What can you see? Who can you help?

This post will highlight, with great excitement, an invitation to play for the 2014-2015 school year with the launch of a second chapter of our "What Can You See?" collaborative inquiry project! 

For those of you new to my blog or perhaps unaware of what the "What Can You See?" project was all about, here is a snapshot of how it began and where it took us! Last year, some teachers within our Professional Learning Network (PLN), came together over a simple inquiry question that encouraged classes to compare their environments: "What can you see when you look out of your classroom window?" Classes photographed what they could see (e.g. park, basketball nets, tarmac, etc) and created a way to share their view. iBooks, Quicktime movies, comics, and blog posts were ways that classes displayed the things students could see within their schoolyard and these multimedia presentations were used to compare and discuss the similarities and differences between school environments! Over the course of the school year, some classes connected even further in conversation by engaging in SKYPE calls to further their questions and comparisons of their schoolyards. As the seasons changed, students learned about the differences in a schoolyard in Ontario versus schoolyards in Mexico, Hawaii and other locations. Safe to say, it was an incredibly rewarding project for both teachers and students involved! Teachers tweeted and blogged and students talked and shared their comparisons. Some of the interactions are posted on the collaborative blog space created for this inquiry project. You can read all about our journey by clicking on the link: http://wecanseeprojectsharingspace.blogspot.ca/

To shed light on how the second chapter of this project emerged, a reflective discussion was had between some close friends, Heidi Theis, Angie Harrison, Carmela Sita and myself whereby we reviewed how the project went and noted the benefits it had on our learners in a multitude of ways. Within our conversation, we discussed how we wanted to engage in the project again with our new group of students in the Fall. However, we feel a need to take this concept one step further - in doing so, we discussed ways to include a social justice lens that is appropriate for young learners. 

So here is our proposal to act as an invitation to play for this upcoming school year (2014-2015):

Join us in a collaborative project that will engage your students and make a difference.

Details: 
At different points throughout the year, ask your students to create something that will show others what they see in their schoolyard. Use a format that works for your learners. eBooks, Quicktime Movies, Comics, picture books, audio files or any other method that is easily shared virtually.

Next, with your learners think of a way they can help. It can be as simple as helping people in your school or community. It might be participating in a food drive, helping in a seniors’ home or your class might be a part of a global project. One suggestion, your class could write picture books for your local Children’s Hospital. Your class might find an environmental issue to support or your class might respond to a crisis that is happening in your community or in the world.

A blog will be used to share what you see and ways you are helping. If you wish, you can connect with classes and SKYPE and talk about how you are helping others.

Classes could participate in this project once, or several times throughout the year. They could show progress of one way they are helping or they might show different ways they help throughout the year.

Our hope is this project will help students understand that we can all make a difference in the world. (no matter how old we are or where we live)

Here are some resources that might help launch the project.

Resources:

If Everybody Did by Jo Ann Stover

How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer

Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts

Lily and the Paper Man by Rebecca Upjohn

Lots of other picture books and lessons listed at:
http://www.arteducators.org/news/national-convention/Sarah_Ryder_Using_Children%E2%80%99s_Literature_to_Teach_Ideas_of_Social_Justice.pdf

Resources for helping:

http://www.terryfox.org/

http://www.freethechildren.com/

Next Step: 

Indicate on the blog that you are interested in participating. Use the blog post links to your class’ view of the schoolyard.  

OFFICIAL BLOG LINK:

www.whatcanyouseehowcanyouhelp.blogspot.ca 

Tweet using the hashtag #WCYseehelp