Teaching with Smiles & SEL: Imaginative Play Airport Experience to Teach Time

This year I took some time to reflect as a teacher about what made my grade 4/5 students sparkle, curious, creative, and joyful as learners. I noticed that my students really enjoyed learning, and took a lot of ownership when it was playful, imaginative, when they had a voice, choice, an active role in their learning, when they were engaged and motivated about a topic. I noticed that my students strengths were being imaginative, as well as they learnt to collaborate and build on others ideas. This reflection really hit home for me one day when our beloved stuffed Teddy named Taff got a big hole in his side. I had taught my students how to sew at the beginning of the year, so they quickly strategized a way to fix him. They begged for a sewing kit because they needed to operate on Taff to save him. While observing the imagination and role playing event unfolding, I quickly saw my students enact a hospital scene. They added in props, sound effects, and all came together to build off each-others imagination, curiosity, wonder, and role playing. There were nurses, doctors, a head surgeon, vital signs were being taken, stress and concentration sweat was being wiped from surgeons brows, machines being ordered and classroom materials quickly being assembled into hospital scenery and medical items. There were loved ones in the waiting room, and a comfortable patient recovery area was quickly created with little discussion between students. They simply took on roles, and brought a richness to the situation of background knowledge, experiences, and role play with no teacher direction. During this imaginative play session all my students were engaged and were imagining, creating, and acting.

General Surgeon Stitching up Froggy

Thankfully Taff survived, the in class surgeon was incredible as well as all the hospital staff/student play, it was a heroic and celebrated moment with lots of student smiles and human body science curriculum background knowledge used. While I listened to them play I could hear talk about body systems like the circulatory system, interconnection to other systems, the role of organs, doctor and nurse expertise and roles, and discussion on if Taff would live given some of the scenarios he had faced. Not only did the students build upon the situation, the imaginative play had become more complex and the narrative more elaborate as it attracted more students to join in and as increased collaboration and role playing were evident. This activity quickly led to creative writing, research, and effectively made our classroom community stronger because students were working together and creating a shared experience. My students not only were engaging in imaginative play, but in doing so they were using their core competencies, being creative, and using their background knowledge to enact a scenario while learning and sharing ideas with others around them. This quickly had me realize that there were so many positive benefits that could be harness by incorporating imaginative play as a way to deliver learning intentions. Reading books like the Hack Learning Series 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer’s Workshop Into a Maker Space, and Gillian Judson’s inspiring blog on Imaginative Education and discussions, Twitter discussions on BCEdChat, as well as collaborations with my talented colleagues, why couldn’t provocations, scripts, and play based learning be used in intermediate class to engage students in their learning? Therefore, I decided to give it a try and teach my next lesson in math on Time in a style and way that my students had inspired me. I quickly went to the drawing board to come up with ideas and a plan to teach time and elapsed time in an imaginative way. I asked a two trusty Grade 5 sidekicks to help me bring my ideas to life without spoiling the excitement to their classmates. A great idea, a couple of sidekicks, props I found online, and a trip to a travel agency, and we were off to the races setting up our elapsed time day.

Due to the fact that I am taking a course as part of my Masters Degree in Self-Regulated Learning on Cultural Perspectives on Learning and Development, and have been reading the textbook Vygostsky and the Promise of Public Education written by my professor Jennifer A Vadeboncoeur, when writing this blog post I couldn't help but view the Airport Imaginative Education experience through my new found lens and understanding and weave it into my writing. For instance, I now know that “Vygotsky 1933/1967 argued that imaginative play is not simply about having fun and experiencing pleasure. Rather, play creates the zone of proximal development of the child. In play, a child is always above his average age, about his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself. Play satisfies a number of important needs and interests directly related to learning in ways that foster social, cognitive, and emotional development”
(Vadeboncoeur, pg. 97) Keeping this in mind, I know that using play would be such a benefit to nudge, nurture and help my students grow as learners.

Learning Intentions and Mathematical Content to Guide our Experience

Grade 5’s students will be able to understand time, including elapsed time and to be able to apply concepts of time in real-life contexts and problem-based situations

Grade 4’s students will be able to tell time with analog and digital clocks, using 12- and 24-hour clocks, as well as understand concept of a.m. and p.m. and the number of minutes in an hour

Math was present in this activity. It provided real situations and mathematical play opportunities for students to calculate arrivals, departures, calculate the total elapsed times of flights, trips, tours, reading clocks to determine time to board flights, learning about time zones, learning about distance and location and time for travel, real life applications about time and elapsed time.

Curricular Competencies in Math that the airport experience addresses are . . .

Understanding and solving
Develop, demonstrate, and apply mathematical understanding through play, inquiry, and problem solving
Visualize to explore mathematical concepts
Develop and use multiple strategies to engage in problem solving
Engage in problem-solving experiences that are connected to place, story, cultural practices, and perspectives relevant to local community, and other cultures

Communicating and representing
Communicate mathematical thinking in many ways
Use mathematical vocabulary and language to contribute to mathematical discussions
Explain and justify mathematical ideas and decisions

Connecting and reflecting
Reflect on mathematical thinking
Connect mathematical concepts to each other and to other areas and personal interests

Reading the curricular competencies in math made me more comfortable to use play and the airport script to teach these math learning intentions because they fit so perfectly with this experience. The curricular competencies explicitly indicate play, inquiry (the airport experience and inquiry extension project has this covered), to have students engage in problem solving experiences that are connected to place and cultural practices (what does travel look like, why do people travel, what is the experience like in other countries, time zone, cultural practices in different countries etc.), to communicate their thinking in different ways (freedom to communicate their thinking, understanding problem solving in many ways, pictorially, digitally, orally, collaboratively) to be able to justify their math ideas and decisions (justifying elapsed time travel decisions, budgetary choices, trip planning finances and time), and to connect math concepts to their personal interests (travel, tourism, trips, goal setting, budgeting for purchase, scheduling and figuring out time for things they would like to do)

Some academic information that is important to consider when taking the leap into planning and incorporating imaginative education experiences in your classroom are that Imaginative Play can teach . . . .

Role Playing
Creativity
Creating culture and using ones background knowledge
Expanding ones zone of proximal development
Learning how to negotiate rules
Social Speech
Enables students to act as different from who they are and take on that role- ie flight attendant, tourist, pilot, business person
Core competencies
Making meaning from objects
Gaining different perspectives
Motivation
Fosters social, cognitive, and emotional development

“Though imaginative play, through imagining and creating, children, students, and adult learners are enabled to think, feel, and act beyond concrete environments, beyond their own experiences to examine the experiences of others, and participate in culture in ways beyond what is given to create the new; this freedom rests upon and furthers conceptual development, imagination, and creativity (Vygotsky, 1930/2004)”

(Vadeboncoeur, pg. 259)

This quote is important to help us understand that through play my students were given the opportunity that the traditional paper pencil lesson to learn time could not cultivate. Play created a richness and authenticity in connecting time to real life applications to our imaginative play learning experience.

Why I used the Airport Imaginative Play Experience in my classroom....

I used the airport framework because it was something familiar to my students, also leaving on a flight and arriving really concretely demonstrate elapsed time and help guide students to make meaning and apply mathematical concepts to experiences that they are familiar with. The script of the airport scenario provided a real life application of the concept of elapse time and my students were able to learn with and from the experience of others.

“Scripts and narratives are useful in imaginative play because they provide frameworks that enable participants to use their imagination to fill gaps with children, interpreting their own role and in tandem, the child’s role and actions”

(Vadeboncoeur, pg. 104)

Building Background Knowledge Before Airport Day

In order to make the day a success and for my students to feel comfortable with the mathematical concepts embedded in our activity, I spent a week with students teaching them with how to read analog clocks. We played many games of musical clocks, having dance parties around the classroom. When the music stopped students would rush to record the time at the nearest clock to them. This saw them traveling around the room and recording 25 different clock times that classmates had set and then placed on their desks. Not only was this activity great for student engagement, but students would self-assess themselves for accuracy and be utilizing and building their clock reading skills. (worksheet and instructions found here https://s18670.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/musical-clock.pdf?sfvrsn=0) Next, we practiced 24 hour time, and conversions. Lastly we played kahoot games where we practiced in a engaging way our skills. After checking for understanding I felt that my students had a great grasp on reading what time it was, so we could fly on to the next skill . . . . elapsed time!

The Set up for Airport Day

To set the stage for "MJS Airport Day" and letting students imagination take flight, I set out on a quick google research search. I noticed that imaginative play in the operating room scenario was much more engaging with props. Therefore, I thought that props such as passports, plane tickets, and travel brochures would help set the stage for my students with imagination and help make the idea come alive and evoke creativity and imagination. You can find the printed material resources I used below as well as the youtube videos for sound effects, airport scenes, and flight take offs/landings, views from the plane, and safety travel information. There are plenty of props available online to use and adapt for your classroom. Also, a quick trip to the mall gave me the opportunity to gather lots of travel brochures from Flight Centre. These brochures really helped broaden students understanding of travel destinations, locations, activities, tours and opportunities available. They also helped widen their understanding of travel and create curiosity around travel destinations. Some students had flown on an airplane when they made Canada their new home. Other students background knowledge about flight and travel was limited.

I had two students help me set up airport day and repurpose everyday items found around our classroom into airport materials. For instance my recess supervision vest and our self-regulation earphones became the air traffic control costume. Our math trolley became the baggage cart, a quick sign made our classroom library an MJS passenger lounge, white board brushes became metal detectors, meter sticks, tables and string created a customs area and security line up, large tables moved into a triangle formed the plane, and my art cart became the snack trolley for on board amenities. My student sidekicks when hearing the plan for our imaginative plan airport day quickly jumped into action. They pointed to objects around the room. By using their background knowledge and experience to separate meaning from the objects, they brought these items into our airport experience and repurposed them as meaningful objects that would add to our imaginative play experience. As Vadeboncoeur states, “Imaginative play enables the separation of thought from objects and actions regardless of whether the imaginary situation includes common everyday experiences (Vadeboncoeur, pg. 105). An hour later our room had been shaped into an airport, complete with a travel agent booth, flight check-in area, passport documentation office, security, waiting room, airplane, and luggage handling area. The room was set, and my sidekicks and I couldn’t wait to see the students reactions the following day and let our imaginations and exploratory learning come to life.

An Imaginative Play Experience- Airport Day

When airport day began, although I normally let my students come into the classroom when they arrive, I had the doors locked, windows covered to keep the adventure secret inside. MJS Airport Arrival and Departure signs were hung to greet my students, inviting them to understand that today's school day would look a bit different. As many of my students would say . . . Ms. James is up to something crazy again! Anticipation, wonder, curiosity, excitement and joy was building outside the doors, my students could hardly contain themselves. They were literally counting down the minutes until the bell rang.

I had a knock on my door before the bell rang. “Excuse me Ms. James….. this is the flight crew for today’s adventure… we would like to check in prior to the passengers.” I couldn’t help but laugh, and open the door to my two sidekicks, dressed the part for today’s adventure. They must have collaborated, because I was greeted by my two students bursting with excitement and joy, wearing black pants, white collared shirts, and nametags labelled with Pilot and Flight Attendant. How perfect! My sidekicks came in to get ready for their roles while their classmates waited outside. The Pilot and Flight Attendant quickly took their places at the passport customs desk and the check-in desk.

When my students entered the classroom I greeted them with, "good morning passengers, flight 104 will be boarding in approximately 15 minutes, please fill in your passport documentation, have your boarding pass verified and make your way through to security and the check baggage area. Enjoy your flight". As I handed each student their travel documents as the filled in I asked them "Where will you be travelling today? For holidays, work, visiting family? Is this your first time travelling or flight?" And "please hand in your snack card as you check your bags". There background airport sounds from Youtube provide the airport ambience.

My students smiles were bright, and they cautiously but instantly assumed the roles of travellers. The students filled through the passport office, and presented their travel documents at security. My EA jumped right in and had students raise their arms as she waved a whiteboard brush that acted as a metal detector, giving them the all clear at security to head to the lounge and wait for the plane to begin boarding. We worked to sort the baggage and store the students backpacks under the wings of the plane. As the entire class was waiting patiently in the waiting room my Flight attendant started to board the plane. Our flight was getting ready to depart and my students were beyond excited.

After all the students boarded the plane, I played a safety flight information video to set the stage for take-off and enhance the imaginative play. All students followed along to the safety info, and some could even be seen tucking backpacks and bags 'firmly under their seats to prepare for take-off'. Next I played the take off video, and the students watched the view out the window of the plane while my student pilot confidently navigated the runway. The student playing the flight attendant role came around and passed out travel brochures and indicated various locations where the plane could stop, or flights that passengers could get as connecting flights. Next she handed out their snacks and drinks and they relaxed, enjoyed their travel brochures and views out the window of the plane. I used my on board speaker voice to state “passengers on flight 104, we departed YVR at 6am this morning (I displayed a clock on the board) and will be arriving to our destination YYZ in Toronto at 1:30pm (displayed a clock) Eastern Daylight Time. The flight duration takes approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes, passengers this is also known as the total elapsed time." I then asked passengers, "if we are landing in Eastern Daylight time, what is the time difference from Vancouver to Toronto?" A real life math question. My students chatted and figured out proudly that the difference was 3 hours.

I introduced the inquiry that the airport imaginative education experience was leading us into and handed out their work books. My expectations were that students would come up with a destination in which they wished to travel to. When picking their destinations they would be in charge of calculating elapsed flight time, finding out what time zone it was in, discovering about the history and culture of the area, researching and providing a budget for their holiday (hotel, food, tickets, entertainment, car rentals, flights etc). Then my students were tasked with picking 6 different tours, or experiences they would like to do, and calculate the start, end time and total elapsed time and record their findings in their book. Lastly, they would finish sharing their mathematical and inquiry knowledge by creating a pic collage to advertise in our gallery walk. My students were excited, motivated, and really inspired to set goals to one day travel to their vacation location. One of my students indicated with a budget such as his, he would need to go to post-secondary or get a trade job, something that payed a good salary to save up for his trip. He was inspired by this project to plan and make goals for his future. Many student were inspired by this activity to make a goal of travelling one day. Not only did this activity teach my students the mathematical knowledge of time, but also financial knowledge, Social Studies content, gave them a broader understanding of the vast world and its many landscapes. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, the guided imagination experience was left up to my students, they were free to explore, inquire, imagine, create, inquire, and research. What I had planned as an imaginative play script had come to an end. But it was amazing to see that after my script and prompting ended how long students stayed in their roles, carried on playing, changed roles and took turns as pilots, flight attendants, toured visiting students through the experience, and reenacted the full airport experience for our Principal and visiting family for open doors time in the afternoon.

To reflect upon this experience it was fascinating for me to see a concept discussed in the textbook that “when the direct perception of an object is separated from action with the object, children begin to act and think and feel as if meaning is not “in” an object, but rather can be created for and imposed “on” an object. Quickly children begin experimenting with more fanciful ideas through imaginary situations” (Vadeboncoeur, pg.105). For instance classroom objects like self-regulation tools became fuel gages, the tables that formed our airplane stayed in place all day, students didn't want to dismantle the airplane as they had more trips they wanted to take.

Below are examples of students final pic collages and sharing their knowledge with others.

Lastly I would like to leave you with the idea that . . .

“Imagination combines and recombines concrete materials supplied by experience into new constructions, thus if we want to build a relatively strong foundation for a child’s creativity, what we must do is broaden the experiences we provide him with. This law speaks directly to the role of schools in supporting and valuing opportunities to engage in and broaden experiences, including opportunities with imaginative and role play, simulations and improvisations, imagining, and creating” (Vadeboncoeur, pg. 260)