{"id":560,"date":"2020-11-21T05:34:16","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T05:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/larajensen\/?p=560"},"modified":"2020-11-21T05:34:16","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T05:34:16","slug":"scaredy-squirrel-learns-to-laser-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/larajensen\/2020\/11\/21\/scaredy-squirrel-learns-to-laser-cut\/","title":{"rendered":"Scaredy Squirrel Learns to Laser Cut"},"content":{"rendered":"

This current pandemic has been challenging for teachers, in part because of all the new technologies to be learned and mastered as well as the challenge of using them (and having things not work as expected) when there are students in front of you as well as others at home.<\/p>\n

I recently had to learn a new technology myself and it made me reflect on the process that allowed me to do this. I wondered if any of the strategies that I used for myself would help others as well.<\/p>\n

Grade 5 Design – in the Past<\/h4>\n

I am grateful for how fortunate I am. I teach a subject that students generally love that is not high-stakes academically and yet it provides multiple opportunities for students to hone their critical and creative thinking skills, take risks and try something new, learn to recover from non-catastrophic “failures” and make things for themselves and others.<\/p>\n

In the past, we have started our Grade 5 Design programme with a woodworking unit in which students worked collabortively in small groups to build something for our school community.<\/p>\n

\"Garden<\/a><\/p>\n

Grade 5 Design – the Pandemic Version<\/h4>\n

This year, we could not work in groups but were fortunate to have a large\u00a0enough space where students could work independently. My colleague and I thought that instead we could create a mosaic of wooden tiles instead.<\/p>\n

Students started the year by reflecting on what they what they enjoyed during Spring lockdown or what they looked forward to about being back together at school or any other positive message that they thought could benefit our school community.<\/p>\n

They then determined how they might depict this sentiment as an image, explored the elements of graphic design and incorporated what they had been learning in Art about line, shape, balance and value.<\/p>\n