# data[].attributes.headline
The Shape Quiz characteristics and motto!

# data[].attributes.subject
The Shape Quiz characteristics and motto!

# data[].attributes.headline
Explicit and Implicit Learning Engagement 

# data[].attributes.subject
Explicit and Implicit Learning Engagement 

# data[].attributes.headline
ALIGNING INQUIRY & THINKING TOOLS WITH ATL RESEARCH AND THINKING SKILLS

# data[].attributes.subject
ALIGNING INQUIRY & THINKING TOOLS WITH ATL RESEARCH AND THINKING SKILLS

# data[].attributes.body
REFLECT on one thought, idea or strategy that you learned from the workshop that you would like to implement in the next month.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Active Listening Techniques of Hostage & Crisis Negotiators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Techniques to help prevent and settle conflicts.

# data[].attributes.body
Step Inside: Perceive, Know About, Care About A routine for getting inside viewpoints. Three core questions guide students in this routine:

1. What can the person perceive?

2. What might the person know about or believe?

3. What might the person care about?

Looking at the image, imagine being a person on this waka and answer the following three questions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At Exeter, Harkness is not a pedagogy. It’s a way of life. It begins in the classroom and extends beyond it, to field, stage and common room.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
PZ's Thinking Routines Toolbox | Project Zero

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Toolbox organizes the Thinking Routines into categories that describe the types of thinking the routines help to facilitate. Some routines appear in more than one category, and some routines have different versions that offer modifications for specific age groups or more specific conceptual challenges.

# data[].attributes.body
https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-for-kids/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
18 Mindfulness Games, Worksheets and Activities for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mindfulness for kids is best instilled early, to develop mindful adults.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.makinglearningvisibleresources.org/

The work of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, has drawn international attention to children’s capacities as individual and group learners. Based on a collaboration between Project Zero at Harvard, Reggio educators, and over 100 U.S. educators, the Making Learning Visible (MLV) framework extends key ingredients of the Reggio approach to primary and secondary schools and learners of all ages. Documenting children’s and adults’ learning challenges our assumptions about children’s capabilities and what thinking and learning look like.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
HGSE Offers New Program on Making Learning Visible

In this era of globalization, our ability to learn and function as part of diverse groups is essential to our capacity to survive and thrive. Yet almost all assessment and most aspects of instruction in schools still focus on promoting individual performance and achievement. In this course, you will investigate the power of the group as a learning environment, and documentation as a way to shape, extend, and make visible how and what we learn.

The work of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, has drawn international attention to children's capacities as individual and group learners. Based on a collaboration between Project Zero at Harvard, Reggio educators, and over 100 U.S. educators, the Making Learning Visible (MLV) framework extends key ingredients of the Reggio approach to primary and secondary schools and learners of all ages. Documenting children's and adults' learning challenges our assumptions about children's capabilities and what thinking and learning look like.

In this course, you will examine rich examples of individual and group learning in a variety of classrooms. Aided by extensive online and text-based resources, you will learn what the MLV framework is, why and when it is useful, and how to apply it in your own setting to benefit students, teachers, and your school community as a whole.

A progressive, research-based approach for making learning visible
Based on the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, Visible Learners highlights learning through interpreting objects and artifacts, group learning, and documentation to make students' learning evident to teachers. Visible classrooms are committed to five key principles: that learning is purposeful, social, emotional, empowering, and representational. The book includes visual essays, key practices, classroom and examples.

Show how to make learning happen in relation to others, spark emotional connections, give students power over their learning, and express ideas in multiple ways

Illustrate Reggio-inspired principles and approaches via quotes, photos, student and teacher reflections, and examples of student work

Offer a new way to enhance learning using progressive, research-based practices for increasing collaboration and critical thinking in and outside the classroom

Visible Learners asks that teachers look beyond surface-level to understand who students are, what they come to know, and how they come to know it.

Welcome to the Making Learning Visible Resources Weebly! This site provides resources and tools to support learning in groups in the classroom and the staffroom. Most of the tools you will find here are intended for teachers, professional development designers and coaches, and administrators, though some are also designed to help families support student learning. Many also include ways to involve students more directly in teaching and learning decisions. Almost all of the tools emphasize greater intentionality combined with careful looking and listening. Making learning visible is not a recipe; it will take time to discover and adapt the tools and resources for your own setting. We hope you will find this site useful and enjoy exploring it. The site includes five kinds of tools and resources:

Supporting Learning in Groups in the Classroom Documenting Individual and Group Learning includes resources for understanding, creating, and sharing documentation with students and colleagues. Some tools will help you think through the purpose of your documentation; others provide guidelines for gathering or sharing documentation via video, computer, photographs, or powerpoint.

Making Learning Visible beyond the Classroom provides tools and templates for creating bulletin boards, documentation panels, visual essays, and schoolwide exhibitions that make learning and learners visible, with examples from preschool-high school.
Engaging Families in Supporting Student Learning offers resources to inform families about visible learning, involve families in supporting their children's learning, and communicate with families about learning. Tools range from a refrigerator reminder to guidelines for parents interested in forming their own study group.

Supporting Learning in Groups in the Staffroom

Documenting Individual and Group Learning

Engaging Families in Supporting Student Learning

Making Learning Visible Beyond the Classroom

Supporting Learning in Groups in the Classroom includes practical tools with suggestions for creating learning groups at the beginning of the school year, forming study groups in classrooms, and promoting a culture of dialogue. provides tools for forming adult study groups, hands-on activities for adults to explore learning groups and documentation for themselves, and conversation structures for discussing and reflecting on student learning.

Supporting Learning in Groups in the Staffroom provides tools for forming adult study groups, hands-on activities for adults to explore learning groups and documentation for themselves, and conversation structures for discussing and reflecting on student learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
HGSE Offers New Program on Making Learning Visible In this era of globalization, our ability to learn and function as part of diverse groups is essential to our capacity to survive and thrive. Yet almost all assessment and most aspects of instruction in schools still focus on promoting individual performance and achievement.

# data[].attributes.body
https://ideas.classdojo.com/b/growth-mindset

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ClassDojo and Stanford's PERTS Research Center teamed up to create the the first season of The Mojo Show. The five-episode video series (along with a few incredible activities) highlight the power of having a growth mindset, and how any student can learn this skill!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ClassDojo and Stanford's PERTS Research Center teamed up to create the the first season of The Mojo Show. The five-episode video series (along with a few incredible activities) highlight the power of having a growth mindset, and how any student can learn this skill!

# data[].attributes.body
Self-managing learners are able to make choices, persist, solve problems for themselves, access resources for their play ideas, and use social skills to get others to help them. The aim of selfmanagement is for children to be self-regulated rather than teacher-regulated, that is, to be able to determine the best course of action for themselves rather than following rules set by a teacher. Selfmanagement skills require cognitive abilities such as planning, thinking, decision-making, problemsolving and managing attention.

# data[].attributes.headline
I can , I can't "Practice managing self-talk"

# data[].attributes.subject
I can , I can't "Practice managing self-talk"

# data[].attributes.body
https://makomindfulness.com/quiz/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hi! I'm Amanda, and I am a former educator turned stress management consultant who helps teachers and professionals learn better self-care strategies & create psychological safety in their workplaces.

After years of working in education, I saw the need for more emphasis on teachers taking care of themselves, and consideration for sharing these practices with the students they serve.

I am a certified yoga instructor, compassion fatigue trainer, mindfulness trainer, and psychological safety facilitator and use these various knowledge fields to develop resources that have proven to be effective in classrooms - and now, I want to get them into your hands too so that you can start to see the effectiveness and power of self-care and mindfulness efforts, too!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
HEY FELLOW EDUCATORS are you still skipping right past taking care of yourself to save & serve everyone else? AS [...]

# data[].attributes.body
E = Excited What excites you about the challenge?

2. W = Worrisome What do you find worrisome about the challenge?

3. N = Need to Know What else do you need to know or find out about this challenge?

4. S = Stance or Suggestion for Moving How might you move forward in your evaluation of challenge?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
IB Matters podcast - The IB Approaches to Learning series

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this series we are exploring the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL's that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes. John Harvey and I will, in these eight episodes, try to give you a coherent, sustainable, values aligned strategy to implement ATL

# data[].attributes.body
Chalk Talk

(A routine for silently considering ideas, questions, or problems and responding to others.)

Looking at the topical question written on the chart paper:

• What ideas come to mind when you consider this idea, question, or problem?

• What connections can you make to the others’ responses?

• What questions arise as you think about the ideas and consider the responses and comments of others?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A teacher describes how he modifies a thinking routine developed by Harvard's Project Zero to keep it from becoming too routine.

In my classroom, a giant piece of poster board showcases a conceptual question: "How does reading texts and works from diverse creators assist in finding common themes?"

Students' responses surround the inquiry. I identify some that use two quotations from Shakespeare's "The Phoenix and the Turtle" to support or refute an argument. I notice that a student who prefers not to voice their ideas in class has written six perceptive sentences showing immense engagement with the question.

These observations remind me of the numerous benefits that chalk talks can have in the classroom, especially when teachers build upon the strategy in novel ways.

DEFINING CHALK TALKS

Chalk talks-created by Project Zero, an educational research center at Harvard University-ask students to respond, in writing, to open-ended questions penned on large paper. The central inquiries should be conceptual or debatable-such as those often at the core of Institutional Baccalaureate (IB) and project-based learning (PBL).

To facilitate the activity, place large paper at different desks for student rotation and writing. Organize students in groups of three or four, then ask them to respond to the questions without talking. This technique encourages a silent conversation.

Remember: Chalk talk is a routine, not an activity. Routines can be used repeatedly in the classroom. Ron Ritchart, one of the creators of the chalk talk, describes it and other thinking routines as "tools for thinking [that] must be introduced as such, not as an activity. We want to make thinking a routine endeavor in our classrooms so that students become good at it."

Although chalk talks were originally designed for predictability, I've found that students can disengage with too much routine. By varying chalk talks, we can balance routine with learner investment.

REFLECT ON PREVIOUS PRACTICE

Ideally, mid-unit reflection provides students (and educators) sufficient time to make adjustments. An efficient, low-preparation reflection method may give educators even more encouragement to reflect in the midst of a unit-for example, using previous chalk talks as a launchpad for class reflection and discussion.

To do so, invite students to read previous chalk talk responses and reflect upon (and/or discuss) how their thinking altered in response to the activity. Ask students to justify their reflection by citing their original response(s) on a sticky note. When students cite themselves, they provide evidence of their changing thought processes, demonstrating a form of metacognition.

These reflective chalk talks can produce valuable bulletin board material, making thinking visible throughout the learning environment.

CHATGPT CHALK TALK

You can use a ChatGPT chalk talk variant to make the experience more dynamic. Before chalk talk commences, generate two different AI opinions in response to an open-ended question utilizing this AI "opinion request" framework. Print out the AI responses and paste them to the chalk talk paper alongside the central questions.

Next, ask students to read the question(s), look at ChatGPT's responses, and then respond to ChatGPT's opinions. After this variant of chalk talk is complete, students can defend ChatGPT's or their own responses in class using a pop-up debate.

MAKE INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS

Using an interdisciplinary approach, students can make connections between different subjects through chalk talks, deepening their understanding of interrelationships between academic content areas.

Collaboration among teaching staff is the first step to an interdisciplinary chalk talk; in a PBL context, educators can share their units' driving questions. In an IB curriculum framework, teachers can share conceptual and debatable questions to find commonalities between units. I've found that these conversations can often occur during the duration of a lunch break, meaning no extra meetings are required.
In science, you are currently learning... How does this concept/topic/driving question connect to... (something from your course)/subject? In our class, you are learning the following skills (list the skills here). Explain how these skills are supporting you in your _____ class, particularly with the _____ topic/conceptual question/debatable question/driving question. Our unit's driving question/inquiry question(s) is/are... Explain how this connects, or does not connect, to another subject for which you are learning.
Once you've kindled a professional collaboration and gathered information from other subject teachers, try using the following frames to make a chalk talk question interdisciplinary:

PUBLIC CHALK TALKS

Facilitating a chalk talk in a high-traffic school hallway invites students from multiple grade levels to respond. Prepare enough materials to support this increase in writers, and consider what questions might be general enough as to not require specific content knowledge, allowing students from all grade levels to participate and see connections to their lives.

Evaluate the use of artificial intelligence for learning. Do you believe it hinders or enhances learning? Cite your personal experience to explain why/why not.

What is the line between noise and music?

How do we know a theorem is valid?

To what extent does literature impact how we perceive love?

Does a scientist need to be a good writer?

Should someone have the same access to health care when they make poor health choices?

One example from my practice is "To what extent should teachers use games to educate you?" Students had a lot to write on the topic, and their opinions were, to my surprise, quite varied. Here are some other examples you might consider:

Whether at the classroom or schoolwide level, routines give students a sense of predictability and structure. However, too much routine can cause students to check out. By keeping some elements of the original chalk talk intact while introducing creativity through the above approaches, educators can tap into students' background knowledge while keeping learning and engagement fresh.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Adapting Chalk Talks to Promote Student Engagement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A teacher describes how he modifies a thinking routine developed by Harvard's Project Zero to keep it from becoming too routine.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The 5 Approaches to Learning(click the link for examples)

1. Thinking

2. Communication

3. Research

4. Social

5. Self-management

In your classroom, post the skill that you are trying to reinforce. Remind students throughout the unit by modeling and teaching how the skills should be done.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The 5 Approaches to Learning(click the link for examples) Thinking Communication Research Social Self-management In your classroom, post the skill that you are trying to reinforce. Remind students throughout the unit by modeling and teaching how the skills should be done.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Tracey'sCopy of ATL: Self-Management Skills

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
25 Fun Mindfulness Activities for Children & Teens (+Tips!)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fun mindfulness activities for kids to teach them about mindfulness. Enjoy!

# data[].attributes.body
What do you see? What do you think about that? What does it make you wonder?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
IB Approaches to Learning (ATL) TOOLKIT 

# data[].attributes.body
I used to think…. Now I think… Therefore I will…..

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.seisen.com/connect-link/news/setagaya/~board/ib-pyp-at-seisen/post/solo-and-vocabulary-lists-updated-for-grade-1-to-6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Link to the Elementary Programme of Inquiry.

Below you will find links to the updated SOLO Taxonomy and Vocabulary Lists for Grades 1 - 6. It is important to note that in alignment with the Enhanced PYP, students may develop the SOLO taxonomy by co-constructing this with their teachers. This is to provide students with agency - choice, voice and ownership throughout the process of their learning. Therefore the SOLO co-constructed by students may look slightly different this one. This learning progression and vocabulary list is developed so you can support your daughter's learning at home. These can also be found on each individual Grade Level Blog and hard copies are located near the Cafeteria Display. Please feel free to come and take one.
How can I use the SOLO at home?
You will now see a row underneath the possible assessment criteria titled 'Possible questions to discuss'. These are teacher guided questions that help to direct the unit of inquiry. You may wish to use these questions to begin a conversation with your chid about their unit of inquiry at home.
How can I use the Vocabulary Lists at home?
The Vocabulary Lists are a guide for the possible vocabulary that may be explored throughout the unit of inquiry. It is encouraged that you explain and explore the words within this list with your child in their mother tongue. Perhaps you may talk about the concept of some of the words in English and also in your home language in order to deepen their understanding of them.

GRADE 1

Grade 1's year long unit of inquiry is How we express ourselves - Celebrations. They are exploring the central idea Celebrations and traditions can express shared beliefs and values. This involves investigating and exploringreasons why people celebrate and key features of celebrations.
HWEO - Celebrations: SOLO Taxonomy HWEO - Celebrations: Vocabulary List
Grade 1 have recently begun their unit of inquiry Sharing the planet - Living Things. They are exploring the central idea Living things adapt to their habitats to survive. This involves investigating and exploringways living things are suited to their habitats, ways living things interact in their habitats and how people can interact with habitats in a safe and responsible way.
STP - Living Things: SOLO Taxonomy STP - Living Things: Vocabulary List
GRADE 2

Grade 2's year long unit of inquiry is How we express ourselves - Artists' Journey. They are exploring the central idea Artists interpret and respond to the world around them. This involves investigating and exploringhow art conveys a message, the choices artists make to convey messages and the stages of the creative process.
HWEO - Artists' Journey: SOLO Taxonomy HWEO - Artists' Journey: Vocabulary List
Grade 2 have recently begun their unit of inquiry How the world works - Forces & Motion. They are exploring the central idea People apply their understanding of forces and energy to simple, compound and complex machines. This involves investigating and exploringdifferent types of forces, how machines function and the impact of machines on our world.
HTWW - Forces & Motion: SOLO Taxonomy HTWW - Forces & Motion: Vocabulary List
GRADE 3

Grade 3's year long unit of inquiry is Sharing the planet - Plants. They are exploring the central idea Plant diversity can affect the wellbeing of people and other living things. This involves investigating and exploringthe conditions plants need to grow, the interrelationship between plants and other living things and the importance of plant diversity.
STP - Plants: SOLO Taxonomy STP - Plants: Vocabulary List
Grade 3 have recently begun their unit of inquiry How we organise ourselves - The Marketplace They are exploring the central idea Marketplaces depend on the ability to produce goods and supply services that can be exchanged. This involves investigating and exploringthe role of supply and demand, the distribution of goods and services and responsible production and consumption.
HWOO - The Marketplace: SOLO Taxonomy HWOO - The Marketplace: Vocabulary List
GRADE 4

Grade 4 have recently begun their unit of inquiry How the world works - Weather Systems. They are exploring the central idea Understanding climate and weather patterns informs decision making. This involves investigating and exploringthe relationship between weather and climate, measuring and predicting weather and the impact of and response to extreme weather events.
HTWW - Weather Systems: SOLO Taxonomy HTWW - Weather Systems: Vocabulary List
GRADE 5

Grade 5's year long unit of inquiry is How we express ourselves - . They are exploring the central idea People can create or manipulate messages to target specific audiences. This involves investigating and exploringhow the elements of messages can be used to influence target audiences, the power and impact of media and critical evaluation of messages presented through media.
HWEO - Media: SOLO Taxonomy HWEO - Media: Vocabulary List
Grade 5 will soon begin their unit of inquiry Sharing the planet - Peace & Conflict. They are exploring the central idea Reaching a resolution to conflict can be influenced by the actions and reactions of all involved. This involves investigating and exploringcauses of conflict and strategies used to resolve conflict and their consequences.
STP - Peace & Conflict: SOLO Taxonomy STP - Peace & Conflict: Vocabulary List
GRADE 6

Grade 6's year long unit of inquiry is Who we are - International Mindedness. They are exploring the central idea Understanding the beliefs and values of different cultures can promote international mindedness. This involves investigating and exploringwhat constitutes culture, the varying beliefs of different people and how they develop and promoting international mindedness.
WWA - International Mindedness: SOLO Taxonomy WWA - International Mindedness: Vocabulary List
Grade 6 have recently begun their unit of inquiry How we express ourselves - People we admire. They are exploring the central idea People we admire can influence our actions, values and relationships. This involves investigating and exploringthe characteristics/traits of people we admire, how individuals develop character traits to empower others and how my actions and choices affect myself and others.
HWEO - People we admire: SOLO Taxonomy HWEO - People we admire: Vocabulary List
If you have any experience or expertise with the content of these units of inquiry, we would love to hear from you! Please contact our PYP Coordinator (ssmyth@seisen.com) or your daughter's homeroom teacher.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SOLO and Vocabulary Lists Updated for Grade 1 to 6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An update of the new SOLO Taxonomy for current and year long units of inquiry and vocabulary lists to support your child at home.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Developing Learning Agility This diagram was inspired by the blog post, The agile learner in a VUCA world, written by Aloha Lavina. VUCA is an acronym used to describe volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Put simply, we live in a fast-changing world and in such an unfamiliar environment, we face unpredictable changes, often are required to make decisions in complex systems, and ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Children's Stories on Global Goals and The PYP Learner Profile

# data[].attributes.body
Self-Assessment Plan: ATL Social Skills for Year 5 Girls Group.

This self-assessment plan helps girls reflect on their social skills.

Keep the self-assessment process positive and focused on growth.

Use language that is age-appropriate and easy for 9-year-old girls to understand.

Provide opportunities for girls to practice social skills in a safe and supportive environment.

Celebrate the unique strengths and communication styles each girl brings to the classroom.

CREATE A HAPPINESS JOURNAL - Start with a vision board, include daily reflection prompts that focus on the ATL social skills prompts, and self-assess according to an ATL rubric.

Step 1: Understanding Social Skills

Brainstorming Session:

Begin with a group discussion about social skills. What are some ways we interact with others? What makes someone a good friend or teammate?

Create a word bank together listing social skills like active listening, taking turns, showing empathy, and resolving conflicts peacefully.

Visual Aids:

Use age-appropriate posters or infographics that depict positive social skills in action, such as pictures of students collaborating on a project or greeting each other respectfully.

Step 2: Reflecting on Group Interactions

Scenario Prompts:

Present a few written scenarios that depict situations where social skills are essential. Explicit teaching.

Examples:

A group project at school - How did you communicate your ideas? Did you listen to others' ideas?

A disagreement on the playground - How did you resolve the conflict?

Working with a new classmate - Did you make them feel welcome?

Journaling:

After each scenario, have students write a short reflection in their journals.

Prompts:

How well did I use my social skills in this situation?

What could I have done differently?

How can I improve my social skills in the future?

Step 3: Peer Feedback (Optional)

Partner Reflection:

Students can take turns reflecting on each other's social skills in pairs based on recent group activities or projects.

Encourage them to use positive and constructive language, focusing on specific examples.

Class Discussion:

Facilitate a class discussion about the importance of peer feedback in developing social skills.

Remind students to be respectful and focus on offering suggestions for improvement rather than criticism.

Step 4: Setting Goals and Tracking Progress

Goal Setting:

Based on their reflections, have students identify one or two specific social skills they want to improve.

Encourage them to set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).

Tracking Sheet:

Create a simple self-assessment tracking sheet to monitor students' progress towards their goals.

It can have columns for the target skill, specific situations where they practised it, and a rating on how well they used it (e.g., excellent, good, needs improvement).

Step 5: Celebrating Success and Sharing Learnings

Recognition:

Acknowledge students' efforts to improve their social skills. Celebrate their achievements and offer encouragement to continue developing these important skills.

Sharing Session:

Organize a voluntary sharing session where girls who feel comfortable can share their goals and strategies for improving their social skills. This can inspire and motivate others.

Exchanging Thoughts and Information:

Reflect on a recent conversation you had. How effectively did you exchange information and ideas? What could you have done differently?

Imagine you're explaining a complex topic to someone younger than you. How would you adapt your communication style?

Giving and Receiving Feedback:

Recall a time you received feedback on your work. How did it make you feel? Did it help you improve?

Think about a situation where you gave feedback to someone else. Was your feedback clear and constructive? How could you improve your feedback skills?

Intercultural Understanding:

Have you ever encountered a situation where cultural differences caused a misunderstanding? How did you overcome it?

Research a cultural tradition or social etiquette from a different country. How does this impact communication styles?

Speaking Techniques:

Choose a topic you're passionate about. How would you present it to a younger audience vs. an expert audience? What speaking techniques would you use for each?

Imagine you're giving a persuasive speech. What techniques would you use to engage your audience and get your point across?

Writing for Different Audiences:

Compare and contrast the writing style you'd use for a blog post, a formal letter, and a creative story.

Imagine you're writing instructions for a complex game. How would you ensure clarity and ease of understanding for your audience?

Media Communication:

Reflect on your media usage. What types of media do you use to communicate with different people? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each?

Choose a topic. How would you communicate your message using a video, an infographic, or a social media post?

Non-Verbal Communication:

Pay attention to non-verbal cues throughout the day. How do facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice impact communication?

Practice conveying emotions (happiness, sadness, anger) solely through body language and facial expressions. Discuss the challenges and importance of non-verbal communication.

Negotiation and Collaboration:

Describe a situation where you negotiated a solution with a friend or classmate. What communication skills were essential for success?

Imagine you're collaborating on a project with someone from a different country. How would you ensure clear communication and understanding despite potential cultural differences?

Digital Communication:

Reflect on your online interactions. How do digital platforms like social media influence how we communicate and share information?

Choose a cause you care about. How could you use a digital platform to spread awareness and collaborate with others to create positive change?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Look at all available IB ATL documents for your specific programme

# data[].attributes.headline
Learning Engagement Writing ATL statements

# data[].attributes.subject
Learning Engagement Writing ATL statements

# data[].attributes.body
The ATLS are our Learners' pathways to being the critical-thinking and problems solving employees of the future!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Developing Learning Agility This diagram was inspired by the blog post, The agile learner in a VUCA world, written by Aloha Lavina. VUCA is an acronym used to describe volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Put simply, we live in a fast-changing world and in such an unfamiliar environment, we face unpredictable changes, often are required to make decisions in complex systems, and ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
· What strikes us as noteworthy about this scene?
· Our current education model was defined by the Committee of Ten over a century ago.  What skills and character traits did they want young adults to have for 20th Century assembly line jobs?
·  What skills and character traits are essential for students for career and citizenship in the 21st century?
·  Do we critique our assignments on the basis of which essential skills they’re developing?
·  How can we assess student progress on essential skills?  
·  What micro-innovations could we try to accelerate student development of essential skills?

# data[].attributes.body
SOCIAL SKILLS

Developing positive interpersonal relationships.

Developing Social-emotional skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Author Parita Parekh Co-founder and Head of Learning, Toddle

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
IB PYP Approaches to Learning Challenges

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use diverse ATL challenge cards to foster and support the development of ATL skills in your IB PYP classroom. Help your students become self-regulated learners.

# data[].attributes.body
Students (and teachers) need to navigate:

What search terms to put into Google or other search engines

What search results to click on and read through (while avoiding inappropriate or irrelevant sites or advertisements)

How to determine what information is credible, relevant and student friendly

How to process, synthesize, evaluate, and present the information

How to compare a range of sources to evaluate their reliability and relevancy

How to cite sources correctly

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Please note, I am no longer blogging and this post hasn't updated since April 2020.

For a number of years, Seth Godin has been talking about the need to " connect the dots" rather than "collect the dots". That is, rather than memorising information, students must be able to learn how to solve new problems, see patterns, and combine multiple perspectives.

Solid research skills underpin this. Having the fluency to find and use information successfully is an essential skill for life and work.

Today's students have more information at their fingertips than ever before and this means the role of the teacher as a guide is more important than ever.

You might be wondering how you can fit teaching research skills into a busy curriculum? There aren't enough hours in the day! The good news is, there are so many mini-lessons you can do to build students' skills over time.

This post outlines 50 ideas for activities that could be done in just a few minutes (or stretched out to a longer lesson if you have the time!).

Learn More About The Research Process

I have a popular post called Teach Students How To Research Online In 5 Steps. It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks.

This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students' skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate, and cite. It also includes ideas for learning about staying organised throughout the research process.

Notes about the 50 research activities:

These ideas can be adapted for different age groups from middle primary/elementary to senior high school.

Many of these ideas can be repeated throughout the year.

Depending on the age of your students, you can decide whether the activity will be more teacher or student led. Some activities suggest coming up with a list of words, questions, or phrases. Teachers of younger students could generate these themselves.

Depending on how much time you have, many of the activities can be either quickly modelled by the teacher, or extended to an hour-long lesson.

Some of the activities could fit into more than one category.

Looking for simple articles for younger students for some of the activities? Try DOGO News or Time for Kids. Newsela is also a great resource but you do need to sign up for free account.

Why not try a few activities in a staff meeting? Everyone can always brush up on their own research skills!

Clarify

1. Choose a topic (e.g. koalas, basketball, Mount Everest). Write as many questions as you can think of relating to that topic.

2. Make a mindmap of a topic you're currently learning about. This could be either on paper or using an online tool like Bubbl.us.

3. Read a short book or article. Make a list of 5 words from the text that you don't totally understand. Look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary (online or paper).

4. Look at a printed or digital copy of a short article with the title removed. Come up with as many different titles as possible that would fit the article.

5. Come up with a list of 5 different questions you could type into Google (e.g. Which country in Asia has the largest population?) Circle the keywords in each question.

6. Write down 10 words to describe a person, place, or topic. Come up with synonyms for these words using a tool like Thesaurus.com.

7. Write pairs of synonyms on post-it notes (this could be done by the teacher or students). Each student in the class has one post-it note and walks around the classroom to find the person with the synonym to their word.

Search

1. Explore how to search Google using your voice (i.e. click/tap on the microphone in the Google search box or on your phone/tablet keyboard). List the pros and cons of using voice and text to search.

2. Open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in a query and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same?

3. Have students work in pairs to try out a different search engine (there are 11 listed here). Report back to the class on the pros and cons.

4. Think of something you're curious about, (e.g. What endangered animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?). Open Google in two tabs. In one search, type in one or two keywords (e.g. Amazon Rainforest). In the other search type in multiple relevant keywords (e.g. endangered animals Amazon rainforest). Compare the results. Discuss the importance of being specific.

5. Similar to above, try two different searches where one phrase is in quotation marks and the other is not. For example, Origin of "raining cats and dogs" and Origin of raining cats and dogs. Discuss the difference that using quotation marks makes (It tells Google to search for the precise keywords in order.)

6. Try writing a question in Google with a few minor spelling mistakes. What happens? What happens if you add or leave out punctuation?

7. Try the AGoogleADay.com daily search challenges from Google. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.

8. Explore how Google uses autocomplete to suggest searches quickly. Try it out by typing in various queries (e.g. How to draw... or What is the tallest...). Discuss how these suggestions come about, how to use them, and whether they're usually helpful.

9. Watch this video from Code.org to learn more about how search works.

10. Take a look at 20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know by Eric Curts to learn about "instant searches". Try one to try out. Perhaps each student could be assigned one to try and share with the class.

11. Experiment with typing some questions into Google that have a clear answer (e.g. "What is a parallelogram?" or "What is the highest mountain in the world?" or "What is the population of Australia?"). Look at the different ways the answers are displayed instantly within the search results - dictionary definitions, image cards, graphs etc.

Delve

1. Watch the video How Does Google Know Everything About Me? by Scientific American. Discuss the PageRank algorithm and how Google uses your data to customise search results.

2. Brainstorm a list of popular domains(e.g. .com, .com.au, or your country's domain). Discuss if any domains might be more reliable than others and why (e.g. .gov or .edu).

3. Discuss (or research) ways to open Google search results in a new tab to save your original search results (i.e. right-click > open link in new tab or press control/command and click the link).

4. Try out a few Google searches (perhaps start with things like "car service" "cat food" or "fresh flowers"). Are there advertisements within the results? Discuss where these appear and how to spot them.

5. Look at ways to filter search results by using the tabs at the top of the page in Google (i.e. news, images, shopping, maps, videos etc.). Do the same filters appear for all Google searches? Try out a few different searches and see.

6. Type a question into Google and look for the "People also ask" and "Searches related to..." sections. Discuss how these could be useful. When should you use them or ignore them so you don't go off on an irrelevant tangent? Is the information in the drop-down section under "People also ask" always the best?

7. Often, more current search results are more useful. Click on "tools" under the Google search box and then "any time" and your time frame of choice such as "Past month" or "Past year".

8. Have students annotate their own "anatomy of a search result" example like the one I made below. Explore the different ways search results display; some have more details like sitelinks and some do not.

Evaluate

1. Find two articles on a news topic from different publications. Or find a news article and an opinion piece on the same topic. Make a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences.

2. Choose a graph, map, or chart from The New York Times' What's Going On In This Graph series. Have a whole class or small group discussion about the data.

3. Look at images stripped of their captions on What's Going On In This Picture? by The New York Times. Discuss the images in pairs or small groups. What can you tell?

4. Explore a website together as a class or in pairs - perhaps a news website. Identify all the advertisements.

5. Have a look at a fake website either as a whole class or in pairs/small groups. See if students can spot that these sites are not real. Discuss the fact that you can't believe everything that's online. Get started with these four examples of fake websites from Eric Curts.

6. Give students a copy of my website evaluation flowchart to analyse and then discuss as a class. Read more about the flowchart in this post.

7. As a class, look at a prompt from Mike Caulfield's Four Moves. Either together or in small groups, have students fact check the prompts on the site. This resource explains more about the fact checking process. Note: some of these prompts are not suitable for younger students.

8. Practice skim reading- give students one minute to read a short article. Ask them to discuss what stood out to them. Headings? Bold words? Quotes? Then give students ten minutes to read the same article and discuss deep reading.

Cite

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students' age and your curriculum guidelines.

1. Watch the video Citation for Beginners for an introduction to citation. Discuss the key points to remember.

2. Look up the definition of plagiarism using a variety of sources (dictionary, video, Wikipedia etc.). Create a definition as a class.

3. Find an interesting video on YouTube (perhaps a "life hack" video) and write a brief summary in your own words.

4. Have students pair up and tell each other about their weekend. Then have the listener try to verbalise or write their friend's recount in their own words. Discuss how accurate this was.

5. Read the class a copy of a well known fairy tale. Have them write a short summary in their own words. Compare the versions that different students come up with.

6. Try out MyBib - a handy free online tool without ads that helps you create citations quickly and easily.

7. Give primary/elementary students a copy of Kathy Schrock's Guide to Citation that matches their grade level (the guide covers grades 1 to 6). Choose one form of citation and create some examples as a class (e.g. a website or a book).

8. Make a list of things that are okay and not okay to do when researching, e.g. copy text from a website, use any image from Google images, paraphrase in your own words and cite your source, add a short quote and cite the source.

9. Have students read a short article and then come up with a summary that would be considered plagiarism and one that would not be considered plagiarism. These could be shared with the class and the students asked to decide which one shows an example of plagiarism.

10. Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising. They could create a Venn diagram that compares the two.

11. Write a list of statements on the board that might be true or false (e.g. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. The rhinoceros is the largest land animal in the world. The current marathon world record is 2 hours, 7 minutes). Have students research these statements and decide whether they're true or false by sharing their citations.

Staying Organised

1. Make a list of different ways you can take notes while researching - Google Docs, Google Keep, pen and paper etc. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.

2. Learn the keyboard shortcuts to help manage tabs (e.g. open new tab, reopen closed tab, go to next tab etc.). Perhaps students could all try out the shortcuts and share their favourite one with the class.

3. Find a collection of resources on a topic and add them to a Wakelet.

4. Listen to a short podcast or watch a brief video on a certain topic and sketchnote ideas. Sylvia Duckworth has some great tips about live sketchnoting

5. Learn how to use split screen to have one window open with your research, and another open with your notes (e.g. a Google spreadsheet, Google Doc, Microsoft Word or OneNote etc.).

Conclusion

All teachers know it's important to teach students to research well. Investing time in this process will also pay off throughout the year and the years to come. Students will be able to focus on analysing and synthesizing information, rather than the mechanics of the research process.

By trying out as many of these mini-lessons as possible throughout the year, you'll be really helping your students to thrive in all areas of school, work, and life.

Also remember to model your own searches explicitly during class time. Talk out loud as you look things up and ask students for input. Learning together is the way to go!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:
How To Evaluate Websites: A Guide For Teachers And Students Five Tips for Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information Typing Tips: The How and Why of Teaching Students Keyboarding Skills 8 Ways Teachers And Schools Can Communicate With Parents

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to teach research skills to primary students, middle school students, or high school students. 50 activities that could be done in just a few minutes a day. Lots of Google search tips and research tips for kids and teachers.