How can we build more play into our literacy units? In preparation for our Grade 1 Arts Festival students were exposed to familiar stories. We are fortunate that our narrative reading and writing unit also align with this performance & arts-based Unit of Study, so I structured this literacy project to include a lot of…
[This post is an excerpt from my EDURO: Coaching from Theory to Practice certificate course from 2015] Every year our school picks a whole-school goal. Last year (my first year at ISZL), we were fortunate as the goal was ‘Technology’. The two PD days in February were designated to the EdTech Team to design and facilitate, and…
EDURO Coaching Challenge 1: Identify a colleague at your school that you feel comfortable working with. Initiate a dialogue with that person to see if they would feel comfortable with you practicing your coaching skills with them. [This post is an excerpt from my EDURO: Coaching from Theory to Practice certificate from 2015] I’m really…
Mrs.H and I had our second meeting this week and referring back to our original Google Doc meeting minutes was an effective way to start. Before meeting, I went over some of the topics we’d covered and also the action we’d agreed to take. We both realised many of the tasks are more long-term and…
Why Blogs? real-world application of all strands of literacy encouraging reluctant writers/readers creative space for students to share learning modelling digital citizenship student authorship global connections exploring features of different texts showcasing learning creating links between home-school expanding classroom walls fostering pride and independence in students Not convinced? Read THIS Day 1: Introducing Easy Blogger Jr. to Grade…
What skills do students learn through eBook creation? In Grade 1, students are working on a How We Organize Ourselves unit of inquiry. They are investigating private and public spaces and looking at what brings people together. During the collaborative planning meeting, teachers discussed a way to document their progress during the unit and we…
As an international PYP school, we cater to many non-English speakers. To encourage some of these non-native English speakers to participate and engage with the class community in Early Years, we introduced an app called Furry Friend. This interactive app is great for engaging young students in simple play and conversation. Students can play independently…
As the techology facilitator at a PYP school, I am constantly on the look out for engaging apps that enhance learning and don’t just replace what students could do with physical materials and tools. I spent a lot of time in the first few weeks learning about the play-based Reggio Emilia approach at our PYP…
It’s the beginning of school and Early Years teachers (EY1) are busy establishing routines and habits to help children adjust to being at school for the first time. We are a PYP school that focuses on applying a Reggio-Emilia approach to learning for 3-5 year olds. There are many creative ways teachers engage students in…
Here are the final RSAstyle videos published by my grade 5 EAL class. The project took place over 5 weeks and the main emphasis was on the process. To see the previous 4 phases of the process click here: http://blogs.swa-jkt.com/swa/jocelynsutherland/category/ipads/ Students went through the drafting, editing, conferencing, revision phases of the writing process. The iMovie…
Innovative Learning in the Elementary Classroom 