This week the students showed us that they are really heading in the right direction with planning and prioritizing their work, and accomplishing it. A continued area of focus for the UE classroom is to give the students the tools they need to plan and do their work as independently as they can. This includes being comfortable enough with many of their classmates so that they can ask questions, and get help from other students. You may have heard from your child at home that they are assigned a new seat, a different one at the start of each morning work cycle. At the beginning of the year, this has the important effect of loosening friend and seating habits from past years, and allowing the grade 4s, especially, to work alongside older students who can help them with their work and learning. Nothing sticks quite like a lesson from student to student! Teachers can help make and change seating from day to day depending on the needs they see in the class, and individual students. Seating options in the room run from single tables to doubles, quadruples, and one large group table.
We also had our first classroom meeting. It was quite an amazing thing, this year, to give control of the first meeting over to a capable grade 6 student, and watch problems get solved and discussions go so well, so respectfully. A United Nations moment, to be sure! If only all governments ran this well…
Part of our Wonderful Wednesday schedule in the mornings is a time to work with an Expert. We are busy organizing some interesting experiences for the students this Term. First week: Pickles!
