Giftedness in the Early Years

As part of my professional and parental learning I am embarking on a journey into giftedness in the early years ( birth to 8 years old). I'm looking forward to the challenges and new learning that lay ahead. 

 l would like to focus on changes to curriculum, how to best respond to their specialised knowledge, interests and dispositional learning strengths. I have a particular interest in learning how to support students with emotional issues. 

Obviously there is a huge amount to learn 

and it will be an ongoing process but "It is the responsibility of all early years teachers to engage with giftedness." 

At present I'm using this book as a starting point and initial guide: 

I would love to hear how other teachers are supporting their gifted students or children. So if you are interested in this area it would be awesome to hear about your thoughts and experiences. 

Nga Mihi Nui

An Inquiry into Maths in Discovery Time

This term I have begun to focus on incorporating Maths concepts, specifically Geometry to begin with into a play based learning format. 

On Friday mornings we have Discovery Time and I have set up 3 or 4 maths based investigation areas. Our first week used art as a base to learn about 2D shapes and experiment with them.

 

Our first option was to tape out shapes and paint in the spaces, removing the tape when the paint was dry. 

We also used print making with polystyrene containers and 2D shapes. 

Finally we used the story 'The Dot' as inspiration to experiment with circles. 

During this time I asked students to tell me about the shapes they were using finding out what they knew and how this fitted with the Junior Team's maths Learning Intentions. From here I could group the students for Maths workshops. 

This was designed so that workshops would cover areas students struggled with. I would then plan for relevant play based activities to be focused on in the following weeks Discovery time. 

So at the heart of the play was structured workshops, some opt in activities based on need and open ended rich maths tasks which would help guide our learning. 

The following week we focused on using more hands on manipulatives. Firstly making a simple road map in workshops. We looked at the shape names in Te Reo and expanding this concept at Discovery Time making giant roads. 

It was interesting to note that the girls had huge interest and impressive design ability in making the roads and adding features such as roundabouts, traffic lights and signs. In comparison to the boys who enjoyed playing with the roads and talking about driving around the shapes. 

The second choice was making origami animals with our visiting Japanese teachers. The teachers spoke primarily Japanese and the Year Ones spoke to them only in English! Every student was successful in making their design and could easily follow the instructions. They were really proud of what they had produced. 

The final activities were based around experimentation with shapes using blocks, Popsicle sticks and thin cork to make shapes and designs with. 

As we move through the Term we will continue to develop our maths thinking and maths literacy as we make, discuss, design, create and manipulate shapes through play based learning. I would love to see how other teachers have incorporated maths into their play based learning environments, so if you know of anyone or are doing something similar, please comment.

Nga Mihi Nui.

Getting Busy Learning with Busy Bags

A new addition to the play based learning arsenal are busy bags. I've just started developing them to help my 2 year old with certain skills and also to support the areas that he has an interest in and is passionate about. 

Designed to be used for short term play eg 10-20 minutes they have proven to be a fantastic resource for my Year 1 students as well. 

At present I have focused on using recycled, upcycled or cheap items as I like the concept of using your imagination, role play and creativity to lead learning rather than expensive gadgets or resources. 

Here my Year 1 students have opted into a shoe tying workshop busy bag activity. Their first opt in workshop of the year. It was exciting to see so many students recognise this as an area for development and choose this busy bag option for play based learning. 

Part of the focus has been fine motor skill development. As you can see below they all involve ideas, drawing, colouring etc from my 2 year old so he has ownership of his busy bags. 

As teachers we sometimes like things to look a certain way but in reality true ownership is built through co construction. Wonky cutting, crooked lines and scribbles all show that we did it together. The resources are then free to be enjoyed and played with in numerous ways, often in a totally different direction than anticipated, but that's what makes them awesome! 

If it's not possible to play outside due to weather, time or schedule constraints then consider incorporating busy bags into the classroom. Talk with students about areas of development and then develop play based activities to cater to their needs and interests. The only limitations are your own creativity and resourcefulness! 

Science the Final Frontier

Why is it that many teachers find Science is put on the 'back bunsen burner' when push comes to shove with the other curriculum areas? Yes, it is covered when it is required but probably wouldn't be the first thing that most would think to incorporate into their learning space on a regular basis. 

Yet each year when I ask my students 'What kind of learning would you like to focus on?' They have always said Science. No matter what the year group or country I happen to be teaching in.  

Sometimes there are issues with gathering or the availability of resources, knowledge or mindset. Often we talk about fixed mindset and the learning pit with our students, yet teachers don't or can't apply this to their teaching. Or we talk about creativity as if this is something anyone can acheive given the right mindset, when in reality it isn't...

We can however help our students pursue their passions, ignite their curiosity and get them asking questions to investigate and learn through inquiry and play.

I'm no expert when it comes to Science but I am passionate about letting students lead the way in their learning. So to foster this I have begun to incorporate play based Science learning into discovery time and when possible workshops to guide or inspire passion projects. 

Sometimes the play is guided and other times students are free to explore. I enjoy seeing students work with people they usually wouldn't gravitate to and as a result their social skills are developed exponentially. 

The experience of a simple experiment can spark an interest or guide learning in a new direction, one that is of interest to the students themselves. Those problems that you encounter when an experiment or learning experience doesn't go to plan is the perfect opportunity to hone problem solving skills, questioning and tap into that ever elusive creativity. 

Providing these experiences for our students through Science, play based learning and inquiry will, I believe help our tamariki with those skills and passion necessary for life long learning. Science is only the final frontier if we don't let our students lead the way. 

Musical Inspiration

As we head towards production in Term 3 we are starting to explore the different senses to find out how these can affect an audience and performers. Today we focused on auditory senses and classical music. Probably the least listened to kind of music for Year 4/5 students in the Kete. 

Students were split into Whanau classes. Two music workshops were set up with one library rotation also included. The two pieces were choosen as they both had a compelling story that could be shared afterwards and the music could evoke strong emotions and help kickstart their imaginations. 

The first workshop listened to 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' by Edvard Grieg.

The second focused on the music for an animation called 'The Piano'.

Students could sit at tables, on chairs or lie on the floor, where ever they felt comfortable. They then listened to and responded to the music by drawing what they imagined was happening. We discussed that they would need a beginning, middle and end with characters and a setting. They were then free to interpret the music by themselves. 

Using a simple comic strip template gave them the opportunity to add speech, thoughts or onamatopeia if that fit with their story. But the main focus was drawing, with music as inspiration. 

It was wonderful to see students relax, close their eyes and think about the story the music was telling them. They then drew and I kept the music playing for the next 15 minutes. 

I haven't seen this particular group being that focussed, especially on a rainy Friday afternoon. Only 3 out of 80 students struggled to think of ideas and we helped them by sharing our main idea  in one or two keywords, eg cry, lost, unhappy, die, funeral, rain, ballet, piano. They then "hitch hiked" someone else's idea to get started. 

In our busy teacher lives we sometimes forget the impact that music can have on our students and ourselves. We can also underestimate the perceptiveness of our students when it comes to responding to unfamiliar mediums. 

Seeing students being capable of interpreting music in a sophisticated way was awesome. Creative thought and artwork being triggered by something as simple as a song or piece of music and a space they felt comfortable to create in. 

I'm looking forward to exploring the other senses on our path to become performers. 

Writing and Play based Learning

Today we started a focus on incorporating play based learning into our writing. Our goals for this are to: 

1. Increase engagement and achievement for all learners and in particular our target students. 

2. Provide an opportunity for students to discuss and role play ideas creativity before they draw and write. 

3. To decrease negative behaviour and attitudes towards writing. 

Students were provided 3 rotation activities and 1 workshop that was choosen by the Teacher. 

Activities were set up before the students arrived and it was interesting to see several of the target students came to play with the farm animals and equipment. Many asked 'when can we do this activity?'

During mixed ability workshops students 

choose a Disney character sticker added their own background and then described their character's physical attributes and actions. The target students who are often very reluctant to write were more engaged and happily shared their ideas in the supportive group setting. 

The other options were to design, draw and write about a Lego creation:

Also a focus on onamatopeia and rainbow writing: 

Using the mixed ability groups allowed children to support each other during workshops. They were far less dependant on the teacher and there were no interruptions during workshops. Student also enjoyed role playing with the farm animals and equipment when they had finished writing. It was fantastic listening to the conversations and discussions as the students played. 

We are looking forward to setting up our writing rotations for the remaining 5 weeks of Term 2. Watch this space!

 

Tuakana/Teina - Learning and Leadership

Letting my Year 4/5 students lead learning and foster relationships with their younger buddies in Year 1 has been a goal this term. 

While working in the Year 4/5 MLE Kete it was apparent that leadership skills and Tuakana/Teina relationships were areas that needed to be developed. A culture of caring, learning and leading were important features that would bring that whānau feeling into our learning community. 

Meanwhile, several of the Year 1 students struggled to appropriately share their thoughts and feelings. They needed help and guidance from their older buddies. 

These relationships have started to be built during buddy class learning and have been teacher driven in regards to modelling positive interactions between teaching staff and students. 

I have also tried to incorporate play based learning in a semi structured format to help the younger students engage in their learning. Incorporating meaningful tasks, linked to learning intentions with a play based flavour can be challenging. It has however hugely increased the tuakana teina that I expected. The older students have started to show real emotions such as pride, enthusiasm and kindness while learning alongside the Year 1 students. 

Students need to feel comfortable with you as their teacher before they embrace new learning or stepping out of their comfort zone to lead and learn with younger students. This specific skill set needs to develop their emotional view of themselves and self belief in their own leadership abilities. 

We will continue our path together during this term and through out the year. Each step brings a pleasant surprise as relationships are formed and students begin to show that the culture of caring really does mean we are become one whānau and not just paddling alone in our own waka.