Grade 3 EFL Class

We have started to talk about living things, life cycles and genes with our Grade 3 students. To interest my language learners I chose to show them a video about Spider Goats. I also prepared an adapted text to read after watching the video. All the scaffolding helped and all my students understood the story and I decided to engage them in the thinking routine - I Learned I Think I Wonder.

First, my students had to think about the facts that they learned and write them down.  I also wrote challenging words and phrases on the board to provide additional support to my beginners. Next, to trigger their thinking and start our discussion I asked them what they thought about the whole experiment of the researchers. The genuine interest in the subject greased the wheels of the discussion and all the students became eager participants of the conversation. I also made some notes on the board to make sure we remember the most interesting opinions and unusual ideas. All the students had to justify their opinions and explain why they thought it was awesome and mindblowing or horrible and bizarre.

Finally, my students shared their wonderings and the discussion changed direction. My students started talking about nature and how we need to be responsible and caring towards the environment.

Shintaro was very interested in the matter.

I really enjoyed our class! The natural curiosity and thinking that it triggered were fascinating. I also noticed how my students displayed other attitudes such as responsibility, empathy, appreciation. They were definitely thinkers, they cared for Mother Nature and were able to communicate their ideas in a collaborative setting. 

Julia's ideas made our discussion even more engaging