As part of their current Unit of Inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme Where We Are in Place and Time, our second graders went through a round of inquiry circles to find out more about why landmarks are important and for what reasons people connect with them.

After sharing what landmark (or type of landmark) they were curious about, they were grouped with peers who had similar interests. In their groups, students began their inquiries by sharing what they thought they already knew about their respective landmark and what they wanted to find out. They also brainstormed ways to find answers to their questions and wonderings.

Then they explored print and online resources to discover more about their chosen landmarks, record their learning, match it with the respective question/wondering it answered and at times ask new questions.

After drawing conclusions and deciding which of their learning they were most excited about and wanted to share, students in their groups brainstormed what might be a good way of sharing their particular learning. Thereby they also took into consideration the (limited) time available to prepare for and present as well as the ways they feel comfortable in sharing their learning.

Then it was time to share: every group got the opportunity to present some of their learning. They did this with posters, skits, slide shows and/or oral presentations.

While we had already spent some time to reflect on the content of our learning during and after the presentations last week, this week, inspired by the video below, we reflected on the process: what worked well for us as inquirers and in what areas do we feel we can further grow. Our students did an amazing job, sharing for example,

What went well...

• everyone worked focussed
• we found a lot of information and some was quite special
• we shared ideas and communicated well in our groups
• we listened to each other, during the inquiries and while presenting
• we recorded our information on post-it notes and sorted it into categories
• we stepped in and helped out when people were absent - that showed we were risk-takers and open-minded

Areas to grow...

• spend more time practising for our presentations
• include more information in the presentations
• find the right amount of time for the presentation - not too short and not too long
• think of other creative/interesting ways to share our learning.

I encourage you to watch the video below with your second grader to find out more about their learning on landmarks.

As our PK1 inquirers have embarked on a new Unit of Inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme Sharing the Planet and with the central idea of "People care for living things", during their weekly library time we have started to look into the difference between fiction and nonfiction books. It is a great time to do this exploration as we will embark on inquiry circles later on in the month during which students will pursue topics/wonderings of personal interest. Having an understanding of which kinds of books can support these inquiries is important in this.

So far, our students have been exploring the different kinds of books and listening to paired read-alouds - for example a fiction and a nonfiction book featuring bats - with our focus being on the different purposes the respective kind of book serves. It is important for us that our youngest inquirers are able to identify the kind of book that would help them in learning about a particular topic, in answering their wonderings. Also, when they select books for reading at home, we want them to think not only about what topic they are interested in but also what purpose the book is supposed to serve. This encourages and helps our students in developing critical thinking skills when choosing books.

This past Monday, we asked our PK1 students for help in sorting out a mixed-up pile of fiction and nonfiction books - not only did they go about this with much confidence and enthusiasm, they also right away identified books they wanted to check out and take home!

You can support your child in developing their understanding of the difference between fiction and nonfiction by naming the respective book types when reading together and/or asking about the kind of book your child brings home from school. 

​After almost an entire school year of preparations, of reading from a list of twenty wonderful children’s books, of learning to confidently say the twenty authors and titles, of attending weekly meetings (and giving up recess time for it voluntarily), of practising to confer with team members and to identify books through the clues provided in the respective questions, the day was finally here: the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Battle of the Books Championships 2019 for Primary school students. 

​Our 12 student-strong traveling team (the maximum number of students allowed to compete in the actual semi-finals) was ready to represent Hong Kong Academy and the entire PS BoB Team at Kowloon Junior School against teams from the host school, Chinese International School, Glenealy School, Renaissance College and Nord Anglia. 

​It was wonderful seeing how close our team had grown together, how supportive they were of each other at all times. Noticeable this year was also how balanced our team was, an equal number of boys and girls, which is note-worthy in a competition that still tends to have a larger number of female competitors. And on top of all that we also had an amazing turnout from our parents. In addition to having supported their child in preparing for the event throughout the year, they had made time to come to the semi-finals, supporting our students with their presence and encouraging words.

The winner of this semi-final was the team from Kowloon Junior School who showed a strong performance from the very first round, not just answering many of their own questions but also picking up bonus points from questions dropped by opponents. Congratulations to Kowloon Junior School on winning and on organising such a great event! We wish you the best of luck for the finals.

​The smiles on the faces of our students and their parents at the end of the competition clearly showed though that we all felt like winners too – and rightly though, looking at what we had achieved and how excited we were to have been part of this competition around reading. The best proof of how much our students love being part of Battle of the Books and what passionate readers they are is that they cannot wait to find out what the books on the lists for the 2019-2020 competition will be.

Stay tuned – as we will post the new lists for the Primary (open to students in grades 4 and 5) and the Secondary (open to students in grades 6-8) categories on the day of the finals in two weeks!

Breaking News: Congratulations to our Secondary School Team who showed an outstanding performance in their semi-final, coming in as runner-ups and missing the final by the tiniest of margins. 

How was your Spring break? I hope you enjoyed a wonderful time with family and friends, feeling relaxed and re-energized as we head into the last couple of weeks of the school year. Hasn't time flown by, not just over this Spring break, but the school year in general? 

Like every holiday, I appreciated the extra time I had to read; and when the weather is rainy and grey, which it was quite a bit here in Hong Kong, even more. I came across some wonderful books in the process - some written for children, some for young adults and others for grown-ups. Some of the books I enjoyed in traditional print, others through the Kindle app on my iPad or in the form of an audiobook. Aren't we lucky to have all kinds of books, in all different formats, at any time in reach? I am just loving this! Even though I did not leave Hong Kong, these wonderful stories took me to different times - past and present - and places, real and imagined: China, South Korea, Malaysia, the United States, South Africa, and Australia. 

As always, I am curious to hear about your holiday reading. What books did you enjoy? Please share them in a comment to this post or let me know in person the next time you are in the library. I would love to hear about them! Have a great start into this super short week!

Over the past couple of weeks, our Kindergarteners have been learning about matter and materials, inquiring under the transdisciplinary theme of How the World Works. As part of this, we supported them in pursuing their personal questions and wonderings through inquiry circles. Those of you regularly reading this blog know already that inquiry circles are a big part of our learning at Hong Kong Academy. In small groups, facilitated by a grown-up, students are led through Kath Murdoch's inquiry cycle to find answers to personal wonderings within their Unit of Inquiry. They also get a chance to take action and to share their learning with peers as well as reflect on the process.

Helped by the videos below, which give an overview of the process and provide snapshots, we reflected this week on how our inquiries went.

 Here are some of our students' reflections:

What they are proud of...

• talking with each other to share what we were learning
• discovering new things
• learning from books and PebbleGo/iPads
• helping each other with learning, reading, and writing
• being independent when recording our learning on post-its
• being creative when sharing our learning; every group did it differently
• being nice to each other; communicating and helping
• being a quiet audience when others are sharing their learning

What they want to work on next time...

• speaking louder when sharing our learning
• helping each other out when presenting
• always looking at the speaker in our group during presentations.

Over the break, you might enjoy watching these videos with your kindergartener; encourage them to share more with you about their personal inquiry circle journey.

Whenever we run inquiry circles in a class, I am reminded of this quote by literacy and inquiry learning specialist Stephanie Harvey, who we were fortunate enough to have at our school last week. The enthusiasm and passion with which our students pursue topics of interest is absolutely contagious and leaves any adult facilitator inquiring with them filled with wonder and curiosity as well.

Our first graders recently completed their inquiries about plants under the transdisciplinary theme of Sharing the Planet. Over a period of three weeks and six sessions, our students, supported by an adult facilitator, pursued personal wonderings that had emerged as part of their unit of inquiry. Some students were interested to find out more about a plant's life cycle, others wanted to know more about how we use plants, some were intrigued by meat-eating plants - just to mention a few of the areas they inquired about. How much learning happened was tangible throughout the process and especially when each group shared with their peers what they had learned at the end of our inquiry circles.

Below are videos in which we have captured the process for you - as well as for us as we are reflecting on these inquiry circles with our first graders this week. Watching the videos will help them and us to identify what went well, what we want to do more of next time as well as what we might want to tweak and/or do differently. 

As always, I encourage you to watch the video with your first grader. They will surely be happy to provide you with further insights.

A special THANK YOU to all of our parent facilitators - who allowed us to keep groups small in size - and our experts who impressed our students with their knowledge and passion about plants.

Last week, our fifth graders (and we teachers and librarians) were fortunate to Skype Rob Buyea, author of the much-loved Mr Terupt series (Because of Mr. Terupt, Mr Terupt Falls Again, and Saving Mr Terupt) as well as The Perfect Score and The Perfect Secret. If I remember correctly, this was the sixth time already, we got to enjoy this special privilege - and just as each time before, it was absolutely inspiring! 

Other questions were specifically about Because of Mr. Terupt:

• How did he come up with the name Terupt?
• What made him choose seven different perspectives and why isn't Mr. Terupt's one of them?
• How was he able to establish such a strong emotional connection between the characters in the book and the readers?

​There were also reading-related questions, in particular what turned him eventually into a reader since he hadn't been one growing up.

As always, Rob did a wonderful job connecting with our students, answering in depth their questions, and inspiring them (and us) as readers and writers. Amongst others, he shared that

"Nobody is a writer who isn't a reader first" - encouraging our students to read, read, read!

"Most of the work in writing is revision" - you have to write it over and over again;

"My writing switch is always on" - he said that some of the best writing happens when he is away from his desk;

While the amount he writes each day varies, he writes every single day and encouraged us to do the same, even if it is just 15-20min because the more you practice, the better you get at it.

His reading experiences have influenced/influence his writing - this is for example why he tells his stories in multiple voices.

He thinks that our students are really lucky to have such amazing books to choose from today - and he feels lucky that we have chosen him and his books among the many authors, to skype with and read.

One of my favourite moments during the Skype was when Rob shared what he is currently reading: Gordon Korman's Restart. You should have seen and heard our students' enthusiastic reactions as it is already a popular book in our library. Moments like this put a big smile on my face: an inspiring author sharing his passion for reading, for books with our equally passionate readers. Technology allows us to bridge geographic distances but it is the books/stories that truly connect us with each other. 

Thank you once again, Rob Buyea, for all the inspiration, and for being connected to us, through your stories, through your Skype visits.

Several of our classes encountered a situation as in the above picture when they visited the library during the past week, knowing right away what that meant: the start to a new author inquiry.

Those of you familiar with our library program and/or regular readers of this blog, know that author inquiries are a big part of what we do in our library. In an effort to help our students discover authors/illustrators whose stories they will enjoy reading, we aim at having students across all primary grades inquire over the course of the year into various authors and their creative works. This past week, we embarked on new inquiries with various grades. We often begin by inviting students to do a book browse, exploring with a peer a stack of books by the respective author, to then share what they notice and wonder about.

Our PK2 students enjoyed looking through books by Allan Ahlberg, noticing the many different kinds of characters in the stories as well as the many funny things happening (much attention got a little green pea running across the pages).

Our students in G2 got the opportunity to browse through books by South African author and illustrator Niki Daly. They noticed that many of the stories were set in (South) Africa, that the character Jamela appeared in several books, and that the author is also an illustrator who seems to enjoy working with pastel colours. Right away, they had lots of questions too: Why are most stories set in Africa (is he South African)? Why does he write picture books? Does he also write other kinds of books? Are the stories inspired by the author's life experiences? Why did he start writing books? Just to mention a few...

Our students in G3 enjoyed exploring books by Jon Scieszka, especially excited about the humour and creativity they encountered. They also noticed the wide variety of books (picture books, chapter books, short story collections and a memoir), the illustrations that further extend the story, and that there seemed to be a problem to be solved in every one of the stories. These observations led to many questions, such as: Is it easier to write picture or chapter books? How did he become a writer? When did he start writing? What are his top tips regarding the writing process? What does he like to read?

Our third graders' questions are a great example of what our students are usually curious to find out: they want to know about the person behind the stories, how to embark on a writing career as well as the writing process as such. Author inquiries therefore also allow our students to gain insights and inspiration for their writing, not just for their reading. And on top of all, they practise all kinds of inquiry skills such as for example how to express their wonderings and formulate questions, and how to find answers to these questions by exploring print and online resources (and at times even by talking to the author directly). 

The most popular part of each author inquiry are the read-alouds though, and each of the stories shared last week was very much enjoyed: our PK2 students loved playing "I spy" as part of listening to Each Peach Pear Plum; G2 students were fascinated to follow a young herd boy in South Africa through his day, encountering also Nelson Mandela; and our third graders surely laughed the loudest as they listened to Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. It is not surprising that all of the authors' books were on high demand during check out. We will share more over the weeks to come how our inquiries unfold.

During the past week, we spent time with each class reflecting on our Literacy Week. With our youngest readers, we initiated the conversations with a read-aloud of Todd Parr's The Thankful Book. Some of the things our students in EC were thankful for during Literacy Week were:

• Being comfy and reading lots during Pyjama Day
• Enjoying hot cocoa and cookies with read-alouds
• Buying new books during the book fair
• Finding out what everyone's favourite book was during Book Character Day

...and, of course, the author visits by Ya Chin Chang and Mio Debnam, our students especially enjoying their great storytelling skills and learning more about how books are being made.

Our students in Upper Primary not only shared what they enjoyed during Literacy Week but also what they learned from Mio Debnam's author visit. Here are some examples:

What we enjoyed during Literacy Week...

• Creativity during the Book Character Day parade - so many different characters and books
• Feeling nice and cozy while reading throughout the day on Pyjama Day
• Multiage literacy activities - all connected to magic and involving the unlocking of boxes
• "Under cover" reading spots in the library
• Lots of books to choose from during the book fair
• Being part of and seeing others on the 12h Continuous Reading Chair
• Meeting Mio Debnam
• Hot cocoa & cookie storytime

 
What we learned from/about Mio Debnam...

• The behind the scenes of how a news article is written
• Alliteartions are important in writing news headlines
• The editor is responsible for choosing the illustrator
• She became a reader when she found the right books
• In making books there is writing, editing and proof-reading
• You can be an author and editor at the same time
• She started writing for a school newspaper
• She had 18 books published so far.

Further, they suggested some new ideas we librarians might want to consider for next year's Literacy Week:

• Book character fashion show
• Book writing competition
• Schoolwide book hunt
• Everyone adding to a Google document about the book characters spotted during Book Character Day
• Keeping multiage literacy activities connected to a theme/a book like this year
• Read Aloud Day / reading all day
• Students sharing their books/writing.

Generally, it was wonderful hearing everyone still speak so enthusiastically about our Literacy Week celebrations and I am so thankful for everyone who helped make it such a special week.

Last week, HKA went "under cover" to celebrate Literacy Week with a wide range of literacy-based activities, events and initiatives, and of course lots and lots of extra reading time. There was a wonderful buzz of excitement felt throughout the school throughout the week, the level of engagement and participation from across the community showing once again how much literacy is valued and appreciated at HKA. Our Literacy Week celebrations were, as we had planned and hoped, received as a precious gift. While it will take me some time to share with you the many wonderful moments from the past week, I want to begin by giving you an overview of my Top 10, in the order they happened last week. As we reflect with students about the week and events, I will share more through this blog. Enjoy!

Our week started with an inspiring visit by author, editor and journalist Mio Debnam who provided fantastic insights into the writing and publishing process, both for books and news stories. It was wonderful seeing the instant connection between Mrs. Debnam and our students who clearly enjoyed sharing some of their knowledge around writing and learning more from such an experienced writer. A special treat in the sessions for K-1 and G2-3 was seeing and hearing the exciting story Jifu's Twist of Luck, as Mrs Debnam is also a wonderful storyteller. Our Grade 4 & 5 students co-wrote a news story in their session with Mrs Debnam who had brought along a scoop, which is still much discussed in our library, about Mr Dean falling into a river while salmon fishing in Oregon last weekend.

On Tuesday, we had author / illustrator / artist Ya Chin Chang with us. She shared her beautiful wordless story The Window as well as the creative process she went through in making it. It was wonderful seeing also our youngest readers and writers engage with Ms. Chang, confidently helping her to tell the story and sharing their wonderings about the story and the making of it with her. A special treat for our students was getting to help re-create The Window on one of our library windows and receiving a copy of a sketch from Ms. Chang to add their own illustrations to. One of our PK2 students excitedly brought along to the session a copy of her book which he had discovered and bought at the book fair - which Ms. Chang then signed for him.

On Tuesday, our students also enjoyed visiting a book fair, organised by local Sai Kung book store Kidnapped. It was wonderful hearing our students excitedly call out to each other on discovering books they know, on seeing them handle the books with much care and appreciation, and at times, simply sitting down and beginning to read right then and there. Our students really know and love their books; and the Kidnapped staff  always does a wonderful job in preparing for and running the fair.

Wednesday was our much anticipated Book Character Day. What stood out to me was that over the years students have fully embraced it as a day of celebrating a favourite book, making sure that they have this book with them on the day to talk about it with others during the parade. Further, I don't think we have ever had such a wide variety of books and characters represented. Yes, there were favourites like the Harry Potters but overall there were many, many different characters, some from books that have been loved for years, others from very recent publications. Our students definitely know their books and characters - and have wonderfully supportive parents, helping them in getting their often very creative outfits together.

After the book character parade on Wednesday, our students in K-5 went through stations of literacy-based activities, inspired by Brian Selznick's book The Houdini Box. Students got to hear the story of a young boy who desperately wants to become a magician and escape artists like his idol Harry Houdini. Then they got a chance to try out for themselves to be like Houdini by learning magic tricks (ask your child to show you the magic pencil tricks, it is brilliant!) and by solving riddles and clues to unlock the combination padlocks of our breakout boxes. I always love seeing our older students taking the younger ones under their wings and engaging them in the activities.

On Thursday, our PS Battle of the Books team was up against a well prepared team of parents and teachers to show their knowledge around five of the twenty books from this year's list. It seems that parents and students take turns in winning this match which has become a much anticipated event on our Literacy Week calendar: this year, it was again the parents turn to win. Congratulations! While most were new to the process, they clearly had very detailed knowledge of the books - another great example of how our parents model their own reading lives and love for reading for our students. Beautiful!

We celebrated the grand finale of the week on Friday amongst others with a Pyjama day and the very popular Continuous Reading Chairs. From 7:30am to 7:30pm, at two different locations and livestreamed by our amazing Tech Department, members from across the HKA community could be seen reading, either independently or at times with a group/class of students. The reading chairs are always a great example of HKA being a community that shares a great love for reading. 

In numbers never seen before in our library, students and parents joined our Hot Cocoa and Cookie Storytime on Friday afternoon. We knew how excited our students were about the event but were still blown away by the fantastic turnout. Many families took advantage of the extended opening hours until 7:30pm, some stopping by for a shorter amount of time, others staying up to the end. It was great seeing families read together, students sharing stories with each other or just sitting together, reading independently. As the title of the book Ms Marné shared at the beginning of the afternoon, it was indeed Not a Quiet Library but wonderful to see how it didn't stop anyone from enjoying books together, embracing our students' contagious excitement and enthusiasm around reading.

 Walking through the halls last week, I loved seeing the classroom door displays evolve continuously. There was much variety and creativity in the displays and I encourage you, should you be on campus this week, to have a closer look. We were also excited that by Friday night our library window project to re-create the window from Ya Chin Chang's book was completed. Feel free to stop by the library to read the full story.

Throughout the week, students were caught reading - and enthusiastically pointed out peers they had caught reading. 

It was a wonderful week and I am filled with much gratitude to everyone who helped prepare, plan, and celebrate this week. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!