Today, our learning community came together to find commonality. This quest for connection actually began yesterday as we worked to create a set of question cards to help spark conversation during lunch. The list included:
- “What is your favorite animal?”
- “What kind of books do you like to read?”
- “How do you spend your breaks?”
Our work was tested during lunch today as groups of third, fourth, and fifth graders joined together over a midday meal to make unfamiliar faces familiar. After lunch, one of our scholars reported back with excitement that she had made a new friend in fifth grade, and it all started with ONE question. From there, the conversation flowed freely. Fabulous!
This afternoon, groups of scholars continued to engage in conversation in an effort to find things they had in common. Foods, family, feet, furry things, favorites, and foreign lands were discussed. Sometimes, rather creative connections were explored, as well. Each commonality was then captured on a card. Once enough cards were collected, groups were able to construct. The challenge was to create a 10 inch tower of cards that could stand for at least 5 seconds. Tough!
While I don’t think these qualities were captured on cards today, it was clear that patience, perseverance, and problem solving are common characteristics of our learning community.
As is true of the building of any construction, card or otherwise, it is important to establish a firm foundation. Likewise, as we embark on our fourth grade journey together and seek to build real and refining relationships with one another, a firm foundation key.
Consider… how is finding commonalities helpful to our classroom learning community?
