Around here, they are predicting temperatures 10-15 degrees lower than the average for the next week, but I really don't mind. As lovely as spring is in this part of the world, I'm not quite ready to pack away my turtlenecks and fleece. There's a practical element to my appreciation of the unseasonable coolness, too. Today I picked up my CSA veggie share and came home with a shopping bag full of greens. I truly love greens (ask me about Colcannon some time!), but they take a lot of room in the fridge before they're cooked, and I still have some from last week that I haven't gotten around to eating, or at least blanching, chopping, and freezing. Thursday night of a busy week is not my first choice for dispatching ten pounds of assorted leafy vegetables, so fortunately I was able to toss the bag onto the porch where they will be fine until Saturday.
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the SOLSC challenge.)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Speed Reading
Today the students took their lists of complaints from yesterday and highlighted the top 8-10. Then they ranked them in order of personal importance, chose one, and wrote a couple of paragraphs describing the problem as best they understood it. My original plan was for them to read it to a small group and have the other kids ask questions, but this morning as I was walking the dog I had a different idea.
I arranged the tables in my room into a loose circle with chairs on the inside and on the outside. Once their writing was complete, They paired up, with one student on the outside and the other across the table on the inside of the circle. We set the timer for 1 minute and 20 seconds, and at the beep, the kids on the outside read their writing and when they were through, their partners asked questions. The authors were not to answer the questions, but rather record them on the back of their sheets.
When the timer went off, the inside person moved to the right and another student took the vacated seat. This time, it was the inside group's turn to read and the outside folks asked questions. And so it went for 15 minutes or so. By the end of class, each student had read his or her work four or five times and had a list of ten questions or so.
It was great! The kids were very focused and engaged. It was quick, peer-centered, and there was lots of movement, but clearly directed. Before we began, I read them an example I had written, which was about the incursion of coyotes in our urban area. I deliberately made it a little vague, and we brainstormed questions as the timer ticked down. They figured out that they could ask questions about both the facts of the situation and my stance on it, and I advised them that a good question might always be "What can you do about it?"
What indeed? That will be the next lesson.
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the SOLSC challenge.)
I arranged the tables in my room into a loose circle with chairs on the inside and on the outside. Once their writing was complete, They paired up, with one student on the outside and the other across the table on the inside of the circle. We set the timer for 1 minute and 20 seconds, and at the beep, the kids on the outside read their writing and when they were through, their partners asked questions. The authors were not to answer the questions, but rather record them on the back of their sheets.
When the timer went off, the inside person moved to the right and another student took the vacated seat. This time, it was the inside group's turn to read and the outside folks asked questions. And so it went for 15 minutes or so. By the end of class, each student had read his or her work four or five times and had a list of ten questions or so.
It was great! The kids were very focused and engaged. It was quick, peer-centered, and there was lots of movement, but clearly directed. Before we began, I read them an example I had written, which was about the incursion of coyotes in our urban area. I deliberately made it a little vague, and we brainstormed questions as the timer ticked down. They figured out that they could ask questions about both the facts of the situation and my stance on it, and I advised them that a good question might always be "What can you do about it?"
What indeed? That will be the next lesson.
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the SOLSC challenge.)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Uncovering Objectives
Today, as the first step in the Writing for Change unit, I gave my sixth grade students the opportunity to gripe. Oh my goodness, such a positive reaction to any assignment I have not seen in a long time. "Really?" one student asked, "You want us to write a list of complaints?"
"Oh, yes," I told them, "I do."
"Can we use names?" someone wondered.
"Better not," I said. "Describe the behavior that irks you, not the person."
"Can it be anything?" another asked.
"Yes. Anything that bothers you, large or small."
They worked diligently for 15 minutes or so, and then it was time to share their concerns, but first we talked about how to respond. "Don't offer solutions," I advised. "Don't minimize the problem by saying it doesn't bother you, and don't make the conversation about you by saying it does. If you have to say anything, just say you can see how that would be frustrating, or embarrassing, or whatever."
That was hard for them, and it was hard for me, too. Hard to let it go when someone complained about boys who skip, girls who are ugly but try to dress cool, people who wear the wrong color shoes. Those were probably the most shallow, but most of the concerns they chose to share were minor irritations at best: People who give away the ending to the book you're reading, people who snap gum, too much homework on the weekends, cold pizza at lunch, teachers who say, "I'm waiting," getting in trouble the one time you haven't done anything, having your grandmother tell her life story to the cashier at the grocery store, dancing in PE, and so forth.
I liked how concrete they were, though, and I told them so. "But if you look at your list for more serious problems, what do you have?"
Of course they had plenty of big issues, too: Natural disasters, animal cruelty, hunger, homelessness, poverty, government spending, lack of respect for religion, random violence, smoking, diseases, etc. They were still listing as the bell rang.
I over heard two girls talking as they left the room. "That was great!" said one. "We actually got to complain in school!"
"I know," her friend answered, "but why do you think we did that? Wait! Do you think we are going to use writing to actually do something?"
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the SOLSC challenge.)
"Oh, yes," I told them, "I do."
"Can we use names?" someone wondered.
"Better not," I said. "Describe the behavior that irks you, not the person."
"Can it be anything?" another asked.
"Yes. Anything that bothers you, large or small."
They worked diligently for 15 minutes or so, and then it was time to share their concerns, but first we talked about how to respond. "Don't offer solutions," I advised. "Don't minimize the problem by saying it doesn't bother you, and don't make the conversation about you by saying it does. If you have to say anything, just say you can see how that would be frustrating, or embarrassing, or whatever."
That was hard for them, and it was hard for me, too. Hard to let it go when someone complained about boys who skip, girls who are ugly but try to dress cool, people who wear the wrong color shoes. Those were probably the most shallow, but most of the concerns they chose to share were minor irritations at best: People who give away the ending to the book you're reading, people who snap gum, too much homework on the weekends, cold pizza at lunch, teachers who say, "I'm waiting," getting in trouble the one time you haven't done anything, having your grandmother tell her life story to the cashier at the grocery store, dancing in PE, and so forth.
I liked how concrete they were, though, and I told them so. "But if you look at your list for more serious problems, what do you have?"
Of course they had plenty of big issues, too: Natural disasters, animal cruelty, hunger, homelessness, poverty, government spending, lack of respect for religion, random violence, smoking, diseases, etc. They were still listing as the bell rang.
I over heard two girls talking as they left the room. "That was great!" said one. "We actually got to complain in school!"
"I know," her friend answered, "but why do you think we did that? Wait! Do you think we are going to use writing to actually do something?"
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the SOLSC challenge.)
Monday, March 21, 2011
Lightbulb
Every year I do a Writing for Change unit with my students that requires both research and persuasive composition. I have tried all sorts of ways to get them to identify an issue of concern of theirs, be it personal, family, peer, academic, social, local, national, or even global, do some research on it, and then address it in writing-- usually in a genre of their choice. I know that sounds a little unstructured, mosty because it is, but hear me out.
One of my objectives is for them to think about what is important to them; another goal is that they discover that they can actually use writing to address such a concern, and still another is for them to understand that there are many ways to do so. Ultimately, my hope is that they will be empowered by that knowledge to become citizens who think and communicate on issues that concern them.
We focus on both theme and message as we read a variety of common texts together and they look at those in their independent reading, too. At the same time, they list, free write, compose questions, and do research on their way to a final product, which might be a speech, a public service announcement, a brochure, a letter, an essay, a protest song, or something else. The intention is to make it as authentic as possible, too, so they identify an audience, too, and we try to get that message out.
It's a messy process. There are so many balls in the air that I've never been quite satisfied with the end result, although I think the process is valuable. Tonight, as I was researching a few issues myself in an attempt to find some current and topical common texts, I noticed a trend. Many websites devoted to specific issues have one or both of the following lists: FAQs and Ten Things YOU Can Do.
It occurred to me that creating either of those things would be a persuasive experience requiring research. Furthermore, they are very concrete and very structured, both of which qualities are under-represented in my unit as it is currently conceived. They may just be the exact products that could pull it all together for those of my students who are still developing their abstract thinking skills.
I can't wait to find out.
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
One of my objectives is for them to think about what is important to them; another goal is that they discover that they can actually use writing to address such a concern, and still another is for them to understand that there are many ways to do so. Ultimately, my hope is that they will be empowered by that knowledge to become citizens who think and communicate on issues that concern them.
We focus on both theme and message as we read a variety of common texts together and they look at those in their independent reading, too. At the same time, they list, free write, compose questions, and do research on their way to a final product, which might be a speech, a public service announcement, a brochure, a letter, an essay, a protest song, or something else. The intention is to make it as authentic as possible, too, so they identify an audience, too, and we try to get that message out.
It's a messy process. There are so many balls in the air that I've never been quite satisfied with the end result, although I think the process is valuable. Tonight, as I was researching a few issues myself in an attempt to find some current and topical common texts, I noticed a trend. Many websites devoted to specific issues have one or both of the following lists: FAQs and Ten Things YOU Can Do.
It occurred to me that creating either of those things would be a persuasive experience requiring research. Furthermore, they are very concrete and very structured, both of which qualities are under-represented in my unit as it is currently conceived. They may just be the exact products that could pull it all together for those of my students who are still developing their abstract thinking skills.
I can't wait to find out.
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Showing a Visitor Around Town
A week ago the door bell rang and I opened it to a delivery person with an unexpected package. Hand addressed to me personally and postmarked the Netherlands with a return address I did not recognize, I paused to consider the eight inch cube. I racked my brains for forgotten internet purchases, but nothing presented itself.
I took a deep breath and grabbed a pair of scissors, surprised by my hesitation, but in this day and age, caution is prudent. Inside, swathed in bubble wrap and a zip lock was a beanie baby named Goldie. She was part of a social studies project from a second grade class in Phoenix, Arizona. On more careful examination, I saw that she had been sent on her way by my sister's 7-year-old niece. "Oops! I forgot to tell you," my sister said, "but we thought since you're a teacher..."
Today we took Goldie out on the town with our 15-year-old nephews, Josh and Treat. They were not quite as careful as I would have liked-- Goldie flew through the air and even hit the dusty crushed gravel of the National Mall more than once, and a guard did have to scold her in the sculpture garden for touching the art work-- but determined to show her a few out-of-the-way sights, we found some things we probably would have passed by without a second look.
A good example was the rustic wooden bench hewn from a sugar maple from the campus of Cornell University. It stood in a tiny sustainability garden on the mall side of the USDA. Both vegetable patch and bench were part of The People's Garden project, something I had never heard of, but which turns out to be a very cool initiative.
Thanks Goldie!
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
I took a deep breath and grabbed a pair of scissors, surprised by my hesitation, but in this day and age, caution is prudent. Inside, swathed in bubble wrap and a zip lock was a beanie baby named Goldie. She was part of a social studies project from a second grade class in Phoenix, Arizona. On more careful examination, I saw that she had been sent on her way by my sister's 7-year-old niece. "Oops! I forgot to tell you," my sister said, "but we thought since you're a teacher..."
Today we took Goldie out on the town with our 15-year-old nephews, Josh and Treat. They were not quite as careful as I would have liked-- Goldie flew through the air and even hit the dusty crushed gravel of the National Mall more than once, and a guard did have to scold her in the sculpture garden for touching the art work-- but determined to show her a few out-of-the-way sights, we found some things we probably would have passed by without a second look.
A good example was the rustic wooden bench hewn from a sugar maple from the campus of Cornell University. It stood in a tiny sustainability garden on the mall side of the USDA. Both vegetable patch and bench were part of The People's Garden project, something I had never heard of, but which turns out to be a very cool initiative.
Thanks Goldie!
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Super Moon
When we heard that the full moon tonight would be closer, bigger, and brighter than it had at any time since 1993, viewing its rise at 7:39 went to the top of our to-do list. Even before we had seen it, my nephew, Treat, proposed a Super Moon Reunion party for the next time it occurred. We were on our way home from a pretty mediocre movie, Limitless, at the time, but the previews had featured remakes of both Arthur and Conan the Barbarian. So as we planned our reunion party, we kept our fingers crossed that Limitless 20?? would be in theaters at the time.
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Day 120
With temps pushing 80, it seemed like a lucky break this afternoon that we had arranged to leave work early to go pick up our godson, Josh, for a quick visit. There was a lot of traffic on the way up to and back from Baltimore, but somehow, with the sun shining and the whole weekend stretching ahead of us, it didn't matter too much. Back at home, we checked the movie listings, fired up the grill, and decided which game we might play after dinner, and just like that, summer did not seem so far away after all.
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
(Click here for today's sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)