Spin, Spin, Spin

Picture this: You create a unit plan. It is filled with great lesson plans, and ideas for kids. You've looked at your state standards and you've got them covered- real depth with a few standards, or some breadth as you cover them over the course of the year. You start teaching and the first day or two goes great. Day three or four and you've lost your pacing (man that written response took a long time; gosh I forgot to build in time for those scaffolds so that they could ask effective questions while reading).

Soon enough you are looking at other content areas and going, "ummm how am I going to get to that?" You look ahead in your content area/time block and start to scratch your head. The same statement you were saying previously is running through your head again, particularly as you run the mental calculations regarding remaining time (total time, time per content area, time needed to effectively address units or standards...).

That definitely happens. At some point you need to exercise professional judgement regarding what needs to be covered in your standards (all of them- but some are more glaring with your kids than others), and where your kids are or what they are like. I just thought about that in light of issues regarding workload get voiced by peers and fellow teachers (in a myriad of districts). There really isn't any resolution to this post... just mere acknowledgement that it is there.

Using Wikis

We're in the midst of tying up some work in our 5th grade reading text. We're using the opening theme to practice some of the reading skills we'll be using throughout our literacy workshop, and to further engage in non-fiction (outside the Amer. Revolution). The theme is Nature's Fury, with the big picture takeaway being that nature can be really destructive. We've read a snippet of realistic fiction involving earthquakes. We've also read about storm chasers, particularly of tornadoes.

The final piece is about volcanoes. As a whole, the text is really high interest. Kids go "whoa" when they see black funnel clouds or volcanic eruptions, which helps kids keep going when the vocabulary gets a big dense. Part of today's extension was to find the Ten Largest Volcanic Eruptions (leaving it open ended), and to classify (or categorize?) by continent (skills we are using- organizing information in category/classes). About a quarter got to the research, and I put one group in charge of getting the information onto the wiki.

I left their task pretty open ended, even leaving off the classifying part. Above is a snippet of what they found, with the link being of their own doing. While it isn't ground breaking, it is a step in the right direction. We can do some research, post it, and link it. Eventually we'll do full fledged projects on here, posting arguments about things like the Stamp Act, Tea Act, and the revolution as a whole. That is #'s 2, 3, and 4 from the 50 Ways to Use Wikis link. There are a variety of other ideas in there, but the top 30 have some good nuggets to cull through. The overall hope being that we can share what we learned in a different format (and cut out some of the paper!).

Wiki Practice

I am excited to begin releasing control of our class wiki. Last year I jumped into it, and tossed kids into the deep end. For the most part, it was successful as judged by the content posted. This year I decided to release control a little differently. Previously I trained kids on an individual/small group basis. Those kids would later become trainers, and it worked fairly well.

This year I opted for login instructions. Kids would be able to log themselves in, then use the practice pages to get familiar with the text editor in PB Works. I made 11 copies of the directions, and had kids work in pairs to log in and complete one of the practice pages (they're all the same). The goal being that kids would all be able to log in and add text information to the wiki. As a whole that was really great, with the next step being learning how to add pictures to the site.

While it isn't perfect, I'm confident that kids will know the basis information needed to be turned loose on the wiki. That opens up a whole end of extension work which should be fantastic.

20 Book Challenge: Check-in

Back in October I kicked off our 20 Book Challenge. I was challenging each 5th Grader to read 20 chapter books over the course of their 5th grade year; 5 from a recommended list, 3 during novel study, 12 of their choice. The whole purpose was to push kids to seek out books that they might not ordinarily seek out, largely because the path of least resistant is... well, it is easier (hence least resistance)!

Where are we now? Well the kids that would eat it up are doing just that. I've got a few that have completed the challenge already, and are aiming for 50 (that is just the type of kids they are- book in hand all the time, excited to read, challenging themselves, getting it). I've got quite a few in the 10+ range (say 10-15). Many of those kids I would expect to be there, but not all of them. I've also got a variety in the 5-10 range, and a few in the 0-5 range for a myriad of reasons. The volume is fantastic, which really is half the battle. You become a better reader by reading more, and at an appropriate level. While they didn't start the year seeking out thicker, more challenging titles, they are often are now. They know that the expectation is to have a book with them at all times (throughout the school day- although beyond would be best). I couldn't be happier.

The next step is creating a book project that shows understanding of a book they read. We'll start that work this week. While we continue with some non-fiction reading, we'll add in the project with plenty of work time attached. Then we'll take time during the last week before Winter Break to present our books to our peers, post them on our wiki, and get feedback. It'll also be a great chance for the kids to experiment with posting on the wiki, something I have held off on thus far. Combining the 20 Book Challenge with our novel study will hopefully lead us in the right direction for narrative writing understanding.

Discuss Amongst Yourselves

One of the things I really want to do is get kids having a variety of discussions. Kids need to talk to each other, arguing their points of views at times. They aren't vessels to be filled with knowledge by me, as I'm certainly filled with a variety of faults of my own. Instead I want them to exercise far more abstract skills, like analysis, prediction, and evaluation. If you can take information and use it appropriately (leveraged if you will) for the purpose of your argument, then I am definitely doing my job.

A comment earlier mentioned how technology had largely been used for a test taking purpose. I have an Interactive Whiteboard. I could teach without it, but am fortunate to have it. One of the tools that come with my Activboard is an Activote. In short, it is a device that is shaped like an egg, and can transmit voting information to your IWB. You can use it to do an informal comprehension check. You can use it for more formal assessments. You can simply use it for opinions.

Last year in my first year, I was fortunate to observe in a few different classrooms. One in particular had been doing some novel study around the book "True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle." With that, she had a variety of opinion questions that students responded to. The whole group discussion was one of the more powerful things I've seen. Everyone participated in voting with each question. But the teacher then acted as moderator as kids debated responses, agreeing and disagreeing with each other. Kids were able to respectfully disagree with each other, pointing out ways that each other's arguments were flawed. It was a fantastic way to see kids interacting and learning together. There was incredible power in seeing kids talk together, and seeing a myriad of kids participating. I can't emphasize how useful the activote was in that discussion, as kids were inspired to act based on the results- seeing it as vindication (or a challenge) to/for their argument.

When It Goes Well

One of my goals for the year is to have students leading discussions analyzing text. Today was one of those days where I could see the goal coming to life. We were evaluating our own responses to literature, and deciding whether they were above, at, below, or well below standard. I started to reviewing our purpose for literature response (done largely through our Fact/Question/Response FQR sheets). We talked about the need to make clear connections, give examples and detail, while also having clear and complete sentences.

I took 5 different student responses, unedited, and typed them into my flipchart. I read them orally, with kids following along, and then had them use their Activotes to evaluate them (for those unfamiliar with Activotes, they are voting devices connected to the Interactive Whiteboard we have-Activboard). After letting kids see the results visually (30% say 3, 40% say 2, etc) I had students discuss what they chose with their table group (usually shoulder partner) and then I had students from one of the voting blocs start off why they voted that way. From there I asked for students who disagreed with that point of view, and we continued going back and forth for 3-5+ minutes before moving onward to another response.

The result was fantastic. The buzz in the room during the table group discussion was lively, even from reluctant readers/speakers. Kids were pointing at the board to talk about their responses, using language from our stated purpose. When we moved into whole group discussion a variety of kids participated, and they were talking to each other respectfully. Best of all was the content of their discussion, as kids used language like: "I disagree with you about there not being a connection. It says 'it reminds me' in the first sentence, which shows the connection they are making" or "...not having complete sentences made it hard for me to understand it."

Some days go really well... today was one of those days.

And We're Back

Tomorrow we're back at school for the first time in... an eternity?! We'll tie up out Thankful writing, and also do some work with the way pieces of writing are organized (contrasting fiction and non-fiction). I'm excited to get back rolling, and ready for the drive into holiday break.