10 year-olds who are hanging on to every word - covering their mouths as Virginia tries to escape the Troll King's lair before he makes her "dance" with the red-hot metal shoes baking in the fire. 
• There is also the challenge of convincing a group of disengaged Grade 7 students that calculating unit rates comparing Gillian & Ryan's potato prices is actually important.  

I've been in both situations many times. One is certainly more preferable to the other. Especially because Virginia does escape...with the help of the Half-Wolf!

When it comes to the Ontario Health Curriculum, current Minster of Education Lisa Thompson is promoting a familiar refrain: "Parents are the experts" when it comes to teaching their children about sex-ed.

I agree - in a perfect world - this is absolutely true. 

In a perfect world, every child would return home from school to a safe, healthy, happy environment where balanced meals, screen-viewing limitations and dental hygiene were always part of their evening ritual. Sure, those homes exist in abundance but, sadly these situations are not universal. 

This is the reason why we teach

• Grade 1 students about the difference between caring and exploititive behaviour.
• Grade 2 students about healthy eating & the dangers of prescription medicines.
• Grade 3 students about Oral Health & the impact of fictional vs real violence.
• Grade 4 students about the dangers of tobacco, smoking & the safe use of technology.
• Grade 5 students about alcohol & the changes that happen during puberty.
• Grade 6 students about cannabis, addictive behaviour and self-care.
• Grade 7 students about mental health & body image.
• Grade 8 students about Sexually Transmitted Diseases & the impact of violence.

Here's the thing about teaching Health Education...

• Ideally, parents would take responsible for all of it and teachers would have more time to focus on the other subjects.
• I know that "Your Kid" might not need to hear these things yet but...

"It is not about "Your Kid" - It's about Kids." 

Right now, there are kids in every one of those grades who desperately need the information about exactly the topics that I have listed and that our curriculum addresses. They need caring adults to help guide them through these crucial times in their lives. Fortunately, they have them because ... collectively, we know best.  

Lost - Front Loading the Experience

In my last post I talked about launching a cross-curricular unit through subterfuge. I intentional build anticipation by telling students that I am in the process of "getting permission" from the Principal/Superintendent in order to do run a "Mystery Unit". Immediately after March Break, the teachers and I are revealing that the unit is built around the first season of the 2005 television series "Lost". The genesis behind using this unit, and relaunching it as a coach, is in this post from 2018.

I do need to justify over 20 hours of television watching. Consequently, I am keenly aware of the need to make tangible curriculum connections. I often suggest to colleagues that it is treated more like an interactive read aloud - full of intentional stops for discussion, debate and writing challenges.

This year, most of the students are in Grade 7, so I have detailed all of the expectations (over 25) from the Language Curriculum and have detailed them in this table.

The goal in the weeks leading up to the reveal is to front-load information that will maximize the viewing experience. The following activities are in the process of being completed. I'll expand on each in future posts.

• Six Word Stories
• Multiple Intelligences are explored through a series of quizzes from the Smart Options Workbook. Introduction Here
• Lightning Talks using important terms from the series - eventually building a Fluid Word Wall on Padlet with a 6 Word Story GIF made on Giphy.
• The True Colours Quiz. (This one is optional - but really well received if there is time to do it.)
• An introduction to Blogging with Blogger.
• An introduction to Edmodo as a social media platform for sharing ideas. 

The students have been doing terrific work. They are eager to find out why we are doing all this stuff - but they are participating and completing tasks with a sincere effort. 

In my next post, I'll share more details on each of these activities.

A Project Based Journey - Part 3

 Here are Part One and Part Two. This is Part Three in this series about my latest Project Based Learning Journey.

The next step is building a Multi-Media Tech Set (MMTS). Here is a quick primer on the concept, which comes out of the world of Hyperdocs developed by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton & Sarah Landis. Be sure to explore that link or the incredible Teachers Give Teachers for resources.

I make mine in Google Docs. 

• I create a table and distribute the curriculum questions (see previous post) evenly over the squares.
• I find fun, colourful pictures that have some relationship to the question.
• I curate kid-friendly links to videos, articles & websites and connect the links to the pictures.
• I save one panel for a Google Form Picture and link.
• I use some colour fills to make it aesthetically pleasing.

Here is my latest.

The next step is revealing it to the students. Our plan is to have them explore at least 3 links and then complete the Google Form to give us feedback. Eventually, they will be making 3 Panel Brochures or Infographics, so we will need to front-load that.

What should we teach.

There are a number of popular memes on Social Media decrying the way children are raised and educated in the modern world. They vary in form - but usually have the following things in common.

• The assertion that "Participation medals" are being doled out for anything a kid does.
• Some criticism that we aren't teaching the right things to kids.
• Some suggestions about the things we should be teaching... 
• gardening, 
  
• construction or repair,
• paying taxes & credit debt,
• cursive writing,
• cooking,
• voting rights,
• sewing,
• first aid,
• raising animals,
• etc.

Here's the thing.

• Teachers are not against any of these ideas.
• These are all valuable skills.
• Most importantly, they are all available to students right now - either through specialized high school programming or through independent study (especially in an age where Project Based Learning, Passion Projects & Genius Hour are encouraged and promoted by educators.)

The Ontario Curriculum is a living document. It is under regular scrutiny and efforts are always being made to refine it and improve its utility. It is not perfect. It will always be missing something or will include something that some find objectionable, valueless or pointless. However, as I have said in previous posts, teachers are a caring adult that interacts directly with the curriculum and helps navigate students through it.

But why don't they teach ...

Cursive Writing: We do, it is covered in the Grade 3 Writing Curriculum under Expectation 3.7 (Publishing). However, it isn't taught through drill & kill practice sheets. A student should be able to identify cursive letters so that they can read text that has been created in a cursive font - but the utility of mastering the skill of writing in cursive is fading. If a parent wants their child to perfect this skill, they are certainly welcome to provide them with practice opportunities at home. However, I would argue that that time would be better spent on keyboarding. When I taught Grade 5, I would register all my students on Typing.Com and encourage parents to allow their students regular access...especially those who request homework (which, I do not assign). There are also lots of options at this site, which highlights Ten Fun Typing Games for Kids.

Gardening: I can only speak to the school where I last worked - but we had a community garden and all the classes were invited to be part of its development. Here's the thing. The growing season in Ontario includes July & August when the school is empty. Consequently, we had a garden because members of the community spearheaded the project and were willing to take care of it during the summer months. Additionally, with a school population of nearly 1000 students, there were actually too many hands for the project. Each class was invited to participate in the development of the garden, but there wasn't enough for all the students to do. There are many factors that make a gardening project at an elementary school impractical. I do have a friend and colleague who teaches Horticulture and Landscaping at Parkside Collegiate Institute in St. Thomas. Agriculture programs are also available at other secondary schools in this board.

Financial Literacy: It has been promoted through many math classes - I know I included it with my Grade 7 & 8 students when I taught that grade. It has also been highlighted as one of the initiatives that the new Ontario PC government will include in the next Math Curriculum.

Construction & Repair: As can be seen at this Thames Valley District School Board Website 12 of the area's secondary schools offer programs in either Construction or Manufacturing. Additionally, Elementary Schools throughout the Valley are investing in the Makerspace Movement that has been growing since 2011.

Cooking & First Aid: Many secondary institutions provide programs in Hospitality and Health & Wellness.

I could continue, but I think the message is clear.

• The curriculum is an adaptable document - parents are consulted in its creation & adaptation.
• Educators are responsive to the needs of students and try to create thinkers, makers & creators.
• Efforts are made to provide students with opportunities for many life skills.
• It is impossible to do it all - but we certainly make an effort to do as much as possible.
• There are practical limitations to some things that some people would like to see in schools. It's not as simple as just "adding it to the curriculum".
• The curriculum will never please everyone - there will always be "something missing" or "something that should be taught by the parents".
• Parents are welcome to augment their child's education with anything they want.
• I now have something to share the next time I see one of those Facebook posts - even those from my favourite comedian - George Carlin.

"A Love Letter to Canada" Part Three

This is Part Three of a four part series about the use of The Amazing Race Canada in a Grade 4 classroom. In Part One, I discuss the genesis of the project and the changes I made in the first few years I screened it with students at a school with a high English Second Language (ESL) population. Part Two catalogues the transition of the program for use with multiple classrooms using Google Tools & Flipgrid to communicate their experiences with each other.

In this post, I'll detail some of the activities we tried. As I am not the classroom teacher, I can only suggest activities and I can not always be present for them. The teachers I worked with were wonderfully receptive, so most of the things I suggest here were tried by all the classes.

Viewing Parties

Obviously, this unit requires that the students view 10 episodes of a 1 hour television program. That might raise eyebrows for some administrators or parents. In reality, each episode is 44 minutes long (without commercials) and many intentional breaks are taken throughout the screening. I suggest that teachers treat it like a Read Aloud. In order to facilitate this, students are encouraged to sit in their own version of Amazing Race partnerships. Intentionally planned discussion breaks can be taken to clarify a wide range of events that occur in the program that relate to several curriculum strands. A few examples include...

• Would you or your partner complete this Roadblock challenge? Why?
• Which of the two Detour choices would you and your partner choose to complete? Why?
• How did the girl's team react when Tim & Tim were given a penalty at the Pit Stop? (*they laughed and said "suckers")  What does that tell you about them?
• How is this different from the way The Cowboys behaved when the Twins were eliminated by the same penalty? (*they were empathetic and supportive)  What does that tell you about them? 
• How would you behave in a similar situation?
• Is "hiding the maps" at the airport store cheating?  or clever game play? Why?
• Which team showed excellent collaboration?...problem solving?...determination? etc.
• What brand names have you heard highlighted on the show (Chevy, Interac, Air Canada) - why do you think the host (Jon) keeps mentioning these brands?

Mapping Skills

Part of the Grade 4 curriculum reinforces concepts about maps and mapping already introduced in the primary grades. Specifically, the Grade 4 curriculum states that students will... 

"demonstrate an understanding of cardinal and intermediate directions (i.e., NW, SW, NE, and SE), and use these directions as well as number and letter grids to locate selected political and physical regions of Canada on a variety of print and digital/interactive maps." 

To accomplish this purpose, teachers were encouraged to introduce students to atlases as well as other maps (wall, printable, online).  I direct teachers to a worksheet site called Worksheet Works. If you recall, this entire experiment began with me trying to escape the world of meaningless busy-work on ineffective worksheets. Here's the thing: It is how you choose to use this tool - not the tool itself that is more important. Here is a Teacher Led activity that will help scaffold student understanding of maps.

1. Print this map of British Columbia (the first Province visited on The Race) and enlarge it so that the partners can see it more easily. It requires that students match numbered arrows to a word bank of names... Vancouver, Victoria, Pacific Ocean, Alaska, Skeena River, etc.
2. Show students how different maps (particularly Google Maps) can be advantaged to determine objects and locations on the map. Focus on big objects first (Yukon Territory, Pacific Ocean, Washington State) before zooming in on smaller objects. 
3. Throughout, highlight the differences between Political/Human Locations (Cities, States, Provinces) and Physical Locations (Rivers, Sounds, Mountains). This Google Slide is how I introduced it.
4. Demonstrate the backdoor approach - instead of searching to see what an arrow points to, open another tab and search for the location (EX: Hecate Sound or Queen Charlotte Sound are easier found this way).
5. Google My Maps can be revisited later to mark all the destinations visited on the trip, as well as a "crow flies" travel plan - this is perfect for practicing rounding large numbers in math. "Why would we round the distance from Niagara Falls to the Butterfly Conservatory to the closest 10, while rounding the distance from Toronto to Kelowna to the closest 100?"

Our Own Amazing Race Day

Students are provided with a second chance to build these mapping skills with a group challenge using the province of Alberta during our version of An Amazing Race Activity.

• Multiple copies of the map are enlarged on to ledger paper and cut into three strips.
• The strips are put into envelopes
• The envelopes are labeled and hidden in the school yard at locations that can be described in a riddle written in the form of a simple poem. (Literacy)
• In teams of 4, students are sent out in the yard with their riddle poem. The find each of the three envelopes, return, assemble the map and then identify the locations. (Physical Movement)
• There is a 5 minute penalty for each mistake and a 10 minute penalty for yelling or running inside the school (outside is fair game). 
• A running clock is displayed on the board and students are allowed access to the classroom map and at least two Chromebooks. (Time Measurement, Technology, Social Studies & more)
• The team with the best time is declared the winner and...this is a non-elimination leg of the race.

Needless to say, enthusiasm and engagement is high. I was present for all four variations of this race with the four participating classes (mainly because it ensures better supervision for student safety). Throughout, the teacher and I circulated the groups and did some anecdotal evaluation of the students' understanding of mapping - but invested more time into notes about their learning skills and global competency skills.

• Did they communicate well as a team?
• Did they collaborate well - dividing up the tasks to maximize their speed & efficiency?
• Did they problem solve well when they got stuck?
• Did they show perseverance when challenged?
• Did they look for ways to stay engaged throughout the task, or did they get distracted?

My Observations

• Engagement was very high when groups were searching for clues on the yard.
• Every class had at least one group who completed the map perfectly - often in the best time.
• The groups that were most successful did the same things - persisted, communicated, divided the workload, remained engaged in the task.
• The groups that struggled and did not complete the challenge - communicated less often & less effectively, argued over tasks and had members disengage from the task (sometimes in boredom, sometimes angrily).

The Debrief

• Students were asked to reflect on the things that went well and the things that challenged them.
• Without identifying students & being mindful of self-esteem, teacher observations were shared.
• "I noticed that Chloe showed great perseverance when she was stuck ..." Can you share what you did Chloe?
• "I noticed that Richard's group divided up the task & kept communicating with each other."
• "I saw Adele's group use the big map of Canada at the back of the classroom first - how was that helpful to your group?"
• The correct answers to the map were taken up - again, highlighting effective strategies. 
• Students were asked to think about things they might do differently if the activity was repeated with another map in a few weeks. 

Initially, I planned this to be a 2 part series. It looks like we are going to make it 4. Tune in next time when I cover the other curriculum expectations and the launch of a Multi-Media Tech Set to allow students to do some project based learning around the Grade 4 Social Studies Curriculum.
Part Four Here

"A Love Letter to Canada" - Amazing Race & Grade 4 Curriculum

One of the great benefits of my role as an Instructional Coach is variety. A particularly busy and enriching day might include...

• starting my morning in a Grade 7/8 class teaching figurative language in literacy,
• meeting with the Principal about math data,
• transition to a Grade 3 class to enhance multiplicative thinking through relational rods,
• chatting with a Grade 6 teacher about a new technology option,
• finishing in a Grade 4 class supporting a cross-curricular approach to Social Studies.

Not only is this energizing and exciting, it's a powerfully effective way to learn the nuances of the curriculum across the grades. A fun challenge I have set for myself is to try to "Hit for the Cycle", a term borrowed from baseball which occurs when a batter hits a single, double, triple and a home-run in a single game. For me, that would be a visit with a Kindergarten, Primary (Gr. 1-3), Junior (Gr. 4-6) & Intermediate (Gr. 7/8) class in one day. So far, I have come close (ticking 3 of 4 boxes) on a few occasions. 

An additional perk about visiting multiple classroom is the opportunity to revisit curriculum expectations from grades that I have previously taught. This year, I was excited to pitch a unit from my time teaching Grade 4 in 2013. Through consultation with 4 teachers at 3 different schools, I was able to retool an engaging unit and infuse it with current teaching practice, including the use of Google Suite and other recently released tech-infused pedagogical tools.

The unit is built around Season 1 of The Amazing Race Canada.  Over the next three posts, I would like to provide a richer context for how this unit works so powerfully in a Grade 4 Canadian classroom.

The Genesis

When I first decided to try this unit, I was teaching at Eagle Heights Public School. This was a school in a phase of swift transition. The population was growing rapidly and the demographics were in flux. In 2013, the construction for the second building expansion project in 5 years was well underway. Additionally, the average number of new Canadians who were English Language Learners had quadrupled since my arrival in 2011.

I had watched The Amazing Race Canada season during the summer and knew it had a place in my classroom. My goal was to meet expectations of the Grade 4 Ontario Curriculum for Social Studies - Political & Physical Regions of Canada, but I also wanted to shake off the doldrums of typical practice (of which I had been guilty)...

• map colouring - 1 for provinces, 1 for physical regions, "My Western Cordilleras are blue."
• student presentations - "Our province is Saskatchewan..."
• those bad 1990's videos on YouTube (even well-meaning videos like this had run their course.)
• or worst of all, Canadian Province worksheets ... especially meaningless word searches.

I guess I most wanted to introduce my students (especially those who had just made Canada their new home) to the beauty of this magnificent country. I wanted them to make connections from places on the map to real places that the teams visited. I wanted them to learn about all of the incredible diversity in landscape, recreation, tradition and history that we have captured between three great oceans. Recently, Season 1 participant Dave Schram put it well when he shared the following...

When we were selected, the producers told all of us that... they "wanted the show to be a love letter to Canada."

That was really what I was after - a way for my students to fall in love with Canada.

• To know the immigrant experience at Pier 21 in Nova Scotia.
• To realize Robert Service wrote wonderfully fun & funny poetry about the Yukon.
• That Innuk throat sing, participate in Arctic Olympics and that Muktuk (whale blubber) contains Vitamin D they can't always get from the sun.
• To know that Ogopogo, the Saskatchewan Roughriders & "Body Break" are things that exist, and that some Canadians cherish them fondly.
• And so much more...

Not surprisingly, the unit was a hit. This was at a time before our board had embraced the Google Suite tools, so a lot of our work was on paper and displayed on the classroom walls. We dipped into multiple curriculum strands as we...

• tracked the progress of the race across a large map, calculating & rounding distances,
• documented arrival positions & eliminations for each leg,
• connected race challenges & events to the 6 Learning Skills outlined in the Ontario Growing Success Document,
• wrote about our favourite participants, locations and challenges,
• looked at the positive messaging implied in the shows use of Chevrolet, Air Canada, Interac & Cadbury chocolate,
• tried muktuk, Arctic char & muskox meatballs delivered from Steve (who lives in Iqaluit), 
• even got a surprise visit from Jet Black (a final four participant)
  

The next year, I worked with a Grade level partner and two classes were involved. We built on the successes and added activities. In 2015, I left Grade 4 for a new assignment and my former teaching partner continued running the program on her own. We were fortunate to have annual surprise visits from London participants Jet & Dave...who learned that the response to their arrival was sometimes overwhelming.

I presented the unit at several Elementary Teacher Federation Workshops and remain pleasantly surprised when I see evidence of it on the walls of an unfamiliar school. I'll admit, at this point, I was content with the project I had built and felt that it had legs for quite a few years. However, this year, I got a chance to upgrade the unit to match both the advances in technology and our Board's move toward Global Competencies. 

That, and more, in Part Two.  

Was it ever "Discovery Math" - Part Two

tThis is the second in a series of posts regarding the recent release of an addendum to the curriculum entitled, Focusing on the Fundamentals of Math - A Teacher's Guide from the Ontario Progressive Conservative (P.C.) government.

Party Leader, Premier Doug Ford, has stated that ...

"Kids used to learn math by doing things like memorizing a multiplication table, and it worked...instead, our kids are left with experimental discovery math. That hardly teaches math at all. Instead, everyone gets a participation ribbon and our kids are left to fend for themselves." 1

This addendum is "intended to support teachers' ongoing efforts in building students' knowledge and skills in mathematics." It has been billed by the P.C. government as a fundamental shift away from "discovery math" and a return to "fact based memorization." In Part 1 I proposed that there is much ado about nothing.

Here's what I think so far...

• There was no "discovery math" - at least not one promoted through the many Thames Valley Board In-Service sessions I have attended over the years.
• I have never taught "experimental discovery math" or given "participation ribbons" to my math students - I have never seen this in practice in the schools I support. If, the term "participation ribbons" is intended to imply that I encourage and celebrate my students for making an effort to learn - then that is true. However, I am not sure what the alternative would be?
• This document seems, on my first pass, to be a good, research-supported approach to math.
• In fact, some of the research behind this document comes from the same sources teachers have been using for years.
• This document isn't really a change at all - and teachers need not worry about a massive change to their program. If anything, it is a slight adjustment in focus - but...as I intend to demonstrate... not really.

Let's go through each page and look at the guide - section by section.

Page 1

There are two sections here.
The first is a preamble to make clear the intention of this guide. There is nothing to which any should take umbrage. The key messages are ...

• It is intended to support teachers.
• It focuses on the parts of the Ontario Math Curriculum that deal with fundamental math skills.
• It outlines steps to achieving knowledge & skills in these expectations.
• The goal is success in high school and beyond (employment & citizenship).

The second is a quote from a literature review by Bruce & Chang (2013) referencing a book from Baroody & Dowker (2003).

"Becoming highly skilled at arithmetic requires the development of number sense alongside procedural and factual knowledge as well as the mathematical principles that govern how the operations are related to one another." 

Two quick points I am, and have been, in complete agreement with this statement. (

• This literature review is found at the Edugains site - which is "a website that houses ministry developed resources to support policies and programs related to improved learning and teaching - Kindergarten to Grade 12 - in Ontario schools."

In other words - this is simply a restatement of information that was created by the former government (The Ontario Liberal Party) and available to educators for years.

So far...

• There is nothing here with which I can disagree.
• There is plenty here that I was already reviewing, doing & following.
• There is no evidence that this is replacing "experimental discover math"
• Everything that is being suggested here matches the existing math program -which my board was promoting & implementing.

Page 2 next...

Was it ever "Discovery Math"? - Part One

One of the benefits to my role as an Instructional Coach is the extra time I am afforded. This is not because my days are not filled - I spent today (the first day of the 2018 school year) receiving excellent Professional Development and I work hard to make sure that I am always "earning my keep".

I have extra time in the evenings because, unlike my colleagues in the classroom, I do not have a class of eager or anxious, excited or reluctant, confident or uncertain learners waiting to meet me tomorrow morning.

Consequently, I do not need to spend time this evening...

• reviewing student work from today - sometimes called "Exit Tickets" or "Diagnostic Assessment".
• preparing lessons for tomorrow that are based on those assessments. 
• considering differentiated instruction for all of the learners in my class - especially the anxious, reluctant and uncertain ones.
• responding to student questions & comments on virtual environments like Google Classroom or Edmodo.
• sharing classroom observations with parents or facilitating student-created portfolios through Seesaw or Class Dojo - and answering parent questions when asked.
• preparing forms for teams I coach or for fields trips I hope to take.
• preparing for community building experiences like Terry Fox, Orange Shirt or Dot Day.

I respect this opportunity. So I always try to make good use of this extra time I am afforded. 

Sometimes, 

• I use it to learn - maybe to add to my coding skills or to gain experience with a new app or educational technology.
• I use it to review curriculum, especially if a teacher from a grade with which I am unfamiliar asks me for some assistance - (yesterday, that was a Grade 1 teacher who asked about Media Literacy, and I began building this resource.)
• I use it to read the great Leadership, Literacy and Math books with which I have been provided.
• I use it to build lessons that I think will have utility in multiple classrooms.
• I surf Twitter to see what my Professional Learning Network #PLN is sharing in their posts and blogs.

Today, I used my time to begin to review the Teacher's Guide addendum released by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Government Focusing on the Fundamentals of Math released August 23rd. I also thought I would write about it here - in a follow-up post - found here. 

Spoiler Alert - I don't see what the fuss is about - on either front. 

The document (much like the practice of my colleagues that preceded it) seems grounded in good, well-researched thinking. 

It also (like the documents that preceded it*see below*) is intended as an approach to 

"prepare students for success in high school and ensure they have a set of essential skills for employment and responsible citizenship in the future." 

I can't argue with that statement - that has been my goal as a teacher since I began. Join me tomorrow (fingers-crossed) as I go through each page. I think you'll find that this approach is just fine - however, it is not replacing this elusive "discovery math" I keep hearing about - it is simply a slightly adjusted focus on practice in which I already believed.

**The Guides to Effective Instruction & The Ontario Curriculum - Mathematics & What to Look for by Alex Lawson & Elementary & Middle School Math by John A Van de Walle & others or all the great stuff from Marian Small (which we have been using for several years).

Gimme Feedback! Getting rid of Marks in Elementary School.

A few years ago, I came to the uncomfortable realization that my evaluation methods were not working. Well, it wasn’t really that they weren’t working - they were generating grades, information and feedback for report cards. They served as a brief and fleeting triumph for students who were already academically successful. However, they were not sparking the growth and progress that I wanted to see in my students - particularly students who struggled academically.

I was trying to do everything right. I had looked over the most recently literature which, In Ontario, is the Growing Success Document. (2010) I reviewed the Seven Fundamental Principles that would “ensure that assessment, evaluation, and reporting are valid and reliable”.( p. 6) I discussed Success Criteria with students based on specific curriculum expectations and, collectively, we built rubrics and settled on “mutually agreed upon timelines” for work completion. Still, I wasn’t seeing the growth that I knew more of my students were able to achieve.


It was around this time that I began to focus on my professional Twitter account. I had been using a personal Twitter account for years (Est. January 5, 2009), but, for the most part, followed Pro Sports Teams, Stand Up Comedians, Musicians and Television Writers and rarely posted. A colleague suggested creating a professional Twitter account (Est. April 24, 2013) and a quality Professional Learning Network (PLN) was growing. I think I followed about 200 people at that time.  Wonderfully, for the first time in my career, a post on Twitter led me to an answer that was so simple that I was a bit frustrated that I had not thought of it myself. Get rid of the marks.

I began to evaluate following these steps:

1. Continue to build “mutually agreed upon” curriculum driven expectations with students. Make them part of the process of learning from the start. Be sure that the language is “student friendly”.
2. Give feedback at an approximate midpoint in the activity.
3. Let the student return to the work in order to take advantage of the feedback.
4. Have the student self-evaluate.
5. Conference with the student about the self-evaluation. (a) Be sure to celebrate achievements, (b) Be sure to discuss potential next steps & optionally (c) Agree on report card comments that include a & b.

To help, I began using a No Marks Rubric. Once again, I want to make it clear that  the genesis for the idea was not mine - but from a post on Twitter. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to track down the author of that first post, so I can give the appropriate credit. If it comes to me, I will make the changes here immediately.

However, I have evolved that initial concept over the past four years and a blank copy of my current version is here. It is divided into four columns.

• The center column is for the expectations
• Mutually agreed upon with the students.
• Curriculum connected.
• Ideally, connected to the 4 categories outlined in the Growing Success Document (p. 17) Thinking, Application, Communication and Knowledge (TACK) or sometimes referred to as  (CAT-K) cat-ka.
• Immediately to the right, is a narrow column for checkmarks. If the expectation in the cell beside it has been met, the box is checked. If not, it remains unchecked (for now).
• The left column is broken into cells that match each expectation. It is here that, when necessary, next steps can be written. Sometimes, the expectation has been met and the next step is a suggestion. More often, the next step is a reminder to review the expectation or an idea to prompt additional action.
• The far right column is a place for celebration.
• What has been done particularly well?
• Which things exceeded expectations?
• What caught the evaluator’s eye as “interesting”, “fun”, “humourous” or “unexpected”?
• There is space at the top to identify the activity and student. Optionally, a parent signature could be required at the bottom.

Here is an example using Cereal Box Biographies - a Grade 5 cross-curricular activity which draws from expectations in Writing, Reading, Media Literacy, Health & Art curriculum.

Students are asked to ...

• research a famous person and create an aesthetically appealing, easy to read cereal box biography to share the information. EX: Obama O’s Cereal - detailing life of 44th US President.
• create a “tag line” for the product. EX: “They’ll give you HOPE!”
• create a food label replacing the percentage values with personal qualities instead of nutritional facts. (A little math embedded in the activity). EX: Persistence 30% Intelligence 20% etc. Here is a complete example

Some Additional Thoughts (regarding No Marks Rubrics)

Students are quick converts. There are some who persist with the question “What did I get?” and that needs to be met with the responses: “What did you learn? What did you do well? & What could you improve or change?”

Parents sometimes take a little longer - particularly parents who put a high value on grades. Sometimes, a private conversation with them helps. Ask them if they remember their Grade 4 Social Studies mark more than the things they learned in Grade 4 Social Studies ...or perhaps that awesome pyramid they built!

Unfortunately, Ontario report cards still require a grade. Consequently, the teacher is eventually forced to quantify this information and reduce it to a letter (Gr 1-6) or number (Gr 7-8).

Fortunately, report card comments are already done.  The completed rubric allows the Teacher to synthesize statements that are personal, and include both the celebration of work achieved with concrete next steps.

Optionally, the “mark” can be determined with the student present. As I was preparing report cards last May, I had frequent discussions with students about both the comment and the final grade for many of the strands and subjects - Complete transparency and, for some students, the opportunity to make changes.

My hope is that the province makes the bold decision to move away from grades, at least prior to Grade 7. For now, the No Mark Rubric has been a valuable tool in my classroom and has been well received by teachers I meet in my role as instructional coach. I hope it can be useful for you.