INTO YOUR HANDS
This image came up in my Facebook feed today and it took me back a couple of years. I had a wonderful novel study unit of work in my Year Eight English class. This unit of work always started in Term 2 of the school year. I normally divided the class in six Guided Reading Groups and at the start of the term placed six different novels at the front of the class and then gave a brief synopsis of each novel. Each Guided Reading Group consisted of six students and they then had to come to some sort of consensus within the group, and together, choose the novel that they wanted to study.
One particular year I was lucky enough to have the top year eight English class and they always reminded me ... I hesitate to say that ... but a group of thoroughbreds at the gates, raring to go!
The group just in front of my teacher's table worked with a wonderful novel " The Ring" by Tania Roxborough.
Right at the start of the novel study I normally handed out a Bloom's taxonomy task which then became the homework and self-study for this unit of work. Students then had to choose six different tasks at different levels, to work on individually and all six tasks were then handed in during the last week of the term.
In the group sitting right in front of my teacher's table, closest to me sat a shy, self-conscious soft-spoken student. She hardly ever said a word in class.
Sometimes at the end of the week I gave the whole class time to work on their Bloom's Taxonomy tasks and I sort of sensed that this is when the real deep thinking and learning took place. One could hear a pin drop during these creative periods. Every head in that class was down, focusing, planning, drawing, gluing, reading, checking and creating.
I always watched and enjoyed these wonderful creative times. Most of all I enjoyed the handing in on the due date of these wonderful creative thinking tasks. How wonderful that somebody so young can understand and feel ... have empathy for those who suffer be it man or beast.
My wonderful soft-spoken, self conscious, shy student excelled and amongst the six created tasks she handed in ... this puzzle of man and dogs. I have had this image displayed on the wall in the English class since that day and now it still reminds me ... of excellence, of real deep learning and of a thoroughbred learner!
