Hello everyone!Everybody came back from the summer break refreshed and rearing to go.
We revised what we have talked about since we began the topic of teamwork. It was a refresher course of sorts. It was great to know that the students remember and retained the information they have attained so far.
For this week’s phonics lesson they learned about the words that contain sm,st and sw diagraphs.
We moved on to the second line of inquiry: “A good team resolves conflicts.” To assess how much they knew about conflict, they did a whispering game. The phrase got distorted along the way. The person who spoke first pointed out that what the last person said was wrong but they insisted that it was correct because that’s what they heard from the person next to them, and that they were just passing on the message. They took a few minutes talking about what might have caused the message to change . Various opinions such as, “someone didn’t speak loud enough”, “someone spoke too fast and their message wasn’t clear”, “someone didn’t listen well” , were raised and their conversation led to the word “disagreement.”
They then watched a role play where 2 people wanted to use the same toy and they wouldn’t compromise no matter how much they communicated. Words such as, “arguing”, “fighting”, “not sharing” came up in the discussion that ensued. They then talked about this and by the end of the lesson, the students who had never heard of the word conflict, got a rough idea of what the word means.
As part of deepening their understanding of the concept of teamwork, they did a snail craft in groups of 3. They had to try to emulate a craft displayed before them within a set amount of time.
Some groups experienced conflict while working together on their craft. They said they conflict arose when one of their team mate wanted to decorate the snail’s face. They then concluded that not listening properly to instructions and to others can cause conflict. That listening and good communication skills are essential to avoiding conflict.
We wrapped up our week by enjoying a soccer practice session conducted by two men who work for Yamaga soccer sports club. The learners could connect what they did to what they are currently learning about team work. They were separated into 2 teams, daifuku mochi team and parsley team. Their goal was to work together, to help each other to kick the ball into the goal post. They all had fun!
~The week ahead~
As the Sports Festival event draws nearer and nearer with each passing day, our time next week will be dedicated to practicing hard for the big day. Everyone is excited about next week’s afternoon circle open day. We look forward to your attendance !
Have a great weekend!
