We have two step ladders. We had to decide which one we would keep to use in the classroom and which one we would give away to someone who needs it. The children called them ‘benches’.
- Charlotte “PreK-K1 made this one. Because my think so (coloured bench).”
- Felix “And grade 4 made this (the green bench).”
- Felix suggested that Ms. Karen could have the second bench. “But we could make more for every class. But maybe we can make more!”
We were not sure if we could make more benches at this point, but we know that we do not need two in one space.
We suggested that we give one away.
- Charlotte “Ms. Hannah.”
- Nina “Ms. Krystal.”
We made a list of the people who might want a bench.
Felix “But then we have to make so many!”
Ms. Anna Mila
- Charlotte “Maybe it’s too many!”
- Felix “Maybe we should count them cause we know how many we have to make.”
We counted to see how many people we had on the list. There were 12 people on the list! BUT we did not have 12 benches.
Next, we had to decide which bench we wanted to keep in our campfire. The children voted for the bench they wanted to keep by standing behind their chosen bench.
The children counted to see the results of their vote.
We had 4 children choose the green bench and 8 children vote for the coloured bench.
It was decided that we will keep the coloured bench.
Next, we had to vote on who would receive the second bench.
One by one the children called out the name of the teacher.
- Felix “But there are two 4’s!”
Ms. Anna Mila and Ms. Pat had received the same number of votes. We now had to decide what to do about our results.
- Nina “We can make another one!”
- Felix “We only want 1 more.”
Making one more bench was one option.
- Sarah “Share!”
- Charlotte “I think sharing with people teachers.”
- Michelle “Sharing is caring.”
Some of the children agreed that we can ask them to share the benches. But Felix insisted that making one more bench was a better idea when he said, “Because I like to build.”
We wonder how we might solve this problem…
Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)
- Organize information.
- Draw conclusions and generalizations.
- Seek information.
- Gather information from a variety of sources (people)
- Record observations—drawing, charting, tallying
- Sort and categorize information and materials; arrange into forms or order, for example, with graphs, marks or symbols using emergent writing skills.
- Analyse and interpret information.
- Express oneself using words and sentences.
- Understand that mark-making carries meaning.
- Share responsibility for decision-making.
- Use strategies to problem-solve.