“To TRAVEL IS TO LIVE”
- Hans Christian Anderson

Students have been busy learning about different communities in Peru and some of the traditions and customs that are celebrated in this incredible country. Students have been engaged in a number of rich conversations where they have had the opportunity to share and highlight their increasing knowledge and understanding of Peruvian culture.

Since our last blog update, students travelled from Cusco to Pisac, Peru by bus. During our time in Pisac we learned that the currency in Peru is called: Peruvian nuevo soles. We looked at converting Canadian dollars to Peruvian soles and found out that one Canadian dollar is equal to $2.81 Peruvian soles. Students were quite delighted to learn this as they had some time to shop for souvenirs in the local Farmers Market. During our visit to the Farmers Market, Mrs. Swan found a charming stuffed Paddington Bear for $113 soles. She could not resist purchasing it! Paddington Bear will be coming home for a visit with all of our students over the coming weeks.

In addition to this we met up with Ms. Zena at the market, who travelled all the way from “Villages Calgary” to join us in Peru. At the market, students had the chance to look at some handmade artifacts made by Peruvian artisans. Students learned about how long it takes some artisans to create handmade artifacts and some of the different skills and materials used. In addition to this, students were introduced to the word “Fair Trade”. We learned that Villages Calgary is the only store in Calgary that sells fair trade goods. Please be sure to ask your child about the meaning of this term. We also celebtrated Valentine's Day in the market. 

From Pisac, students hopped onboard Peru Rail and ventured onto Machu Picchu, where we discovered it is one of the “Seven Wonders of the World.” After visiting Machu Picchu for three days, students now have a solid understanding why it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Students have written you a postcard from this historical site to help showcase their knowledge. During our time in Machu Picchu students participated in an art activity where they were tasked with creating a Willow Loom Weaving. This “Art to Go” workshop was put on by the Leighton Art Centre. Working on a natural, hand-shaped willow loom, students created a wall hanging weaving using colours and textures to delight the eye! This heritage activity presented unique learning opportunities for students to better understand the origins and history of the materials used. During Parent-Teacher Conferences in March, students will be invited to take their weaving home. Students then went on to engage in a thinking routine called, “See Think Wonder” to get them thinking critically about some of the videos and images they have been presented with regarding traditional weaving in Peru.

Our next destination will be Lake Titicaca. Here, students will be introduced to the terms “rights, freedoms and responsibilities”. Students will learn about rights of a child, daily life, special traditions and customs in this region of Peru. In addition to this, they will learn about the difficult journey some children in this area of Peru make on a daily basis to attend school. We are excited for this upcoming learning experience.

Social Studies Learning Outcomes
3.1 Students will examine the social, cultural and linguistic characteristics that affect quality of life in communities in other parts of the world by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions for inquiry:

• What determines quality of life?
• How does daily life reflect quality of life in communities (e.g., employment, transportation, roles of family members?
• What are the traditions, celebrations, stories and practices in the communities that connect the people to the past and to each other (e.g., language spoken, traditions, customs)?
• How is identity reelected in traditions, stories and customs in the communities?

A Thinking Mathematics Classroom

Addition and Subtraction Word Problems

Students in Room 12 are continuing to work on problem solving in math. One of the strategies we have introduced is non-permanent writing surfaces. We begin by using our popsicle sticks to create random groups of three. We use random groupings to ensure students have the opportunity to collaborate, share and learn alongside a variety of classroom peers.

Why Groups of Three?
Using guidance from our school-wide book study this year, "Building Thinking Classrooms” one rule that we have implemented is that students always work in groups of three. This helps to ensure that all students in the group contribute. One student is the recorder and is responsible for writing down their partners' thinking (strategies) using the white board marker. Students rotate roles and take on the “thinking” role and “recording” roles based on their comfort level with the word problem.

Why Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces (VNPS)?
Students are often more willing to take risks for their learning and attempt problem solving using a non-permanent surface because if they make a mistake it can easily be erased. Research has shown that students who have the opportunity to stand, collaborate and work on VNPS, students are more likely to engage in their learning and attempt higher level thinking problems. (Peter Lijedahl)

How Do Students Answer Questions in a Thinking Classroom?
As students complete one problem, they raise their hands to get their work checked. In order to be given an extension problem or the next problem, students need to have the outlined success criteria completed.

Success Criteria: 

• All important information from the problem identified
• Evidence of an estimated sum or difference
• All computations visually represented
• Students need to verify their computations using an alternative method
• Computations must be accurate

Once groups have received a check mark, they are able to choose between different word problems (often referred to as: mild, medium and spicy) to continue their thinking and learning. If a group has difficulty moving forward with a word problem, I will often ask them a question, give them a hint or re-read a section of the word problem to try to help them without explicitly showing them how to solve the problem.

Finally, we look at each other’s work and/or use the Smartboard to go through the problem together as a class. We look at different strategies, ways to organize our work and see if there are more efficient ways to solve the problems.

Mathematics Learning Outcomes:

• Students apply strategies for addition and subtraction within 1000.
• Explain the standard algorithms for addition and subtraction of whole numbers.
• Add and subtract algorithms for addition and subtraction of whole numbers.
• Estimate sums and differences.
• Solve problems using addition and subtraction.