TheMadClass_PYP

PYP Exhibition Teacher, Mother, Wanderlust in NoMADsland...

[themadclasspyp]

"We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.” -Marianne Williamson #montra #lovemynewapp #mextures @over

[themadclasspyp]

Awarding winning film created by the Grade Five Students at OYIS for the 

2013 Swackhamer Disarmament Video Contest.  The contest titled In My Lifetime: Why Nuclear Weapons Must be Abolished Urgently, challenged the students to create a film "detailing how and why nuclear weapons must be abolished with a sense of urgency."

As the students began their research into their key issues about what it meant to live in a Nuclear Age, the students came to the conclusion that Nuclear Weapons must be abolished.  The students watched videos of the survivors of the Atomic bomb in Hiroshima, and using the key concept of Perspective, placed themselves in the position of a person that has survived a nuclear attack.  The students all wrote monologues about their experience after the nuclear attack.  The monologues all started with the same line, and ended with the same line.  Once the monologues were revises and edited, they performed their monologues for the film.  The students were partnered up, and they filmed each other.  After the filming was complete, the film was edited down to fit within the 3 minute limit.  The editing was done in a way that wove their stories into one seamless story of death and destruction that is caused by nuclear weapons.  The whole film was collaboratively done with all the students in the class.  

The students won second place, and with their prize money, they decided to donate winnings to the UNITAR Green Legacy Hiroshima, and Hello Farm Organics, an organic farm in Kyoto that used the money to provide safe food to the orphans of Fukushima.     

[themadclasspyp]

In the months before the Exhibition, students were asked to collect local and global issues related to the Transdisciplinary Theme of Sharing the Planet.  Over the span of 6 weeks, the students collected a variety of key issues they identified from newspapers, photos, Units of Inquiries, and discussions.  We created a Key Issues gallery, and began identifying connections between issues, combining similar issues, and identifying the big ideas.  The next step, the students identify the top three key issues they would want to either hear more about or research themselves.  I collected all their issues and put them into a Wordle.  The result was stunning.

It was clear that even though two years had passed since the Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima, the students in Grade Five were still trying to understand what it meant to live in a Nuclear Age.  Thus we came up with the central idea: "People have various rights, responsibilities and relationships in the Nuclear Age."  Based on their personal inquiries, there were three major areas the students wanted to inquire into: Uses of Nuclear Energy, People, Government, and Communities in the Nuclear Age, and Nuclear Energy and the Environment.

Within their groups, the students collaboratively developed their questions, key concepts, Learner Profile Links, and research.  Together they developed a website in which they published their newspaper articles covering their specific key issues.

[united-nations-deactivated20190]

More than 2 million children in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been affected by conflict. Many have been injured and killed in attacks, and others separated from their families.

At a UNICEF child-friendly space in Bossangoa in CAR, displaced children start to express their feelings and the distress they’ve experienced through pictures in a drawing session.

Read more at: http://j.mp/1hK1ciR

[themadclasspyp]

#happynewyear from #japan! Here's to a year of new hopes, dreams, and adventures

[themadclasspyp]

Love making those unexpected phone calls....

[teachingliteracy]

Mario Zucca aggregates 2013 in a single illustration.

[ilovecharts]

[penn-state-university]

When algebra gets carried away

Caption contest!!!!!! ????

[education-and-technoogy]

8 Wonderful Blooms Taxonomy Posters for Teachers http://t.co/71FrzagfMI

[projectedblog-blog]

Alex Burdsall, Student Winner of the Time Words Contest, shares a behind-the-scenes commentary on his winning video. Practice makes perfect!

1. When did you start making videos?

I began making videos with my older brothers when I was 6. We would film ourselves fighting with light sabers in front of a webcam. If only the webcam could capture what we saw in our imagination! As he got older, my brother became very interested in video, so I would watch him and help him out. Finally, when I reached high school and took a Video Production class, I began to seriously make videos. My group would write, shoot, and edit videos for the class, and it truly opened my eyes to filmmaking. I learned more and more as I created videos, and they got better with each new one. 

2. Where do you see filmmaking taking you in the future?

Filmmaking can take me many places in the future. Creating simple videos and short films has lead me into broadcasting for my high school. It brought me to photography, writing, and my love for storytelling. I can see myself entering into the television world for a career as a cinematographer or screenwriter. Filmmaking has opened my eyes and brought me so many possibilities, and I see it taking me into the storytelling business. 

3. What is one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring filmmakers?

A piece of advice for any aspiring filmmaker is to just keep on filming. Keep on shooting your videos and watching others. Try to mimic other techniques that you see in your videos. If you keep making new videos, even if it’s around a concept you don’t particularly love, you’ll have more opportunities to learn from your mistakes and grow as a filmmaker. Furthermore, you’ll see what you do well and nurture your personal style. There is an innate video style that every filmmaker has. No book can teach it; you can only learn it from yourself. Shooting more and more videos brings out this style. Even if your video is bad (my first ones were), just see what you did wrong and what you did write and incorporate what you’ve learned in the next video. Don’t be discouraged. Good luck!

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[united-nations-deactivated20190]

Did you know it took less than two years for 50 countries to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? “I perceived clearly that I was participating in a truly significant historic event in which a consensus had been reached as to the supreme value of the human person”, said one of the drafters. Read the UDHR and know your rights! http://bit.ly/9NQv4

Find out more about United Nations Human Rights work at http://j.mp/cLlMeD

[themadclasspyp]

Keith Haring: Semiotic Posters 

Arts Integration: Sharing the Planet, Children's Rights

We are learning to use the knowledge of semiotics to communicate a message about Children's Rights in the Street.

Pieces were submitted to the Nakamura Keith Haring Annual Children's Drawing Contest. 

[themadclasspyp]

Free online course materials from MIT, supporting life-long learning.

[themadclasspyp]

Flipped Learning won't help students if teachers only change the format. Here are the classic mistakes some teachers are making.

New Year Challenge: Flipped Learning

[themadclasspyp]

The beginning of the year in TheMadClass begins with the students, parents, and myself taking inventory of the types of strengths the students have.  Strengths-based learning is the key to differentiation for teachers. 

It begins with this free kid friendly multiple intelligence survey.

Another fun learner assessment, is the Right-Brain Left Brain test; easy, fun, and quick.

Next, we looked at the different types of learning styles, using this poster and this info-graph.  After they felt they had a good understanding of who they were as a learner, they created a profile collage of their strengths. On the back they have their reflection: My collage shows... My strengths are...

One student was surprised that he didn't score very high as a kinesthetic learner. A closer look at the questions and responses revealed that drama was considered a display of kinesthetic learning.  Upon reviewing that question, he vehemently opposed the idea of performing on stage.  As the year progressed, he became more self-aware and strength affirmed in his learning process, he seems more open to the idea of expanding his narrow definitions of who he is as a learner.  He even participated in a major stage performance and...gasp...enjoyed it.  

Strengths-based learning and self-awareness is probably one of the most important ways we can empower our students to take charge of their learning.

[themadclasspyp]

It started with a conversation with my students over lunch: "Mrs. Mad, I want to do experiments about flight, are we going to cover flight in any of our units?"

It got me thinking about the importance of creating a time and space for the students to conduct their personal inquiry passion project. Then Genius Hour became a thing. It was a perfect moment. I framed it around the idea that they have become "inquiry experts" and are at a point that they can take themselves through the inquiry cycle, conducting their "personal inquiry passion projects."

They were stoked...and using the resources from Runde's Room, we began our passion projects. Some of them include:

How can we create video games?

How are animations created?

Can I jump higher? How?

How does the brain work, when we are playing chess?

How can I become a better soccer player?

How does spinning work in gymnastics?

My hope is that as they take themselves through the inquiry cycle, during Genius Hour. They will be able to make the connections and apply the same skill sets during their Exhibition Projects. *fingers crossed*

[themadclasspyp]

Speaking of creating...my muralist club.  2 panel piece, 90x260, 4 students, Grades 3-4

They chose to do an abstract piece, that utilizes curved movement.  I started them off with the circle shape in the middle, and they took the lines organically through the rest of the piece.  They chose the colors based on the school logo, creating the green color from the blue and yellow.  They intentionally chose not to have colors next to each other, which posed somewhat of a planning challenge, however, the result was stunning.