Perspectives

25th October 2021 shemogani Leave a comment

We observed students tuning into the different perspectives shared by others during the various experiences offered for the launch for the new Unit of Inquiry. The students commented on the way different groups acted with the projected images, sounds and Chinese character.

Next, 3 different black and white printed images were shared with the students. They gathered in small groups, turned the papers around in different directions and talked about what they noticed.

“I think it is a windy tree!”

“I can see just the duck!”

Picture 1

Seoyeon “Eyes, nose, mouth, people.”
Fedo “I didn’t know that!”
Yuchan “Maybe it is hair.”
Diego “It has 3 people.”
Ella “We didn’t saw the face but now I do! It is like old people.”
Alejandra “First the young people, then medium and then the old.”
Yuchan “A student, adult and a grandma.”
Ella “People that have different types of hair.”

Picture 2

Amber “I see these are all correct, because when you turn it, it is a 9 and when you turn it, it is a 6.”
Hyun Seo “I see it like a 6 because I usually don’t write a 9 like this, it’s like a ‘g’.”
Gihyeon “I think it is ‘e’ and ‘g’.”
Grace “I think the right one is 6 because the 6 speech bubble is bigger so that is a clue.”
Teacher “Why does the speech bubble matter?”
Grace ““Because when I do some task on the iPad, I always choose the bigger one.”
Ella agreed. “Both are correct. But maybe if he comes to here, he will agree with him and if he comes to here he will agree with him (people move to swap their position).”
Agata “If he is on that side he will see a 6 and if he goes to the other side he will see it.”
Fedo “If you put it all the way upside down he will say it is a 9 and he will say it is a 6.”
Alejandra “I think it is a 9 because when I see this picture I always see only a 9.”

Picture 3

Hayoon “If this is the mouth it’s a duck, if this is the ears, this is a rabbit.”
Ella “It might be a rabbit and a duck.”
Alejandra “If we turn the paper, no matter which way we look at it, it is always a duck and a rabbit.”
Yuchan “This picture has 2 mouths, one for rabbit and one for duck. I think it’s a duck.”
Amber “When you turn it you can see the duck’s body and when you turn it it’s a rabbit’s body.”
Yuki “Rabbit or duck.”
Yuchan “It’s a rabbit and a duck but the body is vanishing.”
Teacher “Why do we see things differently?”

Ella “I think I know what these things are called, its something that many people see the same picture but many people see it a different way. Which way you see it, it matters.”

Why do perspectives matter?

To explore this further, the students listened to the story ‘Hey, Little Ant’ by Philip and Hannah Hoose.

Teacher “Have you ever had an experience of squishing an ant under your feet?”
Lawrence “I like to squish mosquitos.”

As the story was read, the students made connections with the text.

Gihyeon “This is a fiction book because ants can’t really talk.”
Alejandra “Ants are very strong even though we are bigger. They can carry like 20 ants even. They are very strong.”
Lawrence “Ant grew bigger like us, then the ant will be able to lift himself.”
Diego “I see some ants carrying some little brown things in my home yesterday. Maybe it’s their food?”
Grace “The kid might not squish the ants. Under the shoes we have some lines and maybe they will not get squished.”

At the end of the story, the students were invited to reflect on the author’s words…