This term our whole school are focusing on the topic of 'Celebrations' for our inquiry.
After a bit of research and thinking Room 2 decided that the word 'celebration' means:
when we remember a day or event (that is special to us) though some sort of activity of festivity.
Funny... it's only one sentence, but it took us quite a lot of exploring and thinking to figure it out!!!
Some of the celebrations we know of and want to learn more about are:
Easter, Christmas, Birthdays, Valentines Day, Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, Anniversaries, New Years, Halloween.
We will be learning about much more too!
Stay tuned to see what questions and learning we have around our 'celebrations' theme.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Sweetie came to stay for a day
Today, Summer brought her really cute bunny 'Sweetie' into school. Sweetie spent the day learning with us in class. It was lots of fun having her visit and learning all about how rabbits need to be handled and cared for.
It was especially cute seeing Sweetie eat her carrots at lunch time, while we were eating our lunch too.
Thank you Summer for bringing Sweetie to spend the day with us!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Whaea Katie's Teacher Inquiry
* Warning: this is a 'teacher talk' blog post (for those of you who are interested, do keep reading).
Just as Inquiry is an important part of your child’s learning at school, inquiry is also an important factor of effective teacher pedagogy and practice. The cycle of inquiry assists us in the investigation of: assessing our student’s needs, researching and applying different strategies (to cater for their needs), evaluating the effectiveness of those strategies, and figuring out ‘where to next?’
Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum for English-medium Teaching and Learning. Wellington: Learning Media. Also available at: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum
This term the teachers at school will all be engaged in their own teacher inquiry about our student’s learning through inquiry… clear as mud, āe?
To be a little more specific our inquiry will be focused around the question: 'How do i know my children are learning through inquiry?'
I am really passionate about teaching inquiry and believe that if inquiry is authentic and student driven, it’s not only really exciting and engaging (for both the students and their teacher), but it also assists students in developing the competencies needed to be information literate and lifelong learners.
So, my brain has been tick, tick, ticking away about the direction I want to head in with my own teacher inquiry. And I think I’ve finally sorted out what I’m focusing on!
Long story short (well as short as my ‘wordiness’ will allow for), I have decided to focus on researching and applying strategies to assist my students in developing effective collaborative skills (or as we’re calling it in Room 2 – team work).
This is really important from my perspective, as I believe students in this age range should be experiencing learning through a method of both whole class guided inquiry and more independent, small group inquiry. And in all honesty, my class need to develop the skills to allow them to be effective team members, so they can get the most out of their learning in group situations.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress throughout the term, through the page ‘Inquiry Learning’.
Wish me luck!
Just as Inquiry is an important part of your child’s learning at school, inquiry is also an important factor of effective teacher pedagogy and practice. The cycle of inquiry assists us in the investigation of: assessing our student’s needs, researching and applying different strategies (to cater for their needs), evaluating the effectiveness of those strategies, and figuring out ‘where to next?’
Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum for English-medium Teaching and Learning. Wellington: Learning Media. Also available at: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum
This term the teachers at school will all be engaged in their own teacher inquiry about our student’s learning through inquiry… clear as mud, āe?
To be a little more specific our inquiry will be focused around the question: 'How do i know my children are learning through inquiry?'
I am really passionate about teaching inquiry and believe that if inquiry is authentic and student driven, it’s not only really exciting and engaging (for both the students and their teacher), but it also assists students in developing the competencies needed to be information literate and lifelong learners.
So, my brain has been tick, tick, ticking away about the direction I want to head in with my own teacher inquiry. And I think I’ve finally sorted out what I’m focusing on!
Long story short (well as short as my ‘wordiness’ will allow for), I have decided to focus on researching and applying strategies to assist my students in developing effective collaborative skills (or as we’re calling it in Room 2 – team work).
This is really important from my perspective, as I believe students in this age range should be experiencing learning through a method of both whole class guided inquiry and more independent, small group inquiry. And in all honesty, my class need to develop the skills to allow them to be effective team members, so they can get the most out of their learning in group situations.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress throughout the term, through the page ‘Inquiry Learning’.
Wish me luck!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Welcome to our little corner of the web!
Kia ora koutou, and welcome to Room 2's learning hub on the net!
We really hope you enjoy our sharing throughout 2011. Please get involved and comment on what we are up to if you can, we would really like your input!
We really hope you enjoy our sharing throughout 2011. Please get involved and comment on what we are up to if you can, we would really like your input!
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