GRADE 4-7 SUCCESS CRITERIA
- I can use relevant Oral Language strategies to focus on the speaker and my own ideas
- I can use language to express and/or extend my ideas or feelings in an online discussion
I can communicate my thoughts and feelings and support my ideas with examples.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY: LET'S TALK! FACILITATING MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS
Online learning discussions take a wide variety of forms ranging from interactive exchanges during live small group sessions, to a post and respond. Each discussion forum offers participants opportunities to share, clarify, and extend thinking, but your learners need explicit strategy instruction and practice in a safe community to develop their confidence and capacity.
Active Listening & Respectful Speaking – Facilitating meaningful online discussions
Teachers are encouraged to make adaptations and pace learning as appropriate for their students and context.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY: LET'S TALK! SMALL THINGS
This lesson continues where the general “Let’s Talk” lesson concluded but will stand alone if preferred.
Online learning discussions range in form from interactive exchanges during live small group sessions, to post and respond. Each discussion forum offers participants opportunities to share, clarify, and extend thinking, but your learners need explicit strategy instruction and practice in a safe community to develop their confidence and capacity.
The focus here is utilizing discussion to respond to Small Things, a rich wordless picture book that provides ample opportunities for learners to:
draw on background knowledge and experiences
make meaning of the text
engage in meaningful discussions connected to themes of mental wellbeing and community.
Please be aware of the sensitive content of the book. Children will respond in a variety of ways based on their own experiences with exclusion and being active in creating safe communities.
Active Listening & Respectful Speaking: Facilitating meaningful discussions online & in class
Teachers are encouraged to make adaptations and pace learning as appropriate for their students and context.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY: RESPOND TO TEXT THROUGH WRITING - SMALL THINGS
This invitation to write is centered on themes of community, connections and kindness as well as emotional wellbeing prompted by illustrator Mel Tregonning’s wordless picture book, Small Things. It is intended to follow on thinking developed through the Learning Discussions lesson, but can also stand alone. See Lesson Sets for those discussion opportunities (4&5 and 6&7)
The intention is to help your learners notice, name and express the parallels in their life. They will hopefully be inspired by the work of Tregonning to then share thinking in a multimodal text – print + images; audio + images; text + image + music. Multimodal text examples in resources section below.
Please be aware of the sensitive content of the book as it focuses on exclusion, loneliness and emotional wellbeing. Children will respond in a variety of ways based on their own experiences with exclusion and being active in creating safe communities.
Teachers are encouraged to make adaptations and pace learning as appropriate for their students and context.
