I LOVE to Read and Write… and Teach

Today was a BIG and BUSY day. Today, our teaching teams were put to the test. Today, after weeks of research, planning, preparation, and practice, students stepped to the front of the classroom to teach other students about poetry.

Due to some sickness last week, we had to do a bit of last-minute shuffling this morning. Some scheduled to be supporting teams got shifted into the teaching team roles and did so without missing a beat. Teaching teams flexibly moved into support roles and gladly guided small groups. Students confidently and capably stepped into needed roles and took responsibility for facilitating the lessons together.

Each day this week, the scholars of fourth grade will guide lessons by presenting students with a stanza of a poem. Each stanza highlights the main teaching point of the day and serves as a lyrical lesson plan.

Today’s lesson began with this:

Day 1 – Illustration and Imagery Inspiration

A poem’s like a puzzle

Made up of many parts

With words and lines and stanzas

Its assembled from the heart.

K1, Grade 1, and Grade 2 students were our first learners. Each set of students was presented with giant posters and paper pieces with which to make a puzzle. Working in teams, with the help of members of scholarly support and teaching teams, all were successful in assembling the images, which were purposefully selected to connect with their lines of inquiry. Students then were guided in a brainstorming activity in order to create a collection of words that described the image. These words are important, as they will be used in subsequent lessons.

As students worked, members of the teaching team listened in to conversations and recorded the sounds of puzzle making. These will be compared and connected to the sounds of poetry writing.

Grade 2

K1

Grade 1

 

Teaching was not our only responsibility today… we were also scheduled to buddy read with K1 and Grade 1 students this afternoon. Students were able to share the books they had selected and practiced reading during library the last two weeks. Holding the book, reading fluently with expression, and engaging in thoughtful reading conversations were all key features of this time together. Buddy reading is always a special time that makes us all LOVE reading!

At the end of the day, we had our first experience on stage in the CAC. We worked on staging, volume / projection, and sequencing. Since some of our script is dependent on other activities we have planned this week, we were only able to practice the first portion, which is a summary of our unit in poetic form.

Phew… day one was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Can’t wait for day 2!

Home Learning for February 17-21 (Week 23)

  1. Read for at least 30 minutes each night.
    • Check out the new reading choice board for scholarly, agentic readers.
    • Reflect on your reading:
      • on Seesaw.
      • by completing the online reading log OR one on paper (Copies are available in class).
      • by having a thoughtful conversation with another reader.
  2. Option: Use the Pobble 365 prompt to inspire your writing.
        • Use lined paper from your binder OR the Google Doc in your Google Classroom.
  3. Reflect back on your Week 22, and complete the “Reflection: Learner Profile & Approaches to Learning” form.
  4. Explore the recommendations on IXL.com. These connect directly to what we have been learning in class.

**A Scholar has a goal: We got off to a great start this week. This week we:

    • answered 1238 IXL questions.
    • spent 7 hours 46 minutes on IXL.
    • made progress in 52 IXL skills.

Announcements

  1. Library is scheduled weekly on Thursdays.
  2. P.E. is scheduled weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays.
    1. Come dressed to SWIM – swimsuit, towel, dry clothes
    2. Bring a water bottle
  3. Check your lunch card balance weekly.

Coming Soon

Below is a list of upcoming events of which to be aware.

  • February 17-21 – I Love to Read and Write Week
  • February 21 – Swim Meet
  • February 21 – Assembly at 2:30 p.m. (We’re presenting! Invite your parents!!)
  • February 28 – Trimester 2 ASAs End

Condor Sports

  • February 21 – Swim Meet

We’re on Twitter!

Follow TASOK @TASOKinshasa

Follow TASOK PYP @TASOKPYP

Follow Fourth Grade @Scholarsare

Hashtag #TASOK

 

Learner Profile Trait of the Month – CARING

**Check back later in the week for additional homework related to in-class discussions and activities.

 

Home Learning for February 10-14 (Week 22)

  1. Read for at least 30 minutes each night.
    • Check out the new reading choice board for scholarly, agentic readers.
    • Reflect on your reading:
      • on Seesaw.
      • by completing the online reading log OR one on paper (Copies are available in class).
      • by having a thoughtful conversation with another reader.
  2. Option: Use the Pobble 365 prompt to inspire your writing.
        • Use lined paper from your binder OR the Google Doc in your Google Classroom.
  3. Reflect back on your Week 20, and complete the “Reflection: Learner Profile & Approaches to Learning” form.
  4. Explore the recommendations on IXL.com. These connect directly to what we have been learning in class.

**A Scholar has a goal: We got off to a great start this week. This week we:

    • answered 755 IXL questions.
    • spent 5 hours 6 minutes on IXL.
    • made progress in 23 IXL skills.

Announcements

  1. Library is scheduled weekly on Thursdays.
  2. P.E. is scheduled weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays.
    1. Come dressed to SWIM – swimsuit, towel, dry clothes
    2. Bring a water bottle
  3. Check your lunch card balance weekly.

Coming Soon

Below is a list of upcoming events of which to be aware.

  • February 12 – Ozobots with Grade 5
  • February 17-21 – I Love to Read and Write Week
  • February 21 – Assembly at 2:30 p.m. (We’re presenting! Invite your parents!!)
  • February 28 – Trimester 2 ASAs End

Condor Sports

  • February 21 – Swim Meet

We’re on Twitter!

Follow TASOK @TASOKinshasa

Follow TASOK PYP @TASOKPYP

Follow Fourth Grade @Scholarsare

Hashtag #TASOK

 

Learner Profile Trait of the Month – CARING

**Check back later in the week for additional homework related to in-class discussions and activities.

 

SAISA Spirit and Scholarly Seesaws on the 100th Day of School

Our week ended on the 100th day of school, a major milestone in every school year. Not only was it the 100th day, though, it was the beginning of the SAISA Basketball Tournament. We had the opportunity to witness the Parade of Athletes, including two teams from other countries – The Republic of Congo and Zambia. We also tuned into the welcome address by Mr. Bergh and Ms. Peacock, which included a moment of silence in honor of Kobe Bryant.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without watching a game – TASOK vs. the International School of Lusaka. In true Condor style, we were supportive fans and scholars… often asking thoughtful questions about structure – warm up structures, shooting structures, passing structures, strategy structures… Also, as bucket fillers, we provided support for both the TASOK AND the Zambian team. Chants of Zam-bi-a! Zam-bi-a! confused the TASOK bench, but completely warmed my heart and those of our guests. While the Zambian team of 6 was incredibly skilled, I would like to think our bucket-filling gave them the extra boost they needed to pull off a win.


By the end of the game, ISL had developed quite the fan club and was swarmed by fans during recess who wanted their autographs!

In honor of the 100th day, we inquired into… hundredths. Using base ten blocks, we represented a variety of decimals and fractions and then created our own addition equations written in both fraction and decimal form. The twist today was… we got to use dry erase markers to write on the desks. Fun!

Each equation was then captured on Seesaw. Stay tuned for approved posts.

Comparing, Contrasting and… Collecting.

This week, we have had the opportunity to get into others students’ classroom to observe, using a See. Think. Wonder. visible thinking routine. As part of our research in preparation for I Love to Read and Write Week, we want to see what kinds of structures other classrooms have in place. Since teachers have allowed us into their learning spaces, we thought it might be a good idea to express our gratitude through the writing of a letter. Before doing that, though, we needed to know how letters are structured and how they compare to other forms of writing like essays and poems. As part of our inquiry into letter writing, teaching teams used used multiple sources and a triple Venn diagram structure to identify similarities and differences between the three genres of writing.

Some teaching teams expanded their inquiry to include other genres of writing like emails and stories, which required them to alter their Venn structure.

After a wonderful session during which thinking and research skills were stretched, it was icing on the cake to see self and social management skills applied during clean up! Thank you, gentlemen, for taking action and working together.

In library this afternoon, Ms. Kraft helped us think about read aloud book selection for the upcoming I Love to Read and Write Week. She shared with us a variety of books and highlighted some of the features that made them engaging and appropriate for various levels of readers.

We then had time to select some books and practice reading them outloud in our teaching teams. Holding and reading books aloud is easier said than done.

Finally, to end our day, we revisited our simile of how a poem is like a puzzle and explored the second stanza.

This puzzle’s pieced together

With meaning, shape, and sound in mind.

Each word is chosen carefully,

Search. The perfect one you’ll find.

With a focus on word choice, we examined the words brainstormed yesterday and narrowed our list down to one word we wanted to explore more deeply. Using a Frayer model structure, we considered and collected:

    1. related words (affixes).
    2. synonyms (and antonyms).
    3. adjectives.
    4. rhyming (or similar sounds)

This resource will be valuable as we set out to compose our poem in the days ahead. Again, this will be a lesson that we share to other readers and writers during I Love to Read and Write Week.

Global School Play Day

Global School Play Day was a HUGE hit. Students arrived full of enthusiasm and prepared with a whole assortment of things with which to engage in play.

Before heading to French, we briefly reviewing the Global School Play Day guidelines and addressed any questions. Immediately after French, students began to play! Fabric forts were constructed, trading cards were being exchanged, a duo of UNO games were being played, and paper was being folded into ornate origami wreaths. This was only the beginning.

We had predicted yesterday that the benefit of Global School Play Day would include:

  • fun
  • learning new things
    • strategy
    • different ways
    • involvement
  • motivation
  • social skills
  • communication skills
  • responsibility
  • strategy
  • thinking skills

When we debriefed at the end of today, we realized:

  • Ben noticed we learned about trade vs. buying, and Zinnah wondered how they were similar.
  • Chelsea wondered if buying was a form of trading (money for product).
  •  Karma discovered new games he had never heard of before and realized there are more games to discover.
  • Karma also used to think there were only a couple versions of UNO, but today realized there were many more versions than he was aware of.
  • Collaboration was added to our list of benefits
  • And, patience, sharing, and cooperation were specific social skills itemized today.

On top of all that, we realized that there was a LOT of structured need and found in unstructued play. This was a great day of discovery for everyone… including Mrs. Rupp!

Fifth Grade engaged in a sustained game of strategy in the pod.

When a game of tag broke out in the classroom around 10:00 a.m., we knew it was time for and early recess and extended outdoor play.

 


When our day of play in the classroom was over, we headed over to Mr. Wilson who joined in on the fun and provided us with an opportunity to engaged in unstructured play in the pool. What a great way to end our day!

 

Announcement: Global School Play Day

Global School Play Day

Fourth Grade scholars have been inquiring into the impact of structure on individuals, communities, and societies. As part of our inquiry, we have decided to participate in Global School Play Day, which is described as “The grassroots effort created by educators in support of unSTRUCTured playtime for students around the world.”

One of the questions someone asked today when this day was announced was, “UNstructured? How can it be UNstructured?”

I guess we will find out tomorrow.

We hope to be able to reflect on our experience and explain how unSTRUCTured play helped us inquire further into STRUCTURE.

Alert: Mr. Wilson will also be participating, so be sure to remember your swimsuit for P.E.

#GSPD2020

Home Learning for February 3-7 (Week 21)

  1. Read for at least 30 minutes each night.
    • Check out the new reading choice board for scholarly, agentic readers.
    • Reflect on your reading:
      • on Seesaw.
      • by completing the online reading log OR one on paper (Copies are available in class).
      • by having a thoughtful conversation with another reader.
  2. Option: Use the Pobble 365 prompt to inspire your writing.
        • Use lined paper from your binder OR the Google Doc in your Google Classroom.
  3. Reflect back on your Week 20, and complete the “Reflection: Learner Profile & Approaches to Learning” form.
  4. Explore the recommendations on IXL.com. These connect directly to what we have been learning in class.

**A Scholar has a goal: We got off to a great start this week. This week we:

    • answered 791 IXL questions.
    • spent 6 hours 17 minutes on IXL.
    • made progress in 28 IXL skills.

Announcements

  1. Library is scheduled weekly on Thursdays.
  2. P.E. is scheduled weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays.
    1. Come dressed to SWIM – swimsuit, towel, dry clothes
    2. Bring a water bottle
  3. Check your lunch card balance weekly.

Coming Soon

Below is a list of upcoming events of which to be aware.

  • February 5 – Global School Play Day
  • February 7 – 100th Day of School
  • February 7 – Parade of Athletes (9:00 a.m.)
  • February 17-21 – I Love to Read and Write Week
  • February 28 – Trimester 2 ASAs End

Condor Sports

  • February 6-8 – SAISA Basketball Tournament
  • February 21 – Swim Meet

We’re on Twitter!

Follow TASOK @TASOKinshasa

Follow TASOK PYP @TASOKPYP

Follow Fourth Grade @Scholarsare

Hashtag #TASOK

 

Learner Profile Trait of the Month – CARING

**Check back later in the week for additional homework related to in-class discussions and activities.

 

Pressing on in Pajamas

On this, the last day of January, we were able to finish off the month with some fun. Thanks to STUCO for planning this special spirit day!


Despite being in our pajamas, our day was anything but sleepy. Drawing on our own poetry-writing experience, we used our Writer’s Express book as a resource for researching special aspect of poetry and considering a plan for presentation. We worked together to plug in the pieces to our schedule. Sequencing of the lessons was a critical component of the structure that needed careful consideration.

As we continued our pursuit of parts, we were presented with a set of perplexing problems… how to find the whole when given a part as a fraction.

How would you solve the question: If 2 fifths pieces are 1/3 of the whole, then what is the whole?   Tricky!


To end our day, we were treated to an assembly hosted by Grade 2. They shared with us their learning about endangered animals and invited the audience to get involved. They were very knowledgeable.

Problem Solvers in Action

Since our Who We Are: Problem Solvers unit is yearlong, we are always on the lookout for real life problem solvers. Today, they were out in full force, trying to find and diagnose a problem with… the power. Early this morning, long before students arrived, Papas Louis, Dennis, Medard, Axel, and Ricky were hard at work tracking down the trouble. With extreme efficiency, they tested the lines, turning lights on and off to isolate the missing link in the line. Before the bell rang, they found the fault in the server room and were able to find a temporary fix to ensure learning continued throughout the day.

   

Grateful the lights were on, we got into some serious problem solving of our own. With self-selected thinking buddies and an opinion writing checklist in hand, we sat down and shared our essays and evaluated ourselves in the areas of structure, development, and conventions. Using teacher, peer, and personal feedback, we proceeded to make adjustments to our writing. Development or elaboration seemed to be the most common area in need to revision.





We also continued our work with fraction decomposition, looking at home to represent fractions as sums of unit fractions and sums of fractions.

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