Week 12

We may have had a shorter week this week; however, that does not mean that we sacrificed any of our activities and inquiry.

One of our readings this week focused on the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II, as the students have shown interest in why countries go to war and why the world has war. Students selected one of the RAZ Kids books: Camp Nowhere (a graphic book) and the nonfiction text Japanese American Incarceration.

On Tuesday we traveled to Maishima Incineration Plant to learn about why Osaka burns trash, but first we spent time at the beach picking up trash. The students and I were shocked by the amount of trash that littered the beach. Some of the students' thoughts:
"I think some people use the beach as a trash can."
"I think people do not appreciate the ocean and do not respect the fish that live in the water."

Not pictured: The coffee table, TV, tires, and other big objects

Another of our readings this week focused on Malala Yousafzai. First, I read the book Malala's Magic Pencil to pique their interest and to get them jump started in asking questions about WHO is this girl, Malala. After lunch, students worked on different tasks: research, vlogging, and reading a brief biography of Malala from the Nobel Prize website. Students practiced their close reading strategies while either reading it alone or in a small group with me.

The students are continuing to vlog about their experiences and about what they're reading and learning. I am proud of their effort and their ability to make connections to all the concepts and topics we are exploring.

Week 11

Last unit, the students read the book The Girl Who Thought in Pictures (the story of Temple Grandin).
The students' discussion led us to think about how people in Japan are treated if they learn in a
different way from someone with a neurotypical brain.


This week we read and discussed the RAZ Kids book, Many Faces of Autism. We practiced our
close reading skills for this book, as the level is a bit high. The students did a great job making
real-life connections to the book. Actually, the book provided a checklist of sorts that apply to
some people with autism. The students realized that each one of us can check at least two of the
items on the list, which led to the question: Why is this list in the book? Students decided that
the list was included "so everyone reading the book can see that people with autism are just like

them. We shouldn't treat people with autism differently."

For English we worked on letter writing. The students wrote "a letter to Ms. Dana" explaining the importance of including all people and how we can encourage inclusivity.

The students shared with me of their learning in Japanese class about the Ainu, an indigenous group in the Hokkaido area of Japan. They have continued to go back to this topic, so we found a documentary about the Ainu people. We watched a few excerpts to provide students with more primary sources of the discrimination the Ainu people endured.

Throughout the week, the students continued to update our inquiry wall as they learned more information on their own and in class. They also continued vlogging in class and at home about lessons, questions, and thoughts our classroom discussions.

After art on Friday before lunch, the students asked if they could clean grade 1's classroom while they were at the park. I was blown away by this selfless act. The discussion of being inclusive and treating all groups and grades with respect was seen in real life in that act.

Week 10

We have completed our 3rd week of "Sharing the Planet," and students are inquiring into a range of people and topics:
slavery (past and present)

British kings and queens (Who was ruling the country when the British Empire colonized Australia?)
Gandhi (Who killed Gandhi and why was he killed?)
California Gold Rush (What did the 49ers value more: life or money?)
Ichiro Suzuki (How did people view him when he left Japan to play in the United States?)
"Migrant Caravan"
Women and Education in the 1960s

The students began independent research and creating mind maps of their learning, thoughts, and questions. Also this week students recorded vlogs (video blogs) where they talked about and reflected on their learning.

On Friday, our parents came to visit, and we used that time to talk to them individually about what we are learning as well as taking the opportunity to use "our parents as the Internet," where we asked them about their experiences and their opinions. It was a wonderful discussion, and we are still referring back to what our parents had to say.

After our parents left, we reflected on what we learned from them and made a mind map. We realized that society values people, but we are sometimes part of that problem. We talked about ways to "change the world," which starts with the information we have and share with others.

Week 9

This week we used our RAZ Kids' books to help us gain more information about what has happened in the world throughout history.

This week, we read and discussed books about Cathy Freeman, King George III, Harriet Tubman, Gandhi, Jackie Robinson, and George Washington Carver.

We had some in depth conversations on these time periods and how society valued an individual person vs. a group or how society valued a group compared to others. The Japanese class worked hand-in-hand with our own discussion as they were talking about discrimination that occurs in society.

Term 2: Week 8

This week we began our new unit: Sharing the Planet.

Central Idea:
Society places value on its members.

Our first order of business was analyzing the central idea.

Students worked in partners to identify the value of the people in previous books we read.

We used Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code as our class text to understand the meaning of the central idea.

We rounded out the week discussing "What We Know" about this unit.