When I moved up to grade 4/5 last year after teaching only the early years in my career so far, one of the things I both looked forward to and most feared was how to engage students in their learning by making it real. At the end of that year, I chatted with my kids about what … Continue reading The Things that Counted: Reflecting on 2016
DigiTech
#DigiCon16 Presentation: Coding in the Primary Classroom
This year I presented a couple of sessions at #DigiCon16, DLTV's annual conference. One of the sessions I presented was Coding in the Primary Classroom: An Inquiry Into Gaming with Tamryn Kingsley. We took participants through the process of a unit we taught together with our grade 2 classes. The unit was an inquiry where students made their own games … Continue reading #DigiCon16 Presentation: Coding in the Primary Classroom
Google Slides for Collaborative Literature Circles
My students are participating in Literature Circles this term. This has been introduced in response to a need - it is a way for students to analyse and discuss texts with the support of others, and to encourage accountability for deep comprehension and critical thinking about literature. The focus is not on the book, but on the … Continue reading Google Slides for Collaborative Literature Circles
Google Translate: Removing EAL Barriers
I have a student in my class for three weeks. She lives in China but has come to Melbourne for a short time. Naturally she has had some trouble being able to communicate because English is not her first language. Off their own bat, two girls in my class decided to help her out by using Google … Continue reading Google Translate: Removing EAL Barriers
Teaching Measurement using Google Maps
Just a simple activity using a tech tools to enhance student understandings. This week I have been working on area and perimeter with my 4/5s. This has included a lot of estimation. It became clear early on that students were unsure how to estimate common units for measuring length (i.e. mm, cm, m km). To … Continue reading Teaching Measurement using Google Maps
Term 2 Goals
Term 1 was massive for me. Being at a new school and a completely new year level has had me completely floored. I feel like I have spent the entire term in a whirlwind of not really knowing or understanding what's going in, which has been completely different to my previous experience of understanding most things … Continue reading Term 2 Goals
Growing Good Digital Citizens
For anyone trying (like me) to get their head around the DigiTech curriculum, hopefully this can help get you. I plan on sharing some of the things I do in my school that address this proposed curriculum at a grade 2 level. My school's Digital Learning Team has identified the area of "Promote and … Continue reading Growing Good Digital Citizens
Mrs Fintelman Teaches 