MR. LEE DIV. 5

Richard Wagamese: Storytelling and the Face of Reconciliation

• Indiginize the classroom. Bring in Aboriginal speakers, "living libraries."
• It's not about being the best teacher but rather, telling stories.
• Our gifts as humans are that we can DREAM and we can SHARE these dreams with others. This is our mission and purpose in life.
• Bring the STORY to the classroom. A "Story Circle" can get kids to engage and talk. Soon students take ownership of this story time. 
• We need reconciliation. First Nations people need to share their stories, history, culture in a meaningful, relevant way, through education. 

Project-Based Learning with an Indigenous Perspective

Essentially, this is an organization that deals with project-based learning, in particular, the Young Entrepreneur's Show. Of course, it's been a fixture at Surrey Centre for some time now with the grade 5s, and I'm looking forward to take part in it next year. The presentation included consideration for Aboriginal-related projects. 

Paul Pantaleo: Accelerating the Progress of Readers Experiencing Difficulties

THE SIX Ts OF LEARNING:

1. TIME: more time for reading/writing
2. TEXTS: "just right" books
3. TEACHING: coaching, side-by-side, small group
4. TALK: conversation, not interrogation
5. TASKS: continuous text, longer options
6. TESTING: effort and improvement

LESSON GUIDELINE:

1. Reading (familiar/independent): 5 - 10 mins.
2. Reading (independent/instructional): 20 - 25 mins.
3. How Words Work: 5 - 7 mins.
4. Home Reading (independent/instructional)

• If a child reads 20 minutes a day, that's 3600 minutes in a school year, or 1800000 words! 
• Children learn to read only by reading. Therefore, the only way to facilitate their learning is to make reading easy for them. (Smith, 1983)

In this day and age, which do you think more thoroughly captivated and enthralled an audience of 29 young grade 4s? A cartoon about a raven and creation, or an Aboriginal presenter with a drum and stick? The speaker and the animal-skin drum won--hands down! Of course, a good story and storytelling skills were  also essential to make the stories come to life. It's rather fascinating how ancient "tech" and techniques can be superior to new tech in some cases. 

The drumming initially created the mood, the rhythm, the pacing, the tension and suspense, which carried on throughout the stories. Then the voice added another layer of interest, with its variations in intonation, pacing and volume. Sound effects included whistling, humming, buzzing and even singing, which added even more texture and realism. She proceed to use an interactive, participatory method of including students' names and responses in the story. She had the right facial and body expressions and movements (gazing off into the sky or the distance), as well as humour, to add even more to the storytelling experience. Of course, the stories themselves were simple but interesting with relatable  and classic themes. They also included repetition to assist in oral recall, reminiscent of Dr. Seuss and Robert Munsch stories.  

I would rather listen to a master storyteller any day than watch another decently made cartoon. And I think 29 other kids would agree with me.