1.1. This component was very evident in this lesson from incorporating science and math as they measured ingredients and prepared holiday foods to the art work they created which represented each of the countries holidays. The teacher read a story to her students which provided information about science as they questioned which season was represented in the story.
1.2. The history of each countries holidays was explored and researched by these students. The students had to share with the group the stories of each countries holiday celebration and how that specific tradition developed.
2. Challenging
2.1. A powerful example of this developing learning community was when one of the students was having a hard time sitting still to listen to the story and the teacher, with out bringing attention to the student, passed him a rabbit to hold carefully as she continued with her story. He felt included and the rest of the class felt respected.
2.2. The teacher walked around the room checking in with groups of students working together on various centers. They were clearly involved in subject discussion and project completion as a cohesive group.
3. Active
3.1. This lesson had many activities which allowed for hands on creation and much student interaction and discussion. Cooking together, art projects, craft completion and writing assignments all allowed for positive interaction and information sharing among peers.
3.2. The students came to their own conclusion as a result of their participation in this lesson that the tradition that was the same in all these celebrations, in all of these countries was "light". They were able to hypothesis, problem solve, explore and really think about what they were learning. They applied that process and knowledge as a learning community and will be able to apply this learning experience to other areas or subjects.
4. Meaningful
4.1. The teacher gently guided instruction by asking students what they knew verses lecturing. She encouraged her students to respond by asking open ended questions in a positive way.
4.2. The subject was made relevant to the students by the subject that was chosen for exploration ie: Holidays we celebrate.
5. Value Based
5.1. Core values were explored during this lesson. Respect for others and looking for simularities and differences were incorporated into this lesson in such an effective way. Subject matter was not "dummied down" because of the young age of these students.
5.2. Deeper level of thinking was used during all parts of this lesson. The teacher asked many sensory questions which identified emotional response from her students. What do you see? How would that feel? etc.
