Stay At Home Circus and Collaboration Matrix

 I survived my first week teaching my class virtually - and it's a good thing I survived, since I have to do it again for at least two more weeks! I am really proud of how resilient this group of Grade 5-6 students are, because despite missing in-person learning, they have adapted to this different routine and done quite well so far. 

I prefer face-to-face instruction. I didn't want to adjust to teaching through a screen, even though I technically didn't have a choice. My husband noted, however, that there were a few moments when he said he could hear bits of joy leaking from my voice during the school day. I wanted to share something I've developed for the virtual learning environment (as well as something from my longed-for in-person teaching/learning environment) that I'm really happy with and were reasons for that "joy-leak".

Stay At Home Circus

This idea was inspired by Lisa Daley, a phenomenal teacher who has been teaching virtually since September. Several of us who were moving (hopefully just temporarily) to virtual in January were wondering how on earth to do physical education at home. Lisa suggested this game that involved rolled-up socks. I read Lisa's description and a picture formed in my head of juggling those socks, which led to a eureka moment - a Home Circus!

This project covers physical education as well as drama expectations (and we will squeeze some language expectations in as a bonus).  

First, we explored our prior knowledge of the topic. Some of the students have been to circuses before, but some have not. One student referenced the movie Dumbo, which was a great text connection. We skimmed a non-fiction article about the basic elements of a circus. For each class, I plan on giving a brief overview of the skill or talent, modeling it, and then allowing students time to practice and capture their efforts. We have two gym classes and two drama classes this week. For physical education, we will transform ourselves into balance artists and jugglers. For drama, we will become animal trainers (with stuffed animals) and clowns. We will continue to explore gym-connected and drama-connected circus acts, and the final task will be for them to become ringmasters and create their own little circus with acts of their choice at home that we will record using FlipGrid.

I have emphasized to the students that actual circus performers spend years perfecting their craft and that we are just scraping the surface. I also stressed that safety was a priority - so (for instance) no balancing items that could break or hurt the performer if they fell!

Here is a replica of what I looked like when sharing my balancing act, in my curtained off, green screen area of the basement where I teach all day.

My husband even got in on the act after school too - to my chagrin, he's way better at it than I am.

We also used the TDSV Virtual Library to access two picture books that we used as guided reading anchor texts, so that we could further our understanding about circuses. (Thank you Andrea Sykes and the library people still supporting this important resource!) We will eventually get into controversies with circuses (i.e. poor treatment of animals and people), explore sayings related to circuses, and other media aspects, if all goes to plan.

Four students gave me their consent to post pictures of their balancing attempts. I am still covering their faces for privacy purposes and have tried to crop their photos so the insides of their houses aren't shown too clearly. I adored seeing these attempts and the other students are eager to see what sort of things their classmates created.

I'm not a fan of marking, but I can't wait to see the final results from these talented performers!

Collaboration Matrix

Now, before you get the impression that I love teaching virtual, please let me correct you. There are so many more things we can do in-person that just can't happen using Zoom or Google Meet. I didn't want this post to only laud a digital task, which is why I'm mentioning my collaboration matrix.

I have no clue where or how I learned about this tool. I know that I used to use it when I was a classroom teacher for summer school - it was a big easier to use back then because there were fewer students. 

It's a pretty simple thing, really. I took a large grid chart paper and wrote all the students names along the top and along the side.

When students work with other students, such as in small group drama exercises, small group gym teamwork drills, or other formations of their creation, I track whom they've worked with. I told the students that my goal for them is that they try to ensure they have worked with every other person in the class at least once. Usually, people (not just kids) only want to work with their friends, or people they match personality-wise. This device encouraged the formation of new groups.

There are several things that I love about this glorified tracking sheet. 

First, having it posted large like this is an indication that collaboration is a valued skill in the class.

Second, it makes writing report cards, especially those tricky learning skill sections, easier. I actually record the fraction as part of my comments.

Third, the students have internalized this and prioritized this. If I announce that a task will be undertaken in small groups and that they can select the pairs, trios, or other configurations, the first thing that many students will do is consult the collaboration matrix. If they notice that they have not yet worked with someone, many students take the initiative (see, more learning skills!) to approach that individual and invite them to work together. This means I see fewer examples of students standing alone, unsure of how to join a group or find a partner, because partners will often seek them out. It warms my heart to see the students crowd around the matrix so they can make wise choices for group work. I look forward to the time when we will be together in-person again. When that will be, I have no clue. In the meantime, I'm running away to join the circus (online)!