This week was hectic. The kids worked on their glogs all week during science time. Another teacher needed the computer lab this past Friday so we didn't get a chance to finish up. I'm extending the deadline until after the break but encouraged them to finish them at home over the break if they could. I don't think anyone will. They were as eager as I was for their nine day vacation break.
Almost every student turned in their Choice Board Environmental Changes homework. They have been working on these for the past two weeks. On Wednesday, they did peer assessments. Thursday night they did self-assessments and wrote justifactions for their score. Friday we celebrated. I missed my AM class since I left to attend my daughter's Fall Feast presentation. Our reading coach stepped in to facilitate the celebration. She said they did very well. I haven't had a chance yet to look at their work but at first glance I see that students seemed to take my direction of raising their level of quality.
I noticed that most students included a typed synthesis of their work, even if their project was hand written. Several of the students who conducted surveys chose to create graphs using Microsoft Word. The power points seemed to be colorful and interesting. And all the students who did second grade lessons were able to teach, record, and have at least one other person watch it to get them feedback. My goal is to help them increase the level of qulaity in their original product creation. I can see that most of my students are rising to the occasion.
I have noticed a drastic difference in myself this year. While I have always felt it was important for students to create to demonstrate understanding, during this past unit, I was able release a large portion of creating their own understanding of environmental changes through the use of a scavenger hunt. My students spent a lot of time really hunting for answers and reading a lot of different online sources to find them. It was a huge step for me to release the control of learning to them. Once done, though, it felt wonderful.
I have overheard my students saying things like, "This is hard...but it beats reading a chapter from the science book." or "I'm so frustrated with this search engine! I wonder if I could use a different one." They know the work I'm asking them to do is difficult and can be exasperating...but they are willing and they know they are able.
I think they know this because I set them up for success. By searching for websites ahead of time, creating the search engine and hot list, by showing them how to analyze a website before they cite it as a reliable source...they know the answers are there...they just have to search critically. I see some of them emerging as critical thinkers.
This is no easy task as these fifth grades not only adjust to hormonal changes but to all the social nuances that happen this school year. Problems always crop up...we deal with them. But I think down deep they all know I care for their success and just want them to particpate in their own learning. What more can I ask?
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Glogster to Demonstrate Learning
We have almost made it the whole way through our environmental changes unit! Most of my students have nearly completed their Focus Questions scavenger hunt. I explained how they will be using their research yesterday. If you'll recall earlier in the unit, I introduced my classes to Glogster as a way for them to demonstrate their learning through a graphic representation. They caught on very quickly since I had spent time during the first six weeks teaching them how to save pictures and insert them into word documents.
After working on the assignment sheet and rubric, I realized I was being very specific and this was the most intricate project creation I have asked for this year. I decided I should create an example for them. I also created a resources sheet since we are starting to learn how to cite our sources, as well as a How To sheet for them to refer to if they forget how to save an image, insert an image, save their glog, or create a hyperlink.
Here is my environmental changes glog.
I have been encouragecd to not just talk about what my students are doing in this blog but to also reflect on how what I'm doing is changing my own practices. A well taken point. I am a completely different teacher this year than I have been in the past. The past three courses I have taken have changed how I think about my lesson plans. It has been extremely easy to simply go with the flow of public education. They give you everything so you don't have to think. Teacher's editions, pacing calendars, top-down directives due to low testing scores. Not to say that my administratio or district doesn't encourage "out of the box" thinking. That is said often but with the next breathe often comes something else they are requiring us to do.
I have decided what is best for my students is to encourage creative thinking, problem solving, and digital creation of products to demonstrate learning. I am a constructivist at heart. I desire my students to build on what they already know and seek out answers to questions they have. I want them to build their own learning. If I were a secondary teacher, I would be researching ways to create PLE (personal learning environments) with my students. Some of my peers may consider me to be obsessed with using the internet. Maybe I am right now because of the class I was in.
The bottom line is that the internet can be a useful tool to students when they learn how to yeild it. Books are great but the slow publishing process can mean that their information is dated and inaccurate as the world changes constantly. The internet changes constantly and so we can find very updated information when we look at websites critically.
I have spent a lot more time finding resources that are useful to my students. As fifth graders, I want their frustration levels low so they can feel successful and are willing to continue to try to create new and more innovative items. For their choice board homework, two of my students are trying to use Dipity to create an digital timeline of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Some others are creating Museum Box presentations to present a pollution problem and solutions.
So in reflection over the past few weeks, my efforts to infuse my lessons with technology have been met with enthusiasm by my students. I have gotten feedback from several parents that they are pleased their students are learning to use the internet savely. And I have seen my kids trying new ways to learn about a subject they are intersted in. I feel like I'm finally become the type of teacher I had envisioned myself being when I first got my certificate.
After working on the assignment sheet and rubric, I realized I was being very specific and this was the most intricate project creation I have asked for this year. I decided I should create an example for them. I also created a resources sheet since we are starting to learn how to cite our sources, as well as a How To sheet for them to refer to if they forget how to save an image, insert an image, save their glog, or create a hyperlink.
Here is my environmental changes glog.
I have been encouragecd to not just talk about what my students are doing in this blog but to also reflect on how what I'm doing is changing my own practices. A well taken point. I am a completely different teacher this year than I have been in the past. The past three courses I have taken have changed how I think about my lesson plans. It has been extremely easy to simply go with the flow of public education. They give you everything so you don't have to think. Teacher's editions, pacing calendars, top-down directives due to low testing scores. Not to say that my administratio or district doesn't encourage "out of the box" thinking. That is said often but with the next breathe often comes something else they are requiring us to do.
I have decided what is best for my students is to encourage creative thinking, problem solving, and digital creation of products to demonstrate learning. I am a constructivist at heart. I desire my students to build on what they already know and seek out answers to questions they have. I want them to build their own learning. If I were a secondary teacher, I would be researching ways to create PLE (personal learning environments) with my students. Some of my peers may consider me to be obsessed with using the internet. Maybe I am right now because of the class I was in.
The bottom line is that the internet can be a useful tool to students when they learn how to yeild it. Books are great but the slow publishing process can mean that their information is dated and inaccurate as the world changes constantly. The internet changes constantly and so we can find very updated information when we look at websites critically.
I have spent a lot more time finding resources that are useful to my students. As fifth graders, I want their frustration levels low so they can feel successful and are willing to continue to try to create new and more innovative items. For their choice board homework, two of my students are trying to use Dipity to create an digital timeline of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Some others are creating Museum Box presentations to present a pollution problem and solutions.
So in reflection over the past few weeks, my efforts to infuse my lessons with technology have been met with enthusiasm by my students. I have gotten feedback from several parents that they are pleased their students are learning to use the internet savely. And I have seen my kids trying new ways to learn about a subject they are intersted in. I feel like I'm finally become the type of teacher I had envisioned myself being when I first got my certificate.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Character Celebration
Like our Reading Unit 1 celebration, I wanted to find a way for the kids to demonstrate thier learning from the mini lessons. Unit 2 was focused on character study. The learning points I used were:
1. Readers describe their main characters by envisioning what they look like, feel like, and act like in their book.
2. Readers collect ideas about their characters personality by paying attention to what they say, what they do, and what they think/
3. Readers envision scenes in our books by sketching that scene on a post-it, keeping off stage characters in our peripheral.
4. Readers connect the text to their lives by saying, "This reminds me of..." and "This makes me realize..."
5. Readers make personal connections to the main character by discovering how the readers like the main character and how they are different from the main character.
Small groups work consisted of identifying character traits, sketching our characters to help with envisioning, self-questioning techniques when we don't understand, etc.
I was going to have them do another choice board project but I just felt like we all needed something different. Ruth Eckerd Hall sent their production of 100 Dresses to our school for the fourth and fifth graders. I noticed how interested my students were in the production and actors. I thought to myself, 'Wow! What if I had the kids literally step into the shoes of their characters?!'
I immediately called my brother and asked him how I could prep the kids for this kind of work. He said to have them work on pretending to be someone else with some improv games he uses with his students (he's a drama teacher). I asked him if he had some kids that he could send over to demonstrate and talk to the kids about being a character and memorization. It worked out that two of his students had a free period one day at the end of the school day and were able to come work with my kids.
It was a fantastic experience for my students. They got tips on how to memorize and how to fill in what the author doesn't tell you about the character. They also got to play some improv games that I think we may start to incorporate into our morning meetings.
Next I taught the kids what a monologue was and we started digging really deep into our characters. I had the kids think and record the responses to such quesitons as: what is my character's background, how did you character change through the book, what is your character's greatest disappointment, happiest mement, deepest fear. We also examined how certain emotions change the pitch of the voice or facial expressions or even body movements. Students four or five different monologues then chose one they felt strongly they could perform well. They were required to design a costume and memorize their monologue.
The past two days the kids have been performing their monologues. They were very nervous and I only had three students who were too painfully shy to do it. One of them asked to play a song on her guitar that reflected an emotion the character was feeling. The other two decided to write book reports. Only one student didn't complete their monologue on time. It was a great time!
Next stop...nonfiction!
1. Readers describe their main characters by envisioning what they look like, feel like, and act like in their book.
2. Readers collect ideas about their characters personality by paying attention to what they say, what they do, and what they think/
3. Readers envision scenes in our books by sketching that scene on a post-it, keeping off stage characters in our peripheral.
4. Readers connect the text to their lives by saying, "This reminds me of..." and "This makes me realize..."
5. Readers make personal connections to the main character by discovering how the readers like the main character and how they are different from the main character.
Small groups work consisted of identifying character traits, sketching our characters to help with envisioning, self-questioning techniques when we don't understand, etc.
I was going to have them do another choice board project but I just felt like we all needed something different. Ruth Eckerd Hall sent their production of 100 Dresses to our school for the fourth and fifth graders. I noticed how interested my students were in the production and actors. I thought to myself, 'Wow! What if I had the kids literally step into the shoes of their characters?!'
I immediately called my brother and asked him how I could prep the kids for this kind of work. He said to have them work on pretending to be someone else with some improv games he uses with his students (he's a drama teacher). I asked him if he had some kids that he could send over to demonstrate and talk to the kids about being a character and memorization. It worked out that two of his students had a free period one day at the end of the school day and were able to come work with my kids.
It was a fantastic experience for my students. They got tips on how to memorize and how to fill in what the author doesn't tell you about the character. They also got to play some improv games that I think we may start to incorporate into our morning meetings.
Next I taught the kids what a monologue was and we started digging really deep into our characters. I had the kids think and record the responses to such quesitons as: what is my character's background, how did you character change through the book, what is your character's greatest disappointment, happiest mement, deepest fear. We also examined how certain emotions change the pitch of the voice or facial expressions or even body movements. Students four or five different monologues then chose one they felt strongly they could perform well. They were required to design a costume and memorize their monologue.
The past two days the kids have been performing their monologues. They were very nervous and I only had three students who were too painfully shy to do it. One of them asked to play a song on her guitar that reflected an emotion the character was feeling. The other two decided to write book reports. Only one student didn't complete their monologue on time. It was a great time!
Next stop...nonfiction!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Using a customized search engine and hotlist
I created a customized search engine using google for the environmental changes unit we are in right now. I spent hours scouring the internet for websites that would help my students gain information about environmental changes.
First, I identified the Essential Questions my district says students need to be able to answer by the end of the unit. Next, I developed focus questions that would help lead to understanding those Essential Questions. Finally, I create a form with the Essential Quesitons and guiding questions on it Students read the guiding questions, record the URLs for the websites that have the answers, then record notes in the information box. The students use the customized search engine and hotlist to find these answers. They are allowed to work together in partnerships but each student records their own. This assignment is worked on a couple times a week but I encourage students with internet access to work on it from home.
When I introduced the form, we read through it, I showed them where the links were on Portal and how I found the first answer. Then I did the second one with them. I set them off and circulated as they worked. Almost immediately, I had to stop them. I had to remind them that the computer is not a magic box. It's isn't just going to spit out answers. They will have to READ to find the answers. Skimming is a useful skill but sometimes you will have to really read the webpage to find the answer to the question.
I was surprised that I was able to keep my own frustration down. The kids didn't have as much frustration since they knew the websites were going to have the answers they needed as long as they read.
These are the links to the search engine and hotlist.
I wish I could attach the document I created but it looks something like this:
Questions Websites Information
What is pollution? http://www.dictionary.com/ introduction of harmful substances
http://www.especiallyforkids.com/ Examples: urban runoff, grass
clippings, oil,etc.
I learned today that kids can pick out keywords in a question to run a search. I also learned that I have about four kids in each class who need more guidance than to be given these questions. This assignment is a scavenger hunt. When they have completed it, we will share out, and students will create a glog (http://www.glogster.com/) to demonstrate what they learned during the unit.
First, I identified the Essential Questions my district says students need to be able to answer by the end of the unit. Next, I developed focus questions that would help lead to understanding those Essential Questions. Finally, I create a form with the Essential Quesitons and guiding questions on it Students read the guiding questions, record the URLs for the websites that have the answers, then record notes in the information box. The students use the customized search engine and hotlist to find these answers. They are allowed to work together in partnerships but each student records their own. This assignment is worked on a couple times a week but I encourage students with internet access to work on it from home.
When I introduced the form, we read through it, I showed them where the links were on Portal and how I found the first answer. Then I did the second one with them. I set them off and circulated as they worked. Almost immediately, I had to stop them. I had to remind them that the computer is not a magic box. It's isn't just going to spit out answers. They will have to READ to find the answers. Skimming is a useful skill but sometimes you will have to really read the webpage to find the answer to the question.
I was surprised that I was able to keep my own frustration down. The kids didn't have as much frustration since they knew the websites were going to have the answers they needed as long as they read.
These are the links to the search engine and hotlist.
I wish I could attach the document I created but it looks something like this:
Questions Websites Information
What is pollution? http://www.dictionary.com/ introduction of harmful substances
http://www.especiallyforkids.com/ Examples: urban runoff, grass
clippings, oil,etc.
I learned today that kids can pick out keywords in a question to run a search. I also learned that I have about four kids in each class who need more guidance than to be given these questions. This assignment is a scavenger hunt. When they have completed it, we will share out, and students will create a glog (http://www.glogster.com/) to demonstrate what they learned during the unit.
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