What can you see? Project

Our "We Can See" Project continues with this exciting new chapter of learning! 

The slant this year is to harness the outdoors and to take our learning beyond the four walls of our classrooms! We encourage classes to go outside and look closely at their natural environment and take photos of their outdoor areas since they too are a canvas for learning. 

Do you have an outdoor classroom? 

Is there a forest nearby? 

Do you walk to a local pond? 

Can you see a lake from your yard? What can you see?

We invite you to meet with your class and share the ways you use the outdoors as a learning space! The opportunities are truly endless. We have a Google Drive Folder available for sharing and we will post some of our new books on this blog.

Let's make it simple. Create a five page book to share. Google Slides is an easy way to create a book. Create five slide, share and export as a PDF. You might create your book using SMARTNotebook and export as a PDF. You might choose to use an app such as "Book Creator." There are many ways to create short books or pages to share with others.

We have two learning goals for this project:

One

Learning Goal: Create and share a book to show your outdoor space.

Success Criteria:   A short five page book

                            Use simple language for primary learners to read and read

                            Show different parts of your outdoor space

                            Ensure privacy of learners, no faces in photos

                            Use a format for all audiences to view (.PDFs or YouTube videos)

Two

Learning Goal: Share and connect with other classes

Success Criteria:   Read the blog regularly and make comments with your class

                            Connect on Twitter, Google Hangout, Skype or email

                            Ask questions and model how to interact as responsible digital citizens

Resources: PDFs can be imported into "Explain Everything" (app) then exported as a movie. Movies can be uploaded to YouTube and embedded in this blog. Or you can contact us and we can add you to the Google Drive Folder. If you wish to simply view other books, here is a direct link to the drive . 

If you need more information, post a comment and either of us will gladly get back to you as soon as we can. Be sure to also use and follow the hashtag #WCSOutdoors!

Let's get outdoors and connect our classes!

Thank you,

Jocelyn Schmidt     &     Angie Harrison

@MsSchmidt_YR             @Techieang

               #WCSOutdoors

Here are two books to get us started:

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Join the "What can you see? How can you help?" 

Global Inquiry Project

http://whatcanyouseehowcanyouhelp.blogspot.ca

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/

Invitation to play for 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.

Tweet using the hashtag #WCYseehelp