September
IB Learner Profile Trait: Communicator
Approaches to Learning (ATL): Communication Skills
Global Context: Identities and Relationships
Explorations: Who am I? Who are we? Identity, Human Relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures.
Purpose: Exploring Cultural Backgrounds
Week 1:
Monday/Tuesday: Video
source: Global Oneness Project - "Marie's Dictionary"
Tuesday: Discussion Topics
Select the questions you feel most appropriate for your homeroom.
- Why is the dictionary important to Marie? Do you think archiving or preserving a dying native language is important? Why or why not?
- What would've happened if Marie hadn't created her dictionary? Do you think it matters?
- In the film, Marie's great-grandson Donovan has an easier time speaking Wukchumni with Marie than her daughter. Do you think young people are better able to learn a foreign language? Why or why not?
- What role does technology play in the film? How do you think it will affect the future of the Wukchumni language?
- If you were Donovan, Marie's great-grandson, what would you do to make sure that Wukchumni would survive past the present century?
Wednesday: Study Hall
Thursday: NO HOMEROOM
Friday: Activities
Please select the activity that fits your homeroom.
Option #1:
Oral storytelling has been a part of the human experience for thousands of years, providing a way for language to be remembered without documentation. Stories can come in the form of jokes, ghost stories, or songs, including the "Alphabet Song" or "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." "How We Got Our Hands" is an oral story told by Marie in the film. Do you recall an oral story from your childhood that made an impression on you? Why do you think we remember these stories so well? Have students work in small groups to share an oral story, song, nursery rhyme, etc. they remember from their childhood. After each student has shared, the group should select one to share out with the whole class.
Option #2:
Explain what it means to ‘greet’ someone, what do you say or do as an action? Give them some examples: ‘Good Morning, how are you?’ and shake hands etc. Discuss how there are many ways to greet someone depending on a person’s culture and upbringing. Have students circle up facing inward. Then have students turn to the person next to them and greet each other in the way they typically would. Invite two students in the circle to greet each other in the center. If you have access to a ball you can have the students pass the ball to someone from across the circle to then greet in the middle. If no ball, you can number the students off and then call random numbers.
Week 2:
Monday: Video
source: Ted Talks, "To Code Switch, or Not to Code Switch?"
Tuesday: Planner Checks/Discussion Topics
*Begin homeroom with planner checks and grade checks on Student Portal.
Select the questions you feel most appropriate for your homeroom.
- When and why do you code switch?
- What do you switch besides language? Clothing? Body language?
- What do you gain by code switching?
- Who has to code switch in order to feel accepted or succeed at school? What does that look like?
- Why is code switching an important skill?
Wednesday: Study Hall
Thursday: NO HOMEROOM
Friday: Activity
Discuss as a class what types of scenarios would entail code switching at home, school, in your community, etc. Have students break up into small groups (3-4) and give them a scenario to perform. Tell them the scenario and they have to perform at that moment or allow them more time to plan. You could also have the list below in a hat for them to pick from.
Optional Scenarios:
- Group of Friends
- Children and Grandparents
- Student and Teacher
- Young Adult and Store Clerk
- Employee and Employer
- Siblings
- Law enforcement and Young Adult
OR - Fun Friday
Ideas:
*Quick Brain Teasers: Start with a few brain teasers or riddles that students can solve individually or in small groups. You can find age-appropriate riddles online or in puzzle books.
*Minute to Win It Challenges: Set up a few Minute to Win It challenges that students can complete in under a minute. For example, the "Cookie Face" challenge where they try to move a cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands.
*Flash Fiction Writing: Give students a prompt and challenge them to write a very short story or a few sentences of flash fiction. Share some of the creative responses afterward.
*Quick Art Project: Provide students with art supplies and a simple art project that can be completed in 30 minutes, such as creating mini abstract paintings or making paper snowflakes.
*Pictionary: Divide the class into teams and play a fast-paced game of Pictionary. Prepare a list of words or phrases related to the curriculum or pop culture.
*Scattergories: Choose a category (e.g., animals, fruits, movies) and give students a letter. They have to come up with words that fit both the category and the letter in a set time limit.
*Speed Charades: Similar to traditional charades but with a time limit of 30 seconds per word or phrase. Students take turns acting out and guessing.
*Quick Science Experiment: Perform a simple and visually engaging science experiment that can be completed within 30 minutes, like making a volcano with baking soda and vinegar.
*Pop Culture Trivia: Challenge students with a quick pop culture trivia quiz with questions related to movies, music, and current events.
*Story Chain: Start a story with a sentence or paragraph, and each student adds one sentence or idea to continue the story. See where their creativity takes them.
*List created with aide from Chat GPT
Week 3:
Monday: Video
source: Pixar - "For the Birds"
After viewing video, please answer the following questions.
- What is nonverbal communication? What does it look like?
- What types of nonverbal communication did you observe in the video?
Tuesday: Planner Checks/Discussion Topics
*Begin homeroom with planner checks and grade checks on Student Portal.
Select the questions you feel most appropriate for your homeroom.
Watch video a second time and ask students to pay close attention to the birds’ Non-Verbal Communication.
- What did you notice the second time you watched it?
- What non-verbal communication have you seen in school? What does it look like in the hallways? Classroom? Cafeteria? Staff members? Friends?
- Why is it important to be mindful of your non-verbal communication?
Wednesday: Study Hall
Thursday: NO HOMEROOM
Friday: Activities
Model/discuss non verbal communication by calling a student volunteer to act out a scenario with you. Have student start talking to you and give them negative non-verbal communication (be on your phone or computer, look at the clock, roll your eyes, talk to someone else etc.) Discuss as a class what they noticed about the situation. Be sure to focus on how the student felt as a result of the negative non-verbal communication.
OR Fun Friday Ideas:
*Human Knot: Have students stand in a circle, and each person reaches across to grab the hands of two different people. The group must then work together to untangle themselves without letting go of each other's hands.
*Team Building Challenges: Set up various challenges like building a tower with marshmallows and spaghetti or creating a bridge using only paper and tape. Divide students into teams and see which group can complete the task successfully.
*Escape Room: Create a simplified classroom "escape room" with puzzles and clues that students must solve together to "escape" within a time limit.
*Trust Fall: Have students pair up, with one person standing and the other falling backward (with eyes closed) while the standing partner catches them. This builds trust and teamwork.
*Minefield: Scatter objects (e.g., cones, books) on the floor, creating a "minefield." Blindfold one team member and have their teammates verbally guide them through the minefield safely.
*Team-building Games: Play games like "Two Truths and a Lie" or "Would You Rather" to encourage students to get to know each other better.
*Paper Airplane Challenge: Provide materials for students to make paper airplanes. Hold a competition for the farthest flight or the most creative design.
*Group Juggle: Have students stand in a circle and pass a soft object (like a stuffed animal or ball) to each other. As they become more proficient, you can introduce more objects.
*Memory Wall: Create a "Memory Wall" where each student posts a picture and a brief note about a memorable experience. This helps students learn about their peers.
*Team Drawing: Divide students into pairs. In each pair, one student describes an image, and the other student has to draw it based on the description. This activity promotes clear communication.
*Storytelling Circle: Sit in a circle, and each student contributes one sentence to create a collaborative story. Continue around the circle until the story is complete.
*Group Puzzles: Provide a jigsaw puzzle and have students work together to complete it within a time limit.
*Outdoor Adventure: If possible, plan an outdoor adventure like a nature hike or a scavenger hunt, where students must work together to achieve a common goal.
*Tower of Cups: Give each team a stack of plastic cups and a rubber band with strings. They must work together to build a tower using only the rubber band and strings.
*Alphabet Relay: Organize a relay race where each team must find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet in order.
Week 4:
Monday: Homeroom Actions
*Through their participation in service students can become more confident self-regulated learners. (IB Principles into Practice)
Action: Students will use their communication skills to explore cultural backgrounds.
Ideas: Select an action for your homeroom to complete for the final week.
- Decorate their doors with greetings in different languages/cultures
- Decorate bulletin boards in hallways
- Practice communicating verbally and non-verbally in the halls
- Create ‘greetings’ that can go over the flags in the hallways in different languages
- Create signs for the Learner Profile Traits in different languages around the school
- Create a mural design plan
Tuesday: Planner Checks/Working on Homeroom Actions
*Begin homeroom with planner checks and grade checks on Student Portal.
Wednesday: Study Hall
Thursday: NO HOMEROOM
Friday: Working on Homeroom Actions
*Through their participation in service students can become more confident self-regulated learners. (IB Principles into Practice)
Action: Students will use their communication skills to explore cultural backgrounds.
Ideas: Select an action for your homeroom to complete for the final week.
- Decorate their doors with greetings in different languages/cultures
- Decorate bulletin boards in hallways
- Practice communicating verbally and non-verbally in the halls
- Create ‘greetings’ that can go over the flags in the hallways in different languages
- Create signs for the Learner Profile Traits in different languages around the school
- Create a mural design plan
