1. June 2015 Teacher: Jodie Howcroft School: Millgrove
Elementary School Grade: 2/3 Social Studies Artifact Description:
In this follow-up inquiry (to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch),
students explore the rights of children in various countries. They
also create their own actions to improve the lives of children in
other countries.
2. CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD A N I N Q U I RY U N I T B Y G R A
D E 2 / 3 S T U D E N T S AT M I L L G R O V E S C H O O L
3. A CONTINUATION INTO INQUIRY AND THE 6CS I decided to focus
on citizenship. We had just finished a unit on the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch and I noticed the class was very engaged by world
issues. They have many wants in their lives and I thought it would
build on their capacity as global citizens to learn about how other
children live in the world, especially those that are less
fortunate. From the beginning, I made it clear this was an area of
focus. Students talked about what citizenship means and they came
up with a list of goals for themselves (e.g., I know I can make a
difference in the world. I care about all world citizens. I will
work toward making the world a better place.) I focused on the
Social Studies units Living and
4. DRIVING QUESTION What are the rights of a child? LEARNING
GOAL We are learning how children live in different parts of the
world.
5. HOME CONNECTION These were our initial thoughts about
communities. We planned the parent interview together. Later in the
unit, we let parents know (using REMIND, newsletter) that we were
learning about Nepal and Attiwapiskat. We invited them to spend
some time at home learning with their children. Parents were
invited in to see our schema boxes and to help with the Bake
Sale.
6. PROVOCATION The Kids Should See This Nepal Globe and Mail In
pictures, Life in Attiwapiskat
7. I SEE I THINK I WONDER See the next slide for examples of
their thoughts.
8. RICH DISCUSSION IN THEIR OWN WORDS I see poor people How do
you know they are poor? It looks like their houses are poor and
their clothes arent nice. I see people with dark skin. You should
never mention skin colour because a long time ago people were mean
to people with black skin. The people look happy. Why do you think
that? They are all smiling. How can they be happy when they are so
poor? You dont need all the wants to be happy.
9. COMMUNITY CONNECTION MR. PARKER
10. EXPLORING OUR WONDERS
11. EXPLORING OUR WONDERS Grade 3 students were paired up with
grade 2s. Learning was recorded on post-its and shared in Knowledge
Building Circle. I conferenced with each group to give feedback and
assess their learning so far. Families were encouraged to do some
research together at home as well.
12. SCHEMA BOXES
13. A BIT MORE ABOUT SCHEMA BOXES Students decided to share
their learning about Attiwapiskat or Nepal using boxes. I asked
them to include a paragraph about their learning. We brainstormed a
list of other items they could include with the boxes. We came up
with success criteria together. The term schema boxes came from a
student. A student put up her hand and said, So, basically you want
us to put all of our schema in the boxes. We should call them
schema boxes. The class agreed.
14. MILLGROVE PUBLIC SCHOOL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF A
CHILD
15. OUR OWN UN CONVENTION After this, students became more
aware of inequalities. They were concerned about the children in
other countries that dont have access to healthy food, safe homes,
education and more. We looked at a document on the rights of a
child put out by the United Nations as well as the millennium
goals. We learned about the United Nations. We read (online, text)
about how young people around the world are changing the world. We
decided to have a conference, United Nations style, on the rights
of a child. Students felt the UN document was out-dated and too
long. With their partners, students were asked to chose a country
to represent and come up with a list of rights (no more than 8). We
came up with success criteria and some norms for the conference
(e.g., listen without interrupting). We held a mock conference with
delegates taking turns to speak and countries voting on the rights.
I served as the secretary and kept a list of the rights they
approved. It was interested to hear how common sense they felt it
was for the wealthy countries to help needy countries. They
remarked that we would do with less wants and help other people in
the world instead. I typed up the list and it was posted in our
classroom. Students decided they wanted the list sent out to world
leaders in hope that it inspires leaders to take action.
16. THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD
17. BAKE SALE FOR NEPAL After hearing about the earthquakes and
avalanche in Nepal, the class decided to help out by having a Bake
Sale. They divided up into groups according to interests and
complimentary skills. They created posters, wrote letters to
parents, made announcements and visited other classes to teach them
about Nepal.
18. GRADE 2/3 REFLECTIONS Click to hear the perspective of the
class.
19. CONTINUATION Students continue to extend their learning.
Along with the interviews in this video the following is evidence
of the progress they made in the area of global citizenship: We
added to our post its on What is a Community? We shared ideas about
What Makes a Great Community? We are currently working on creating
a video and writing a book on how we would change the world. The
class wrote a persuasive letter along with their list of
rights/hopes to send to world leaders. They organized a bake sale
to raise funds for