Toronto, Here we Come!

On Friday, December 18th, in an attempt to build schema and a desperate effort to evade the inevitable "last day before the holidays" chaos in class, a few colleagues and I are taking my Grade 6 students to Toronto for the day.  

An extension of our Language, Math, Science, Social Studies and Art programs, we will be traveling by public transit to check out the Holiday Display Windows at the Bay's flagship store at the corner of Yonge and Queen Streets. Time permitting, we may also visit some other nearby attractions.

photo by T. Kachira 2015

As part of their Math, Reading and Social Studies mark, students were asked to plan the trip and submit said plans before we went.  These plans included using planning apps and sites like Triplinx, deciding what else was free and accessible, and where one might stop for lunch!

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DURING

I also cooked up a few things to do while we are out and about in Toronto on the 18th.  The work they do during the trip will help students with their "After" assignments (see further down).  These activities are easily adaptable to any urban field trip:

1. Visual Images 
   Take 7-9 photos while on our trip, to document everything from the transit ride to the sights and sounds you see there.  Alternatively, you could make sketches in a notebook of some of the things you see and experience.
   
   
2. Words
   Collect words that capture your impressions and feelings while riding the subway, looking in the store windows and visiting some of the other sights in Toronto.
   
   
3. Notice People 
   Look around as you ride the bus and subway, and as you walk around.  What kind of people do you notice?  How old/young are they?  What are they wearing?  What are they doing?
   
   
4. Art Crawl/Street Musicians
   A big city like Toronto has many examples of street art.  Look/listen for and take note of some of the musicians and artists you see while walking around.
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5. Store Windows at Hudson's Bay
   Here are a few things to think and talk about while taking in the sights and sounds at the corner of Yonge and Queen:

• What are some of the "little details" you notice in the windows?  Which is your favourite?
• What do you think of the music that is being played from speakers near the windows?  Do you think it fits with the display?  Why or why not?
• If you were an alien who had traveled to earth, and landed at this street corner, what would your impressions of Christmas be, based on the display windows?
• How are the traditions shown in the windows similar to or different from your family's holiday traditions? (Christmas or otherwise.)
• Do you think the people in the display are representative of Torontonians (people who live in the city)?  Why or why not?
• If you were designing the windows, what changes or additions would you make, and why?

AFTER

Once we return from our field trip to Toronto, we will be heading into two weeks of winter break.  But I plan to give students time upon returning to school to debrief the trip and reflect on what they saw, heard and learned.  Students will create  digital photo collages, word poems and more, based on their experiences in Toronto.  Selections of these will be shared on a class Padlet, a kind of collaborative online scrapbook that students can share with family members, and return to themselves whenever the fancy strikes.

Stay tuned in January for some great student work!