A story telling session by Ms.Kuhu Verma on International Mother Language Day
Guest lecture session with Ms. Meenakshi
Unit of Inquiry
During the unit of inquiry lessons, students inquired into the role of various organizations in maintaining peace and resolving conflicts (school management, resident welfare associations, United Nations, etc.) thus exploring from a local to a global perspective and recording their understanding on concentric circles for a visual representation. In groups they analyzed real-life scenarios to identify the cause of the conflict and its impact and listed the possible resolutions to the given conflict. Students also attended a guest speaker session on conflict resolution and management taken by Ms. Meenakshi Sharma (Head of Pastoral care at DPSI). They reflected on their understanding of the session using the Frayer’s model by defining conflict resolution and giving examples and non-examples of methods of conflict resolution.
English
During English lessons, students explored different types of verbal communication like speeches, debates, talk shows, to name a few. They discussed and analysed the differences between the them to understand the elements and rules of debate. They applied their understanding of elements and rules while debating on various topics to appreciate multiple perspectives.
English lessons were integrated with the unit as students analysed various scenarios/case studies on peace and conflict in groups, to identify the types and impacts of conflicts. They also discussed the roles of various organisations in maintaining peace and resolving conflict. They drafted formal letters to these organisations to highlight the conflict and seek help in resolving it. Further, they analysed scenarios at various levels, identified conflict and came up with resolutions to the conflict after the debate.
Formal writing skills were assessed through a RAFT strategy wherein students chose a case study/scenario/newspaper article and wrote a formal letter to the newspaper editor, municipality or school explaining the type, cause, its impact and some ideas to resolve the conflict.
The acronym RAFT stands for the following prompts:
§ Role: Who is the writer?
§ Audience: To whom are you writing?
§ Format: Are you writing to persuade, inform, or describe?
§ Topic: What are you writing about?
Math
Students solved sums based on time, area and perimeter, length, weight and capacity. They practised different strategies to convert between units of measurement. After a peer assessment, they placed themselves at different levels on an image of a mountain which indicated their confidence level (bottom, middle, top) and facilitated the creation of mixed ability groups for peer learning and teaching.
Students further solved one activity in their groups from the following -a metric scavenger hunt, or calculating distance along a hiking trail, planning a schedule for themselves, planning a layout for their room. It was encouraging to see students develop their approaches to learning while social skills were developed as the supported each other in their learning and took group decisions to maximise learning from the activities.
Students enjoy learning by doing, and a Math assembly using manipulative resources was an ideal strategy for maximising learning while also having fun. Grade 4D hosted such an assembly on February 27, 2020. The learning spaces inside the classroom and outside were organized into 6 stations that allowed students to explore
1. Shape by shape – a board game involving manipulating the best fit for different shapes on a board.
2. Critical thinking questions – students applied their critical thinking skills for analysing rather than just solving them.
3. Fraction manipulative pieces were used to understand equivalency and for addition of fractions.
4. Student game station – Some of the games created by students as part of their summative assessment on number operations were placed at one station. Students enjoyed these learning experiences created by their peers.
5. Hopscotch ladder – a hopscotch ladder had been made outside the classroom. Students enjoyed hopping on this ladder to help them easily convert between different units of measurement – a perfect example of learning by doing.
All students from Grade 4 enjoyed this assembly as was evident in the positive feedback they gave their peers from 4D – the host class.
Hindi
Ab initio
During their Hindi lesson, students shared their thoughts on road rage. They used their critical thinking skills and made a comic strip. Students enhanced their communication skills while sharing their thoughts with others. Their reading skills were also assessed with use of reading resources.
French
Students chose tasks to include in their portfolio for the Student-Led Conference. They voiced their opinions and took ownership. They enhanced their thinking skills (application), communication skills (listening and speaking) and social skills (supporting and cooperating with peers).
Spanish
Students learned the connectors through a text on ‘My family’. They read a text and identified the connectors and also made sentences in the target language. Students also worked on choosing tasks to include in their portfolio for the Student-Led Conference.
ICT
Students integrated their learning from the unit of inquiry as they chose a scenario of conflict. They had the choice to select one tool out of two alternatives given to them (Storyboard That or Book Creator). Students applied their thinking skills and created a comic strip to resolve a conflict that depicted a local or global level issue with the tool of their choice.
Visual Art
As an integration to their unit of inquiry on conflict and resolution, students connected to their inner thought and conflict of mind to create a list of their personal feelings. They started developing their ideas using the recordings of their feelings to create a layout in Salvador Dali’s surrealist style.
Dance
Students focused on creating a freestyle dance routine individually after their research and reflection activity based on the videos they watched in class. In groups they started choreographing a dance routine.
Music
Students created their songs on peace against conflicts and presented them in groups. They also researched about different musicians who inspired people towards peace. Students understood relevance of music in maintaining peace and order.
Physical education
The students started practising cricket. The students learned the basics of cricket like proper stance while batting and right technique of bat swing. They also practiced throwing at the wickets to improve their ground fielding.
Library
Students celebrated American children literature author Megan McDonald’s birthday ( February 28). Her series on Judy Moody which follows the humorous adventures of a third-grader is much appreciated and loved by children. The author also received Garden State Children’s Book Award for this Younger Fiction series. Students engaged in various activities like Judy Moody word searches, Judy Moody Paragraph Hunt in the books and reading of other books by author Megan McDonald.
