After a recent PD session I attended online through OTF Connects, I was inspired to download iMovie -- this is our first attempt at putting together a short film. It's just under three minutes, and focuses on some of the "non-school" learnings from this year.
Although we've still got a little over a month left here in Argentina, this is our final week of "home school", and as such, we are winding down the formal stuff and getting ready for a month of Arts experiences. After a recent PD session I attended online through OTF Connects, I was inspired to download iMovie -- this is our first attempt at putting together a short film. It's just under three minutes, and focuses on some of the "non-school" learnings from this year.
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Our friend Brian, from PEI, arrived on Saturday afternoon. Another visitor meant another trip to the San Telmo market, so away we went on the 67 bus Sunday morning... The first thing we noticed en route to Defensa, past Walrus Books and our favourite sandwhich shop, was that the mural we had seen being painted last time was now complete. At the market itself, there was the usual dizzying array of musicians, tango dancers and visual performers strewn amongst the food-basket laden vendors walking the artisan-lined street, hawking their wares. I had some business, besides showing our newly-arrived friend around; there was a mate to be bought for a colleague back home, and at the request of another aquaintance in Toronto, we hunted down the matchstick carver and picked up a few of her pieces. Afterwards, we happened upon an Afrocultural centre, where we stayed for a bit to enjoy a local band. (The table there also had for sale a berimbau, an instrument I have not seen since my university days, working at Soul Drums in Toronto!) After the show, the boys and I took some "silly selfies"... On our way back to the bus stop, we passed a pink beetle in various stages of disassembly... I was reminded of the Cessna in PEI last summer, which had made a miraculous recovery from its condition the previous summer, and I wondered, would this pink creature one day actually prowl the streets of Buenos Aires?!
I had a question from a teacher today... as she is getting ready for interviews, she is considering some commonly asked interview questions, and thinking about how best to prepare her responses. The question was about equitable assessment practices. It's a powerful question, because it allows the interviewer to simultaneously assess two areas of understanding: 1. Assessment 2. Equity Here was my response (notice I am wearing my coaching hat, rather my teacher hat below)... Begin by considering the different learners in your classroom. Who's in the room? (Consider sex, gender, race, socioeconomic class, sexual identity, MI, VAK learning styles, etc.) Make a list of all the different types of learners -- use a broad definition of "diverse". Next, think about how you assess learning in your room: Do you use pencil and paper tests? Performance tasks? Oral conferences? Portfolios? Make a list of all the different things to do to collect evidence of learning. Also ask yourself this question: Do I offer my students a choice of assessments? Or does everyone have to do the same thing every time? Why? Now take your second list, and consider how well it aligns with (or doesn't) the needs of the students listed on your first list. Another way to consider this question is your purpose for and use of assessment… Are you assessing just to evaluate and report? Or do you use the information gathered in your diagnostic and formative assessment to inform your instruction? What changes do you make for the different learners in your classroom as a result of data gathered via your assessment? Also, what kind of descriptive feedback to provide your students? Is it written, oral, other? And, how do you set goals and criteria for assignments, so that you have an co-construct criteria? Are these posted somewhere for all students to access? Hope this helps your thinking about equitable assessment practices… As you prepare for your interviews, you may want to consider sharing a specific artefact that helps to illustrate any of the above in your practice. After October's visit to the falls and rainforest in Iguazu, Simon immediately wanted to return. We determined to send him again, if possible, with one of our future visitors. As it turns out, one of our visitors is "Uncle Joel", whom the boys have known since they were about 3 years old, and whom they absolutely adore, is here for about a week, visiting from Portugal. He was game to try his hand at parenting for a few days, by taking Simon and Alex with him to Iguazu. (Alex -- who also enjoyed the trip last time, though he was somewhat less enthusiastic than his brother -- insisted on tagging along, because what's more fun than a first class bus trip with Uncle Joel??!!) After the subway ride to Retiro, we loaded the three boys on the bus with strict instructions about sunscreen, bug spray and handwashing. "And you better email Mommy, Daddy and Tatsy at least once a day every day while you are there!" The boys waved to us from the bus window -- they love their first class seats (prices have increased RIDICULOUSLY since we took our very affordable trip last fall, but with an 18-hour ride overnight, is there really any other option?!) Suddenly finding ourselves childless in Buenos Aires, Tats and I decided to embark on a little adventure of our own: We took the train (different than the subte) home! One line, considerably cheaper than the subway, and only 3 stops, the train is very convenient, except that things are largely unmarked, and even the maps are old, faded and almost unreadable, so you just sort of have to guess which train to get on and hope for the best, lol! Luckily, we picked the right platform, and were soon back home. Now it will be three days of intensive catch-up with the online course I am taking, as well as the beginning of an exciting online book club which I signed up for through our teacher federation. There will also be opportunity for sleeping!!! :))) And, Tats begins her Spanish course this week. Without kids around, we might just squeeze in one dinner out, too... depending on the blue rate! :-) How many interviews have I undertaken, both as interviewer and interviewee, over the past decade or so? Many. And as the interviews I both attend and give become more varied, I want to explore some of the intricacies of interviewing… Recently, I interviewed via Skype for a position for which I am well-qualified and about which I was rather excited. I’d interviewed via Skype already a few times this year, for local or online jobs, and aced each interview, which was surprising, since this is a new medium for me. But the previous Skype interviews were more like conversations, a “getting to know the candidate” of sorts, whereas this latest interview as part of a formal, highly
We're also reading Secret Signs by Anita Riggio, a picture book from the SJBWM booklist for junior students. Interestingly, the story's main characters happens to be deaf, which the author uses to develop particularly rich descriptive language. We've spent some time during Literacy discussing descriptive language that helps the reader visualise, so this text is a nice link to that strategy, as it provides several excellent examples of that. Here's how I hope things will unfold: BEFORE:
DURING:
- Why do you think Mama soothed the dog instead of letting Ellie attack the intruders? - How do you think Luke will deliver the message? - Why did Luke crumple up the painting of his family and paint a farmhouse instead? - How did Luke know that the girl had understood the secret sign?
AFTER: This time, I'm planning to do things a little differently. Last year, I worked hard to develop a group of students that could dialogue respectfully and challenge one another one a wide variety of rich topics. Early in the school year, I spend several weeks explicity teaching conversational norms. Then, after each mentor text, I provided time for small groups in my classroom to have a "grand conversation". It's been somewhat challenging to carry on with that this year, seeing as how I only have two students in my class. :) So, I've made contact with some teachers from my school back home in Canada, and we are hoping to engage with some grade 5 students later this week or early next to have a post-text conversation about the underground railroad, via Skype or some other online method. Possible Questions:
Once that is done, we'll revisit our KWL or prediction chart, and of course also post the book cover and "big idea" on our rich mentor text wall. Jeanette, my mother's best friend and the boys' surrogate maternal grandmother is here visiting for a few weeks... We were going to take her to the San Telmo Market this morning, alas, it was raining, so we elected instead to visit the National Art Museum. (Jeanette is an artist herself, as well as a former art dealer.) By the afternoon, the weather had cleared considerably, so we walked over to the Big Trees in Recoletta afterwards, and had lunch at a total tourist trap, where Jeanette met a new friend. (See photos below -- click to enlarge!) After lunch, it was time for tree-climbing; even Jeanette got on board, while I anxiously prayed that no one would fall out of a tree!
Well, well, well.... who would have thunk it -- after more than THREE months, including a visit home to Canada, lo and behold, a package arrived today from Daddy! Trevor had sent this package, containing Hallowe'en cards, iTunes gift cards and two t-shirts, at the beginning of October 2013 from Canada. Today, January 27, 2014, the package finally arrived! The boys were wildly excited, and eagerly unwrapped their little parcel. Ironically, the postal worker arrived with the package at precisely the same time that our friend -- whom we hadn't seen for 6 weeks -- arrived for home schooling, so there was double excitment! All of a sudden, our five weeks in Canada have come to an end, and we're on our way back to Argentina! Granted, we're currently still sitting in the airport in Toronto, waiting patiently for a delayed flight to Atlanta, where we'll connect to our BsAs flight... but the promise of warm sun, helados and penguins lies ahead! We're looking forward to getting back into our home school routine, and are eager to resume our active field trip schedule. We're also anticipating the arrival of several visitors on this leg of the trip! |
About Vera...Canadian, vegetarian, PPL, certified teacher and mother of twins, home schooling for the year, in Argentina!
Visit me online at www.verateschow.ca Archives
May 2014
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