Ippo

Sessions always begin with a part that orientates and motivates the students to learn the topic. After this, the focus is on exercises that develop learning skills. At the end, students evaluate what they have done and learned.

Every Ippo session is made up of six different parts that repeat over the eleven sessions.

This part focuses on motivating students, introducing the topic of the session, and going through the goals for the session.

This part ties the topic to the everyday life and interests of students. This can be done by having students present their favourite things and discussing them with each other to promote communication and emotional skills. Giving time to showcase a student’s favourite thing can increase their motivation towards studying.

This part is about searching for information and material about the topic using different types of information gathering methods under the guidance of the teacher. Each session will use different kinds of information gathering techniques, for example, at the library or on the internet. Potential information sources include literature (e.g. newspaper articles, statistics, pictures, essays, diaries, and blogs), interviews (such as individual and group interviews), group discussions, observations, and different kinds of surveys. The information procured will be used in the next part of the session.

In this part, students always practice different techniques that support their academic skills. The three categories are:

1. note taking techniques


2. memorizing techniques and


3. reading techniques.

Each category of techniques is practiced over three sessions.

During this part, students self-evaluate their learning, the development of their learning skills, and the work they have done. Learning diaries are used as the primary tool for self-evaluation.

The goal is to get students to think about and become aware of the learning skills. Students can also include work they have done during the Ippo unit in their learning diary.

This part focuses on evaluating the way the classroom practices work. Students evaluate the meaningfulness of exercises, how their group functions, and how well the classroom’s atmosphere promotes learning.

Ideas for the Everyday life part come from the Finnish book Puhe Pulppuamaan! Oppimista tukeva keskustelu (Eskelä-Haapanen, S., Hannula, M., & Lepola, M. 2015).

Students are shown a clip from the movie Inside Out to motivate a discussion on the importance of emotions. Students are also given a quiz about memories and emotions, and presented the goals of the session.

Have students write a short text on the topic: What do learning skills mean to me?

The class creates rules for working in groups. Introduce students to different temperaments, learning styles, and the character strengths that will be discussed more thoroughly during later sessions.

Using the Learning Café-method, students read short texts about the brain.

Students watch the “Ippo and the skill of learning” video, which explains topics that are important for learning, such as learning skills, the importance of having a good attitude in studying, the importance of learning together, the importance of learning environments, and the effect your well-being has on learning.

Additionally, students fill in a learning style questionnaire and discuss the results with the teacher.

Students are introduced to the learning diary and are given instructions on how to use it throughout the Ippo unit. The learning diary includes questions and exercises for every session.

During the Emotions Ippo, students write in their learning diaries about things that make them happy, what their favourite things are, and how they feel they learn best.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

Students could answer the questionnaire on Socrative. Always use the same method for the questionnaire.

For next time, think about what your favourite animal is and why.

Students study different emotions and how to express them. They use emojis as a help with the recognition and expression. Students also discuss the term 'friendliness' together. By studying emotions and how to express them the students may be able to understand how to use a variety of ways in expressing oneself. In the session students learn through play. Finally, students are presented with the goals of the session.

Students present their own favourite animal in small groups with the help of these questions:

• What animal am I?


• How do I look?


• How do I move?


• Where do I live?


• Where can you see me?


• What do I eat?


• What is special about me?

Students search for information about their favourite animal in the library or on the internet.

Students are then shown what a mind map is and what a concept map is. First students begin by making a mind map about their favourite animal. Next the students practice making a concept map to learn the connections between different things by categorizing them. For example: Animal -> Farm animal -> Cow.

Example words for the concept map:

• Pets


• Farm animals


• Wild animals


• Cat


• Zebra


• Dog


• Lion


• Cow


• Chicken


• Animals

Students reflect in their journals about the friendly actions of someone close to them, how they themselves as students work in groups, what their role is in collaborative work and how they perceive the benefits of mind maps when learning new things.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions, and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favourite game is and why.

Show students what grit means with the help of survival stories and the definition of the word. Go through the rules of discussion with students, discuss the survival stories, and introduce the goals of the session.

Students present their favourite game in small groups with the help of these questions:

• What is the name of your game?


• What is your game like?


• What kind of characters does the game have?


• Where does the game happen?


• What is the goal of the game?


• Why do you play this game?


• How long does it take to play the game?


• What ages is the game recommended for?


• How can you succeed in or win the game?


• What do you need to play the game?


• What is exciting about the game?


• How can you fail at the game?

Groups agree on a game that is presented to the rest of the class. The task is to write a word from your game’s name so that all the letters are in alphabetical order.

Play different kinds of memory games on the internet or traditional memory board games. Students can make their own memory games from vocabulary they find on the internet or in their foreign language textbooks.

Students are shown how to use post-its to write notes and memorize information. Students are also taught how to use flashcards to memorize new words.

To practice this, students read a fairytale chosen beforehand and take notes of the main points of the story on post-its.

Students create a memory game (at least five pairs) in small groups from a topic they choose, for example, for a foreign language class. Play the memory games in small groups.

Students write in their learning diaries about what they did today, even if they didn’t feel like doing it initially, and how they felt afterwards. Students also write about the characteristics of good group members, and the usefulness of post-its in learning new things.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions, and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favourite fairytale is and why.

Students are introduced to creativity and its definition. You could use a famous creative person, or a creative career path to help define it. Use the internet to find information about the person, this could include interviews or pictures of their work. You could also invite a local artist or creative to come into the school and talk about their work.

The students are also told the goals of the session.

Students present others one of the characters from their favourite fairytale and write down and talk about the strengths of that character.

Here are some questions to help with the presentation:

• Which character did you choose from the story?


• Why did you choose them?


• Describe what the character looks like.


• What kind of person is the character?


• What does the character like a lot?


• What is the character good at?


• What are the similarities between you and the character?


• In what ways are you and the character different?

Search the internet or library for information about the character or the author of the fairytale.

Students brainstorm how they could make an informative poster on the topic in a fun way.

Afterwards, students draw a picture of the character from their favourite fairytale and write the strengths they wrote down previously around it.

Students also make a poster in groups about the authors or their favourite character. You can also make a digital poster, you could use a digital tool such as, Padlet.

Students write in their learning diaries about what kind of person is creative and how creativity can be seen in your behaviour.

It is important that students are exposed to different types of creativity and are aware that this can have many different looks. This should either be addressed when speaking to the student individually when discussing their learning diary entry, or elsewhere during the creativity session. For instance it could be incorporated into the introduction to creativity or during a group discussion where everyone presents their findings on creativity. This is pivotal so that students don’t have a fixed idea of creativity, and understand that everyone can be creative in different ways – not just in the arts.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions, and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favourite object is and why.

Students look at texts and videos that showcase self-control and patience. Students are also given a memory test that allows them to see how well they can learn things by heart.

The students are also told the goals of the session.

Students present their favourite objects with the help of the following questions:

• What object am I?


• What do I look like?


• Where am I used?


• What is special about me?


• Where can you usually find me?

Students also try a memory game to connect names and favourite objects.

Students observe their surroundings with the help of an alphabet and number game to find information. Students also interview each other to find out their classmate’s dates of birth and phone numbers.

Students are taught to

• Organize things by time, place, or function


• Categorize things by shape, color or function


• Group things by separating long strings of numbers into parts

Students then practice categorizing, organizing and grouping the information gathered during the last part.

Students write in their learning diaries about the situations it is hard to be patient in and how patience can be seen in their own behavior. Students also think about how things can be categorized.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favourite place is and why.

Students watch a video about bravery and discuss bravery and dreams. Students also answer a questionnaire about choices and look at the goals for the session.

Students present their favorite place with the help of the following questions:

• What is your favorite place?


• What is your favorite place like?


• Why is it your favorite place?


• What can you find there?


• How do you get there?


• What do you take with you when you go there?


• Where do you enjoy yourself most?


• What do you do there?


• How often do you go there?


• Who do you go there with?

Afterwards, students look for their favorite place in the learning environment and work from there. Students take a picture of the place, which they can save on a platform such as Padlet.

Students go outside to collect six license plate numbers, they ask and write down the second name of one of their classmates, and they interview adults about the techniques they use to memorize numbers and names.

Students or adults can also be asked to write a short text about their memorizing techniques or keep a diary for a week about the memorizing techniques they see used.

Students brainstorm what you could picture in your head to help memorize things. Could you tie Mrs. Mount to a image of a woman on a mountain? Or could it be easier to memorize a string of numbers if you switched the numbers with animals in your head?

Students then practice using rules to memorize the information gathered during the last part. Students can be given existing rules for memorization or encouraged to think up new ones for themselves. The rules they come up with should be collected somewhere, whether in a notepad or on a digital platform such as Padlet.

Students write in their learning diaries about what types of situations they have seen or felt bravery in, why it is sometimes hard to disagree with a friend, and how bravery can be seen in one’s behavior. Students also imagine ways to memorize new words.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favorite food is and why.

Students are shown a music video about gratitude and the goals for the session. Students discuss gratitude and learn how to make a gratitude diary or page.

Students present their favorite food in small groups with the help of the following questions:

• What is your favorite food?


• Describe what the food looks like.


• What does the food smell like, taste like, feel like in your mouth and sound like when you eat it?


• What is the food made of?


• Where do usually eat your favorite food?


• With whom does the food taste best with?

Students gather information through a teacher-led group discussion. The teacher leads the students outside to build a memory map of the school surroundings (i.e. a memory palace) about the digestive system.

The teacher describes one part of the digestive system during every stop. Discussing the subject together will help students remember more details. Guide students to look for things in the surroundings that will help them remember the topic.

The memory map or palace is drawn on paper from memory. Students are able to explain all parts of the digestive system with the help of the memory palace.

Students practice memorizing with the help of wordplay with a method that turns the words and things to be memorized into rhymes or chants.

Students write in their learning diaries about things that they are grateful for, think about how gratefulness can be seen in one’s behaviour, and come up with a memorization rule.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favourite hobby is and why.

The session is built around the character strength of enthusiasm.

Students are shown videos about enthusiasm. Students look at research about reading and do a survey about reading habits.

Students are also told the goals of the session.

Students present their favorite hobby in small groups with the help of the following questions:

• What do you know about the hobby?


• Where can you practice it?


• What equipment do you need for the hobby?


• How much does the hobby cost?


• How often do you have to practice to get better at it?


• What is the best part of the hobby?


• What is the most challenging thing about the hobby?


• Why do you want this as your hobby?

Every group combines some things about each member’s hobby into one hobby for the whole group. You can make a table or diagram showing all the hobbies.

The teacher explains how texts can be approached. If the text has an index, you should start with that. You can start by glancing through the whole text, reading the headings, and looking at the pictures. You can also think about what you can find out about the subject of the text just by glancing at it.

Students gather information from texts printed from the internet beforehand about different types of hobbies. The texts should represent different types of genres.

Students will then do different types of exercises on getting to know texts:

• An exercise about predicting a text


• An exercise about glancing through a text


• An exercise about recognizing the genre of the text

Students create their own tree of knowledge from the given topic. The point of the tree of knowledge is to connect what you have learned to what you already knew. You first write the things you already knew on the trunk and branches of the tree and then write the new things you have learned on the leaves growing on the tree.

Students write in their learning diaries about what kind of person is enthusiastic, how enthusiasm can be seen in one’s behavior, and where do they prefer to read. Students also think about how they remember the things they read.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favourite piece of clothing is and why.

Students look at funny video clips and do surveys on humor and comedy. Students also discuss the importance of humor in learning and are presented the goals for the session.

Students present their favorite piece of clothing in small groups with the help of the following questions:

• What piece of clothing am I?


• What do I look like?


• Where am I used?


• What is special about me?

Then students write instructions on how to use their clothes. The instructions include short and informative care instructions.

Students find a historical text from a textbook or, alternatively, use a text that has been chosen to fit the next phase.

Students think about what to focus on during reading. You can use your finger or a ruler to follow the row of text you are reading. You can can divide the text into shorter portions that are analyzed separately. After reading a paragraph, you can ask yourself what you have read.

Students practice using numbers to note the progression of events in the text from the previous part. The text is discussed together. How do you understand what you read? How can the text be read critically?

Students write in their learning diaries about fun things that happened during the previous week, the best moment they have shared with their friends, and how humor can be seen in one’s behavior. Students also think about the ways a student can motivate themselves to read something that doesn’t interest them at first.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For next time, think about what your favourite color is and why.

The session is built around the character strength of calmness.

The teacher leads the students through mindfulness and focusing exercises such as breathing exercises and listening to the sounds of nature. Students discuss the importance of being calm while studying and are presented the goals for the session.

Students present their favorite color in small groups with the help of the following questions:

• What is the name of the color?


• Why did you choose this color?


• What things do you own that are this color?


• What do you think about when you think about the color?

Students also color in a picture.

Students watch an educational video about colors such as a video about rainbows. You can also look at different types of art photographs and documents that explain photographing and using light and colors.

After watching the video, students summarize the information in the video in a way that suits them, such as the note taking techniques from before. Students are tasked with coming up with a rule to memorize the colors of the rainbow.

Students write in their learning diaries about situations where it is best to act calmly and situations where you can go wild. Students also reflect on how they behave calmly and places they like to be calm and learn in.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?

For the last Ippo session, think about what your three core strengths are and write them down.

Students are shown different kinds of videos that show how people use their different strengths, express themselves and act like heros. Discuss with the students what they saw and what makes a person happy. Students are also presented the goals of the session.

Students create a “poem selfie” or a self portrait in poetic form using their favorite things and strengths. Students reflect on what they are interested in, what makes them excited and what kind of characteristics, strengths and skills they have at the moment.

Students look at and define verbs that are related to finding and processing information:

• Recognize


• Find


• Define


• Combine


• Explain


• Count


• Apply


• Build


• Analyze


• Evaluate


• Plan


• Develop


• Discuss


• Compare


• Create

You can also go through the words with a game where students explain the verb to each other without saying the word itself out loud. The other students try to guess the word as soon as possible.

Students make a short video presentation about one of the learning skills either individually or in a group.

Students write in their learning diaries about their own strengths and situations where your strengths help you. Students also answer the following questions:

• Who supports you most with studying?


• Is studying important for life? Why?


• What do you do when studying feels hard?

The last part of the learning diary also includes hopes and dreams students have for the next year.

At the end, everyone answers a questionnaire about classroom practices. The questionnaire evaluates the meaningfulness of exercises, how the group functions and how the atmosphere supports learning:

• What kind of atmosphere was there in class when doing the exercises?


• What did you think about the exercises?


• How well did you work together?