STUDENT CULTURE
Students come to school from different cultures bring together a new culture. This leads to the evolution of a rich culture in a school i.e. student culture by sharing their individual talent with each other. Each child is unique and each student respects each other for this fact.
I have observed in my class how student learn, how they react in different situations, how freedom help them to express, how sharing and pairing helps them grow, how values if not forced but comes naturally working in a group, how realization of ownership of work helps. To begin with, in expedition class when they were observing tree in the school campus, but to my surprise they learned things in a very different and interesting manner. A crew culture, class culture and a student culture reflects in their work.
Student culture is maintained by students following protocols like showing their individual potential on corridor display boards, maintaining decorum outside the class, cafeteria is a place of sanctity and all these protocols brings them together as a community a student community. They acknowledge the fact that though they belong to different classes they are the part of the whole school, freedom of expression and respect to all is followed by students. They are of view that their individual work is important and they want to perceive excellence in their work. Taking pride in their work “can do attitude” ability to do anything are the intrinsic motivation students possess. This is inculcated in each student of the school by constant practice of teachers on each child, she appreciates them for every small change visible in them. She gives them detailed feedback and emphasizes on the areas they have to work on. Crew sitting, morning meeting, circle time, class sharing reflect their social participation and they come together as community. Constant focus is given by the teachers on issues like Say no to labelling, no to bullying and different opportunities are given to each student to voice out their views.
Each student focus on the task in hand by constant reinforcing of learning targets. Students behave very differently in different situations. I have noticed kids who are generally very quiet become very aggressive all of a sudden in ground and the ones who are so called naughty become very supportive and creating humour to avoid tension. Students are assigned duties of being linein charge and food-in charge in cafeteria to maintain a dignified culture in school. Students culture of maintaining decorum and following protocol is visible in cafeteria as well as in corridors. Kids love their duties and maintain a good student culture everywhere in the school.
CLASSROOM CULTURE
To summarize the classroom culture, I have categorized it in physical climate, inner climate, social climate and intellectual climate.
PHYSICAL CLIMATE:
Furniture of the class is child friendly and it is arranged in form of small circles. Five to six students are sitting in one small circle. This arrangement actually helps children to exchange their ideas and work together in small groups. Small groups are given the name of crews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Selection of crew members is done by the students. With passage of time students in different crews develop comfort zones and in case productivity of crew gets compromised due to unwanted chit chat then the teacher makes changes in the sitting arrangement.
Display of boards- black board and a white board with a projector. Resource cupboard with different resource items has been provided in the classroom. Cubby holes are provided to the students to keep their notebooks.On one side of the wall, there is class timetable, late coming slip folder; dispersal list of students, absentee’s worksheet folder, and absentees slip folder. There is a chart which indicates different levels from 0-3 of voice which can be used by the students at different times while doing different activities in the class. For example the voice level should be zero when teacher is giving instructions in the class and for crew discussions it is permissive up to level one.On the other wall, there is a corner in which all the class student’s photographs are pasted with their birthdates. Strengths are also written next to it. This gives the students feel of shared ownership of the class.On the third wall, student’s drawings of the summer vacation trips are pasted; it gives them the sense of belongingness to their class.Students are advised to keep their physical space neat and clean by throwing the litter in the bin and by not doing doodling on the furniture. They are also encouraged for their organized behavior by keeping their bags and bottles on one side of their chairs, keeping the table tops free and keeping their cubby holes and resource cupboards tidy.Teacher creates a surprise element in the class to make the activity or lesson plan interesting and to build curiosity in the students.
Birthday Corner Summer break snapshots….
I have observed in my class how student learn, how they react in different situations, how freedom help them to express, how sharing and pairing helps them grow, how values if not forced but comes naturally working in a group, how realization of ownership of work helps. To begin with, in expedition class when they were observing tree in the school campus, but to my surprise they learned things in a very different and interesting manner. A crew culture, class culture and a student culture reflects in their work.
Student culture is maintained by students following protocols like showing their individual potential on corridor display boards, maintaining decorum outside the class, cafeteria is a place of sanctity and all these protocols brings them together as a community a student community. They acknowledge the fact that though they belong to different classes they are the part of the whole school, freedom of expression and respect to all is followed by students. They are of view that their individual work is important and they want to perceive excellence in their work. Taking pride in their work “can do attitude” ability to do anything are the intrinsic motivation students possess. This is inculcated in each student of the school by constant practice of teachers on each child, she appreciates them for every small change visible in them. She gives them detailed feedback and emphasizes on the areas they have to work on. Crew sitting, morning meeting, circle time, class sharing reflect their social participation and they come together as community. Constant focus is given by the teachers on issues like Say no to labelling, no to bullying and different opportunities are given to each student to voice out their views.
Each student focus on the task in hand by constant reinforcing of learning targets. Students behave very differently in different situations. I have noticed kids who are generally very quiet become very aggressive all of a sudden in ground and the ones who are so called naughty become very supportive and creating humour to avoid tension. Students are assigned duties of being linein charge and food-in charge in cafeteria to maintain a dignified culture in school. Students culture of maintaining decorum and following protocol is visible in cafeteria as well as in corridors. Kids love their duties and maintain a good student culture everywhere in the school.
CLASSROOM CULTURE
To summarize the classroom culture, I have categorized it in physical climate, inner climate, social climate and intellectual climate.
PHYSICAL CLIMATE:
Furniture of the class is child friendly and it is arranged in form of small circles. Five to six students are sitting in one small circle. This arrangement actually helps children to exchange their ideas and work together in small groups. Small groups are given the name of crews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Selection of crew members is done by the students. With passage of time students in different crews develop comfort zones and in case productivity of crew gets compromised due to unwanted chit chat then the teacher makes changes in the sitting arrangement.
Display of boards- black board and a white board with a projector. Resource cupboard with different resource items has been provided in the classroom. Cubby holes are provided to the students to keep their notebooks.On one side of the wall, there is class timetable, late coming slip folder; dispersal list of students, absentee’s worksheet folder, and absentees slip folder. There is a chart which indicates different levels from 0-3 of voice which can be used by the students at different times while doing different activities in the class. For example the voice level should be zero when teacher is giving instructions in the class and for crew discussions it is permissive up to level one.On the other wall, there is a corner in which all the class student’s photographs are pasted with their birthdates. Strengths are also written next to it. This gives the students feel of shared ownership of the class.On the third wall, student’s drawings of the summer vacation trips are pasted; it gives them the sense of belongingness to their class.Students are advised to keep their physical space neat and clean by throwing the litter in the bin and by not doing doodling on the furniture. They are also encouraged for their organized behavior by keeping their bags and bottles on one side of their chairs, keeping the table tops free and keeping their cubby holes and resource cupboards tidy.Teacher creates a surprise element in the class to make the activity or lesson plan interesting and to build curiosity in the students.
Birthday Corner Summer break snapshots….
INNER CLIMATE
Students have the freedom to express their thoughts and feelings.Teacher is giving students full chance to come up with their ideas. She listens to their ideas without any interruption.Each child is encouraged to follow the norms and protocols from their inner self rather then being imposed on them thus, inculcating the honesty in students.Every child is made to feel important by celebrating their birthday in the class.Students experience a fear free environment in the class.
SOCIAL CLIMATE
Teacher and the students are coexisting as a community in which they are accepting and respecting each other’s values.Teacher is giving equal opportunities to all the students in the class during the lessons and the activities to understand each child’s need and treat them accordingly. For example teacher noticed that few of the students were struggling to understand some concept in the class so she devoted extra time to those students to help them understand the concept and brought them with the pace of the class.Teacher acts as a role model sometimes , she elicits her own examples to the students to start with some topic , as she shared her experience of summer break with the students and then asked the students how was theirs?Teacher is providing an environment in the class where students are sharing their ideas, knowledge, and experiences in solving the problems either on their own or by interacting in their crews.Students are sharing different responsibilities. For example line monitor, resource monitor, food monitor, cleanliness monitor, notebook collection monitor and many more.There are collective dos and don’ts which students are supposed to follow. When they are walking in the corridors they should walk in a line and should not make noise to avoid disturbance to the others. In crew discussions they should participate but should not interrupt when one person is speaking and voice level should not exceed one. In common discussions there should not be any cross talks and one should listen attentively. Teacher needs to reinforce the norms at frequent intervals.Students in the class do shared readings, work together as small groups, and participate in class discussions.I could see a very cordial relationship between students and teacher. Students exhibited lot of trust and faith in teacher and teacher also gave a free yet disciplined environment to the students.
INTELLECTUAL CLIMATE
Teacher is throwing situations, scenarios, examples and questions at the students to kick start their thinking process. She is trying to ignite their thought process to reach to the conclusions rather than spoon feeding them with the right answers. She asks good quality questions to the students in the related context. Appreciate their ideas and then segregate the right points in concluding the answers. She is making them walk through the context rather then straight telling them the concept. She always creates a background to the context so that students can correlate with it and it does not appear alien to them.
SCHOOL CULTURE
Students have the freedom to express their thoughts and feelings.Teacher is giving students full chance to come up with their ideas. She listens to their ideas without any interruption.Each child is encouraged to follow the norms and protocols from their inner self rather then being imposed on them thus, inculcating the honesty in students.Every child is made to feel important by celebrating their birthday in the class.Students experience a fear free environment in the class.
SOCIAL CLIMATE
Teacher and the students are coexisting as a community in which they are accepting and respecting each other’s values.Teacher is giving equal opportunities to all the students in the class during the lessons and the activities to understand each child’s need and treat them accordingly. For example teacher noticed that few of the students were struggling to understand some concept in the class so she devoted extra time to those students to help them understand the concept and brought them with the pace of the class.Teacher acts as a role model sometimes , she elicits her own examples to the students to start with some topic , as she shared her experience of summer break with the students and then asked the students how was theirs?Teacher is providing an environment in the class where students are sharing their ideas, knowledge, and experiences in solving the problems either on their own or by interacting in their crews.Students are sharing different responsibilities. For example line monitor, resource monitor, food monitor, cleanliness monitor, notebook collection monitor and many more.There are collective dos and don’ts which students are supposed to follow. When they are walking in the corridors they should walk in a line and should not make noise to avoid disturbance to the others. In crew discussions they should participate but should not interrupt when one person is speaking and voice level should not exceed one. In common discussions there should not be any cross talks and one should listen attentively. Teacher needs to reinforce the norms at frequent intervals.Students in the class do shared readings, work together as small groups, and participate in class discussions.I could see a very cordial relationship between students and teacher. Students exhibited lot of trust and faith in teacher and teacher also gave a free yet disciplined environment to the students.
INTELLECTUAL CLIMATE
Teacher is throwing situations, scenarios, examples and questions at the students to kick start their thinking process. She is trying to ignite their thought process to reach to the conclusions rather than spoon feeding them with the right answers. She asks good quality questions to the students in the related context. Appreciate their ideas and then segregate the right points in concluding the answers. She is making them walk through the context rather then straight telling them the concept. She always creates a background to the context so that students can correlate with it and it does not appear alien to them.
SCHOOL CULTURE
Positive school cultures are conducive to satisfaction, morale, and effectiveness, as well as to student learning, fulfilment, and well-being. So, as the cuture of Heritage School providing a safe, secure and conducive environment for student,s learning.The heritage school culture is based on experiential learning i.e. learning through experience. The learning community together with the educators and the students participate together, seek knowledge from each other, cultivate and synthesize their understanding.School has its vision of a learning community where each and every individual is free to grow to his highest potential through a harmonious integration of spirit, heart, mind and body.
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School follows its dharma's (value) religiously and each child understand them and wants to work along wishfully- dharma's of school: - freedom to be, learn and grow; attentiveness; respect; excellence; inclusion and authenticity.
The Heritage School believes in integrating progressive learning into mainstream education. To achieve this, many organizational policies and procedures were incorporated, some taken from various national and international school communities and the rest based on experience. The infrastructure of the school is comprehensive keeping in mind all the requirements of a modern-day school combined with the philosophy of providing integral education. The school building is well-laid out with separate but connected sections for Junior, Middle and Senior programs. There is adequate stress on indoor and outdoor provisions, and a balance between catering to body, mind and spirit. The classrooms, computer labs, visual arts area, performing arts section, all are well-designed and well-equipped. There is also a well-stocked Knowledge Centre (library) for the whole school as well as a separate resource room for the Junior Program. There are elaborate provisions for physical education and sports in the forms of multiple fields, courts, and swimming pool and training facilities. Supportive areas like the Canteen, Yoga Room, Crèche and Medical Room are adequately equipped to provide support and care to the students and staff. The Acharya Tulsi Global Meditation Centre provides the space and environment to connect with one’s inner self. |
Based on our interaction with the principal Kaye Jacob and heads of various departments, we found that everyone works on the fundamental philosophy of providing education in its true sense and performing their duties with utmost sincerity. Every day the heads of departments reinforce the fundamental belief across their teams that “children are incarnation of God”, and hence their respect & safety should be ensured. The schools invests heavily in its teachers and staff and provides regular trainings to encourage constant growth, both personal and professional.
The school encourages inclusion at every level, including children with special needs. The Special Education Needs Department (SEND) has facilities for Occupational therapy, Speech Therapy, Computers and Home science to cater to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down’s syndrome, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, etc. Classes are categorized based on age-group of children (from 4-16yrs). Each child is assessed on various parameters like Academic performance, social skills, standardized tests and feedback from counsellors and psychiatrists to determine whether he/she can be integrated into the mainstream classroom or needs separate therapy. The aim of the Special Educators is to make these children as independent as possible. They are given therapy, counselling, vocational trainings and adequate real-life exposure to help them become self-reliant.
Focus of my observation was the Middle Program. The pedagogy involves designing experiential, interactive and innovative curriculum through lead designers for each expedition. The curriculum coordinators and expedition coordinators work in collaboration in order to ensure that subject content is covered in the expedition plan. There are instructional specialists who design the mode of instruction to help teachers and also look after assessment. Teachers can observe other classes and also improvise on the lesson plans. They are assessed through a continuous process of observation, learning walks and constructive feedback. Middle program is planning to introduce differential instruction in the near future through crew based flexibility with resources, in order to bring all the students on the same level. There are ample opportunities provided to the students for excellence in extra-curricular activities too, like visual arts, performing arts and sports . Annual outdoor trips like Khoj and Anveshna provide students the opportunity to not only learn experientially but also connect with their surrounding.
Overall the philosophy of the school is holistic and comprehensive with the student at the centre of its ideology. There is a constant endeavor to take care of each aspect of the growth, development and well-being of the students. Regular assessments, feedbacks at every level, open discussions and an atmosphere which promotes the desire to grow both as an individual and as a community.My journey through the school has made me realize the school does not believe in annual competitions and strive to be better than others but its a competition within yourself to derive excellence.
The school encourages inclusion at every level, including children with special needs. The Special Education Needs Department (SEND) has facilities for Occupational therapy, Speech Therapy, Computers and Home science to cater to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down’s syndrome, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, etc. Classes are categorized based on age-group of children (from 4-16yrs). Each child is assessed on various parameters like Academic performance, social skills, standardized tests and feedback from counsellors and psychiatrists to determine whether he/she can be integrated into the mainstream classroom or needs separate therapy. The aim of the Special Educators is to make these children as independent as possible. They are given therapy, counselling, vocational trainings and adequate real-life exposure to help them become self-reliant.
Focus of my observation was the Middle Program. The pedagogy involves designing experiential, interactive and innovative curriculum through lead designers for each expedition. The curriculum coordinators and expedition coordinators work in collaboration in order to ensure that subject content is covered in the expedition plan. There are instructional specialists who design the mode of instruction to help teachers and also look after assessment. Teachers can observe other classes and also improvise on the lesson plans. They are assessed through a continuous process of observation, learning walks and constructive feedback. Middle program is planning to introduce differential instruction in the near future through crew based flexibility with resources, in order to bring all the students on the same level. There are ample opportunities provided to the students for excellence in extra-curricular activities too, like visual arts, performing arts and sports . Annual outdoor trips like Khoj and Anveshna provide students the opportunity to not only learn experientially but also connect with their surrounding.
Overall the philosophy of the school is holistic and comprehensive with the student at the centre of its ideology. There is a constant endeavor to take care of each aspect of the growth, development and well-being of the students. Regular assessments, feedbacks at every level, open discussions and an atmosphere which promotes the desire to grow both as an individual and as a community.My journey through the school has made me realize the school does not believe in annual competitions and strive to be better than others but its a competition within yourself to derive excellence.
ME AS AN OBSERVER
Observation is an art, and an artist only understands the significance of that art. This art helps the observer to do minute observations without making any judgment. This word seems to be very simple where you have to observe but it’s not that easy to do because with each observation you try to reach at some conclusion. Observation is an important aspect in teacher’s life. A teacher can never truly understand her student’s and meet their individual and group needs if she doesn’t have the art of observing.
I also started my classroom practice in grade 5 with the observation task. In the initial phases my observations were more focused on the classroom culture, school culture, how a day unfolds. Then I moved on with the observation of the students and while doing so I was unknowingly judging them like, this child is distracted, that particular child is always busy in talking. My judgment was on their instant behavior. But with time when I got mixed up with the children my view point about those students changed. My observations over a period of time helped me in understanding the uniqueness of each child like their personality type, mode of expression, mode of learning, strengths and weaknesses. I observed that children behaves differently with different subject teachers, and also exhibit different behavior during their sports time, arts and music time and free time during the lunch hours. I was amazed to see students laughing and gossiping during their free time especially those who are not at all vocal in the class.
Observation of the mentor teacher left me with the insight that a teacher’s role is not only to help student’s in learning a concept but it’s a role filled with responsibility of shaping the children’s minds by providing them the right direction and channellizing their energy in a constructive way. While observing her I learnt how teacher’s energy passes to children while taking the classes, small humors teacher is making during the sessions , pedagogy she is following like voice modulation , the way she creates curiosity in students, handling difficult situations and many more.
When I started co-teaching and subsequently teaching independently, I realized the immense learning that observation had given me. I knew exactly which child to ask what, and what to expect in response, in each subject. I was in a position to predict behaviors, and pre-empt them in certain cases.
Observation is an art, and an artist only understands the significance of that art. This art helps the observer to do minute observations without making any judgment. This word seems to be very simple where you have to observe but it’s not that easy to do because with each observation you try to reach at some conclusion. Observation is an important aspect in teacher’s life. A teacher can never truly understand her student’s and meet their individual and group needs if she doesn’t have the art of observing.
I also started my classroom practice in grade 5 with the observation task. In the initial phases my observations were more focused on the classroom culture, school culture, how a day unfolds. Then I moved on with the observation of the students and while doing so I was unknowingly judging them like, this child is distracted, that particular child is always busy in talking. My judgment was on their instant behavior. But with time when I got mixed up with the children my view point about those students changed. My observations over a period of time helped me in understanding the uniqueness of each child like their personality type, mode of expression, mode of learning, strengths and weaknesses. I observed that children behaves differently with different subject teachers, and also exhibit different behavior during their sports time, arts and music time and free time during the lunch hours. I was amazed to see students laughing and gossiping during their free time especially those who are not at all vocal in the class.
Observation of the mentor teacher left me with the insight that a teacher’s role is not only to help student’s in learning a concept but it’s a role filled with responsibility of shaping the children’s minds by providing them the right direction and channellizing their energy in a constructive way. While observing her I learnt how teacher’s energy passes to children while taking the classes, small humors teacher is making during the sessions , pedagogy she is following like voice modulation , the way she creates curiosity in students, handling difficult situations and many more.
When I started co-teaching and subsequently teaching independently, I realized the immense learning that observation had given me. I knew exactly which child to ask what, and what to expect in response, in each subject. I was in a position to predict behaviors, and pre-empt them in certain cases.
I also observed varied age groups ranging from 3 years to 14 years during one of my child development assignment. By observing different age groups I could analyze the importance of knowledge which teacher should have about the children’s behavior, their learning styles, their thought process, their vocabulary, how they interpret things and concepts at different age groups. |
In the canvas of teaching, observation plays a vital role. To understand my students well I have to keep practicing observation skills and this will surely guide me in my teaching as it’s an essential tool for a teacher.
Observing a child closely and working on his profile opened a new window for me to observe minutely and understand how observation helps in connecting and understanding the students.
STUDENT PROFILE
First Impression
The day I started going to the classroom this child Aahil (name changed) of grade 5 grabbed my attention. As I was new to the classroom and was doing my observations I found him that he never stays quiet and keeps on talking with other students during the sessions and even after teacher’s warnings. I have hardly found him attentive in the class.
Rationale Of The Purpose Of Shadowing
When we were told to shadow a child for student profile, I shadowed the same child Aahil (name changed) for a good span of time during the different classes when he was with teachers and even when he was only with his peers without any adult supervision.
The identified child has above average vocal orientation. His behavior is always inviting to others. He always triggers activities which may not be appropriate for that moment. He always leaves his seat during class transition and even in the middle of sessions.
Physical Presence And Gestures
The child has fair complexion, long facial construction, straight hair, average height of Grade 5, healthy built, neat and clean dressing. Looks are of well groomed child.Gives very strong facial gestures. He is in habit of arcing his eyebrows for silently inviting attention of peers. While talking his hands are always rhythmically moving. He exhibits high energy for the whole day, generally in start of day and after sports class, energy level is average but with passage of time he gets to higher end of energy. He speaks clearly and is easily audible.
Disposition
Maintains even temperament.Expresses himself properly with ease. This is evident from the fact that he would freely come forward to complaint about any improper behavior by his peers.Confident child as he can explain things clearly the way he thought which at times may be different from the normal flow. Remains balanced through out the day.
Relationship With Children And Adults
He is an easy going person and gets comfortable with the set of peers he is with.He has his core group which extends even in the other sections of the grade as those are his friends from earlier years before shuffling. This is evident from the fact that he got lot of appreciation from the other sections during the gratitude week.He is heard in his group and takes lead as well.He confidently converses with teachers and the other adults in the school.
Activities And Interest
Collecting pencil led, playing cricket, playing board games,reading and writing stories are some of his interest areas.He is not much interested in drawing and art work.e.g He has been just aiming to complete class work for drawing and art without showing much interest.He is active participant in Maths class.His preferred activities are sports and he is passionate about reading books and writing stories.
Ways Of Learning And Thinking
He is a visual learner and keenly interested in learning by observing. He is a Kinesthetic learner also.He is a problem solver, as he takes special interest in Maths and a logical thinker too.He has a good writing skill but an average listener.
What Do Artifacts Say About The Child
He doesn’t follow instructions very well to complete assignments etc. He believes he is initiative taker but does not specifically promote team work to let the crew achieve its goals. He is a methodological learner as he can identify mistakes in his homework when discussed in class.He has ability to comprehend the word problems and pictorially solves them as well therefore can be inferred that he has visualization ability of situation. He does a neat, step wise work in a flow.
Teachers View About The Child
According to the teacher he is an intelligent student and has good grasping power. He is not focused, overconfident and does not follow instructions but is a multitasker.
Parents Views About The Child
Much similar to teacher’s views. Mother concurs fully and agreeing to take step and work upon for improvement points.
Way Forward
For Teacher:
This student is intelligent, methodological, socially active and confident but is little unfocussed therefore teacher needs to pay more attention so that he remain engaged in the session, activity etc. The student needs to get a feel that he is not unchecked and that the same can be done by the Teacher by maintaining frequent eye contact with him during the session. In campus visit also to maximize his participation the teacher should probe about his contribution to the crew work. All this will make him feel important and keep him under spotlight therefore reducing distraction and bringing focus in his outlook.
For Parent:
Parent should engage him actively in games and sports which are more on thinking and focus such as chess etc. As the child has healthy interest in Books and for Writing therefore parent should keep his active schedule for reading new and interesting books and should encourage some sort of reflective writing.
Few samples of the child’s work are attached below:
Language Expedition Mathematics Hindi
TEACHING OF LANGUAGE ARTS
Our Education system is changing and I was wondering how Literature is being taught in the classrooms in the present times as language is a fundamental need for constructing knowledge; command over any one language will help in consolidating one’s thought and articulating the same to put across one’s viewpoint effectively..
“The language arts” sessions in the IAAT program were a great learning experience in understanding the ways Literature can be taught in the school. Language teaching is an art and students learn this art to develop analytical skills, critiquing, values, reasoning. Teaching of Language arts is evolving according to the need of changing time. Students learn more effectively in today's time with technology, so being a teacher I should encourage technology for learning but at the same time make students follow the do's and do not's of technology.
In language classes we learnt by doing things like teaching of poetry text and prose text, designing comprehension questions which gave me hand holding of things and feedback clarified the doubts. In Comprehension part, schools usually focus on recall questions but as teachers we should take advantage of this platform and enable our students to broaden their horizons by practicing four types of questions-
- Right there
- Think and search
- Author and you
- On your own.
There are multiple ways of interpreting a text, a teacher should not force one viewpoint but take the responses of children and there is nothing wrong or right at the explicit level of language. With this a child will explore something of his own and draw significance and create meaning. By forcing one opinion we sort of end the spectrum of critical reading and thinking.
Reading is an active process in which the reader constructs meaning from an alphabetical code by interacting with text. Decoding or deciphering a code and fluency are central to reading. The basic idea should be read, re read, think, talk and write. Modeling of reading should focus on reading in chunks, reading slow, underline what I know, circle the unfamiliar words and notes in the margin, students will master the art of annotation with enough exposure. Children should have the freedom of selecting their reading material.
A trait of authentic writing is engagement, where a child must learn to wrestle with his writing and teacher should guide a child how to write for purpose and style. Structure, content, word choice and contextual clues all these important aspects and should find place in the writing piece of a child. Monitoring, modeling and guiding practice from teacher’s end will help a child in achieving writing skills.
During our one of the session’s we created our own piece of writing by going through the same procedure of writing the drafts 1,2 and 3 and getting it checked from the peer and working on the feedback. My creative piece of write up which is displayed in the class is as follows:
Beautiful City of Shikara’s
Unbelievable!!! I had thought of such scene only in my imagination. But I can see it in front of my eye.
Incredibly beautiful Dal Lake in the middle of layers of lush green mountains and gardens. Shikara’s are adding beauty to the lake as if pearls are floating on water. The Sun shine peeping out of the dark clouds is giving a Orange hue to the sky. Chirping birds and swishing leaves are adding natural music to the ears.
The aromatic breeze in the valley leaves you with a fresh feel. The vastness of the lake gives an oceanic view. Floating houseboats in the lake are appearing as if a city has emerged in the water. Aquatic trade is flourishing in the houseboats. A happening market and tourism can be sited in the floating city of Dal Lake.
Army Jawans doing patrol in this lovely city is a frequent site for the safety of people around. Fascinating view of old enormous trees in corner of Dal Lake grabs attention. These are famous by the name of Char Chinar and tourist go in Shikara’s to see the exquisiteness of these historical trees.
The scenic view is so mesmerizing that you will feel completely immersed in it as if you are dreaming of a fantasy world. Its heaven on our earth and a must visit spot.
TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS
Candidly speaking, currently,, what is being taught in most of the schools isn't really mathematics. It’s not more than just a bunch of calculation courses. I think we’ve got a real problem with Mathematics education, particularly in schools. Most of the students who are trying to learn think it’s boring and irrelevant. Mathematics has always been treated in isolation. But today, with the usage of contemporary methodologies, Mathematics education is transforming in a dramatic way. It is not remaining limited to Algorithm or Algebra or Geometry. It is much beyond that. Till I attended the JODO GYAN Mathematics sessions in IAAT I never realized that unknowingly we have always been using Mathematics in our daily life. We do calculations while purchasing ration, vegetables and even while driving a car – Time/speed/distance motion study comes into the picture. But, it has always been treated as a separate subject.
Through Jodo Gyan, I understood and believed in the concept of setting up a context before introducing a concept. The anchoring context could be in a form of a story or a problem or a game, then in depth understanding of the concept by using concrete objects-e.g. fraction kit, rangometry, decimal kit etc.where small part of the anchoring context will always overarch the whole ongoing concept, which leads to the skill building in the children and then its application to solve the different problems. The concepts are nothing but mathematical tools to solve a problem. Therefore, the problem should be such that a student gets motivated to solve it. When a student gets into a mathematical reasoning, he/she acquires the capability of reasoning and becomes a rational person. I have observed students solving word problems and fractions, the way they arrive at a strategy of solving a problem was very different from the way I did in my school days.
Trajectory Manual Of Mathematics In Jodo Gyan
Hands On Experience In Mathematics Workshop
TEACHING OF SCIENCE
Science is an objective subject which has a high degree of certainty (although not absolute truth).Image of science education may be one of simply learning facts by rote, but in recent history science education has been strongly influenced by constructivism. As a science teacher, one should take the responsibility of allowing children to construct concepts and to develop the scientific temper and process skills. It is a subject that if taught loosely will allow misconceptions that learners may hold regarding science concepts or other content. The goal of teaching science is to help learners to understand the abstract concepts of science, to develop skills, attitudes and values in them.To help the learners the science teacher can-
- Creating experiences that allow children to arrive at the concepts. "Children need to be taken through the process of invention or the discoveries." Many iterations of experimentation should be allowed for children, if they are not getting it in the first time. At the same time, if children are unable to arrive at the concept, then helping them by either asking questions that further provoke their thinking or giving them the concept.
- Conducting experiments wherever the concepts allow/ require, for ensuring first hand understanding of concepts. .
- Teachers however need to be patient with children’s pace in acquiring the scientific skills and give enough opportunity to develop the same.
- Including more application questions - where the concepts are put to use to solve a problem - rather than ‘define’ questions, which would only be a restatement of the concept.
This was one of the activity done to understand a system. In this we were given roles to play e.g. bird, water, animal, fruit, tree etc.where we created a web of wool, passing the thread to the person we felt connected in terms of our habitat, food, water or any kind of connection. It was a concrete experience to understand the structure of a system, how change in one part of the system will bring change in the other part, how different parts of the system are interdependent.And the conclusion was that a system is a complicated structure, it takes time to understand its vastness and needs a system thinking as a whole to solve the complex problems.
Great concrete experience for students to understand the ecological system. |
TEACHING OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
Social science is a major category of academic disciplines, concerned with society and the relationships among individuals within a society. It in turn has many branches, each of which is considered a "social science".
History- History is a narrative, based on some evidences which can be questioned and revised. The evidences can change through time, depending on new excavations/discovery. The objective of teaching history should be to develop historical, geographical, observational, and inferential skills in children rather than feeding them facts. Some more steps are detailed below:
- Case studies can be given to children and they can draw their own inferences to reconstruct the past.
- Taking them for field trips to historical sites will also help them draw their own inferences.
- In higher classes, children can be asked to choose topics and conduct case studies on their own and write an opinion piece based on their study.
- Activities encouraging children to see the connect between the past and the present, can help them see the purpose behind studying history.
- History provides scope for bringing in social issues/practices into discussion. This can help children think critically about various societal concerns, and form their own opinion rather than accept existing opinions blindly.
It was during the lead teaching week, I got the 1st opportunity to run the full cycle of a teacher. Litmus test of all that I had learned to become an educator. Being a front runner teacher during this week one needs to utilize his soft skill on one hand and hard skills on the other. Soft skills are directed at student engagement, time management, class room management and facilitating the whole process to achieve the learning objective.
Hard Skills primarily helped in preparing Lesson Plans, creating resources which are to be used during the class etc. I got the opportunity to take classes for two weeks in continuity both for Mathematics and Expedition. This experience enriched me with lots of insights and learnings. One of my key learning in the teaching weeks is that a teacher needs to be methodological yet creative. Being methodological helps in designing the flow, the content, developing the context etc but being creative is equally important as it helps in boosting interest and attention of the students in the class.
As my level of preparedness was thorough, I was confident and eagerly looking forward to enter the class as a teacher. With this continuous exposure I got the clarity of how lesson unfolds, how students understand, what misconceptions they have, what modifications a teacher needs to make according to the understanding of the students. I also got a snap shot of how to create lesson plans according to the age group and requirement of students.
Hard Skills primarily helped in preparing Lesson Plans, creating resources which are to be used during the class etc. I got the opportunity to take classes for two weeks in continuity both for Mathematics and Expedition. This experience enriched me with lots of insights and learnings. One of my key learning in the teaching weeks is that a teacher needs to be methodological yet creative. Being methodological helps in designing the flow, the content, developing the context etc but being creative is equally important as it helps in boosting interest and attention of the students in the class.
As my level of preparedness was thorough, I was confident and eagerly looking forward to enter the class as a teacher. With this continuous exposure I got the clarity of how lesson unfolds, how students understand, what misconceptions they have, what modifications a teacher needs to make according to the understanding of the students. I also got a snap shot of how to create lesson plans according to the age group and requirement of students.
In mathematics, I created my own lesson plans for five days covering the following different topics.
DAY-2
LESSON PLAN ON WORD PROBLEM
Time / Duration-1 hour Grade-5
Resources-Board,Chalk , Date-3.0.16
Fraction kit if required
Learning Targets:
Flow of Lesson
T: Set the context by asking students to recap what they did in the last class in comparison of fractions.
S: Will do the recap.
T: Ok, on Friday you asked me that you want some challenging fractions. Let’s try solving some word problems from our real life situation. Read the first problem.
1. Lucknow Shatabdi is scheduled from Delhi to Lucknow daily. Usually 7/15 passengers get down at Moradabad station and 5/20 passengers get down at Kanpur. On which station more people get down from the train?
T: Ask students to read the problem.
S: Will read and solve it.
T: Give sufficient time to solve it.
T: Discuss the solution given by the students.
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
2. In a club, for the evening health activities 2/8 members preferred swimming, 2/3 members preferred yoga and rest of the members preferred gym. Which health activity was most preferred by the members in this club?
T: Ask students to read the problem.
S: Will read and solve it.
T: Give sufficient time to solve it.
T: Discuss the solution given by the students.
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
T: Let’s take some other real life situations and see whether we can solve them or not. Let’s see how much challenging these are:
3. This Holi, Kavita and her friends decided to play with water and pichkari. They got a pichkari which can contain 750 ml water. Throughout the day they filled a 12 litre bucket 3 times with coloured water and every time used it to fill their pichkari and wet people with the coloured water. How many times did they fill pichkari with the coloured water during the day?
T: Set the context and read the word problem to the students.
S: will read and solve the given word problem.
T: will give time to students to solve the problem and take queries of students if any.
T: Have discussion around strategies of solving the problem.
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
4. A potato farmer, Shambhu has a huge piece of land. He had a good harvest of potatoes this year and was happy that he will be able to earn enough money by selling the potatoes in the sabji Mandi. He sold 150 quintal potatoes in his first round to sabji mandi which is 25 quintal lesser than what he sold in the second round. Also in the first round he sold potatoes at the rate of 12 rupees per kilogram, whereas by the second round the price has increased by 3 rupees. How much money did Shambhu earned from this year’s harvest of potatoes?
T: Ask one of the students to read the problem.
S: Read the problem.
T: Ask the students for any query.
S: Solve the problem.
T: Give sufficient time to students to solve it and ask students about their strategies they used in solving it
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
Differentiated learning
How to apply math’s formula in solving real life situation.
Assessment tasks
Students ability to solve the problem.
Home assignments
Word problem 4 given for home assignment.
DAY-3
LESSON PLAN ON WORD PROBLEM
Time / Duration-1 Hour Grade-5
Resources- Chalk, Board Date-4.10.16
Learning Targets:
Opening:
T: Yesterday we were doing word problems in the class and we left with one and I asked you to do the last word problem at home. Take out your sheets and let’s discuss that word problem.
.
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
Middle:
We did word problems yesterday, so toady also we will try solving more word problems. I am giving you this sheet of word problems; let’s try solving it one by one.
T: Will distribute the sheets and ask students to read the first word problem.
1. A group of 32 people went for a trekking. The driver of the bus was very much concerned about the weights carried by people as he had to drive on the hills. He therefore told the every one that total weight of all the bags should not exceed 250kg. On weighing the bags individually he collected the following data:
People were carrying bags each weighing 6 kg 500 g
People were carrying bags each weighing 7 kg
People were carrying bags each weighing 7kg
Do you think the group was meeting the criteria of weight as told by the driver and how much was the total weight of all the bags?
T: Set the context and read the word problem to the students.
S: will read and solve the given word problem.
T: will give time to students to solve the problem and take queries of students if any.
T: wait for 5- 10 min.
T: Who will come and share their solution?
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
2. A juice vendor sells fresh and healthy juices in Anoushka’ society. Children in society are very fond of his juices. Usually he prepares 19 litres juice every day and sells about 400 ml in each glass. During school holidays he anticipated more people would like to have juice and decided to prepare for 75 glasses. How much more juice (in litres) did he prepare during holidays than usual days?
T: Ask one of the students to read the problem.
S: Read the problem.
T: Ask the students for any query.
S: Solve the problem.
T: Give sufficient time to students to solve it and ask students about their strategies they used in solving it.
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
3. Amit Raj runs a handloom factory that makes bed-sheets. In the process to complete an order they made 1000 bed sheets and started packing them simultaneously in cartons with 24 bed sheets in each. While packing they realised that they are short of 3 cartons to complete the order. How many more bed sheets do they need to complete the order? Also find the number of cartons they had to prepare to complete this order?
T: Read the problem to the students and guide them in queries if any.
S: Will read through the problem and solve it in the given time.
T: Ask students to tell their strategies to solve the problem.
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
Closure:
T: Will ask students to fair their work and do the word problem which has not been covered in the class as homework. We will discuss it in the next class.
Differentiated learning
How to apply math’s formula in solving real life situation.
Assessment tasks
Student’s ability to solve the problem.
Home assignments
Will trying covering all problems in the session. However, any remaining question can be given as a home assignment and will be discussed in the next class.
SAMPLES SHOWING STUDENT'S WORK
LESSON PLAN ON WORD PROBLEM
Time / Duration-1 hour Grade-5
Resources-Board,Chalk , Date-3.0.16
Fraction kit if required
Learning Targets:
- I can understand and comprehend the word problem.
- I can solve the word problem and explain my strategy.
Flow of Lesson
T: Set the context by asking students to recap what they did in the last class in comparison of fractions.
S: Will do the recap.
T: Ok, on Friday you asked me that you want some challenging fractions. Let’s try solving some word problems from our real life situation. Read the first problem.
1. Lucknow Shatabdi is scheduled from Delhi to Lucknow daily. Usually 7/15 passengers get down at Moradabad station and 5/20 passengers get down at Kanpur. On which station more people get down from the train?
T: Ask students to read the problem.
S: Will read and solve it.
T: Give sufficient time to solve it.
T: Discuss the solution given by the students.
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
2. In a club, for the evening health activities 2/8 members preferred swimming, 2/3 members preferred yoga and rest of the members preferred gym. Which health activity was most preferred by the members in this club?
T: Ask students to read the problem.
S: Will read and solve it.
T: Give sufficient time to solve it.
T: Discuss the solution given by the students.
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
T: Let’s take some other real life situations and see whether we can solve them or not. Let’s see how much challenging these are:
3. This Holi, Kavita and her friends decided to play with water and pichkari. They got a pichkari which can contain 750 ml water. Throughout the day they filled a 12 litre bucket 3 times with coloured water and every time used it to fill their pichkari and wet people with the coloured water. How many times did they fill pichkari with the coloured water during the day?
T: Set the context and read the word problem to the students.
S: will read and solve the given word problem.
T: will give time to students to solve the problem and take queries of students if any.
T: Have discussion around strategies of solving the problem.
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
4. A potato farmer, Shambhu has a huge piece of land. He had a good harvest of potatoes this year and was happy that he will be able to earn enough money by selling the potatoes in the sabji Mandi. He sold 150 quintal potatoes in his first round to sabji mandi which is 25 quintal lesser than what he sold in the second round. Also in the first round he sold potatoes at the rate of 12 rupees per kilogram, whereas by the second round the price has increased by 3 rupees. How much money did Shambhu earned from this year’s harvest of potatoes?
T: Ask one of the students to read the problem.
S: Read the problem.
T: Ask the students for any query.
S: Solve the problem.
T: Give sufficient time to students to solve it and ask students about their strategies they used in solving it
S: Will share the solution while explaining their strategy.
T: Will ask students to come and represent their strategies on the board.
S: Represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
T: Will talk about the efficient strategy to solve the problem and represent it on board too.
Differentiated learning
How to apply math’s formula in solving real life situation.
Assessment tasks
Students ability to solve the problem.
Home assignments
Word problem 4 given for home assignment.
DAY-3
LESSON PLAN ON WORD PROBLEM
Time / Duration-1 Hour Grade-5
Resources- Chalk, Board Date-4.10.16
Learning Targets:
- I can understand and comprehend the word problem.
- I can solve the word problem and explain my strategy.
Opening:
T: Yesterday we were doing word problems in the class and we left with one and I asked you to do the last word problem at home. Take out your sheets and let’s discuss that word problem.
- A potato farmer, Shambhu has a huge piece of land. He had a good harvest of potatoes this year and was happy that he will be able to earn enough money by selling the potatoes in the sabji Mandi. He sold 150 quintal potatoes in his first round to sabji mandi which is 25 quintal lesser than what he sold in the second round. Also in the first round he sold potatoes at the rate of 12 rupees per kilogram, whereas by the second round the price has increased by 3 rupees. How much money did Shambhu earned from this year’s harvest of potatoes?
.
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
Middle:
We did word problems yesterday, so toady also we will try solving more word problems. I am giving you this sheet of word problems; let’s try solving it one by one.
T: Will distribute the sheets and ask students to read the first word problem.
1. A group of 32 people went for a trekking. The driver of the bus was very much concerned about the weights carried by people as he had to drive on the hills. He therefore told the every one that total weight of all the bags should not exceed 250kg. On weighing the bags individually he collected the following data:
People were carrying bags each weighing 6 kg 500 g
People were carrying bags each weighing 7 kg
People were carrying bags each weighing 7kg
Do you think the group was meeting the criteria of weight as told by the driver and how much was the total weight of all the bags?
T: Set the context and read the word problem to the students.
S: will read and solve the given word problem.
T: will give time to students to solve the problem and take queries of students if any.
T: wait for 5- 10 min.
T: Who will come and share their solution?
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
2. A juice vendor sells fresh and healthy juices in Anoushka’ society. Children in society are very fond of his juices. Usually he prepares 19 litres juice every day and sells about 400 ml in each glass. During school holidays he anticipated more people would like to have juice and decided to prepare for 75 glasses. How much more juice (in litres) did he prepare during holidays than usual days?
T: Ask one of the students to read the problem.
S: Read the problem.
T: Ask the students for any query.
S: Solve the problem.
T: Give sufficient time to students to solve it and ask students about their strategies they used in solving it.
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
3. Amit Raj runs a handloom factory that makes bed-sheets. In the process to complete an order they made 1000 bed sheets and started packing them simultaneously in cartons with 24 bed sheets in each. While packing they realised that they are short of 3 cartons to complete the order. How many more bed sheets do they need to complete the order? Also find the number of cartons they had to prepare to complete this order?
T: Read the problem to the students and guide them in queries if any.
S: Will read through the problem and solve it in the given time.
T: Ask students to tell their strategies to solve the problem.
S: Will come and represent it on the board.
T: Ask students if any one has used any other strategy to solve the problem.
S: Will share and represent it on the board.
Closure:
T: Will ask students to fair their work and do the word problem which has not been covered in the class as homework. We will discuss it in the next class.
Differentiated learning
How to apply math’s formula in solving real life situation.
Assessment tasks
Student’s ability to solve the problem.
Home assignments
Will trying covering all problems in the session. However, any remaining question can be given as a home assignment and will be discussed in the next class.
SAMPLES SHOWING STUDENT'S WORK
DAY 4
LESSON PLAN ON MAKING OF ¾ CAKE
Date- 5.10.16
Time / Duration-1 Hour Grade-5
Resources-
- Fraction kit
- Board
- Notebook work
Students work in groups
Learning Targets:
I can make ¾ cake using different combinations of different types of fractions.
Culture Targets:
1. I can stay focused to the task at hand.
2. I can patiently wait for my turn and raise my hand to answer.
Flow of Lesson
Setting the context: You all know how to make a full cake and a half cake as you have done it earlier in math’s class. Do you remember how to use different combinations of different types of fractions to make a full and a half cake.
S: Yes we remember.
T: Ok
T: So, today we will be making 3/4 cake by using different combinations of different types of fractions.
Main Idea:
T: Teacher can make groups of two to three children and ask them to make ¾ cake by using different combinations of the following fractions.
½,1/3, ¼, 1/6, 1/8, 1/12, 1/16
T: Will provide the groups with fraction kits.
S: Will make the given cake by using different combinations of the different fractions.
T: will draw the below format on the board and ask one group at a time to come and show their cake on the board and fill in the format below.
T: will ask the reasons for every combination.
For example: If pieces of ¼ + 1/6 will make ¾.
S: 3 times 1/6 will make ½ + 1/4 = 3/4
T: will have discussion around how many pieces of different fractions are used to make the ¾ cake. Which fraction is used more times and which is used fewer times and why?
Making ¾ cake by using pieces of any two fractions only.
Closure: What is the easiest landmark to reach in order to make ¾ cake? Differentiated learning- How different combinations can be used to make the given fraction of ¾.
Assessment tasks- Asking reasons for every combination which students are using in making the given fraction of ¾.
My Learnings
It was a great learning experience for me to create lesson plans and implement as a lead teacher. When I was taking lesson plan on word problems , I experienced that students were facing difficulties at different levels, there was a multi step problem where few students could not understand the word problem and were unable to make linkages between different steps, few also did mistakes during the calculations. In another problem, few children were able to visualize it, think about it and solved it but again another set of students were facing difficulty. Few students were facing diffiulties in representing their answers. As a teacher I should look for strategies that could really help children to overcome these difficulties with mathematical word-problems. Word problems in mathematics pose a challenge to the students and help in developing logical and abstract thinking in the children.They also motivate children in understanding the concepts of mathematics deeply and its application. When children are given real life context in the word problems it makes sense to them and they find it interesting rather than teaching them without any context.And when I took the lesson plans on making of 3/4 and 5/6 cake( fraction) I realised that few students were facing difficulties in explaining their strategies though they could make the given fractions. I had to work seperately with those students as they were needing more time with the concrete material (fraction kit) to gain the concept clarity. Mathematics is an activity oriented subject, so as a teacher I had to make it sure that each and every child was engaged during the class and I tried to arouse the curiosity in the students for this subject.
In expedition, during the lead teaching week I took lesson plans on leaf study module and observation of campus trees which gave me exposure to both indoor as well as outdoor learning experience.
EXPEDITION LESSON PLANS
EXPEDITION LESSON PLANS
Date- 21.09.16
Grade- 5
DAY- 1
LEAF STUDY MODULE
Standard
Long Term Learning Targets
Supporting Targets
Connect & Set Purpose- 10 minutes
T: We see greenery all around us. What gives us this greenery?
EA: It is the trees and plants which make the world so green. The greenery comes from their leaves.
Teacher reads out a story Journey of a Leaf and shows a picture book to generate curiosity and interest to learn about leaves. After the story teacher asks the following questions on leaves to generate curiosity about leaves.
So it is very important for us to examine leaves closely and learn how to identify it.
Connect leaf study to the product and the purpose of the product.
We would like all members of the Heritage School Community to know and recognize the trees that grow in our school campus. For this we will redesign the school almanac and create a campus tree guide in it.
(Create some excitement-showing the almanac-the pages of the almanac will carry a description and a sketch, that will help students to identify the trees of our campus….)
To be able to do this we must learn about these trees ourselves. Very soon, we will begin a detailed study of the trees of our school campus, but before that, in the next few classes we will learn about the leaves.
Date- 22.09.16
Grade- 5
DAY- 2
LEAF MODULE STUDY
Culture Targets:
I will be attentive while doing observation.
I will actively participate in crew work.
(15- 20 minutes)
Hook: Today we will work as a NATURALIST and observe the plants and leaves closely and for that we will go the field. But before that let’s recap what we discussed yesterday about the leaves.
Recap: Recap of what has been discussed about the leaves in the last session.
Setting the Protocols: for the field visit.
Part 1: Field Trip (40 minutes)
A. Challenge- Observe plants and leaves and find at least one (don’t pluck and bring):
T: Leaves can be found arranged on stems or branches in 3 ways (single, in pairs or in clusters). The arrangements are shown in the pictures. Look for at least 3 plants with each of these arrangements
C. Plucking leaves for study, identifying complete leaves
Grade- 5
DAY- 1
LEAF STUDY MODULE
Standard
- Works like a naturalist to conduct a detailed study of trees and their parts
- Makes detailed qualitative and quantitative observations
Long Term Learning Targets
- I can identify the trees in my school campus by observing their leaves.
Supporting Targets
- I can sort a variety of leaves into two groups, simple and compound.
- I can identify the kind of venation present in a leaf.
- I can draw a well labeled diagram of a leaf.
Connect & Set Purpose- 10 minutes
T: We see greenery all around us. What gives us this greenery?
EA: It is the trees and plants which make the world so green. The greenery comes from their leaves.
Teacher reads out a story Journey of a Leaf and shows a picture book to generate curiosity and interest to learn about leaves. After the story teacher asks the following questions on leaves to generate curiosity about leaves.
- How do we recognize a tree?
- What is the most important part of the tree that can help us identify it?
So it is very important for us to examine leaves closely and learn how to identify it.
Connect leaf study to the product and the purpose of the product.
We would like all members of the Heritage School Community to know and recognize the trees that grow in our school campus. For this we will redesign the school almanac and create a campus tree guide in it.
(Create some excitement-showing the almanac-the pages of the almanac will carry a description and a sketch, that will help students to identify the trees of our campus….)
To be able to do this we must learn about these trees ourselves. Very soon, we will begin a detailed study of the trees of our school campus, but before that, in the next few classes we will learn about the leaves.
Date- 22.09.16
Grade- 5
DAY- 2
LEAF MODULE STUDY
Culture Targets:
I will be attentive while doing observation.
I will actively participate in crew work.
(15- 20 minutes)
Hook: Today we will work as a NATURALIST and observe the plants and leaves closely and for that we will go the field. But before that let’s recap what we discussed yesterday about the leaves.
Recap: Recap of what has been discussed about the leaves in the last session.
Setting the Protocols: for the field visit.
Part 1: Field Trip (40 minutes)
A. Challenge- Observe plants and leaves and find at least one (don’t pluck and bring):
- Leaves that are smooth to touch
- Spotted leaves
- Leaves with waxy coating
- Thick fleshy leaves
- Leaves with special smell
- Hairy leaves
T: Leaves can be found arranged on stems or branches in 3 ways (single, in pairs or in clusters). The arrangements are shown in the pictures. Look for at least 3 plants with each of these arrangements
C. Plucking leaves for study, identifying complete leaves
T: Pluck one leaf for your crew, to take it to the class to study. For plucking a whole leaf, observe a small bud that grows between the leaf and the stem. If you pluck a leaf from this point, it will be a whole leaf.
Date- 23.09.16
Grade- 5
DAY- 3
LEAF MODULE STUDY
Supporting Targets
T: will discuss about their experience of the field trip. Teacher will further create interest of the students for studying different patterns of a leaf.
PART-1: Sorting leaves and Simple/Compound Leaves (1 hour)
The teacher distributes a pack containing leaves of different types into which the leaves collected during the field trip have been added.
T: As a crew, observe these leaves and make 3 groups based on your observations. For example, if there are3 leaves in your packet that have wavy margin, you can put them together in one group. You can observe the shape, surface, colour, tip of the leaves and make your own groups. You have 5 minutes for this. Pl handle the leaves gently.
As students make these groups, T goes around asking students, “So why did you put these leaves together in one group?”
If students make groups of simple and compound, you can pick up the groups from there or make your own group of simple and compound leaves collecting one leaf from each crew.
T: Here are 2 groups I have made. Group one has these leaves and group 2 has these. Who can tell me on what basis I have made these groups?
EA: One entire leaf: Group 1, leaf cut into smaller pieces: Group 2
T: These leaves that are whole or entire and not cut into pieces are called SIMPLE LEAVES, and these that are cut into smaller pieces are called COMPOUND LEAVES.
Date- 23.09.16
Grade- 5
DAY- 3
LEAF MODULE STUDY
Supporting Targets
- I can sort a variety of leaves into two groups, simple and compound.
- I can identify the kind of venation present in a leaf.
T: will discuss about their experience of the field trip. Teacher will further create interest of the students for studying different patterns of a leaf.
PART-1: Sorting leaves and Simple/Compound Leaves (1 hour)
The teacher distributes a pack containing leaves of different types into which the leaves collected during the field trip have been added.
T: As a crew, observe these leaves and make 3 groups based on your observations. For example, if there are3 leaves in your packet that have wavy margin, you can put them together in one group. You can observe the shape, surface, colour, tip of the leaves and make your own groups. You have 5 minutes for this. Pl handle the leaves gently.
As students make these groups, T goes around asking students, “So why did you put these leaves together in one group?”
If students make groups of simple and compound, you can pick up the groups from there or make your own group of simple and compound leaves collecting one leaf from each crew.
T: Here are 2 groups I have made. Group one has these leaves and group 2 has these. Who can tell me on what basis I have made these groups?
EA: One entire leaf: Group 1, leaf cut into smaller pieces: Group 2
T: These leaves that are whole or entire and not cut into pieces are called SIMPLE LEAVES, and these that are cut into smaller pieces are called COMPOUND LEAVES.
PART-2: Venation (1/2 Hour)
T: Let us study one more property of leaves. All leaves have lines that run through their surfaces. If you have with you a leaf that does not have any line, pl show it to the whole class.
To study the pattern of these leaves, we will make a leaf rubbing.
Place the leaf lower surface up and put a paper on it. Take a piece of crayon, and rub it one the paper so that the impression of the leaf appears on the page.
Demonstrate this. Let students make at least 2 leaf rubbings on their notebook.
In your leaf rubbings, you can clearly see one thick line running through the middle of the leaf. This vein is called the Mid-rib. All other veins form a net like structure. This pattern of veins is called Reticulate Venation.
The other kind of venation has lines or veins running parallel to one another. This kind of venation is called Parallel Venation.
Homework: Today after going back home you try observing different plants and their leaves and try differentiating them on the basis of categories which we have discussed today. Draw diagram of reticulate and parallel venation of leaf and write about them in your own words.
STUDENT'S SAMPLE WORK
STUDENT'S SAMPLE WORK
Date- 27.09.16 to 29.09.16
Grade- 5
OBSERVATION OF CAMPUS TREES
Grade- 5
OBSERVATION OF CAMPUS TREES
Students Excitedly Making Observations of Campus Trees
My Learnings
The whole plan of leaf module study and observation of campus trees was a fun filled activity where children were really excited and focused too and were learning about the leaves and plants while observing and experiencing them. Example based learning creates interest and excitement in the students. When students were given leaves for sorting and were asked to do the leaf rubbings, they were really hooked to the task. So, we should try creating activities in the class that will hook the students.Students like surprises and exploring things on their own so providing them with such opportunities is key to their engagement. One thing I found challenging in the outdoor activity was to bring the distracted children back on the task so that minimal distraction should be there and other students of the crew should stay hooked to the task.
The whole plan of leaf module study and observation of campus trees was a fun filled activity where children were really excited and focused too and were learning about the leaves and plants while observing and experiencing them. Example based learning creates interest and excitement in the students. When students were given leaves for sorting and were asked to do the leaf rubbings, they were really hooked to the task. So, we should try creating activities in the class that will hook the students.Students like surprises and exploring things on their own so providing them with such opportunities is key to their engagement. One thing I found challenging in the outdoor activity was to bring the distracted children back on the task so that minimal distraction should be there and other students of the crew should stay hooked to the task.