Empowering Your Classroom with Accountable Talk: A Pathway to Deeper Learning
Have you ever noticed how some classroom discussions just fizzle out, while others spark curiosity and connection? That’s where Accountable Talk steps in, breathing life into conversations and adding oomph to student-driven learning. It’s not just another buzzword—it’s a powerful tool for fostering communication, critical thinking, and collaboration in our IB PYP classrooms. When students take ownership of their words and ideas, they’re not only talking—they’re learning.
Let’s dive into what accountable talk really is, why it’s essential, and how you can seamlessly weave it into your everyday teaching.
Fundamentally, Accountable Talk is about keeping discussions purposeful, respectful, and learning-focused. It’s conversation that pushes understanding forward, where students are responsible for their words...
I wanted to put out a list of the essentials for every IB PYP classroom, giving even those of you who, like myself, tend to procrastinate all summer long, plenty of time to prepare. Back to school preparations are in high gear for some and dragging for others. I tend to fall into the latter category myself…despite good intentions every single year. You know, last minute cramming moments before the kids walk into the classroom? No matter which camp you fall within, I have that checklist of the essentials for your inquiry-based classroom...
Greetings international teachers, from (not so) sunny Scotland. Another school year is almost over and I know those main challenges that we teachers face at the end of the school year.
Well, I have a few ideas for activities that are perfect for the end of the year that I wanted to share with you. These are easy to prepare, easy to implement and easy to keep the kids motivated whilst learning. Even if you arent at that point in your school year, take a look. Im hoping you'll be able to find something that might work for your class. White Board Summer WishesThe picture below is a photo of me with messages from my 3rd grade students. This is a super easy and fun activity for ALL ages. The... |
In Phase 1, students “…explore sound as a means of expressing imaginative ideas.”
Phase 4, students will “…write music in traditional notation…create music that will be refined after sharing with...
With a simple question and fun images, the children are asked to relate themselves to the pictures. You can choose to use words or simply begin with only the images. This adds to the thinking. I have done it both ways, depending on the students abilities with language, the vocabulary of the PYP and their thinking skills etc. Ask them: Are you more of a lion when it comes to learning, or are you more...
Over the years, Ive chatted about inclusive assessment as a practice that needs to become embedded within any student-led, inquiry-based classroom. This message has been spread far and wide that this is a really important part of our daily routine. The IB themselves shifted towards on-going reflection, we have student agency as all the buzz ( and hallelujah for that!), numerous educators within our community are sharing their rationale for the value that inclusive assessment brings and none of this could have come a moment too soon. Yes, its that vital.
If we consider assessment as a key element within education, then we have to reconsider the role our students play within that element.
If you'd like to catch up with my 3 part series of articles, you can link to those here. They cover the form and function of assessment in the inquiry-based classroom, together with strategies for developing inclusive assessment in your...
Language therefore becomes more than simply a means of conversation. We are teaching a language, about language and through language and we do all of this with that authentic, inquiry-based approach that we truly believe in. In this article, I will be sharing a recent video from a conversation I had live on Facebook with grade 4 teacher, Maria Vidal. ( @bilingualising on Instagram) [caption id="attachment_2738"...
When I consider those definitions in relation to mindfulness in the IB PYP classroom, the key words that jump out to me are:
All very similar to being reflective, don't you think? Since we have a whole child approach to teaching, this makes perfect sense that we would help to develop awareness of self as an approach to learning. If we think about how many attributes within the the Learner Profile align with mindfulness, we can then see how, through taking time to explicitly teach mindfulness...
For those who know me, it's not unusual for the restlessness to kick in and spark my wanderlust. I returned to Colorado only 18 months ago, after dragging my teenagers around for a year in France for heaven's sake! The credit card is still recovering from the costs of shipping furniture across the Atlantic and back again! ( I do NOT recommend shipping your entire household goods, its cheaper to start afresh! But that's a whole other blog post I suppose. ) Yet, here I go again.....planning, planning...my next adventure.
Keep in mind, when I travel, it isn't for a two week package tour, although nothing wrong with that if that's your preference. Oh no. I'm more of the "shut up shop for a year or so"...
Its that time of year again……reflection, fresh starts, new beginnings and goal setting.
A New Year or even a new school year, is an exciting time to gather as a class community and to think about all the dreams and goals that everyone wants to make come true. When we begin with this type of thing, it’s a great idea to just make a list of ALL those aspirations. Dream boards are fun ways to do this. I make one every single year! Dream BIG! Think beyond school! Just get them thinking forward.
Now, in order to make this list meaningful rather than a forgotten exercise within a few days, we need to encourage the children to turn those dreams into goals.
Dream boards or vision boards are simple and fun ways to just go ALL out and dream! Goals begin with dreams.
As adults, we know the importance of...
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