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The activity set that I would choose to use in my classroom would have to Space and Aliens.
I would first begin by reading allowed the book ‘Aliens have underpants’, I find that stories and even educational videos are amazing triggers to encourage the children to the creatively on the subject in question. After reading the book I would then supply the children with paper, markers, crayons etc and allow them to draw and create their own aliens. We would then discuss the aliens as a class, sharing ideas and opinions to encourage further thinking. I would have some trigger questions prepared for the class , ‘where do aliens live ?’ ‘Do aliens know we exist ?’ ‘Would we be considered aliens in space?’. I would hope we could use the questions in a discussion, as it is of vital importance that the children not only learn the topic in question but team work skills and constructive debates where they can share thoughts positively. for a continuation of the topic , I would allow the children to create 3d versions of the aliens they have previously drawn (using supplies such as clay ,playdough, paints etc …)and following that allow them to play and interact with each others aliens in whatever way they believe aliens would.
What a wonderful idea ! Incorporating nursery rhymes into the lesson is such a good way to capture the children’s attentions.
The activity set I would choose to teach would be the ‘Sun and Shadows’ as it’s a topic I feel that could be reached in a fun and educational manner. A manner in which child could participate in a hands on way and engage rather than a traditional sit and listen approach.
I would begin the lesson by introducing the idea of our own individual shadows. Have the children ever noticed there shadows ? Why do there shadows continuously follow them around ? I would let the children thoroughly discuss their ideas and swap them back and forth .
Following this and depending on the environment (outdoor or indoor) I would have the children 1. Go outside and pair up, in these pairs the would aid each other in tracing their shadows onto the tarmac using chalks. 2. I would have them divide into groups, within these groups the students would each have a lamp and freedom to place whatever objects they would want in front of it in order to create shadows which they could trace with pencil etc on the paper . With method 1 I would have the children revisit the shadow traces later in the day and observe have the shadows moved if they were to stand in the original position. While with method 2 I would simply have the children alter the lamps angle to recreate the sun changes positions.
Finally I would finish the lesson by discussing all that the children have learnt about shadows today , in order to solidify the knowledge further.
Hi Anne , I love how you’ve first assessed the children’s own knowledge on the topic , it truly allows a wonderful basis to start the lesson.
Hi Stephanie , I really love the idea of the hands on lesson ‘ sink or float’ as the children truly get to engage and learn rather than just observing . I will definitely be keeping this in mind for September.
Hi ,my name is Mary and I’ve been teaching for over 20 years now.
My favourite fact about space would have to be that you wouldn’t be able to walk on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune as they have no solid surface!
The inquiry based activity I would choose to recreate with a younger class would be that of creating our own model solar systems. I would start the lesson by watching a YouTube video explaining in fun and simple terms what a solar is and what it consists of. Following that I would have the children go into groups of 4 and begin discussing why they think the solar system follows the order it does . After the topic has been discussed and questioned I would begin the physical task of creating our solar systems. The equipment the children would have in their groups would be either foam spheres of alternating sizes or even stones, I would supply them paint ,pipe cleaners , glitter, glue and Pom poms and then they would have put the planets in the order they think is right. After each group has completed this task I would have them present their solar systems to the class one by one and explain why they put the planets in this specific order. I believe this would be an educational and fun inquiry based lesson .
For my 21st century skill, I chose communication. As teachers we deal with 21st century children everyday. These children are unlike the children I myself grew up with. They depend on technology and the digital world something amazing yet we see it also has its issues.
Children entering schools today are not as confident communicating and socializing. Having spent their early years with technology they have increased motor skills, improved problem solving and decision making but they can become isolated . failing to develop the basic communication, conversational and listening skills.
As teachers in this day and age we must strive to better our students communication skills. An example of what I do in my class is I get my students on a Monday morning to form a pair and discuss their weekends, I find this helps to further their communication skills. When doing projects students must present their projects to the class but i do understand that some students may be uncomfortable doing so so in certain circumstances they can present to a small group instead. . On occasion we play games such as the staring game (who can hold eye contact for the longest amount of time) to improve eye contact for students who may struggle to.
Communication is a key aspect of life and learning and therefore I do my best to teach it.
My Sway teaches my students how to write a speech and how to present one, speeches are a great way to develop communication skills along with confidence.
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With digital technology we find ourselves staring into an endless horizon of opportunity. Opportunities to improve and to enhance lessons , to engage students and to further our teaching.
Before lockdown I hadn’t any experience with using technology in my teaching yet suddenly with the pandemic we were thrust into a situation were technology was the only option. And I found myself doing something I hadn’t expected, I was enjoying it. Students had easy access to work and notes, I no longer spent time photo copying and printing and I had more time to correct and plan lessons and work. With the use of apps such as powerpoint I created presentations to aid my students in learning and soon I realized that their interest had peaked. Class became not only educational but fun. With every generation education and technology become more and more intertwined and therefore it is of the utmost importance that we as teachers make full use of the technological resources available to us.
With self evaluation I find myself as a teacher improving, no class is identical, no student the same and so the same technics and methods do not work but the trouble is to find the best fitted ones. I can see myself using self evaluation guidelines through the year to improve and enhance my teaching, it is so important for teachers to reflect and improve their own teaching but the learning of their students.
Throughout my career I have encountered many different types of students, ones who learn visually, aurally and ones who learn orally. I know that one teaching method cannot fit every child but we as teachers must learn to overcome that difficulty using tools. Going through this module I sat in awe. When I started teaching we didn’t have these resources available yet through the years everything has changed. With OneNote there are so many options and ways to expand and deepen the learning opportunities of todays students.
With OneNote I think I would find myself more confident in my teaching, I could store notes and lesson records and trust that my students could access them with ease. With options to organize and categorize chapters and pages its nothing but simple to locate these resources.
With the option of an immersive reader students who may not be able to use visual notes would be able to receive the same education as any other student and be able to study and revise with ease.
I also find it brilliant how I could insert links for websites and more which my students could access and use to assist their learning ensuring they understand and know chapters and subjects.
Therefore that is how I consider One Note and One note learning tools and how they can support and expand a student’s learning. In turn I would absolutely consider using One Note upon returning to school in September .
Within teams, there are many options for teacher’s, whether with coworkers or with students. But with it comes not only opportunities but negatives.
I firsthand experienced the negatives during the pandemic, my school began making use of an app called seesaw and the though the students were able to experience a sense of normality through it I found myself struggling with the negatives such as students contacting me late at night such as 10 and 11 o’clock and it not only affected myself but my family. I understand that teams is a different app but I fear as the fundamentals are the same how it would affect teacher’s lives outside of school hours.
But yet we have so many opportunities with an app like teams to share resources through students and staff alike. For example staff meetings. They can be a struggle for teachers like myself with young children so with the choice of online meeting where information could be accessible to teachers at home with just a tap of a button (The files) it would be greatly beneficial.
And most importantly it would benefit students. For children who may struggle to ask for help within traditional class constructs this would be a game changer. Children could message teachers with queries while feeling more comfortable, these children may otherwise keep quiet and choose to suffer in silence rather be embarrassed or uncomfortable while asking for help.
Within exam periods we as teachers may find ourselves doing a lot of reprinting. Coming up to exam periods notes seen to vanish and their for he files option would not only benefit the student and teacher but also the environment. Teachers could easily share resources with their students and I would find myself visiting the photocopy machine far less frequently.
Therefore I find teams a great aid to students, teachers and colleagues when sharing resources and communicating though I recommend some small changes like a time lock so teachers would have office hours such as 9am-4pm while also having peace.
Currently in our school we are using one drive which has proven to be an excellent sharing resource for teachers.Teachers are free to upload their ideas for class lessons in the curricular areas to share with other teachers.It allows teachers to impart knowledge from their own particular area of expertise which other teachers can access.
Sway digital in my opinion appears to be an excellent, fun and creative way for teachers to facilitate learning in their classes for all types of students and moreover for the students themselves to express and to voice their opinions in a more personal way. With the option to insert pictures and videos we as teachers can cater to all pupils including children who may find the traditional ways of learning and teaching more challenging than others.Therefore this tool is more than just beneficial , it is a stepping stone in teaching so that the education system itself can grow with the generations and continue to improve.
The tool Forms in my opinion could be a very helpful tool for the classroom. It helps senior class teachers such as myself (a 6th class teacher) during busy exam periods such as Christmas and Summer exams. Traditionally these involve paper waste, energy waste from photocopying and endless hours of correcting but with Forms we can see positive differences which eliminate the negatives of traditional exams by preprogramming answers and stopping paper and energy waste. I really welcome this invaluable online tool and the pupils I believe feel a greater satisfaction upon clicking for their final results when completing quizzes.
As a teacher in her ‘golden years’ I have to admit I am a little hesitant when it comes to using online tools , in this case Microsoft 365 however with the aid of the Microsoft learn education and the courses they offer to help teachers to understand and to make use of these new online tools I find myself more comfortable and more confident with the thought of using these tools when teaching.I feel it is greatly important for senior class teachers to empower their student’s voices and the content such as reflection and growth when reviewing past work and exams are a major component in a child’s holistic development. We can use these in class such as when doing kahoots as there is an option to reflect which is mentioned in the course. I can see myself making use of this in future classes.
