These kids are amazing. They are creative, and fun, and innocent, and not afraid to be silly or take risks.
I love them.
We have been doing some "out of the box" activities as of late...they have really been maturing, so I have been able to do more creative activities with them that require more self-discipline.
Talking Circle: We have been studying First Nations People in Social Studies. We are learning about the historical elements of the culture, clothing, shelter, food, etc. One area we have focused on is decision making. The First Nations Peoples believed that when it was time to make decisions, the Elders and leaders of a tribe would gather together in a "talking circle" to make these decisions. They would follow a specific protocol in order to make these decisions. We recreated the talking circle in class, through guided imagery and role play. It was AMAZING! The kids were in character the whole time, and they really came up with some creative and insightful thoughts.
Coffee House: I got this idea from my friend Kaitlin, who is teaching a Grade 6/7 this year. She had the coolest idea. She put out writing samples, and the students analyzed each others work to jazz music in a "coffee house" atmosphere. I tried it today with the students' Saints posters that they created. Each student had to choose a different poster, read it, and on a slip of paper tell me what they learned about the Saint that they analyzed. The kids were silent. They read. They wrote. They learned. IT WAS AWESOME! I will definitely do this again, probably when we finish up the strategy of main idea in reading. After the kids finished their response, they read their novels for lit circles. They insisted on listening to the jazz all afternoon. I was in heaven. A teacher's dream is to see her students engaged, having fun, and learning.
Improv Circle: Since we have been having such a successful week, I decided to do some improv with the kids. My university background is Drama-in-Ed, so I'm pretty confident when it comes to gauging a group to see just what they can handle. This group thrives in interactive methods. So, we played "freeze" and "Machine Creation."
Freeze: Two students begin a scene. When another student sees the position of a player where they think they can change the scene completely and begin a new one, they yell "freeze!" That student taps one of the players on the shoulder, and begins a new scene. The kids LOVED it, and they were really good at it too!
Machine Creation: When one student goes into the middle of the circle and starts a repetitive action and makes a repetitive sound. From there, one at a time, each student enters the "machine" with a new action and sound. At the end, all of the students have collectively created a machine working together, The kids were awesome with this activity.
I love the kids, and I love watching the progress they're making. I love watching them become independent. It's beautiful. I was having so much fun that I didn't take any pictures!
Coming Up: The Advent Mass (Grads 4 and 5 are presenting), the Christmas Concert (Dec 17th) and Ska-Nah-Doh (Nov 26).
