See, Think, Wonder and our Cross Competency Animals

This week we introduced two of our Cross Competency Animals to our class. These animals help our learners to understand our cross competency skills. During our See, Think, Wonder time we have been discussing how the animals can help us learn to learn. The first animal we discussed was the ant.

  

The ant likes to find out lots of information but always validates that the information is correct. The ant asks questions like:

Where can I find information?  Who can I ask?

Do I trust my source?

Is there another source I could ask to be sure?

Is the information I have found consistent across my sources?

Can I prove the information I have discovered is true and correct?

Our learners noticed that the ant picture had his thumbs up. They decided this meant that he had found the information he needed and checked that it was correct. On Monday, when we were in the library, one of our learners discovered a book about tuataras. The children were fascinated and we read the book together. During See, Think, Wonder time we told a partner a fact that we had learned about the tuatara. As the learners shared, we used the book to validate the fact. Before we knew it, the learners were giving each other thumbs up!  

The second animal we discussed this week was the cat. The cat is a very curious animal and is always asking questions to find out more information. The cat asks: 

What do I need to know?

Does my question start with one of the seven servants?

Is my question an effective question?

Does it include key words and phrases?

Will it get me the information or answers that I need?

Is my question relevant to my task or need?

Are there any other words (synonyms) I could use in my question?

Why did the boy go in the mud? 

During See, Think, Wonder time we showed an image on the Activeboard. This image was of a boy covered in mud. We discussed the 7 servant words that can be used to ask questions - Why, When, Who, What, Where, Which and How.  Once again they copied the actions of the cat image and had their arms out palm extended as they asked a question. Some of the questions they wondered were:

How did the boy get in the mud?

Why is the boy lying in the mud?

Next term, we are looking forward to introducing and using more of our animals with the language and skills that they promote.