Blogging

Blogging is a way students can showcase their learning with the school and wider community and get real time interaction about their learning. This can only happen when family and friends visit our student and class blogs and leave comments regarding their learning , so comment on a blog today.

We encourage students, parents and community to comment on student and class blogs with positive feedback. Never underestimate the value of connecting with students about their writing and encouraging their response. Some tips for writing quality comments :

1. Compliment the writer in a specific way.

2. Add new information.

3. Make a connection.

4. End with a Question.

5. Proof read your Comment

Conferencing

When students finish tasks on their contract they are encouraged to book at conference with a teacher. In regular classroom settings there can be a long line of students waiting for the teacher and this means time wasted for students and undue pressure  on the teacher. Conferencing 1 on 1 means quality time spent with the student and a real conversation is had about their learning on the task. This is the ideal opportunity for teachers to assess learning and students to showcase their understanding.  Students seem to appreciate the quality time and are steadily learning to respect this 1 on 1 time while they wait for their conference.

De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats

This is all about reflecting on your experience and learning in the classroom. We ask and answer questions like - what did you enjoy about today? What went well for you today in your learning? How could you have done something better? How did you feel about your learning today? Thinking about your thinking can be challenging and is a skill we are developing in the Unlimited Learning Space.

Jigsaw Reading

Silent reading is great but reading with others can be better sometimes especially when the material is difficult for some children. Reading together and discussing text means we can all learn about the material together. Add another dimension and then regroup students and let them share what they have learnt in their new group, works particularly well if you all had different texts. We did this with case studies about various things happening around the world with Room 11, students were put outside their comfort zones but with practice I am sure we are going to get better at sharing our learning.

3 Level Thinking Guides

Take a fun activity like watching a video and encourage students to think in critical levels from literal to  more inferential. Students need to decide if statements about what they have watched are true or false and then give reasons for their opinion - great discussion and thinking!

Our Space

Our first morning in the ULS, enjoying the space and quiet!