The checklist was a visual list of the activities the partners planned to visit together. Both teacher photos were included on the checklist, with an extra space for an activity the students chose together.
Rivers Class students always have a partner for the walk to and from park each day, but during the next months, all students will have many opportunities to have a partner during activity time. Not everyone has a partner everyday; most days there are two partner pairs, and partners are switched often.
As teachers create partner pairs, they for look for partners who can challenge each other to grow in different ways, for example:
Grow as story-tellers and imaginative thinkers.
Hone skills in collaboration.
Practice communication.
Develop friendships.
Become flexible in making plans.
Expand social circles.
Learn to compromise.
You may recognize many of these goals from our parent conferences. Research shows that intentionally forming small groups (such as partner pairs) facilitates conversations that deepen student and teacher learning. Partner pairs nurture preschool students' capacity to learn together, especially when engaging tasks are designed that benefit from a group perspective.
To deepen conversations at home, ask your child:
"Who was your partner today on the walk to/from park?
What did you and your partner see or talk about?"
What did you and your partner see or talk about?"
or
"Who was your partner during activity time?
What did you and your partner work on together?"
What did you and your partner work on together?"
