In Maths we are learning about less than, greater than and equals to. We had a look at this video about comparing numbers. Then we played a game, where we rolled two dice and worked out the two 2 digit numbers that could be made from the rolls, eg a 4 and a 2 could be 24 or 42. We then had to write some correct number sentences using greater than, less than or equals to. We worked out that the only time you needed the equals sign was when you rolled a double, eg a 5 and a 5 would be 55 = 55.
This term the Learner Attribute we are thinking about is "Being Connected". To be connected we need to
acknowledge others
take turns
actively listen
To practise active listening we sat back to back with a buddy and took turns to tell the other person what to draw. We weren't supposed to look until the picture was finished. We had to listen carefully, so that we drew exactly what the person asked us to.
It was really hard not to peek at what the other person was doing.
And if we didn't listen carefully, we drew a small object rather than a big one.
It was fun though. We had lots of laughs.
Our Learner Attribute for this term is I am connected.
As part of building on our Learner Attribute of I am connected, some of the year 2, 3 and 4's have become tuakana (older) whānau buddies for the new members of Worser Bay School from Autahi as they begin their learning journey at our kura.
Over the next few weeks, they will get to know each other and do different activities together to build their relationships.
First, the tuakana (older) buddies made an introduction card for their (younger buddies).
Next, one group of tuakana got to know their teina buddy by interviewing them, making connections and then spending some time playing games.
Here are some of our thoughts from the afternoon:
Tuakana buddies:
Eddie- It was exciting to meet my new buddy because it was fun to get to do something with someone you have never done something with before.
Lillian- It was fun to show someone little how to do things.
Teina buddies:
Leo- I want my tuakana buddy to help me make more friends.
Violet- I want my tuakana buddy to help me learn maths.
We had a great day at the beach on Thursday. So much fun was had by the students and we managed to jump, throw, and race with the wind and occasional rain!
It was fantastic to hear students supporting each other and celebrating their efforts.
We have started our new inquiry for this term which is based around play, games, and creating new games using our imagination and innovation.
On Tuesday we headed outside with our base groups and spent 10 minutes doing anything we wanted but we were not allowed to play.
Obviously, this was tricky for many of us. There were a number of very sad and confused looking faces.
After our 10 minutes period of no-play we posed a set of questions to the students. Here are some of our first ideas.
What would my world be like without play?
Boring, still, frustrating, we would get sick, lonely, exhausting, still, left out.
What do we need play for?
Exercise, to learn how to play and make friends, to connect to other places and people, to get fit and stay healthy, to feel included.
Is play only for kids?
We never stop playing though sometimes adults don't have enough energy!, adults like having fun too, adults teach children how to play, adults play sports and video games.
This term we are developing our soccer skills. We are working with a group of professional soccer players that are kindly sharing their knowledge with us.
We started our first session on Thursday and worked on dribbling the ball with two feet and keeping it close to our body.
It is a great opportunity for us to work with different people at school and build on our large ball skills at the same time.
This week we have been finding information about earthquakes and how to be prepared in case we are in an earthquake. We already know a lot of what to do when there is an earthquake but it's always good to remind ourselves so we feel confident and prepared.
We watched some funny clips from the Shake Out website like this one:
We did some writing about how to stay safe when there is an earthquake.
Some groups did research projects about earthquakes as well.
We have begun to explore patterns in algebra. This week some of us used the ideas of supermarket displays to work out how a pattern can grow. We had to work out how many cans in total would be needed to make a display 10 rows high. Then we had to work out what the rule is that makes the pattern grow evenly. It was super tricky. We will keep practising to help our brains grow new connections about how patterns are formed.
We have also been learning about function patterns and how to use a table to find the pattern
Next Wednesday is our athletics day and the weather has been so good we've begun to practice our skills: quoits, vortex, sprints and long jump. On Friday we will be heading to the beach to have a final practice before the big day. We have been showing our perseverance and growth mindset by having a go and learning new skills.
Here we are practising the vortex, quoits and long jump:
In Week 9, Term 3, we had the Parent Workshop on Maths Learning. As I said, we are very proud of our Maths academic results. In 2017 a colossal 86% of our children were at, exceeding or well exceeding curriculum expectations in Maths for their year level. And we are tough on our judgments, as the reviewers from the Education Review Office noted in their feedback to us! But that doesn't mean we rest easy. We have never known so much about how students learn - thank you to the inventors of MRI scanning technology.
All of our teachers are undertaking Maths professional development through Stanford University - focussed on the latest research and thinking in Maths education as to where and how you get the biggest shifts in achievement. The Board recognises the importance of ongoing teacher development and, as a consequence, Nicola was awarded a study grant this year, yes - you guessed it - focussed on Maths. Nicola and Ximena have also been selected to present at the largest national educators' conference ULearn these upcoming holidays, which we are really proud of. (And their session is booked out!)
So we were very excited to have the opportunity to share our ongoing learning and thinking with many of you last week. We started with a little activity - asking parents to simply answer this question:
BEFORE: What did Maths mean to you at school? (3 words)
Then at the end of the interactive workshops we asked this question:
AFTER: What does Maths learning look like for kids at WBS? (3 words)
Please find the first and second Word Cloud results below:
This was really great and informative feedback for us, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up on a screen in Auckland at ULearn sometime soon as part of a presentation!
If you couldn't make it, you may find this Jo Boaler Ted Talk interesting. Or What our Children Think.
