1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 6. PROVOCATION The Kids Should See This Nepal Globe and Mail In pictures, Life in Attiwapiskat
7. 7. I SEE I THINK I WONDER See the next slide for examples of their thoughts.
8. 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. 9. COMMUNITY CONNECTION MR. PARKER
10. 10. EXPLORING OUR WONDERS
11. 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. 12. SCHEMA BOXES
13. 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. 14. MILLGROVE PUBLIC SCHOOL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD
15. 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. 16. THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD
17. 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. 18. GRADE 2/3 REFLECTIONS Click to hear the perspective of the class.
19. 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