Category: stories

Traces of the Past: An Inquiry into the World of Dinosaurs

Leave a comment

The Spark of Inquiry (Observation)

Young children are deeply fascinated with what they see around them and naturally curious about the world from the past. A simple conversation about time can spark immense wonder. To honour this curiosity, we decided to take ourselves on a collective adventure back in time to explore and talk about the ancient creatures that roamed the Earth long before us.

 

The Hundred Languages of Children: Our Initial Theories

Before embarking on our journey, we wanted to uncover the children’s existing knowledge and mental images. We invited the group to share their ideas by asking a foundational question: What do we already know about dinosaurs?

  • Noah “Dinosaurs live in the jungle.”
  • Asel “Dinosaurs are big!”
  • Noah “And it eats people. I love dinosaurs, they are my favourite.”
  • Asel “They eat fried rice.”

By listening to the children’s initial theories, we notice how they use their current understanding of scale, time, and biology to make sense of the prehistoric world. They bridge the gap between the known (aeroplanes, schools) and the unknown (extinct creatures). This initial dialogue serves as our map, revealing the specific threads of curiosity—such as size, diet, habitats, or extinction—that we will co-research next.

 

Documentation of the Narrative Journey

We read the wonderful picture book ‘Mamasaurus‘ by Stephan Lomp, and followed Babysaurus on an adventure as he enlists his prehistoric friends to seek his Mamasaurus.

The children deeply inhabited the role of palaeontologist, stepping physically and emotionally into the narrative with every turned page.

As the story unfolded, they translated their live interpretations onto paper, weaving their graphic and writing skills into a personalised reinvention of the tale.

Through careful observation, they selected specific colour palettes to reflect the identity of each character. This continuous mark-making serves as a visible artefact of their collective meaning-making and expressive dialogue.

The Highest Tower in the World

Leave a comment

Is it a tower?

Over the last few weeks, a group of children have been collaborating to create a tower using Lego bricks. The idea was seeded by Jacob and Evan, yet many other engineers have joined this initiative.

As we watched the children engaging in their structural design, we noticed how the young engineers spoke to each other about their ideas, listened with intent and collaborated with enthusiasm with one goal in mind. 

Each section of the tower was thoughtfully put together, with the bricks being positioned purposefully to make sure there were no unplanned gaps around the perimeter of the structure.

The building moved from the tabletop to the floor as it grew taller. The engineers sort out children to stand next to the structure, attempting to build the structure taller than them.

The engineers moved the structure to a safer space, to ensure that it would not collapse if someone accidentally knocked against it. Curious onlookers stopped by to learn more about the tower.

The Highest Tower in the World

As the weeks pass by, the structural designers continue to work on their structure, creating stories and narratives about this amazing piece of engineering.

  • Adalyn “We need to put the Lego to build the tower.”
  • Isabella “We need to use the tower to measure our height, sometimes.”
  • George “I made the tower with Evan, Ricky, Jacob, Isabella and Adalyn. It takes a long time because this tower is too tall.”
  • Evan “The tower has a swimming pool. The people can play too. The pool is at the bottom, on the side.”
  • Jacob “We have a swimming pool for a motorbike, and on the water motorbike. The people can ride on this and people can live in the tower.”
  • Isabella “On the other side of the swimming pool there is some space you can put Lego so sometimes when we don’t have the Lego pieces we can try to find it inside this.”
  • Adalyn “The people can jump to the pool from the middle.”
  • Isabella “On the side, you need to be careful because there is nothing to protect you.”
  • Riccardo “That one, the jumping one, Jacob tired to jump with his fingers and he jumped on the wall.”
  • Jacob “Because I need to try to see when the people jump do they jump in the pool or out. Because then when real people jump in the pool, then he will jump on the rock and will die. And the jumping pool is on the top.”
  • Evan “We are trying to build but it is too high. We tried to use a chair because it’s too high. Only Adalyn can reach it.”
  • Adalyn “I helped to build the tower. I stand on the chair and then I can reach it.”
  • Isabella “On the top, one time, Evan wanted to put another jumping thing on the top.”

  • Evan “I want to use a small people, middle people and big people all can jump. The small people jump from the small one, the middle people jump from the middle one and the big people jump from the top one.”
  • Isabella “They come because it is a hotel.”
  • Evan “And it is fun. The jumping and the motorbikes make it fun.”
  • Jacob “It is a free hotel.”
  • Isabella “It is in America. People have to fly in an aeroplane.”
  • Evan “Two aeroplanes, or three. Because this hotel has many floors. I think 200 floors.”
  • Isabella “Evan and me and Adalyn had the idea first. We started to build a little one and we think we can build it taller to measure the people’s height. Last time we want to measure Ms. Sophia and taller than Ms. Sophia last time but the Lego but the Lego is not enough.”
  • Jacob “We can borrow some Lego from K2B.”
  • Riccardo “I think I need to take some from PreK-K1B because our box is almost finished.”

We look forward to hearing and reading about the stories that take place in and around the tall tower in the world!

Craft Moves

Leave a comment

Mo Willems is one of our favourite authors. We have read his books over and over again. One of our favourite stories is ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the BUS!’

How do authors and illustrators use lines, shapes and patterns in their picture books?

Notice how Mo Willems  uses letter, lines and shapes to create his drawings. We can explore drawing, creating and designing through our exploration of lines, patterns and shapes.

We read to book again and again and looked closely at the different ‘craft moves‘ the author has used. We explored how we can use some of these ‘craft moves’ in our writing. We also discussed how books were made and noticed that books have/can have:

  • a title
  • the authors name
  • the illustrators name
  • many pages
  • writing or pictures or both on almost every page

What do you notice, what do you see?

What ‘Craft Moves’ has Mo Willems used to create his picture books?

  • Isabella “I see a pigeon, the picture.” (cover)
  • Ciel “I know because it looks like a pigeon.”
  • Dahyun “Because it has a beak.”
  • Sea “I see a pigeon at the end of the book.” (hidden images)
  • Riccardo “It doesn’t look like a pigeon because his neck is too long.” (drawings can be different to real objects)
  • Euno “I see feathers on the pigeon.”
  • Junsu “I see the words. Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus.” (title)
  • Suzy “I see a coin.” (awards)
  • Jacob “That’s a panda book! The sticker on the side means it is an English book because in the library Ms. Mulder told me.” (organisation)
  • Isabella “The words on the bottom.” (name of the author)
  • Euno “Sometimes there’s a letter here, and it means the level of the book.” (levelled books)
  • Ciel “There is an exclamation mark on the book. When it is interesting people use it. And I see the comma, the one on the don’t.” (punctuation)
  • Sea “I see colours on the picture.” (visuals)
  • Mohammad “The eye.” (details)
  • Isabella “I see finger spaces.” (concepts about print)
  • Adalyn “I see a speech bubble.” (speech)
  • Isabella “That means someone is talking.”
  • Suzy “He [Gerald] is spinning.” (shows movement and action)
  • Junsu “The word is so long.”

How will the Kindergarten writers use these craft moves in their writing?

We invited the children to create their own stories using familiar or imaginative characters. They may want to add their details, speech bubbles and thinking clouds to add dialogue and thought.

How can we ‘tell’ our stories?

Leave a comment

We have noticed the children’s interest in telling stories in different areas around the classroom. We have seen them use manipulatives to retell familiar stories or use their imagination to create and extend stories.

We decided to invite the children to think about all the different ways they can ‘tell’ their stories.

How might we use a range of tools, materials and technology to capture and share our stories with others?

As we discussed the different ideas, we noted them down on chart paper.

We can…

  • Junsu “we can use note paper (Post-it notes).”
  • Sea “make a story with paper notes.”
  • Dahyun “we can draw and write on paper.”
  • Sea “use memory to draw and write books.”
  • Isabella “we can build our story with blocks and then share.”
  • Riccardo “we can use stop-motion and tell Lego story. In pk1 B I did it with Jacob.”
  • Suzy “we can use leaves from the garden to tell the story, I used glue to tape them on.”
  • Evan “use wood to make story and then paint it.”
  • Sea “use YouTube to make video.”
  • Dahyun “make story with LEGO and draw the story.”
  • Isabella “use clay to make something and then tell a story.”
  • Suzy “and then paint the clay.”
  • Sea “take a bus to the zoo and take a video.”
  • Jacob “and you can draw a picture.”
  • Suzy “you can take a picture (photographs).”
  • Dahyun “you can use paper cuttings.”

We referred to some of the stories that children have created. We shared Mohammed’s drawing of his first experiences in China, where he talks about his experiences using writing and drawing.

The children were inspired after watching Lego animation stories created by previous K2 students.

We wonder how the storytellers might use some of these ideas to create, write and share their stories during ‘Story Workshop’ time.

 

Story Workshop

The K2 storytellers have continued to use their imagination and life experiences to create interesting stories using manipulatives and ‘loose parts’.

We know that setting aside time to play with ideas and discuss possibilities with others helps young children grow as writers. During our mini lesson, we examined different samples of writing to explore how we might use illustrations and writing to enrich the reader’s experience.

Some of the key ideas shared were that we can:

  • include more details in the drawing
  • colour the pictures
  • ensure that the writing matches the drawings (connection)
  • check that sentences begin with a capital letter and end with punctuation
  • leave spaces between words
  • extend sentences to include more details
  • reread our writing to make sure it makes sense

The young writers agreed that the more details we include, the more it helps the reader create a clearer picture in their mind. 

Retelling the story of ‘Floof’!

Leave a comment

The children were excited to talk about and share the story of their favourite picture book ‘Floof’ by Heidi McKinnon.

We began by talking about the different characters included in this picture book. We used chart paper to document the ideas and the events they recalled from the story.

  • Jacob “A dog, his ears are black.”
  • Ricardo “Mouse.”
  • Evan “9 mouse”
  • Dahyun “Floof has friends, the mouse.”
  • Junsu “9 mouse.”

Next, we discussed the setting, or the places where the story takes place. The children connected these places with the different objects and events.

  • Isabella “Kitchen, there was a pizza.”
  • Dahyun “There was some toilet paper.”
  • Jacob “He was watching TV.”
  • Evan “There was a computer, he broke the computer.”
  • Dahyun “The guitar, he broke the guitar.”
  • Junsu “Coffee.”
  • Isabella “A tennis ball.”

We used blue Post-it notes to draw and talk about the events in the story.

  • Dahyun “Floof is in the house, he is eating a pizza.”
  • Jacob “He was working then he is using computer and put the coffee to the computer. “
  • Dahyun “Then the computer was broken, then he broke the guitar.”
  • Jacob “He just lying down on the pot, then he broke the plant.”
  • Isabella “He sleeping on the books.”
  • Evan “He played with the toilet paper.”
  • Suzy “The dog is sleeping and he took the ball.
  • Jacob “The dog is yellow and his ears are black.”
  • Suzy “The dog was doing this.” (putting out her tongue to show)
  • Adalyn “The dog was sleeping when Floof took his ball and Floof broke the window.”
  • Isabella “The mice were in the kitchen and were eating pizza.”
  • Evan “He was playing with the strings and it was broken (on the curtain).”
  • Evan “It was a nice busy day from the end of the story.”
  • Jacob “That is a messy day.”
  • Dahyun “Then the story is finished.”

We placed the events in the story in sequence based on the children’s recollection of this story.

Finally, we were ready to read the story. As we turned each page, we checked back to our Post-it notes. We began to see that changes needed to be made for the story to be retold in sequence.

We used pink Post-it notes to include events that were not included in the original retail.

The children’s storytelling shows how the children were actively engaged in the process of retelling the story of ‘Floof’.  They included the key details, characters and settings, and answered questions related to the picture book.

‘How-To’ Books

Leave a comment

The children have been exploring how to create instructions as part of their ongoing investigations linked to classroom projects. We decided to read a mentor text to help the children think more deeply about the importance of a list of materials and the sequence of detailed steps when telling others how to complete a task.

We read the story ‘How to Give Your Cat a Bath: in Five Easy Steps by Nicola Winstanley, illustrated by John Martz. In this hilarious and clever “how-to,” a little girl tries to follow a series of steps to bathe her unwilling cat. Although the task seemed simple, the cat makes it challenging to follow the steps. As the steps keep changing, the cat keeps escaping and the mess keeps escalating.

We decided to create our own instructions on ‘how to give a cat a bath’.

We documented the children’s ideas on large chart paper, including illustrations, labels, numbered steps and details. Each suggestion was discussed to ensure the details made sense to a reader.

 

We look forward to seeing how the children apply their learning in new contexts, through their independent and group project work.

Story Workshop

Leave a comment

Play

The children have continued to work on their stories during ‘Story Workshop’ time. During this dedicated literacy session, the children are invited to play in their preferred spaces, independently or collaboratively, to create stories with the different materials and toys available around the campfire.

Some of the children’s favourite spaces for storytelling are the block play areas and the light table with small world toys or loose parts. We have also noticed the children’s interest in writing stories about the different paper crafts they have created. Some have even chosen to create stories around the classroom library reading space.

This dedicated time allows the children to build their stories, discuss their ideas with their friends and make choices about the stories they want to share. Time for discussion allows the children to think deeply about the characters, settings and plots in the story. 

Draw and Write

After having time to play with the materials, the children move to document their ideas using drawings, labels, words and sentences.

They are invited to use the Word Wall, alphabet charts and any other tools they need to help them with their writing. They are encouraged to say the words out loud, listen to the sounds in the word and then write all the sounds they hear as they say the word. They practice this strategy by imagining themselves holding the word in their hands, stretching the word out like a rubber band to say the word as they listen to the sounds.

 

Share

After dedicated time for writing, the children gather to share some of their work. The teachers highlight what they have noticed the children doing with their writing and drawing, using these as opportunities to present new ideas, techniques and strategies to the children.

Sharing and presenting to the class encourages the children to celebrate what they can already do.

As we work on our stories during ‘Story Workshop’ time, we will continue to explore the different ways we can tell and share our stories with others.  

Fiction and Nonfiction

Leave a comment

The children have been talking about their favourite books and looking for these texts in the library. While browsing through the books we noticed that the children showed an interest in many different types of books. We decided to ask the children to gather several of their favourite books to bring back to class. The books were displayed in the classroom and the children often gathered around the table and flipped through the pages, talking about the pictures, stories and information that lived within the pages.

What clues from the book that tell us what types of texts they are?

We began by choosing two books, reading a few pages from each of them and inviting the children to talk about how they might be the same or different. As the children shared what they noticed we documented these ideas on chart paper. We continued to look through and sort all the books that the children had chosen at the library. 

They decided that the books about dinosaurs, mushrooms and sports:

  • Were about ‘true’ things
  • told us ‘about’ things
  • included photographs and pictures
  • shared information

The books about princesses, superheroes and animal characters:

  • were ‘imaginary’, ‘fake’, ‘not true’ or ‘didn’t really happen’.
  • They have characters and animals that can talk
  • included a story
  • had the beginning middle and end
  • had illustrations (drawings)

Two books about fairies caused a debate.

Were these stories about something real or imaginary?

Some children believed that fairies were not real, people used their imagination to tell stories about them. Several children disagreed explaining that they were real because ‘the tooth fairy visited them in the night and gave them money for their teeth when they had fallen out’. For these reasons, the class decided to place the two books in the middle, in a pile that was ‘undecided’.

Often, the children are invited to choose and borrow books from the classroom library.

We wonder how the children would use their new understandings of different types of texts to choose reading materials for different classroom spaces, provocations and projects.

Can you find the book you need?

Leave a comment

Jacob “Do you know why the new library is called The HUB? Is it because the new library is so much bigger?”

The children wondered why it is called The HUB, and who gave it that name.

At the beginning of the ‘HUB Inquiry Project’, the children shared the things they liked to do in the new space. Many of them shared the different types of books they liked to find and read in the new library, referred to as The HUB.

During the Atelier time, the children were invited to find the books they liked to read in The Hub.

As the children looked around, they were unable to see some of the books they had in mind. Ms. Hannah decided to provoke the children’s thinking by sharing a collection of mushrooms one of the Grades 3 teachers had given her to use as an invitation for observational drawing or painting. Some children decided to find some books about mushrooms.

Isabella “The old library had mushroom books. The new library (The Hub) doesn’t.”

Why?

Isabella “The old library was much smaller and the new one is much bigger. Maybe the books are on the second floor or the third floor.”  

Some of the children said it was easy to find books to read because they read whatever interests them.

Evan explained that finding a book was easy because he could see the cover.

Isabella noticed some shelves have so many books standing up and you see the side of the books and she said that makes it difficult for her to find a book from these shelves.

The side of a book is called the spine. The spine is the edge that usually faces outward on a shelf and often displays the title, author, and publisher’s logo.

After some discussions, she suggested, “Maybe we can put the same kind of books together, and maybe we can put some pictures or words on the shelves so the children know what kind of books are on these shelves when they cannot see the front covers.”

As soon as Riccardo got to the library, he found the place where the dinosaur books were, so he shared this with Ethan who wanted the dinosaur books the most.

We wondered how he found these books so easily and so fast. Was it because he noticed it during our library time before?

In a very short time, Suzy found a princess book. She felt it was easy to find the book because she just walked by this shelf and she happened to see this book.

  • Sea walked around and found a book about a cat. We wondered how she found it so fast.
  • Isabella “Jacob, I found something strange. In the old library, there were some mushroom books, but now why none of them shows up here?”  
  • Isabella “It’s getting harder to find the mushroom book now than before. There was a tray and the books that we need were all in that tray. Now, there are so many shelves and floors which makes it hard for us to know if the books we need are upstairs or not.”
  • Adalyn found a book which had mushrooms on the cover page but she she seemed to decide that it was not the book they were looking for.
  • Isabella “Ms. Winnie, where can we find some books about how to plant mushrooms? How can we find it on the book shelf?”
  • Ms. Winnie “It is a bit far away, so let’s go together and I will show you.”

Ms. Winnie found that some of the mushroom books had been borrowed by children from other grades. However, she finally helped us find one from a tall shelf. The children gathered to talk about locating the books.

We wondered if they thought it was easy or hard to find a book that they wanted.

  • Suzy and Dahyun both found it’s easy to find the books they wanted because they saw the front cover of the book. Evan felt it was hard to find a book when he only saw the spine or the back cover of the book.
  • Ethan believed it was easy to find the dinosaur books because he knew where they were.
  • Isabella explained that it was hard to find her book because it was the only mushroom book left in the library. And some other children felt it was easy to find the books they wanted because when they walked by the bookshelf, they were attracted by some books, so they just checked them out.

Having explored this new space, we wonder how the children may take action to solve some of the problems they noticed during their visit to The Hub.

3 Ways to Read a Book!

Leave a comment

Picture books play an integral role in the literacy programme in K2. A few times a day, we sit down to explore texts, to give the children opportunities to read to themselves or listen to adults read to them.

Often the children pick out their favourite books to retell the stories to each other. The teachers often observe the experiences children have with books to help them develop good reading behaviours.

We watched a video of Archie and Riccardo sharing this experience, using the pictures and what they recall of the story to read a book again and again.

Sharing this example, we reminded the children of 3 ways to read a book because we know that children learn to read by engaging in the act of reading by “Reading the pictures”, “Reading the Words” and “Retelling a Familiar Story”.

We used the picture book ‘Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me’ designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle in a mini-lesson, to practice the 3 ways to read. As we turned the pages, the children helped retell the story, sharing the character’s feelings and actions. We discussed the concept of ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’ ideas in the story and invited the children to explore this further in their stories-making.

We know that reading and exploring books helps children:

  • develop an awareness of print (understanding that print carries meaning, that books contain letters and words, and how a book “works” — such as identifying the front and back covers and that pages are turned)

  • develop phonological awareness (the ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of words — including rhymes, syllables, and phonemes)
  • explore phonics and decoding (understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language)
  • develop new vocabulary (using the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print)

Storytelling through  Story Workshop

Leave a comment

What is Story Workshop?

Story Workshop is a classroom structure that is used to support language and literacy. The adults consider the space, environment, story materials, writing tools, books and props that invite storytelling.

Story Workshop is a hands-on approach that allows the children to create, talk about and use drawing and writing to share their stories.

We know that children enjoy creating with a range of materials and loose parts. It’s much easier to start thinking of a storyline when you have physical pieces in front of you. 

As the children manipulate, make, build and design their structures and objects, they begin to create the base of a story. Soon they are ready to add more details, a setting and characters which result in a storytelling experience.

The hands-on experience encourages creativity and imagination. It also helps the children revisit past events that are important to them.

Dedicated quiet times to observe and draw allow the children opportunities to carefully observe and document what they see. 

The adults in the space listen to the children’s ideas, offering suggestions and supporting key literacy skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

We wonder what stories live in these materials and how the children might use them to tell their own stories. 

Pandas Playground – Collaborative Play

Leave a comment

Over several days, a team of engineers have been working together to create a playground for their characters. Many different loose parts and blocks have been used in their design.

Each day, the team gathered at various times to evaluate their design, make changes and improve on their ideas. As their initial structure began to grow, more loose parts were sought after.

The cats protect the money (glass stones) in the playground.

Each idea was considered by the group. Negotiating ideas took a long time. Members of the team listened thoughtfully, agreed and disagreed, and at times struggled with the challenges that come with working in large groups.

When emotions were high, members of the team paused to take a break. Together, they found ways to work collaboratively to build and strengthen their friendship.

Their conversations and ideas developed their language skills, helping them express their ideas and decisions more clearly when it was time to present ‘The Playground’ to the class.

The Connection Between Reading and Writing

Leave a comment

Friendship and problem-solving are important concepts that we explore throughout the year in K2. We read the story ‘A Cat and a Dog’ by Claire Masurel and Bob Kolar, to help us talk about different ways we can help and support our friends and community in school. While reading the story, the children were encouraged to connect with the story, share observations and predictions, and look for ways the characters might solve problems to develop their friendship.

Over the last few weeks, the children have been creating the Morning Message, using pictures, symbols and writing. At this developmental stage, the children often use their phonetic knowledge to create messages and stories. As a result, words may be spelt incorrectly. It is important to honour the process of learning by giving children plenty of time to observe, notice and make connections to understand the relationship between letters and sounds in words.

A great teaching moment presented itself when we noticed that the author of the book had used the word ‘friends’ in the story. When looking at the word in the message, Evan was able to spot the difference in the spelling. He then rewrote the word with the correct spelling.

 

These mini-lessons help us make the connection between reading and writing more visible to the children.

We will continue to use books, literature and environmental print to explore concepts about print, to help the children explore and use these strategies and ideas in their writing.   

Introduction to ‘Writing Workshop’

Leave a comment

Noticing the children’s interest in creating stories and making books, we decided to introduce them to ‘Writing Workshop’. Writing Workshop is a dedicated time when we explore, notice and practice different writing behaviours and techniques while developing skills that help us grow as readers and writers.

We began by introducing the children to a mentor text, to help them brainstorm ideas about books. While reading the wordless picture book, the children noticed and discussed many different features of picture books.

We documented these ideas on chart paper, which we will refer to throughout the year.

The first observation the children shared was that the book had ‘NO’ words.

How can we read a book that has no words?  

The children began to tell the story, using clues in the illustrations. They noticed that actions, feelings and stories can be communicated through the illustrations.

Next, the children were invited to go to the new library space, to create their books. We hoped that the children would be inspired by the books around them, drawing ideas from their favourite authors, stories and characters to create their own stories.

  • Jacob “我们来画nis library吧。（let’s draw some pictures of the library.)”
  • George “我们不是已经画过了吗？（We’ve done that before)”
  • Jacob “我们上次是画的画， 这次是做书，不一样。”(last time, we just drew a picture of it, and this time we are going to make a book, so it’s different) 这是一个小故事.” (This is a short story)”
  • Ethan “I am making a haunted house story”.

It is helpful to have an organised system when creating messages or books. Therefore, the children prepared their ‘Writing Workshop’ folder, which will be used to collect their draft and published stories and pieces of writing. The ‘green sticker’ and ‘red sticker’ on the pockets hold their ‘ongoing’ and ‘completed’ pieces of work.

As the year progresses, we will learn more about our favourite authors and illustrators, to explore the techniques and craft moves they use to make their books more inviting, engaging, exciting and fun for their readers.

Sharing Stories through ‘Writing Workshop’

Leave a comment

We have been using drawing and writing to share stories during ‘Writing Workshop’. We use a checklist to plan, create and improve our writing. 

  • Oliver “This is people are sad because they think NIS school they already played 10 years and they think it’s a bit boring and they want a new school. She wants to go to a new school but she don’t know where is a new school and a new country.”
  • Morning “It is a bunny, it is flying in the sky. And he is going in the tree house.”

  • Eunbyul “People shoot the ball fast and goal. I shoot and goalie is Beomjun. At NIS soccer. It is a Saturday, it is a sunny day.”
  • Oxford “One day, people want to play but no one to play. And the people play outside, he wants to play slide. People is there and feeling is not good.”
  • Eli “My story, this is I and daddy and a monster and we say ‘ah’ and the monster is so loud and other people say ‘ah’ too. The Monster is so loud it roars and the building in NIS is shake.”

  • Motong “This is one day I kick ball in the goal. I playing soccer at NIS with friends in Grade 1 and PreK.”
  • Lydia “I draw about today. Today is raining and have two people. Them to the outside and one is mummy and one is me. We go to outside and play.”

  • Jeongyoon “I am going to my soccer game and my team is waiting. I am playing with Beomjun outside in the playground.”
  • Wyatt “Monday I am grandma got outside play and I see the grass and I climbing the tree and I sit on the carpet and eat the fruits and I see the tadpole.”
  • Liz “A bird, is flying and bird is fall down and died. It is a sunny day.”

  • Beomjun “I am swimming on Tuesday after school. I am swimming with Oxford, Eli and Liz and Oliver and Oxford.”
  • Hana “I am drawing grass.”
  • Yui “A little girl playing football. She feels a little bit tired, then she rests and then plays football again. Then she goes home to change her clothes. Then, she has lunch. And then she goes shopping to buy some tomatoes, milk. Then she goes home. Then she takes a nap (In Mandarin).”

A New App

Leave a comment

The teachers noticed that the movie makers were having trouble telling their stories using the app ‘Stop Motion’ as they were unable to see the movements they were making as they took the photographs. Therefore, the team were introduced to the app ‘I Can ANIMATE’ to help them create their Lego movies.

After a quick introduction, the team were ready to start again. They learned more about the app through trial and error. The movie makers revisited the stories to ensure they were telling the stories in sequence. Because previous photographs were visible as a watermark on the app it was easier for the moviemakers to position their characters and objects to take the next photograph.

The task required the team to stay focused, to manage multiple jobs, the iPad and the objects while thinking of the different events that occur in their story. They needed to be flexible and open to make changes during their tasks. At times, they had to go back and redo some of the images to make sure they were telling their story in sequence. This required persistence and a willingness to learn as they engaged in the project.

After making the movie, they decided on sound effects and background music and then included their storyboard to complete their Lego story.

 

Snowman

by Beomjun

“I am making a snowman. I go to home. I make the snowman and people. I am looking at my home window. I am a Pokemon monster.”

Pokemon

by Eunbyul

“The Pikachu is in the water and give to Pikachu. Pikachu, oh No! Pikachu is small. Abook many lightning fighting. New lightening. Oh no, lightning is little. Pikachu play the phone. The fun. He play the Minecraft.”

 

Fighting Car

by Eli

First, Pikachu is on the boat. Second, Pikachu go to the wheel and then turned left. The boat turned and then the boat go too fast turning so it go in the water and Pikachu swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, and then go to the sand.”

 

Green People

by Oxford

“One boat fall. The boat will fall in the house. One green people come. The green people come and take the boat and then he goes somewhere he loves.”

 

Boat

by Jeongyoon

“I go to boat and boat go fast and boat is on the water. The boat is going to a house. The boat going in water and I fell down and I say ‘HELP!’ because I can’t go out. And one people come and he help. And I go to train and train go to house.”

The team have created a journal cover for their process booklet.

We look forward to sharing our learning journey and videos with the community! 

The First Stories

Leave a comment

The moviemakers have been creating their stories using the Stop Motion app. Eunbyul was the first to finish his first movie.

We noticed that Eunbyul had taken over 400 photographs to create his 30-second movie. We wondered about the sequence of the story and the positioning of the objects in the photographs. We decided to invite him to present his written story plan and his first movie to the class, hoping that Eunbyul’s peers would be able to give him feedback that could improve his creation.

  • What did they notice in the images?
  • What elements would Eunbuyl need to work on to improve his movie?

The audience was captivated by Eunbyul’s movie. They loved his Pikachoo characters and were excited to see how he brought his characters to life.

Eunbyul explained that he was still unsure of how to show a snowfall. The audience gave him specific feedback to improve his story.

  • Follow the story plan.
  • Make sure pictures don’t include parts of the moviemaker’s body.
  • Take multiple photographs to show the slow movement of the objects

The teachers decided to use two objects to demonstrate what the audience meant by slow intentional movements.

Eunbyul thought about the feedback and went on to make his second movie. This time, he followed his story plan, mindful of the sequence of events that the photographs needed to show.

Excitement about the movies rippled across the class, with Oxford, Oliver and Eli deciding to create their own stories using the app. The team sat with paper and writing tools to create a story plan.

Oxford picked up an iPad and reached out to his friends to learn how to use the app Stop Motion.

  • Oxford “Eunbyul taught me a little bit how to use the Stop Motion app. He showed me where to touch and not touch and he explained how to do it. I go and make it. I first touched the Stop Motion movie app, then I took photos. I took 76 photos for the movie.”

The Language of Lego

Leave a comment

The Lego table is a popular space in the classroom. The children gather to use Lego to recreate familiar structures and objects from their experiences. Often they use these objects to engaging storytelling.

A group of three children enjoy creating swords and other objects to tell stories about superheroes. Noticing their continued interest in storytelling and Lego, the teachers wondered how they might stretch the children’s ideas to help them explore a range of tools and materials that they could use to tell their stories.

The team began to put their ideas down on paper, drawing favourite characters and sharing stories that they might want to create.

After a few suggestions, the team were stuck for ideas. We decided to ask the rest of the class if they had suggestions for building with Lego.

  • Jeongyoon – boat, a bike and a house
  • Oliver – a big box to put the Lego

The team had more ideas to work with. They drew their ideas on paper. Then, they used Lego to make the different objects and characters.

How might we use Lego to tell our stories?

The team watched a short animated Lego movie. The creator used a stop-motion app to create it. The team wondered if they could use the same tools to tell their own stories.

What more do we need to tell a story?

We read a familiar story and revisited the elements that help us create and tell stories. Characters, a setting, problems, solutions and events in a story can make it more interesting.

How might we use what we know about storytelling to create new stories?

The children used a story planner to think about the different events that will take place in their Lego stories. They discussed their ideas with each other, adding more details as they received feedback from their friends.

One child tapped into his prior knowledge, connecting with the different craft moves authors and illustrators use to tell their stories. He decided to include speech bubbles (voice) and movement (short strokes to show actions) in his drawings.

NOT A BOX!

Leave a comment

We read the story ‘Not A Box‘ by Antoinette Portis.

The little rabbit is playing with a box, and an unseen adult asks why they are doing different things with it. The rabbit continues to say it’s not a box. It’s a… rocket, burning building, race car, etc…

Inspired by this story the children used their imagination to turn this simple box into anything!

  • Eli “It’s a transformer.”
  • Eunybul “It’s a rocket.”
  • Motong “It’s a boat.”
  • Oxford “It’s a house.”
  • Oliver “It’s a truck.”
  • Wyatt “It’s a race car.”
  • Howie “It’s a shelf.”
  • Liz“I think it’s a bird nest.”
  • Lydia “It’s a hotel.”
  • Morning “It’s a submarine.”

What can these boxes become?

Sharing Information through Non-Fiction Texts

Leave a comment

What more could we learn about birds and nests?

We decided to read some nonfiction books about birds. As we read the books, we noticed pictures, photographs, labels, words and sentences, key features of nonfiction texts.

During ‘Writing Workshop’, the children were invited to create their own nonfiction stories or books.

Some children chose to create books about birds, drawing and writing to share their ideas and information. 

We chose one piece of writing to share with the class, helping the children notice key strategies and features that were included in the story.

 

There was a clear idea of a topic. The pages included words and sentences that talked about the pictures. We know that good writers think about questions readers might have about a topic and then find ways to include this information through drawing and writing.

While writing words and sentences, the children were encouraged to say the word out loud, stretch out the word to hear the sounds and then write all the sounds that they heard.

The children began to show an interest in sharing and reading their stories to their friends and teachers.

They understood that bookmaking is a way to share important messages and information with others and began to look for ways to celebrate their work with the community.

We look forward to exploring all the different opportunities that allow us to share the work we do as readers and writers.

Storytelling Through  Story Workshop

Leave a comment

We have noticed the children building and creating elaborate stories throughout their day in school. Therefore, we decided to introduce the children to Story Workshop.

What is Story Workshop?

Story Workshop is a classroom structure that is used to support language and literacy. The adults consider the space, environment, story materials, writing tools, books and props that invite storytelling.

Story Workshop is a hands-on approach that allows the children to create, talk about and use drawing and writing to share their stories.

We know that children enjoy creating with a range of materials and loose parts. It’s much easier to start thinking of a storyline when you have physical pieces in front of you.  

As the children manipulate, make, build and design their structures and objects, they begin to create the base of a story. Soon they are ready to add more details, a setting and characters which result in a storytelling experience.

The hands-on experience encourages creativity and imagination. It also helps the children revisit past events that are important to them.

Dedicated quiet times to observe and draw allow the children opportunities to carefully observe and document what they see. The adults in the space listen to the children’s ideas, offering suggestions and supporting key literacy skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

We wonder what stories live in these materials and how the children might use them to tell their own stories. 

Watch this space! 

Telling Stories with Pictures and Words

Leave a comment

Over the last few weeks, we have focused on sharing messages and telling stories during ‘Writing Workshop’. We have observed the children building their stamina for writing and telling stories across pages.

In K2, ‘Writing Workshop’ is a dedicated time for Literacy, where we explore books and texts, learning more about the different ways we communicate messages, information, and stories with others. We explore mentor texts, created by authors and illustrators, to look at how they have used tools, strategies, and techniques to share their ideas and stories with their readers.

During ‘Writing Workshop’, we often confer (discuss) with the children, to help them express the ideas they share orally, through details in their drawings. We decided to look at the different techniques we could use to make our stories more interesting. We know that authors and illustrators spend a lot of time thinking about the books they make, planning their ideas and developing their craft over time. We decided to focus on looking closely at how adding more details to drawings helps the story come alive.

We invited the children to think about how they might communicate information about their story through their writing (letters and words).

We modelled a short story, providing details in the picture and thinking about what needed to be included in the drawing to help readers know all about the experience.

While creating drawings for a story, we noticed that the children often draw over their pictures to show what happened over time (sequence).

We decided to use a mentor text to look at how authors and illustrators use the technique ‘Background Perspective’ to spotlight a central image in an illustration or to show a sequence of events. In his book ‘How to Heal a Broken Wing’, we notice how Bob Graham considers where to position his drawings and how to tell his story using a sequence of pictures that show action, time, feelings and movement.

The children were invited to think about how they might use the technique in their own writing and storytelling.

We noticed the children talking more about their pictures and considering the position of elements in their drawings and the colours and words they might use to share their stories with others.

We are learning how to:

  • use mark-marking to convey meaning.
  • create narratives to share real or imagined experiences or events using techniques, details, and event sequences.

Engagement and Storytelling with Wooden Blocks

Leave a comment

Focus: Engagement and storytelling in small group play situations.

Interesting aspects of the learners’ thinking or learning that the adults noticed.

The children were presented with two tubs of blocks. Each child began to look through the tubs to pick out the blocks. They appeared to be matching pieces, looking for connections between them. They created individual structures. They spoke in Mandarin to each other.  

  • Shapes of animals captured one child’s attention.
  • Others with interested in the trees and nature blocks.
  • Some were interested in the vehicles and wooden moving blocks.
  • The children paused to let others know about their blocks. They did not speak to each other for a period of time and one child listened but did not engage in the conversation.

One child made connections with the blocks and what he knew about the world around him. When he made a connection, he enjoyed sharing this with an adult.

A second child demonstrated the ability to play and engage in collaborative play for extended periods of time, using language and storytelling to make connections with others.

  • O “L helped me. She turned my house to a hotel. She got lots of parts and turned it into a hotel. It’s because I like hotels.”
  • L “I helped O, O and me built house. Me worked together.“

One child was an observer, often pausing to listen and watch others as she created her story. She intentionally placed her blocks, appearing to create her story in her mind while she moved the blocks into her creation. She was welcoming of others even though they changed the structure of her play space.

  • M1 “I was making a house for bunny. Bunny needs carrots. The horse was playing with bunny.”

  • O2 “M1 looked at me building. She said yes, I can play here. Building a house because I want building house. O2 lives here. M2 said I can build there, I was happy.”   

Language was used to request entry into play stories with others. When a request was denied, the child moved on to find other play experiences. The children were able to demonstrate the ability to play and engage collaboratively with others and to acknowledge when they have done something to upset their peers.

  • E “I was playing racing cars. I was building a house and the house have a bed and for parking. I made the roof. I put a chair behind the house because when we go outside we can sit on it. I was playing, putting cars in it.

  • E “That is the cars are driving up. That is fun.”

  • E “We are planning to play together (outside). I was faster a little bit. And yesterday I was fast. And today we were the same fast.”  
  • H “Outside playing together. Running race.” 
  • L (in Mandarin) “I said No to O1 because I thought he might put too many things in the space and I won’t have enough space to build. O1 says No putting then I don’t put it in the tub.”

  • M2 “This is a road. You can go to the house. This is the park.”

One child was non-verbal during play and seemed to prefer playing alongside others, observing and listening to play around him. He was thoughtful and intentional with his creation, choosing objects carefully to meet a purpose.

A the end of play, we reflected on the block play experiences. We asked the children what they they needed to do or think about when playing with blocks.

We need to remember:

  • Not to break it if there is a name. (Eli)
  • If you want some pieces, you can ask ‘who built it’. (Eli)
  • If we see no name on it, we look around it to see if there is a name. (Eli)
  • Keep the bocks clean. (Jeongyoon)
  • We can ‘be friends’ with blocks. We can build a city. (Oliver)
  • Put the blocks nicely on the floor. Use the blocks safely. (Eunbyul)
  • Build with the blocks. Gently touch the blocks so we don’t break them. (Howie)
  • Ask if you can join the play using kind words. (Oxford)

Block Play with Howie and Eli

Leave a comment

A group of children worked on their block structures over a sustained period of time, creating plans, solving problems and making changes to the initial design to suit their story. The adults observed the interactions and documented their play over time. When the children saw the video, they reflected on their play, discussing their initial plans and process.

Howie “This is we building blocks. And Mo Mo is helping us to build. And I put my name on the house and I was playing with my house. And we is building and we use which car to drive on the tracks.”

Eli “The pictures help me of looking     how to build the hospital and the hotel and that is how I know which pieces is which pieces. I like the hospital and the hotel so I will build it the same as the picture. The building blocks and then putting racing car and then driving them around and then building the T Rex into the hospital and the T Rex mommy into the hospital and we build the all of the race cars and the race road and Mo Mo was helping.”

Howie “I was drawing because I want show us I build and someone comes and he sees my picture and then he can’t touch it. It’s the same make as my blocks because it’s hard to build but it has lots of blocks we can build.”

Eli “I have to remember to build the right pieces we have to write hospital and we have to write hotel. Writing help me learn how to write words. But they all look different (blocks). I think which block I need and then I know which blog I used.”

  • How do we make choices about the materials we use to create?
  • What skills do we need to create a story?
  • What skills do we need to work together?
  • How do we record our planning and thinking (making thinking visible)?
  • How can we share our creations and stories with others?

Colours and Feelings

Leave a comment

Ms. Sue has been talking to the children about feelings and emotions, and the appropriate ways we can express these emotions to show how we feel. We read the story ‘The Color Monster: A Story About Emotions’ by Anna Llenas, to explore the connection between colour and emotions.

 

In this delightful story, a Color Monster wakes up feeling very confused. His emotions are all over the place; he feels angry, happy, calm, sad, and scared all at once! A little girl helps him sort through his feelings to help him define his mixed-up emotions. The images throughout the story helped us think about the different situations that lead to the way we feel. It led to a conversation about the different ways we can express our feelings and emotions through colour and storytelling.

The adults in the space captured the artists’ ideas and stories as they documented their feelings, emotions and stories through their artwork.

Yellow is Happy
From the artist…
Liz “This is yellow, it is happy. This is baby bird and mummy. They are eating fruit. This is small, small bird. Daddy bird is eat worms. Daddy is happy. This is tree. The bird house is in the tree. I am happy because I see the birds. I chose yellow because it is happy. I am happy when I play rabbit with Morning. Morning is the rabbit and I am rabbit mommy. Rabbit mummy plays with the rabbit. At home I am happy when I play with brother George. We play with toy mouse.”

Golden is Surprised

Green is Calm

From the artist…

 Oliver “When I see green, I feel calm down. I think about playing games. My heart feels better. I chose green because it is calm. Bunny is calm because he wants to eat all the carrots. The carrots make him feel calm. The carrots are from the garden. Mr. Seth grows the carrots. There are clouds, they are calm clouds because the sun made them calm. And the sun is also calm because the moon makes him calm. It’s because he is strong, he can also make the sun calm. The dots are calm butterflies. It’s because the ants made them calm. Because they used leaves to make the butterflies calm. There is a farm where the cows live. And its also where you get milk. And the bunny wants to eat the carrots from the growing farm. And there is a rainbow because the day is calm down. Everything is calm down. It is good to calm down because its quiet. Others are learning so quiet is good. And the rabbit is a girl because she has long ears. And the sun are also calm down. The moon makes the sun calm down and the rainbow makes the clouds calm down.”

Pink is Love

From the artist…

Morning “I think pink is love. Love is love her mummy. I used pink and pink. It is love. Because he loves bunny’s mommy. Bunny’s mummy gives Bunny one watermelon. Bunny wants to eat so mummy gives it to him. Bunny and mummy love to eat together. Bunny is in a nest, mummy made a nest for baby bunny and it sleeps in a nest. Mummy closed the doors when bunny is sleeping. Bunny is very small and mum will put the light off and close the nest door. The bunny will cry if she doesn’t close the door because it thinks there will be a monster outside. Mummy keeps Bunny safe. Mummy sleeps in the big nest. If bunny is scared he can open the little window to see mummy. Grandma loves me. I sleep in a little small nest too. My mummy sleeps in the big bed. The bunny is me. The bunny mummy is my mommy.”

We observed how the children used their experiences, imagination and theories creatively. Each stroke on their paper was intentional, showing the actions feelings and personalities of different characters in their stories.

Showing Actions and Feelings

Leave a comment

How might we show the actions and feelings of a character? 

Picture books communicate with both words and with pictures. One key way to enhance illustration is to dramatise the artwork. A good character, first and foremost, must evoke a reaction from the reader. It’s the illustrator’s job to capture that spark, that energy, that grabs the reader’s attention.

To explore this further, we decided to read yet another picture book by Mo Williems, ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!’. As we read the story, the children demonstrated the actions and feelings of the characters in the story.

We began to see how the pigeon shared his disappointment, anger, surprise, joy and thoughtfulness. We also noticed how Pigeon moved to show what he was doing or feeling.

During quiet writing time, the children sit with writing tools to express their ideas and stories through pictures and words.

We used Oxford’s drawing to talk about the character’s feelings and actions. Oxford’s story was about a thief who stole money from a shopping mall. A person close to the mall was surprised by what he observed and showed his emotion through facial expressions. Spiderman was around to save the day, making a plan to catch the thief with the stolen money.

Oxford thought about his drawing and wondered what more he could do to show feelings, emotions and action through his artwork. 

Next, we chose a character from our stories and then drew to show all the different ways a character was feeling.  

The children were invited to share why the character was feeling that way. They were excited to share their drawings, using their imagination to extend their initial thoughts.

We were ready to add our new ideas on the chart paper.

We wonder how the children would use these different craft moves in their own writing and storytelling. 

Launching ‘Writing Workshop’

Leave a comment

The children were introduced to ‘time for writing’ through ‘Writing Workshop’. This is a dedicated time when we explore, notice and practice different writing behaviours and skills that help us as readers and writers.

The children prepared their Writing Workshop Folder, using labels, words and pictures to share information. They drew a ‘happy face’ on one side to save the ‘completed’ pieces of writing, and a ‘pencil’ on the other to save their ‘work in progress’.

Then, we offered the children paper to start their K2 writing journey. This was an opportunity for the teachers to explore the children’s interests and passions. Listening to the children’s stories helped us know more about their topics and ideas for writing.

During ‘time for sharing’, the children were encouraged to talk about who, where and what their stories were about. This is an opportunity for the children to learn from each other, grow their craft and learn different techniques and strategies that make their stories interesting to their readers.

As we move forward, the children will revisit their work to either continue their writing or create new pieces of work during the ‘Writing Workshop’ time.

Thorough ‘Writing Workshop‘, the children:

  • use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, or to tell a story.
  • with guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

Literacy through Story Workshop

Leave a comment

Story Workshop is a hands-on approach that that allows children to create, talk about and use drawing and writing to share their stories. The children are invited to use loose parts at different centers in the classroom to develop their story ideas before moving to write their ideas down.

It’s much easier to start thinking of a story line when you have physical pieces in front of you. Children start manipulating them, making shapes, building structures, adding characters and soon they’ve created the base of a story. The hands-on experience encourages creativity and imagination.

The adults in the space listen to the children’s ideas, offering suggestions and supporting key literacy skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Props for the Showcase

Leave a comment

The storytelling groups have brainstormed ideas for their props. They have made a list of what they will need to tell their stories to an audience. One group went with Ms. Jo to begin the process of making the props. They gathered to talk about their ideas. Decisions needed to be made.

Ms. Jo asked the storytellers to consider the stage, and then think about the size of the props. How big or small do the props need to be?

What materials would you need to use?

K2 designers know the value of collaboration and voice. The group discussed each prop to gather as many ideas as possible.

Sword:

  • Patrick suggested they use plastic and Dylan thought metal was a better choice.

Stop Sign: Patrick “Cut a paper and write “stop” on it and glue it on.”

  • Jessie “We need to cut it smaller.”

Rocket Bomb:

  • Patrick “A bomb.”
  • Dylan Jessie & Patrick “A water bottle.”
  • Soohyeon “A big water bottle.”

Treasure Box:

  • Patrick “We can draw a key on the box.”
  • Soohyeon and Dylan “Not open the box.”

Rope: How can we make the rope a magic rope?

  • Soohyeon “With paint.”
  • Patrick “Glue some gems.”
  • Georgia “Use pipe cleaners.”

Cars:

  • Soohyeon “Lego car.”
  • Jessie “The cardboard car which Dylan make in class.”

Over the next few weeks, each group of storytellers will collaborate with different experts to create the props they need for the Showcase. They will need to consider their presentation, technique, and audience. They will need to conduct research, to explore and make choices about spaces, materials and technology tools that will showcase their creativity. They will need to listen to each other’s ideas, work collaboratively to accomplish their goal ‘to make an assembly with stories for the whole school and our families‘.

The Art of Storytelling

Leave a comment

The storytellers drew their ideas for what the stage might look like. Ms. Heidi came in to show us one way to present using sound, props, musical instruments, costumes and a setting.

She invited the K2 storytellers to think about her performance piece and how some of the ideas she presented could be used in the K2 Showcase.

– What ideas could we use?

– What NEW ideas do we have?

We could:

  • make our own sound effects
  • make the sounds of the animals
  • use our own voices to make sound effects
  • be the animal characters
  • 3 people can make the sounds and one person can show the puppets
  • divide the jobs
  • make puppets in our group and have a group sing a song
  • make our own props
  • make our own backdrops or settings
  • make the stage look like the setting
  • use props and fabric to tell the story
  • use puppets and plastic animals

Two groups presented their storyboard 2 ideas to Ms. Heidi. She gave them feedback and made some suggestions.

Together, they brainstormed ideas for the:

  • cast
  • props
  • sound effects
  • backdrop
  • and decided how they wanted to narrate or ‘tell’ the story.

We are excited to see the different ideas the storytellers have thought about as they use the Performing Arts Creative Cycle of planning, practicing, polishing and performing to help them create and present their K2 Showcase.

The Stage Plan

Leave a comment

The Showcase groups have been using the feedback they received from their peers and teachers to make their stories more interesting and exciting. Some groups have focused more on the characters, others on the sequence and events in their stories. They have noted these changes on a Draft 2 Storyboard.

We gathered to review our plans so far, reflecting on our goal: ‘to make an assembly with stories for the whole school and our families’. ​

We wondered what the stage might look like. The children said:

  • “They will see us on stage.”
  • “We might be singing.”
  • “We might be playing the guitar or ukulele.”

We knew we had to do some ‘imagining’.

Mr. Seth said, “When the curtains open, what is the audience going to see?”

The storytellers were invited to ‘imagine’ the stage. They could create their stage plans with a friend or work alone. The storytellers used pictures and explanations to share what the stage might look like during the Showcase.  

 Our next step is to present these individual or group ideas to Ms. Heidi, to receive her feedback. Then, we can collectively decide on how the stories are presented on the stage.

Showcase Storyboard Presentations

Leave a comment

The storytellers have been discussing ideas and creating storyboards to plan the sequence of their performance. Over the planning sessions, we noticed how the storytellers collaborated with each other, making suggestions, taking turns and including everyone in the task.

Some of the groups were ready to present their initial storyboards with the intention of seeking feedback and suggestions for improvement. We used the T.A.G. feedback protocol to help the storytellers with this process.

 

The Story Presentation by Dylan, Patrick, Soohyeon, Jessie and Tae Woo​

The Story: The ghost goes to the king’s castle. King goes to the ghost’s house. The monsters see the dragon.​The good monsters and germs go to the king’s house for a party. They make the king feel better. ​​

  • Tracey “Why are the monsters going to the party?” ​
  • Suggestions from Mr. Seth “Let the audience the know which monsters are good and which are bad.” ​

Story Presentation by Yilun, Mason, Kyle and Ethan​

The Story: The snowman melts and the ambulance comes. The snowman melts in the ambulance. The monster comes and gives the ambulance driver a red packet. The driver makes a new snowman​.

  • Soohyeon “I like the melting.” ​
  • Patrick “I like the drawing​.”
  • Tracy “I like the snowman because the snowman is cute.”​
  • Luca “I like the happy ending​.”
  • Yeonwoo “I like the snowman’s head.​”
  • Dylan “Why have a snowman?” ​
  • Patrick “Why does the monster go to give the driver the red pocket?” ​
  • Luca “Why did the snowman melt?”​

 

Story Presentation by Yeonwoo, Doho, Eujin and Jiu​

The Story: Rainbow looks at the rainbow house. Rainbow finds a rainbow ghost in the house. Rainbow ghost goes to the roller coaster. A punching robot breaks the roller coaster. Another robot fixes it. Rainbow ghost finished the roller coaster and went home. Another robot goes to the rainbow ghost’s house. The end. ​

  • ​Luca “I like the rainbow ghost because it goes on the roller coaster.” ​
  • Soohyeon “I like the rainbow house, because it is the same as the rainbow.” ​
  • Kenan “I like the roller coaster.”​
  • Soohyeon “Where is the roller coaster?” ​
  • Heidi “Why does rainbow find a ghost?”​
  • Seth “Is rainbow a character?” ​
  • Luca “If rainbow ghost has a telescope, he can look at the rainbow.” ​
  • Soohyeon “Put a camera on the roller coaster so we can see.” ​
  • Patrick “The rainbow can be a roller coaster​.”

 

Story Presentation by Junot, Luca, Noah, Kenan, Allen and Tracey​

The Story: The girl goes to the house and she sees a snowman.  She sees a tree. She goes to the tree and sees a roller coaster. A princess is on the roller coaster and the unicorn is flying above.  A dragon comes from the sea, and fights with the princess and unicorn. Then the dragon flies back over the sea. Then they have a party and then they see a rainbow. The dragon goes back under water. ​

  • Soohyeon “I like the sea, because of the water.​”
  • Yeonwoo “I like the rainbow, because it is colorful.” ​
  • Jessie “I like the rainbow, because it is colourful​.”
  • Jiu “Why did the dragon come?”​
  • Soohyeon “What kind of dragon is it? Why is a fire dragon in the sea?” ​
  • Kyle “Why did the princess and dragon fight?​”
  • Heidi “Why the dragon come back again and then go back to his home again?” ​
  • Yeonwoo “Why is there a rainbow?” ​
  • Shemo “What happened to the snowman?​”
  • Heidi “Explain why the dragon comes and what it wants.”
  • Soohyeon “Give the dragon two homes.”

 

Story Presentation by Yuha, Eunice, Sean and Chloe

​The Story: This is water like a fountain. There is a unicorn heart and unicorn rabbit. This is the castle at Disneyland. This is me, this is my rabbit and heart unicorn. They go to the castle. The ghosts made the music. They ghosts are wiggly, wiggle and say “Oooooh”. The ghost is coming. They see a toy rabbit and it has red all over it and think it is blood. He goes “ah”, but it is jam. They lick it off. Then they go to see the fireworks. And then go into the house.

  • Soohyeon “I like the fireworks and the unicorn.” ​
  • Yeonwoo “I like the strawberry jam, because it’s yummy.​”
  • Patrick “I like the strawberry jam, because it is sticky and yummy.​”
  • Luca “I like the unicorn, because it’s so cute. You can put the jam on the ghost.” ​
  • Jessie “I like the drawings.” ​
  • Yilun “I like the fireworks, because of the colours.​”
  • Junot “I like the fireworks ​
  • Kyle “I like the rabbit, because it is cute.” 
  • Yeonwoo “Why did the ghost come?​”
  • Patrick “In the end, where did the ghosts go?​”
  • Soohyeon “Why are there only two colors?”  ​
  • Luca “Who are the characters in the shop?” ​
  • Kyle “Why did they go to the castle?”  ​
  • Soohyeon “More colours.” ​
  • Yeonwoo “More lines on the story.​”
  • Patrick “More details​.”
  • Dylan “More details.” ​
  • Jessie “Add more colours.” ​
  • Kyle “I think you need more colours.” ​
  • Patrick “Let people know what the music is.”

All the groups have presented their storyboards. The audience have shared what they liked, asked questions to learn more about the story and offered suggestions for improvement. We noticed that the children became more familiar with using the T.A.G. feedback protocol with each presentation. They were becoming more aware of how questions, suggestions and feedback can help the storytellers improve their story, setting, characters and plots.

When we return from our holiday, we will begin to think about the different ways we can present stories.

Group Story Plan and Storyboard

Leave a comment

Group Story Plan

The groups convened with clipboards in hand to talk about their ideas and put them down on paper. They sat around chart paper, using pictures and words to share their ideas.

Many of the groups discussed characters and settings. We noticed the children collaborating, looking for ways to include and weave in ideas suggested by others.

We noticed the children being open-minded and inclusive, using a common language and gestures to share their ideas.

The chart papers were overflowing with suggestions. Scary, funny stories began to emerge.

At the end of the session, the children gathered to talk about their next steps. A challenge was to identify the ‘plot’ in the story.

  • What was going to happen in the story?
  • How do we know what happens first, then, next and finally?

 

 

The Storyboard

The next day, Ms. Heidi joined our planning. We revisited what we did the previous day.

  • Jessie “We went into groups and drew different things and shared ideas.”

Then, A few groups shared their ideas for stories.

Group “Snowman, people and bugs that bite people. It is on a mountain.”

  • Ms. Heidi “Think about how many characters you need to have in your story. If we have 5 people in our group, we might want to have 5 characters. The narrator might be there to tell the story.”

Group “It’s in a castle. We have ghosts and germs.”

Group “Our story is in the rainbow and a roller coaster. We have rainbow ghosts. Rainbow ghosts and A robots.”

  • Mr. Seth “You have lots of characters and lots of settings. We have a beginning, the middle and an end.”

Created by Mr. Seth

Mr. Seth introduced a ‘storyboard’, a way to plan a story.

The children went off into their groups to create their storyboards. The teachers checked-in with the groups to listen, suggest, brainstorm and provide feedback.

The children worked hard to include different ideas while thinking of the flow of the story.

We continue to talk about the sequence of a story, the plot and end.

How can we make our stories more interesting? Our collaborative storytelling continues…

The K2 Showcase

Leave a comment

The Brainstorm

The K2 children gathered to brainstorm ideas for their showcase.

Mr. Seth “Every class share at an assembly and soon it will be our turn to present at our K2 showcase. We have been doing a lot of storytelling this year. What are some of the ways we have told stories?”

  • Patrick “I told a story about scary germs. I told it with Mason and Andy.”
  • Tracey “I told a funny story.”

Teacher “What would you like to share? What will that look like?”

The children put their ideas down on paper and discussed their thinking and suggestions with others in their group. At the end of the brainstorm, the children’s ideas included:

  • Where: On the stage, sitting on cushions​
  • Who: Small groups​
  • How: Books, video, puppets, music​
  • What: Stories about nature, scary, funny

Details​

  • Characters:monsters, germs​
  • Puppets:Giant​
  • Music:instruments​
  • Decorations​
  • Sets: colorful, rainbow city, castle,  ​
  • Props: hot air balloon, roller coaster

We look forward to our next planning meeting as the children decide on more specific information.

 

The PLAN 

What ideas do you have for your story?

We gathered to think about our next steps in planning the showcase. 

After a brief discussion about the different stages; initiating, planning, delivering and closing, the children were invited to think about all the different ideas they had, to create an initial plan.

 

The children began to discuss their ideas and put them down on paper. Favourite characters and settings began to emerge through their drawings.

Then, we went to the next stage, to share ideas with others and decide if we want to create groups to tell our stories.

At this stage, the children needed to decide if they wanted to join others based on the characters and stories.

Splat!

Leave a comment

What is SPLAT?

The ‘SPLAT’ math activity is a great way to talk about number. Essentially, a set of dots are shown using manipulatives or a screen. A “splat” or blob covers some of the dots. Then question is:

“How many dots have been covered by the splat?”

The mathematicians used what they know about number relationships to solve the problem. Exploring some of the thinking and reasoning led to creating equations. Finally, the children created their own class ‘SPLAT’ book.

Story Workshop

Leave a comment

We Are Writers!

We gathered to brainstorm what makes us writers.

  • What do writers do?
  • How are WE writers?

The children shared their ideas, and we documented their thinking on chart paper.

When we write we can:

  • talk about writing
  • write in different languages
  • tell people ‘how to’ do things
  • make books to tell people about ‘real’ things (what is inside a fish)
  • tell true or imaginary stories
  • make books
  • use
    • finger spaces
    • punctuation
    • capital letters for names and at the beginning of a sentence
    • quotation makes
    • speech bubbles
  • tell about things that happened a long time ago (dinosaurs)
  • use words and pictures
  • use paper, notepads, paper and books
  • write with pens, markers and pencils

 

What is Story Workshop?

The writers were introduced to Story Workshop. Story Workshop is a classroom structure that is used to support language and literacy. The adults consider the space, environment, story materials, writing tools, books and props that invite storytelling.

The arrangements of materials inspire storytelling, conversation, imagination concentration, negotiation and investigation. The ‘play’ with materials helps the writers use writing tools to share their ideas using marks, pictures, symbols, words and sentences. The active engagement encourages the writers to write and create complex stories.

The writers may have individual or group workspaces to help them explore a range of materials. A workspace or placemat helps anchor the writer’s workspace so that they can manage and co create stories alongside or with others. Writers are encouraged to record stories using pencil and paper, which can be collated into books.

Writing tools and materials that support writing were discussed.

Writers in K2 have access to these materials throughout the day to help them explore writing for different purposes.

Planning, Practicing, Polishing and Performing

Leave a comment

In Performing Arts, the children worked on the second half of the Performing Arts Creative Cycle of planning, practicing, polishing and performing. They polished and performed their stick puppet shows​ based on their ‘own’ stories inspired by the story ‘Rosie’s Walk‘.

 

The children completed the sound recordings of the sound effects. Then, they made the second sound effects by selecting percussion instruments related to what happened in the stories.

They also recorded their ‘narration‘ of the journey that our stick puppet animals went on. Finally, the children used these sound recordings to perform the puppet shows. 

The Storytellers

Leave a comment

We have been exploring how we can enjoy, learn and express ourselves through the arts. The K2 storytellers have been working in groups, creating maps and characters to tell their own stories. While creating art, the children made choices to construct meaning about the world around them. We observed this as they used positional language and familiar places in the environment to decide how their characters will travel as they tell the story. Some of the maps included the school, their homes, bridges, and waterways. We noticed that the stories were inspired by their experiences and imagination.

It was time to ‘tell’ the story. Ms. Heidi came in to help the storytellers explore different ways to tell stories. First, they revisited the story ‘Rosie’s Walk’ and watched the video where they retold the story in the Performing Arts room. 

Then, the storytellers showed Ms. Heidi their maps and characters. Ms. Heidi invited the storytellers to explore different ways to tell stories.

The options included using the overhead projector and the white curtain, using the light-box or the class projector and screen.

The storytellers discussed their options, and then went off the practice their storytelling. Ms. Heidi reminded the storytellers that feelings, moods and ideas can be expressed creatively using vocal sounds and dramatic expression.

Through this experience they engaged in a creative process that involves joining in, exploring and taking risks.

In the next few days, the storytellers will practice and refine their stories, and decide who they would like to have as an audience.

Maps and Storytelling

Leave a comment

We noticed the interest the children showed in acting out, creating and sharing different versions of ‘Rosie’s Walk’. They worked with Ms. Heidi to retell the story, using what they know about maps and positional language to show movement. Back in the classroom, some students even created their own maps!

The teachers decided to invite the children to create their own stories and maps. Four groups were created, offering children an opportunity to work with mixed groups. First, the groups discussed their ideas. Then, the children had to decide on the characters. This step was a challenge as each child had their own ideas. Through negotiation and conversation, they were able to decide which 2 characters will be part of the story.

Next, the children considered the different places (setting) the story will happen. They had to look for ways to connect different ideas to make one story. We observed the children listening and considering ideas put forward by the group. After discussing their ideas, the children began to draw on a large piece of paper.   During this step of the process, we noticed how some groups needed to pause, and take time to speak to others about the way they documented their ideas on paper. We noticed how the children managed their frustrations as they worked together on one paper. This can be a challenge as once something has been drawn, it could not be removed. Throughout the task, the children practiced their social skills, listening, considering, sharing, and working towards a shared idea.

The storytellers decided on the sequence of the story, making choices about the way the story will flow. They revisited the vocabulary that could help them show ‘how’ the characters move and act throughout the story. They used a chart to record this information.

As the children worked together, we noticed how they used the vocabulary to decide direction, position and moment.

Next, each group will decide how the story could be shared with the other groups, or the community.

Rosie’s Walk

Leave a comment

Distance Learning Provocations

Focus: Communication Skills, Literacy and Mathematics

Rosie lives in a farmyard. Each morning, Rosie sets off on a walk across the farm. She is unaware that a sly fox is following her.

You can click the link to listen to the story ‘Rosie’s Walk’ by Pat Hutchins. Notice how the pictures are illustrated. There are lines, patterns and shapes on the different characters and the environment.

 

You might want to act out the story using your own animals or props. You can even use boxes, cushions and blankets and any other suitable props to create a farmyard to go on your own walk. You can go across, around, over, past, through, and under.

Your own story can be in a different place such as a forest, an island or even a city. You might want to act out your story in the park or on the playground!

If you create a story, share it with us!

Storytelling with Paper Crafts

Leave a comment

Distance Learning Provocations

Focus: Literacy, Creativity and Communication Skills

Let’s explore how we might tell stories with paper and card. Meet Esther, a wonderful story character created with card. You can learn how to make Esther here:

You can watch the video ‘Esther’s Transformations’ for more ideas here:

Use card or paper to create your own characters.

Find a setting or a place to tell your story. It can be indoors or out in nature!

Share your characters and story with us!

Mouse Count

Leave a comment

We read the picture book 🐁  Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh. This is a wonderful picture book that encourages conversations about number, quantity and addition.

After reading the story, we watched a short video that encouraged the children to think about the multiple combinations that make 10.

 

We wonder how many different ways 10 mice can be arranged with some in the jar and some in the grass.

Through play and dialogue, we looked a few different combinations using stones to represent mice. 

Then, the children were invited to make their own number book.

One student decided to tell his own number story using the different loose parts in the campfire.

We are learning to create number stories by modelling joining and separating concrete objects. We can use language to describe changes to a collection as objects are added or taken away.

The children documented their thinking on paper using pictures, numbers and symbols. These pages will be collated to create a number book.

As authors and illustrators, their next task was to decide what the cover of the book should look like.

They had to think of a ‘title’ that gives the reader an idea of what the book might be about.  

Finally, the children included a picture on the front cover along with the authors name.

 

The Present

Leave a comment

We watched the beautifully animated story ‘Penguin‘ by Polly Dunbar. This is a story about a silent penguin who has a very special way of expressing himself.  

For the story read by the author Polly Dunbar click HERE!

Writing Task:

Imagine that you rip open a present just like Ben does. Which animal would you like to find inside and why? What adventures would you have?

This writing task encouraged students to:

  • write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences
  • develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach
  • use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others

Literature Circle Roles – Passage Picker

Leave a comment

We read the story ‘A New Home for Beaver‘ by Henna Goudzand Nahar, illustrated by Jeska Verstegen. This is a wonderful story about 3 friends (Elephant, Pig and Beaver) who learn about the importance of kindness and inclusion. 

After reading the text, the students were invited to pick out their favourite part of the book and explain why they chose it. This could be…

  • an interesting part
  • an exciting part
  • an happy part
  • an sad part
  • an scary part

The Memory Book – Final Steps

Leave a comment

Our next step in creating the Memory Book was to decide on the layout of the stories. The students suggested that the stories should be presented in ‘alphabetical order’ (student names).

They shuffled their bodies, standing one behind the other, organising themselves into the correct space.

When the students checked their list, they realised that they had not included the 3 students that had left NIS at the end of the last semester. The adjustments were made.

Then, we included the final page with the ‘Author Interviews’. Each student decided what they wanted their readers to know about them and their stories. The interviews were included with photographs of the authors, as suggested on the plan.

Next, the students dictated the information that would be included in the blurb, on the cover at the back of the book. They discussed their ideas, deciding on the most relevant information that would hook the readers. A photograph of the mural was included on the back cover.   

Then, the page numbers were included, and the contents page was created.

The Draft Memory Book has been completed. We were ready to send it off to the printer!

The Memory Book and Mural Project encouraged the students to see themselves as authors, illustrators, readers, and decision makers. Through this journey, the students developed an awareness, and an appreciation for different forms of expression. They have worked collaboratively to create artefacts that celebrate the culture, values, and community of Second Grade.

Memory Book (Click to read)

Theme:

How We Express Ourselves 2020-21

Central Idea:

Communities come together through expressions of culture.

Lines of Inquiry:

  • Ways cultures are expressed (Form)
  • Similarities and differences of expression (Connection)
  • Why we communicate cultural stories (Perspective)

Key Concepts: form, connection, perspective

Related Concepts: Expression, communication

The Memory Book (Continued)

Leave a comment

We gathered to reflect and update our plan for the Memory Book. We went through the process we have followed and thought about our next steps. 

The students have all created their individual stories for the Memory Book. 

Out next step was to discuss and come to an agreement on the look and feel of the book, starting with the front and back cover. The students decided that they wanted to create both a hard copy and an electronic version of the book. 

The students decided to vote on the colour of the front and back cover. They suggested a table would be a useful tool to document our data. Two popular choices emerged. Green and Purple. 

Yet another table was created to help us decide which colour would be used for the front and back cover. 

Next, we voted on the different titles the students had suggested. A clear winner emerged. The book would be titled ‘2A Memory Book‘.

The process documented

Watch this space to learn more about our next steps…

The Memory Book

Leave a comment

The students have been working on their short stories, which will be included in the final Memory Book. They have followed the writing process, moving from their draft to their edited and published versions.

These books are now displayed in the G1 and 2 corridors along with our learning stories.

We took some time to share these stories with each other.

We have followed our initial plan, created our stories and are in the process of creating our class mural. We gathered to discuss our ideas for the Memory Book.

  • What about a title for the book? How will we decide which one to choose?
  • How would we organize the different stories?
  • Where will this book be displayed?

The students continued to share what they thought our next steps would be. Some suggestions included:

  • author interviews
  • page numbers
  • a blurb
  • a contents page
  • photographs of the authors
  • headers
  • images and diagrams of planners and the mural painting

We know that these decisions need to be made as a group, as this is what we ‘value’ in 2A. Watch this space to learn more about our next steps…

Folktales

Leave a comment

An inquiry into Folktales:

Passed down from generation to generation, folktales provide a glimpse into a culture’s beliefs, and also insight into people’s motivations, feelings and values.

We read the folktale Stone Soup by Jon J Muth. In this story, three monks convince the people of a village to share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal that everyone enjoys.

After listening to the story, the students identified the characters, setting, problem, solution and moral of the story. We also noticed the details in the illustrations and how they give us clues about the text.

(Communication Skills: Exchanging information: Listening, interpreting and speaking)

The next day, one student reread the folktale while a story map was created. We used labels to help us remember important vocabulary and key information from the story.

(Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

The students completed a graphic organizer to document the discussion points.

The moral of the story Stone Soup by Jon J Muth, is that ‘sharing benefits everyone who contributes’.

Next, we read Stone Soup by Marcia Brown. In this version, the travellers are 3 soldiers.

(Communication Skills: Exchanging information: Listening, interpreting and speaking)

Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

The students helped create a story map of this version by Marcia Brown, including the important elements and key vocabulary. We compared the two versions of Stone Soup and thought about the similarities and differences between them. 

Next, we documented our thinking on a graphic Venn Diagram.

(Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

(Research Skills: Information literacy: Formulating and planning, data gathering and recording, synthesizing and interpreting, evaluating and communicating)

One student brought in yet another version of Stone Soup, this time it was written in Korean. He worked with a partner to read and translate the story for the others. As they read the story, we thought about similarities and differences between all three versions. 

(Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

We continued to add our thoughts and ideas on our mind map, discussing what we know and think these important words might be.

(Thinking Skills: Creative thinking: Generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives)

We continue to wonder about the concepts ‘community’ and ‘culture’, what do these words mean to us? How do communities ‘express’ their culture?

We wonder…

Storytellers

Leave a comment

Two groups of students read interesting fictional stories that included animal characters. We decided to share these stories with the rest of the class.

The students had to decide who would be involved and what role they would play. Some decided that they would be part of the props team, helping to create the setting and the props for the story. The students had to cooperate, find ways to work together and listen to each other’s ideas.

The Setting

The Characters and Props

We reminded ourselves of what a good audience might look like. We had to plan, prepare the props, run through a practice and then perform for others in just 50 minutes!

Crafting Powerful Small Moments

Leave a comment

We are working on crafting powerful small moments.

We know that authors tell meaningful stories. We began by reading ‘Owl Moon; by Jane Yolen, a mentor text that focuses on ‘small moments’.

Session 1: Generate meaningful ideas for small moment writing.

Owl Moon is a story about Heidi, the author’s daughter, who went looking for owls with her dad. It’s a beautiful ‘small moment’ story that captures and shares details about the winter night, the trees, the snow and mysterious nighttime bird. As we read the story, we thought about meaningful moments that WE wanted to write about. 

Session 2: Capture ideas.

We have been jotting down ideas for writing in our planning sheet, which is in our Writer’s Workshop folder.  

We looked at a few writing samples and discussed the strategies good writers use. The students explained that in this piece of writing, the writer remembered to:

  • use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence
  • keep spaces between words
  • use different types of punctuation
  • match the writing with the pictures
  • print words neatly on the line
  • use capital letters to show that some words were important
  • stretch the writing across 3 pages
  • use interesting words

We also discussed how the writer wanted story to be read! 

We revisited the Anchor Chart ‘How to Write a Story’. 

We discussed how we might add details to stretch the beginning.

We talked about the different ways we can bring our stories to life. We know that talking about our story and creating a sketch before writing is a great way to plan. 

We talked about planning our story. What strategies and tools might we use to do this?

We discussed a strategy ‘Telling Across Fingers’. We know that when we have opportunities to first talk about our stories, we can then think more about adding details to stretch our writing across pages. 

Session 3: Stretch out small moments.

Then, we looked at some pieces of writing. We noticed that some writers jot down key words at the top of the  page to help them stretch out the small moment. 

We continue to practice the strategies and tools we have been discussing that will help us grow as writers.

 

1 2 3 4