Room 12 students have been using graphic organisers in a range of curriculum areas. In writing students learnt to use them to support remembering the sequence of a story.
The students also used graphic organisers to support learning during a technology lesson and when conducting science experiments. Breaking down the parts of the learning and either using pictures or having space to draw or record group ideas, supported students' understanding of processes like experiments and designs. The organisers supported brainstorming, research and decision making.
When my group designed our bridge we used the planning sheet to draw our bridge ideas, write what we needed to build and then to draw what happened.
We drew our ideas and wrote them too.
After having experienced a range of graphic organisers, they were introduced to a venn diagram to compare and contrast culture, food, and sports in New Zealand and Germany, our chosen country for our Term 3 Inquiry.
The pictures in the middle are the things that are the same in New Zealand and Germany. We both eat cake and have sausages.
The ones that are different go on the side. One side is for New Zealand and one side is for Germany.
With a venn diagram students could visually organise pictures and could clearly see where the different things went between the options given.
Students gained independence in using graphic organisers across the curriculum and to be able to orally explain their thinking.
Education has no beginning and no end. It ebbs and flows and is ever-changing. As an educator, it is my responsibility to instill a love of learning and an ability to adapt to an ever-changing world.
My teaching journey started at 40 when I retrained as a teacher after a career in journalism and many years as a stay-at-home mother. When we guide our students to be lifelong learners, we send them towards their next journey well-prepared for whatever life brings.
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