Eve
Graduate
Elementary Education |
Eve
Graduate
Elementary Education |
It rained sometime last night or early this morning. The sound of car wheels rolling over damp pavement let me know this before I registered the scent and sight of a rainy spring day. Let’s see. It has been over two weeks since I’ve last posted a blog. Much has happened! I’ll share a brief story about my spring holiday, what we’ve been up to in school, and a glimpse into the research I am doing. It’s incredible to think we have only two and a half weeks left of the program. First of all, Italians– no, Europeans in general– know how to holiday. It isn’t the American blitz-style holiday where you only get a few days of actual rest and relaxation after coming down from work. One work week off might allow for a ‘stay-cation’ where I’d clean my house, brunch with friends, and do a day trip, but to travel and forget about the ticking clock, more days are necessary. Eight work days off plus weekends is a holiday. This is what I did on mine: Holiday Part I - Geneva, SwitzerlandI spent four sunny days in Geneva, Switzerland with Frank, my friend and neighbor from Buffalo. He was there visiting his family, as his wife, Hélène, was from Geneva. It was an emotional trip because Hélène passed away recently, and on this trip he laid her ashes to rest in the town where her family is from. I was not there for the church service, but we visited the grave site that looks out over rolling fields of grape vines and the Alps. On a clear day Mont Blanc is visible. I sat for a long time with Frank taking in the view and listening to stories. It was a peaceful place, perfect for letting memories waft into the air and become part of the landscape. We had time to soak in whatever emotions that needed to come and go. We also toured the places he loves most about Geneva, like little towns, restaurants, cafes, and parks. On Easter we had dinner with Isabelle, Hélène's niece. We also took a boat tour around Le Lac de Genève. Since my visit settled over Easter weekend the museums and cultural sites were closed, but this didn’t bother me at all. I prefer to be outside when the weather is good. I had perfect walking weather so I trekked all over the city in between visits with Frank. Geneva is stunning. It is incredibly easy to navigate because the public transportation system is modernized, well planned, and easily accessible. It’s almost impossible to get lost. My kind of place (I can get lost in a paper bag. No spatial intelligence.). Enjoy the photos and a video of a close encounter with a swan. It's about 45 seconds. Holiday Part II - Glasgow, ScotlandGet this: all six days in Glasgow were sunny days! Can you believe it? I brought my yellow rain jacket and an umbrella but never needed to use them. I visited my friend, EmmaClaire, AKA: Dude. For those who have been reading my blog and do not know our history, we call each other “Dude” and we’ve been besties since we met in drama school. What can I say, EmC and I are two puzzle pieces in a 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that fit. I’ve lived in Glasgow before, visited a few times, and so this trip was less about exploring and all about EmC. We walked parks and visited the Highland Cows, brunched and drank delicious coffees at unique little cafes, and even got to paddle board on a warm day! I also went to see a play that she fight directed. Scotland is gorgeous, and Glasgow is such a fun city. Lots to do inside and outside. Did you know Glasgow has the largest inner city park in Europe? It is called Pollock Park, and that’s where we visited the Highland Cows! EmC lives nearby so I walked there every morning. I also spent time with my friend Jodie, who I lived with when I studied in Glasgow, and two other pals plus their families. Glasgow, I love you and your people! Oh! And EmC is going to have a baby. Her due date is my birthday. Coincidence? Please enjoy the photos and a video of kindergarteners mooing with the Highland Cows. "If only you had seen all I had to do."The quote that kicks off this section is from Your Image of the Child: Where Teaching Begins by Loris Malaguzzi [LINK]. Tuesday morning we were back in school for planning sessions and a bit of PD. My favorite part of the day was listening to an early years discussion about Reggio and the Inspired Schools IB curriculum. The woman facilitating, Marianne Valentine, is the Head of Early Years for Inspired Schools, which means she travels the world training and advising educators. The Early Years teachers asked a variety of questions ranging from what kinds of materials they ought to use in the classroom, to how they ought to organize and utilize the learning environment, to assessment. The assessment piece caught my attention because Marianne described it as Pedagogical Documentation in which students’ work is seen and affirmed, not judged. The questions she posed that stuck with me are: “Do we evaluate what they know or have achieved, or can we assess their potential moving forward?” and “Are we recording or assessing?” While listening to her speak it made me think that this kind of assessment seems to remove the fear and threat of being wrong, making mistakes, or getting bad grades. Documenting (assessment) is what we do and how; where we go from here; and how are we learning? After the PD I introduced myself to Marianne mainly because she is Scottish and I just got back from Scotland, and I hoped to make a connection. This conversation quickly revealed that we share similar backgrounds: she trained as a ballerina in Glasgow and I trained as an actor in Glasgow. Then, later on, we made a career change into education. Over lunch I also learned that part of her job is collaborating with architects to reimagine new schools. I think I said something profound like, “Wow. That is so cool.” To which she responded, “Yes, it’s one of my favorite parts of my job.” We also talked a bit about the Atelier role in Reggio because it is up my alley [LINK]. We’ll see. There is a lot to explore and do. Meanwhile, I loved meeting yet another artist who is a game changer in the world of education. It feels good. Meanwhile, the students are full-swing into their PYPX projects. I designed a lesson with the objective of organizing and initiating their PYPX action. The ‘action’ needs to be an event or workshop in which the 6th graders engage other students in their research. Overall the ideas are quite unique. They range from writing new myths based on constellations; making dog puppets, to chemistry experiments and a Renaissance quiz game. Part of organizing the workshop included drawing a diagram of the space and materials. Now they have a road map for their workshop and I can’t wait to see how it goes! The “action afternoon” is tentatively scheduled for May 10. Research: UDL, Math and Art HistoryBefore break I observed students take to the Maths PYPX lesson with intense curiosity. They came up with excellent mathematical questions, and created very different visual representations. The inquiry-based elements of this lesson inspired me to recreate lessons on mathematical conversions using arts integration for more expression and engagement. The research I am doing uses Universal Design for Learning principles to practice unit conversions in math explored through art history. It will be place-based: Via Francigena (the pilgrim’s route from Canterbury to Rome) that passes through Siena. It will include multiple modalities of experiencing conversion: physical (walking, paper maps) and digital (VF app, website, photos, video). It will include multiple ways of expressing conversion: map making and recipes (yes, pilgrim foods that are still traditional Tuscan dishes like ribollita or homemade beer). Also, the conversion of ideas is a unique concept (e.g. artistic ideas trickling down from France to Italy; comparing/contrasting measurements of architecture, etc.). Oh, and students get to choose what kind of pilgrim they want to be, and maybe measure/convert the foods they need to carry in their rucksack for the length of time they are walking. Loads to play with here. We’ll see what sticks, what I actually choose to include. The place-based aspect of these lessons are based on using the environment of students. In Buffalo I might use the Erie Canal or the Underground Railroad (hats off to Jill for this brainstorm). It should be transferable to any place.
2 Comments
Please enjoy a little self-indulgent poetry to kick off this blog post. Am I the Drama? Or, Reflections on Wellness. Reawakening after illness, Processing the long moment; The realignment of self. Praying for the fog to lift, Emerging from the dark dark woods. It comes not after two days in bed. It comes not after 12 hours of sleep. It is after a day spent sipping Vernaccia under sunshine. It is after a night of dancing and laughter. It is sharing the outside world again. Watching Palm Sunday mass on TV with you, Writing postcards in particularly penned voices. Lifting with sunlight that brightens the colourful puppets in the window. Waking is being together again. La Vita nelle FotoScuolaThe sixth grade students are in full swing production of their Primary Year Program Exhibitions (PYP X). Their topics range from studying galaxies to fashion, endangered animals, chemistry, and classical music. Our job as teachers is to guide students to examine their topics through a variety of disciplines and skills, and synthesise their findings. Since there is an emphasis on writing in the Language class, we connected it with their projects to avoid giving writing projects for the sake of writing projects. Writing has a purpose and it supports the PYP X. I designed two mini-units over the past two weeks. The first writing project was an “introduction to a guidebook.” The assignment: Students were “hired” to write the intro to a guidebook on their PYP X topic. We reviewed and discussed the form and function of guidebooks (I pulled about 12 from the library), and then set to writing and designing a concise introduction that pulled together the research they’ve already collected. I made a writing organiser that students used to dissect the topic into form, function, and purpose, and then put it back together, with the intention of inviting an audience who has never experienced the topic before. Hence, an intro to a guidebook. Students had the choice of designing it by hand or electronically. They added visual aids and references. Giving analogue or digital choices reveals so much. Some students are much more tactile/kinaesthetic and prefer working with materials, and others prefer digitally designing their products. I learned how and why students wanted to take risks based on their choices, and it alleviated the stress of forcing one way to do something. There is no “one way” in this school and I appreciate it every day. The introductions turned out well and students pasted them in the PYPX books, which is like a large research-scrap book of their thinking, creative process, and products - a tool I will use in my future classroom! The second writing assignment prepared students for their professional interviews. For the PYPX, students must find an expert in their field and conduct an interview for further research. These are 6th grade (5th grade US) students who are excited to dive in and learn more, but we need a procedure to capture all of this good energy and info. So, I created a mini-unit last week on preparing, conducting, and sharing an interview. Students interviewed each other about their PYP X exhibitions and then wrote a brief article using their findings. Students included a picture of their interviewee with their PYPX project, images of the topic, and references used to research the topic. These articles are pasted in their PYPX book to show collaboration. One of my favourite lessons in the mini-unit was during a jigsaw activity where students cooperated in small groups to learn about each part of an interview (collecting information about the interviewee, researching the topic, writing questions). Then, once the class collected the data they needed, they interviewed their guest about his favourite topic. The guest was Mr. Warner, their teacher, and they learned all about cycling. The students were so excited to learn more about him and his passion! They wrote long, detailed summaries using the notes that they took (we went over “pro-tips” of note taking and summarising). I think it was an inspiring experience for everyone in the room, and set the stage for the mini-unit. In the world of Inquiry-Based Learning, it was a solid "provocation." Students now have a process for preparing, conducting, and writing about an interview, and they may use it for their professional interviews. The cherry on the cake was the fact that the mini-unit continued on even though I was out sick two days this week! Since I had completed all the lessons in advance, I emailed them to CW each morning with a few notes, and he delivered them. On Friday we wrapped up on time. We make a good teaching team! All the more reason to plan that scope and sequence ahead of time (shout out to JH <3). Lettere Dei Burattini (Letters from the Puppets)Ciao Tutti! Well, we haven’t gone far this week since we needed to take care of Miss Eve because she was sick for two days. She’s better now! The big excitement was going to school to read to students during Drop Everything and Read week! On Friday Miss Eve and her teacher Mr. Warner dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2, and we visited the 2nd graders. In the USA they would be 1st graders. So, they’re your age! We read aloud the Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. I introduced Poindexter II who acted out his cousin’s role in the book. His cousin is a foolish dragon. He burned down 100 forests and a castle! Poindexter II would never do that, but he will act the part to entertain. Then, we read the story to the 6th graders in Miss Eve’s class. They loved us! One of the girls hugged me so tight because manatees are her favorite animal! Manatee is lamantino in Italian. The 6th graders all wanted to touch us and play with us after they finished their work. See, puppets are for everyone! We would like to share this photo of us warming our scales and skin in the sunshine. Zara, the German Shepherd, is our neighbor. You can see her on the balcony below. We hope you find time to lay in the sunshine and daydream. Un abbraccio (a hug!) Manny and Poindexter II Poesia dei BurattiniZara the German Shepherd by Manny and Poindexter II
Zara announces herself. Bark! Barkbarkbark! mild woof. Pause. Barkbark– sneeze; unenthusiastic bark. Toenails tick-ticking on tiles. Avvenutra numero uno: Jill and Eve vanno a MontalcinoOn Saturday, March 19 we went to Montalcino. Fun fact: the bus schedule online in Italy does not always match the schedule at the bus stop. The bus might not actually stop where it is said to stop online. The bus number might not be listed at the bus stop, but the destination will be. One may rely on the kindness of locals to navigate the intricacies of the Italian bus schedule. Now, I recall facing travel obstacle courses in Italy in the past, but it has been a while and I thought that maybe, just maybe, it would be simpler this time around. Not so, not so. Jill and I left our apartments early in the morning only to miss the bus and spend 90 minutes camped out at a pasticceria. I ordered a croissant with about half a jar of Nutella stuffed inside it along with a cappuccino. Overtired and packed with sugar, we made some travel plans for the Easter break and then huffed it back to the fermata (bus stop) that listed a bus to Montalcino at 10:22AM. We only knew about this bus stop because a man, cooly smoking a cig against a stone wall, turned to us and asked "Dové via?" and proceeded to point us in the right direction. Thank you, kind sir. #chillvibes. Fast forward to Montalcino. The airbnb is comfortable, clean, and has a phenomenal view of the countryside. My goal is to make it to this business called Pura Crocus. It's a very fine saffron production business. I happened to meet a friend of a friend who highly recommended we meet with Massimo, the owner. We walked to Pura Crocus only to find out it was closed; they are out to eat, says the elderly man farming land next door. Come back in an hour, he says. So, we do. Gates are still closed. Wait. An older couple arrives, opens the gates, and exclaims that they, too, wonder about the location of Massimo. The man apologizes to me. No worries! We begin to meander back to the city and after 10 minutes we hear beep beep. A car pulls up. It is Massimo! He says "Eve?" and gestures to get in. Now before you say "Wait, wait, you are getting into the car?" Yes. Like I said, Massimo is a friend of a good friend! And this is how I travel. I meet people, I take recommendations, I go for it. Thanks, Jill, for being such a fun travel companion! Off we go to Pura Crocus where Massimo gives us a tour of the business, tastes of the products like saffron with honey, a bit of saffron beer, and we learn about the growing and harvesting process. Fascinating! His farm is on a UNESCO site in Montalcino. Massimo is incredibly proud of his business. His body language and voice expressed joy for the work. Oh, and the older couple that showed up earlier? They were in one of the marketing videos hand picking the stigmas from the flowers. It was a unique experience and I'm glad we latched on to it. Massimo also recommended a fantastic restaurant where we sampled a variety of local wine and dined on classic Tuscan cuisine. Grazie, Massimo! Aventurra numero due - La prima settimana di scuolaLast week on Tuesday (day 2 in school) I hit the ground running after the PYP coordinator, Mr. Gilbert asked if I had a lesson ready since my mentor teacher was out sick and was being covered by a substitute teacher. Well, by golly, I did! In fact I had four. The week prior Mr. Warner, my mentor teacher, asked me to put together a few language lessons. I decided on spoken word poetry for a few reasons: 1) it would fast track my getting to know the students since poetry is expressive and collaborative 2) I was interested in immediately applying arts integration and Universal Design for Learning in my lessons, and 3) spoken word is popular in the USA, so it’s a great opportunity for a little cross-cultural exchange. I chose Tamara’s Opus by Joshua Bennett. A fabulous piece where the poet expresses his sincerest apology for waiting so long to learn sign language in order to communicate with his sister, Tamara. His performance is beautiful. Over the course of four lessons students identified poetic devices, analyzed tone through voice, movement, and visual aids, voted on poetic devices to use in their poems, and chose topics they were most passionate about in that moment. My goals were 1) get to know my new students through writing and performing poetry 2) introduce different modalities to explore poetic devices and tone 3) afford the opportunity for students to perform and critique their work. The last goal ties to their upcoming 6th grade International Baccalaureate PYP independent project where they will be publicly presenting their work, therefore, they need public speaking practice. I enjoyed this mini-unit tremendously. Through spoken word I learned that my students are funny, conscientious, risk takers. Ever hear a poem about stoat? Well, I have, and I nearly cried laughing. Are you wondering if I taught these lessons before? I haven't. I love poetry and knew that students needed to practice speaking in performance mode, and so I chose spoken word. They chose whatever they wanted to write about as long as they wrote at least 10 lines of poetry with five poetic devices, specified an intention, and used tone to deliver that intention. Many chose to use movement to express poetic devices and amplify vocal choices. One student decided to write a poem based on his PYP project topic, space! To critique, students peer reviewed each other using a glows and grows checklist, and then we all provided glows and grows after final performances. Overall, it was an outstanding first week. Today, I kicked off a book study for Akata Witch by Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor. After reading the prologue aloud, building one character map, and engaging in a group discussion, I asked the students to give truthful feedback about the book choice: thumbs up, sideways, or down. Most showed thumbs up, or nearly all the way up! [Breathes sigh of relief] At the end of this week I will provide a reflection on what we accomplished. Lettere dei Burattini (Letters from the Puppets)Come stanno tutti? (How is everyone?) We are sorry we have not been able to write as much as we want! Ms. Everette has been busy planning and preparing for school so we haven’t been able to use the computer. Poindexter usually types because my flippers barely reach the keyboard, and when they do, the typing looks like this oiwjhetipunq i2j4ht oijoipjwejk n ranw. So, I talk and Poindexter types! Next week is drop everything and read week at school. Students and teachers stop and read at the same time each day for about 10 minutes. We will participate in a dress up day where we get to dress up as characters in a book! Ms. Everette is very excited to dress up, and we all hope to visit a first grade class to do a read aloud. Here are some photos of us in Siena, Italy. It is a medieval city that became rich and powerful between the 13th and 15th centuries. That was about 800 years ago! The tall tower is called the Torre del Mangia, and the area where all the people are standing is called the Piazza del Campo. In the summer there is a famous horse race called the Palio. Horses from each neighborhood in Siena race to win! The neighborhoods are called contradas in Italian. Every contrada has a special symbol. There is even a dragon contrada! Il drago! Unfortunately, there is no manatee contrada. In 2019, a horse won the race without the rider! [LINK] Un abbraccio! (hug!) Manny and Poindexter Firenze e Siena Quindici anni fa ho studiato a Siena, e sono ritornato! A gentle fire crackles inside the raised hearth to my right as I sit here typing at the kitchen table while attempting to understand the Italian news reporting on the war in Ukraine. Leonardo gave me some directions on how to tend the fire before he left to pick up Rosetta from work. With enough gesturing and contextual references, si, capisco! Although my Italian is extremely rusty, Leonardo and I discussed la guerra, immigrazione, teatro, burattini, ricostruzione, e cucina. Leonardo loves to cook and enjoys making a cozy home for everyone who visits. Rosetta and Leonardo have been hosting international students for nearly 20 years. They began the cultural exchange so their daughters, Laura and Elizebeta, would learn English– and they clearly enjoyed the company. They stay in touch with students long after they leave. It’s a clear evening so I took a walk in the brisk air to get a feel of the neighborhood. One of the streets is the Via Francigene [LINK] that winds past the International School of Siena. So, I meandered that way to take a look at the school we will be teaching at over the next two months. I can’t wait to meet the educational team and the students! We arrived on March 10. After two years of COVID, graduate school and work, I felt off-kilter because I simply haven’t traveled far or for very long. I appreciate my home, so leaving was extra hard this time. However, the last few days have been delightful with extra emphasis on light. The travel bug is biting again. I need to add a few more sticks and logs to the fire. Un momento. We spent two full days in Firenze prior to arriving in Siena. I soaked in the following cultural sites:
Shall we talk food? I had one of my favorite Tuscan dishes, pappardelle al ragú di cinghale, and purchased a fantastic spread of salami e formaggi to share with our group. The proprietor of the enoteca who sold me the goods expressed his anguish over the war in Ukraine. He has family in Krakow that he will bring back to Firenze later this week to keep them safe. At one point he pushed war talk aside, as if he was sick of hearing himself talk about it, and went back to the here and now, specifically, pecorino cheese. We were only able to have this conversation because he was fluent in English. Rosetta is home from work! She works at the Museo dell’opera del Duomo in Siena. I can tell that my Italian will get better because both Rosetta and Leonardo love to talk and help me figure out what I need to say. I introduced i burattini (the puppets), Manny e Poindexter II, to Leonardo e Rosetta. Speaking of burattini, they want to say a few words to their first grade friends in Buffalo, NY. Lettere degli Burattini (Letters from the puppets)Cari Studenti (Dear Students),
If you want to, you can read and listen to the Italian words in our letter here [LINK]. Come stanno tutti? (How is everyone?) We are having a lot of fun in Italy! The trip over was super cozy. We were wrapped in a pillowcase and tucked inside a big suitcase. Yesterday we were in Firenze (Florence). It is a very old city. We saw a big Catholic church called Santa Maria dei Fiori. Look at the photo of us in front of the church! Santa Maria dei Fiori was built about 800 years ago! It is made out of different colored marble. Marble is a kind of rock and it is used to make buildings. We thought Santa Maria dei Fiori was very pretty, and it made us think about Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna, New York. That’s near Buffalo. Have you ever visited that church? It is also made out of marble. Ms. Everette ate her favorite pasta dish called pappardelle al ragú di cinghiale. It is ribbon pasta noodles with wild boar meat! We did not eat any of it. We only ate sea grass or birthday cake because those are our favorite foods. Ms. Everette said the pasta was delicious and wished you could try it, too! We are going to eat dinner with our friends Leonardo and Rosetta. We are living with them while we stay in Siena. They are very nice. What do you want to know about Italy? Abbracci! (hugs!) Manny the Manatee and Poindexter II the Dragon |
AuthorEve is a palindrome. She started out as a theatre artist, and now she is a combination theatre artist-teacher. She is grateful for the opportunity to finish her degree while studying abroad in Siena, Italy. It is her second time studying in Siena. Eve enjoys long meandering walks, daydreaming, creating new projects, and chilling with her husband, Dave. Archives
May 2022
Categories |