The Rookery

Remaining Open...Getting to Mastery

A recent math conversation made possible by math fluency.

Today I went out driving with my sixteen year old son.  It is fair to say this is not yet his favorite activity.  (I was the one who added that "yet" -- he is pretty sure it will never be something he wants to do.)   You see, it's really hard for him.  He can't sense what to do.  There are so many things to watch for.  He has to think about everything.  Nothing is natural.  Nothing is automatic. It's hard and it's not fun.

My son was trying to logic out which way to turn the wheel so that he could pull out of a parking place on Division Street (don't worry, we were there very early on a Sunday) and then he had to think about when he was twenty yards from the stop sign so that he could begin signalling and then he had to remember to start to break.  The joy of a road trip seemed very far away.

When I wasn't thinking about how close they put mailboxes to the road these days, I was thinking about our math night on Tuesday.  There are a striking number of similarities.  For kids who don't have facility with their basic facts, math exploration can lose much of its joy.  They can't sense what to do; they have to think about everything; nothing is automatic. It can make math a battle and no one wins.  When you don't know your basic facts, patterns aren't obvious.  Relationships evade you.  Everything can seem arbitrary.  And everything is a lot more work. 

Indeed, many of us were taught math in a way where joy and even understanding weren't expected.  One memorized how to do things and questions of inquiry like, "Why does this work?" were often shut down.  Many folks learned math facts in a way that didn't lead to greater math understanding -- just more things to memorize, often in stressful timed situations.  It's not surprising that many people feel that math's "not their thing."  But, importantly, it can be your thing (and your child's thing!)

On Tuesday at math night, the whole faculty will talk with families the shift in how we are developing math fluency from kindergarten through fifth grade.  We'll share the research that has led us to this place and provide supports for all parents so that home math activities are successful and lead to powerful, deep math fluency.  I hope you can join us.

 

 

The Power of Place. The Magic of Discovery

Off to adventure.

Our school has gone to Wolf Ridge for thirty years.  I've gone about fifteen times.  And yet, I still get excited.

Tucked up on the North Shore, Wolf Ridge is, of course, beautiful -- sometimes breathtakingly so.  I will never forget the sky-brightening meteor that streaked across the sky during one of our night hikes, nor the absolute quiet of snow falling in a hemlock grove.

But the true magic of Wolf Ridge lies in the discoveries that students make there.  The naturalists are unparalleled in their ability to draw students in to moments of wonder.  While I know that they have taught a given lesson on animal signs countless times, one would never know it by watching them teach.  They gasp as a student points out a clump of deer hair.  They are first to wade through the snow to examine another student's discovery of fresh wood chips from a pileated woodpecker hole.  Their energy fuels the students' wonder.

Once, when we were supposed to be snow shoeing to an Ojibwe waginogan, a student spotted an unusual pattern in the snow.  The naturalist gathered everyone in a circle around the find.  We made observations and described what we saw and slowly uncovered what had happened - an owl had swooped down from a tree, plunging through the snow to grab a tunneling vole.  It had left a small hole in the snow and its wings had left perfect feather prints on the surface of the fresh snow.

It takes great skill to lead students in discoveries like these.  Each group that I've gone with has felt deeply that they are the first kids ever to see something or do something there.  The naturalists create a world in which the students' learning is truly authentic.  They feel that their experience is unique...and it is.  They make it so.

I am so glad that our students get to learn in this way and in this place.

Words to Live By...or at Least Get Along By

On Friday, I decided it was time to discuss the phenomenon of 4th and 5th grade lawyering*.  Several conflicts had popped up, both among children and between children and adults that all had the same cause - individuals jumping into a defensive pose when asked to stop something because they weren't (technically) doing it.

Perhaps you've experienced this in your own home.  It often goes something like this: "I asked you to put your dishes in the dishwasher!"  "I did put my dishes in the dishwasher."  "Your glass is still right here!"  "You said dishes!"  The Herons all smiled knowingly when I gave them a few examples.  Almost all of them admitted that yes, they had done this at some point.  (An aside - I think that it is a developmental stage as students gain more verbal skills and are able to understand nuanced differences in language.  My husband was once a camp counselor and came across a child throwing water balloons when he had told him just an hour before not to throw water balloons.  The child's response?  "It's a Dr. Pepper balloon.")

When I asked the Herons about how people reacted to their "technical" excuse, they responded overwhelmingly,  "NOT WELL."

This is where direct instruction on social situations is useful for everyone.  We've known for years that some kids need to have social language and cues taught to them but, in fact, all kids benefit from some instruction.  Even kids who are "fluent" in social language can gain empathy by hearing from their peers that this can be hard to figure out.

On the whiteboard we charted out why those kinds of responses often escalate conflict.  In a nutshell, Person 1 is making a simple request that they don't see as a big deal - "That's my pencil," "Don't poke me," "Please don't talk," "I was sitting there."  These simple requests are often just granted without any drama so, when Person 2 denies doing it (on a technicality) it is an unexpected behavior and, frankly, an infuriating one.  Thus, Person 1 responds angrily.

So what to do?  I charted out two possibilities.  Both start with putting on the breaks and taking a breath before you say anything.

Then, option 1: Say, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."  "What if you're not sorry?" one child asked.    Other kids pointed out that their parents had asked them not to say sorry as often (for which they often apologized!) Indeed that word can be tricky.  I pointed out that it's a powerful word to deflate angry situations.  I often say it to make it clear there is no intention of harm.  In the end we came up with a few alternatives like "Oops, I didn't mean to." and "Oh, I didn't mean to."  We also agreed that some of us may need to say sorry less, but others need to say it more.

Option 2 you use if you genuinely don't think you did anything like what Person 1 has said.  In that case, Person 2 should ask for more information or an explanation.  We practiced tone for for this response.  There's can be honesty or snarkiness in the words, "Can you explain to me exactly what you think has happened?"

Whew!  What with processing and stories about "4/5 lawyering gone wrong" what started out as a brief check in took close to 20 minutes.  The Herons didn't want to stop but we needed to get back to Baghdad (where our caravans in theme were stopping for the day).  The consensus was that more lessons like this would be helpful.  It was a great reminder that this pre-adolescent stage is a great time to talk about patterns that, in a few years, could be a lot harder to address.

* A quick shout out to lawyers - the attention to precise language is an invaluable skill that I greatly admire...it's just dangerous in the hands of a grumpy fourth grader.

Along the Way...

Speaking of Faith(s)

It started out at as a read aloud - an excerpt on Christianity from Mary Pope Osborne's One World, Many Religions.  I wanted to share information about the early Christian church with the Herons and give them practice asking questions about beliefs.  Before we got started, I briefly introduced the difference between learning about religious beliefs and participating in religion.  We learn about religious beliefs in order to better understand the history, motivations and values of groups.  When we learn about religion in school, we are not trying to prove that something is true or not true, we are just trying to understand the important elements of a faith.  We are respectful when we discuss people of a faith and non-religious people.  Because Christianity is the majority religion in the United States, it's especially important for students to learn how to interact with faith ideas respectfully.  It can be easy when you encounter something different from what you have always known to think of it as "weird" but the Herons are developmentally ready to think more deeply about the religious and non-religious beliefs of others.

I've found that students often enjoy thinking about their own faith traditions in this way.    Our conversation about Christianity quickly became an exploration of the way that the Christian church has changed over time.  Constantinople was Eastern Orthodox in 800 CE, Europe recognized Rome as the center of the (at the time) single Christian church.  Some students wanted to know how Lutherans and Baptists connected to this history so we talked briefly about Martin Luther. Many students shared that they were surprised by things they weren't sure about the history of their own faith traditions.  "I know I believe something...I'm just not sure what," one shared.  He determined that he would go home and get some more details from his parents.

Because the Christianity chapter mentioned Judaism, we read that section the next day.  Students were surprised to see the connections between these two Abrahamic faiths and were interested in the fact that Judaism, too, has shifted and split over time into different groups.  Looking at these two groups also gave us a chance to explore the calendar we use in the United States and the interweaving of the religious and secular throughout time.  One Heron smacked his head in excitement, "That's why the book I read about Benjamin Franklin said that he had two different birthdays - they switched calendars during his lifetime!"

Along the Silk Road, we'll encounter cities in which Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are practiced as the majority faith.  We will also realize that, in the relative peace in which the Silk Road flourished, most cities had people of many faiths.  Indeed, in Antioch, where our caravans are currently, Judaism, Islam and Christianity have all been the majority faith in the past.

A Visit to Antioch

Today we were able to relax in Antioch for a bit.  Most of us took a short boat ride on the Mediterranean to get here but two brave souls set out to find a quicker way to Seres.  Sadly, their food ran out just as they were entering the Caucasus mountains.  They were very lucky to be discovered by a mountain shepherd from a nearby town who shared his food and helped them find the way back to their caravan.

Antioch is full of wonders.  Norias bring water from the river to the aqueducts that power the fountains for the whole city.  The houses of some rich people even have running water.  And the mosaics are exquisite.

Many of the travelers rested in the tea house today and enjoyed some delicious apple tea, flat bread and cheese.  While there, they chatted with the proprieter who had some very interesting information about the silk cocoons she had purchased at the market.  (Thanks, Margit, for playing with us!)

Alas, not all was peaceful.  Some of the travelers found out that they could buy curses in the marketplace.  Weary of some of their companions or perhaps trying to gain a competitive edge, some snuck denari out of their caravan's saddle bags in order to purchase a curse or two.  Many Herons wanted to know if the curses worked.  I reminded them that these were old Roman and Greek beliefs...Charlemagne would not approve.  It will be a great jumping off point for how many superstitions and informal religious traditions can exist along side more formal, organized religious beliefs.  (Many thanks to Khinny, our Carleton visitor, for driving a hard bargain in the market place.)

There will be a lot to talk about tomorrow when we work on our travelogues and reports for Charlemagne.

In the Market Place

Apple Tea Making

Our Map

Enjoying the tea house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wrapping Things Up

The Herons also got to attend the wonderful habitats culminating event of the Robins today.  Each group made a podcast about their habitat complete with interesting facts, food chains and very podcastian banter.  The groups also made awesome posters, dioramas, games and puzzles to help teach the school about habitats and how humans interact with them.

It's such a treat to be able to learn from our peers in such an engaging, real way.  The Robins really knew their stuff and the work they did was inspiring.  One of the Herons literally jumped up and down when she asked if we could do something similar at the end of our theme.

The Deep Sea Habitat

 

Getting Ready to Take Off

The Silk Road

The year is 800 CE and Charlemagne is ruling the Holy Roman Empire from Aachen.  The silk fabric that is traded in Aachen is exquisite, dyed with bright colors and interwoven with gold.  But by the time the silk has arrived in Europe, it is very, very expensive.  In our role play (although not historically) Charlemagne wants to control silk production in the west and has asked the Herons to follow the trading route back to the source of silk - the land the Romans called Seres.

These first few days have not been easy - who are we?  What are we doing? Where are we going? What are we learning? Those were the literal questions the Herons were trying to answer this past week as we entered into the theme.  We also had to set expectations for our work together.  How would we make decisions?  How would we ensure everyone had a chance to share ideas?  (Would everyone's voice be given equal weight if we were really in 800?)

The Herons spent a week in Rome provisioning their caravans.  They learned how to read roman numerals and our read aloud, The Midwife's Apprentice, taught us a little about the medical understanding of the day.  They used a map of Roman Roads to determine the fastest route to Constantinople, where they had heard some monks may have stolen the secret of silk.

For this theme, the caravan will travel along a route they determine from the information they learn in each town.  When we reach a new location, each member of the caravan will split up and focus initially on one of seven knowledge areas:  technology/architecture, geography/terrain, food/craft, music/stories, religion/medicine, language/customs, and trade/number systems.  The caravan then regroups and individuals summarize what they've learned from the people in the town.  The create a report for Charlemagne, trade goods in the marketplace, swap gossip and try to discover more about silk.  They also write a page of their own travelogue to create a record of their travels.

As we travel, students will see how ideas, religions, technology and goods were transferred back and forth along the silk road.  Paper, air conditioning, calculators, moveable type, the concept of zero...all of these technologies were created in the countries east of Europe.  I can hardly wait to discover with the Herons.

Many apologies for the lack of theme pictures - we've been very busy and I haven't been documenting our work together.  If you are interested in being a part of our theme, I am looking for volunteers to do small cooking  and craft projects, portray village members in the market place or help students do research.  We'll be working on theme almost every afternoon (Monday 1:20, Tuesday 12:30, Wednesday 12:30, Thursday 12:40, Friday 12:30)

Writing Circles

We are nearing the end of our first round of writing circles.  Students are in groups of four and each week they choose a different loose theme to focus their writing on.  We end each week by giving each other specific feedback that can be used as the basis for revision in the weeks ahead.  In about a week, many Herons will be looking for help typing their stories into a Google Doc.  Let me know if you would like to type (either at school or at home.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forest School

Many Herons have worked with our "Kelly Kettle" these past few weeks.  It's an ingenious little twig stove that heats up enough water to make a round of hot cider or tea.  It's one of the choices students can make during our woods craft work each Wednesday.   Other options include whittling, buck thorn removal, fire starting (with flint and steel, fire stick or bow drill.)  Herons have also been making clay beads and firing them in the coals.

This week's math lesson was a favorite - the Deca Tree.  Imagine a tree that has ten branches which each have ten limbs which each have ten twigs which each have ten leaves.  How many leaves will be on the tree if you cut down one of the ten branches.  Students often jump to "400" because there are "four sets of ten" (and, even though that would be 40, they know that seems too small.)  As we explore the problem further, students begin to get a better sense of the powers of ten.  Even though they all are familiar with Base 10, this exploration really solidifies how place value works.  Some approach the problem with subtraction (10000-1000) some with multiplication (9x10x10x10).  Some students extend the tree to include 10 caterpillars on each leaf with 10 eggs each for each caterpillar.  There are some pictures of solutions below.

I welcome volunteers on Wednesdays, especially during the final part of Forest School, 10:30-11:15.  You can come and teach a skill (knots...lashing...) or help students cook in the fire.  We are also running out of kindling and hatchet work is one thing that I think is best left to folks older than fourth and fifth grade.  If you have a source of kindling or are willing to come and split some of our logs, please let me know.

 

Harvesting reeds for the forts

Enjoying some warm cider.

Weaving together leaves at woods craft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Problem of the Week - The Why and What For

Problem of the Week has been a part of my practice since my student teaching days.  In New York at the time, all students were asked to show the pathway they took to solving a multi-step problem.  They were only given partial credit for a correct numeric answer - the emphasis was on the math logic they used.  It was hard but it got easier with practice and, more importantly, as students gained confidence in explaining their math thinking to others, they came to better understand and trust the math they were doing to solve the problems.  When they had to explain it, they understood it better and could apply it more flexibly in new situations.

We do a lot of explaining of our math thinking during our regular math day* -- kids are pushed to share why something works or how they approached a problem.  But it can be hard to hear from every child for every experience we do.  Problem of the Week insures that every child gets a chance to wrestle with the problem and explain the process of solving it.

Many Pathways, Relevant Math - I try to create problems that have different pathways to a solution.  Some of those pathways may be more efficient than others but children should choose the pathway that makes the most sense to them (which will often be the one they can explain most easily.)  The math is sometimes a direct echo of something we've done in class recently but it can also be an engaging situation that's not based on exactly what we're doing in exploration math right now.

"Getting It" is not black and white - Math problem solving involves detective work and puzzling things out.  I emphasize to students that while their first impulse might be to say, "I don't get it," they should try to shift that to "What do I get?"  How far can I act out or draw the problem?  What's in bold?  What are the numbers involved?  What are they counting?  Even taking a deep breath and re-reading (or having someone else read it while you listen) is a great way to figure out more.

Rough vs. Finished work - Some kids like to do a messy page of numbers and doodles and thinking while they are finding an answer.  Then they go back and write more formally on their Problem of the Week.  They need to move through the process before they are able to articulate Step One and Step Two.  It also helps them see when a table might be useful to display patterns or when you did the same thing with a second set of numbers (so you don't have to explain everything over and over again!).  Adding labels to numbers in equations is a sure way to make one's thinking more clear (both to yourself and others.)

How to Help - It is not an expectation that you help with Problem of the Week.  If a child works independently on it for half an hour and can truly not get anything down on the paper they can turn that in (although I would encourage them to at least write down the important numbers.) . But, if you do want to help, it can be an invaluable time for your child to see how to approach a problem.

• Re-read the problem together part by part. 
• Together, draw out what is going on or act it out.
• Ask your child to highlight the numbers in the problem (including what the numbers are counting)
• Ask your child what they are trying to figure out (it's the bold part of the problem).  What would they need to know to figure that out?
• Ask your child what steps they might take first or next.  Encourage them to do that step.  Repeat.
• Scribe for your child - model how to write down the equation using labels for all of the numbers.
• If your child is using physical items to solve the problem, help them figure out a way to record that (video/picture/drawing all work) they can even just say "I gathered 84 pennies and then split them one by one into 4 groups" (or whatever it is).
• If your child is truly stuck, do the problem for them, explaining your thinking and what you are doing.  Writing it out using labels and numbers as you go.  If they don't know a computation algorithm you know, don't WORRY! Just explain, "I used my algorithm for solving that multiplication problem...I used multiplicaiton because _______.  (A quick word - "cross multiplication" for solving problems with fractions is not taught until middle school math.  If I send home a problem that you can solve using cross multiplication, know there are other ways to solve it!  See if you can figure out what the cross multiplication is doing to give you a sense of how you might go about helping your child see a pathway.)
• A word about algorithms:  while it's true that we use more algorithms than were taught in schools many years ago, showing your child how you solve a math problem is just fine.  Problem of the Week wouldn't be the ideal time to teach them that algorithm (focus on the problem solving, not the computation) - but showing them how you'd do the computation is fine.  I do have videos of the multiplication and division methods students learn in fourth and fifth grade.  Many fifth graders are also taught the traditional US algorithms for multiplication and division.  Note that your child might not have learned all of these yet.

I DO NOT use Problem of the Week as a formative assessment for children.  I do not use the information I glean from it to give individual students instruction.  Instead, I use it to guide my choice for other problems and to help me what might be helpful for the whole group.

Feedback - I use a rubric to give students feedback on their work as well as write extensive comments.  I use a numerical rubric because I found that when I just put down comments, students often ignored them.  They often felt like it was "all right" even when I had given them a number of things to work on next time.  Thus a number.  It helps them concretize how convincing their argument was for me.  Would I be able to follow it to trust the answer was right?  How well would it have taught someone who was confused how to solve the problem?  If they get a "4" they know they are on the right path and if they read my comments, they will know what they might add to have a more complete answer next time.  (Here is the Download Problem of the Week Rubric I hand out)

It Get's Easier! I had the fifth graders share their initial feelings about problem of the week last year.  They all shared that at first it was hard to label all of their numbers and show their answer clearly.  They also assured the fourth graders that it gets easier!  It is a skill that takes practice and stamina.  It's exhausting to explain your thinking at first (in part because you have to get used to interrogating yourself).  Assure your child that the skills will come more easily the more they do them.

This is Real Math My son is currently in high school and every week he has to do a "Professional Problem" in which he shows every assumption and step that he takes in a way that would convince other mathematicians of the validity of his solution.  It is the Problem of the Week grown up.  Mathematicians spend a small part of their time using numbers to figure things out about our world and a much larger part of the time convincing others of the way they have used those numbers.  Mathematicians are communicators.  Mathematicians are explainers.  (Here's a list of Download What Mathematicians Do)

As your child works on Problem of the Week, those skills are what they are learning.  It's hard work but worth it.

*the link for regular math day  goes to a description of how math works at 4/5, detailing the different parts.  I wrote it several years ago.  "Quick Math" is now Basic Fact Fluency and instead of sheets of practice, students are using flash cards to develop fluency, moving from skip counting to strategies to automacy.  We also do a lot of data handling and measurement during forest school now and it's a significant part of our day on Wednesdays.

"What's Going On?" "Does It Involve Peaches?"

Midyear through my first year teaching, the U.S. conducted a four day bombing of Iraq called Operation Desert Fox.  The lead up to it had been fraught and my students came in very concerned.  At our class meeting, several of the students mentioned that their parents had said we were going to war.  I asked if other students had questions or comments and one said with utter and complete authority, "We have to bomb them because of Saddam Hussein's nuclear acid capabilities."

The students nodded, wide eyed with fear.  Nuclear acid was nothing to be trifled with.  Of course, it doesn't exist outside of Marvel comics, either.  Over the course of a half hour, I shared factual child-appropriate information to help them put the news they were absorbing at home into context and help clarify misconceptions.  Iraq is no where near Connecticut -- so they didn't have to worry about an invasion.  Nuclear acid doesn't exist.  Yes, there was concern about Iraq developing nuclear weapons but there were several organizations who were in charge of making sure that countries kept their promises about developing nuclear weapons.  At the end of the discussion, the students were much less fearful and much more aware of the work they would eventually do independently as citizens in a democracy: asking questions and finding sources of trusted information.

As a teacher, I too learned a valuable lesson.  My fourth grade students were much more aware of current events than I realized  - but they were gathering bits and pieces and lacked context (and fact checking!) which caused unneeded anxiety.  Now when something's happening "outside" the classroom - I know it's happening inside the classroom, too -- and it's important to work with that.

So when the House of Representatives started an impeachment inquiry last week, I wanted to talk about it with the Herons.  It's an authentic way to learn about our government's structure and it's also a great way to practice civil discourse.

We read an article from the Newsella website (which enables me to use the same article at several different reading levels so the whole class can get background information.)  While the class was reading and highlighting confusing parts and new words, I created a diagram of the three branches of government so that I could chart out the process of impeachment as laid out in the Constitution.  We came back together and through the students' questions we were able to review the difference between an impeachment inquiry, articles of impeachment and an impeachment trial.  The students wanted to know if an inquiry had ever happened before so we talked about Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. 

I emphasized that a lot of people were still making up their minds about what they felt about this particular situation and that, essentially, the inquiry was trying to gather information to determine if the president was using the power of being president to benefit him as an individual.  The Constitution was clear that that wasn't allowed -- and the fifth graders who studied pre-revolution America last year quickly connected the emphasis on limiting the misuse of power in the Constitution to the frustration of the revolutionaries with King George.

One child asked what a whistle blower was -- I had to clarify that no actual whistle was used which the Herons found a little disappointing.  Another child tried to explain what the phone conversation was about - and I was able to help clarify some of the points.

We also talked about ways to discuss politics without being personal.  Chanting or using disrespectful language is not very persuasive.  Focussing on issues can lead to deeper conversations.  Asking questions of people who hold different view points is a way to better understand the big picture.  We'll get a lot of practice in the year ahead - the Herons were off to a great start, delving into a political subject with great curiosity, enthusiasm and respect.

Look For the Helpers

    At Forest School on Wednesday, I had the Herons look at an infographic from a recent issue of The Economist.  I didn't give them much information about it - just the image below and the text from the inside of the cover that explained the creator had used color to show the deviation from the average temperature between 1970-2000.   I encouraged them to puzzle out what they could, starting by making observations about what they noticed and what the numbers and colors might represent.  Students are often surprised by how much they can glean from something that seems confusing at first and we'll explore a lot of infographics over the course of the year.  Their reaction to this one, however, was strong:    "What do you notice?"  I asked.  "The world's going to end!" one student volunteered, tongue-in-cheek...kind of.  "Yeah, there's only, like, eleven years left," another chimed in.  "Everything's going to explode!" I put the breaks on the conversation at that point.

    The class had no trouble interpreting this particular graphic - but they did have trouble managing their feelings about it.  "I think it's scary," one student ventured to lots of nods.  I hadn't been teaching explicitly about climate yet this year so these reactions were from what students had been hearing in the news.

    I was reminded of what Fred Rogers and shared when asked how to speak to children about catastrophes.  "Look for the helpers...you will always find people who are helping."  He expands upon the statement in the video clip below (here is the direct link if it's not working on your browser (https://www.youtube.com/embed/-LGHtc_D328?feature=oembed):

    So I took his advice and we talked about what people are doing to help the climate crisis.  Greta Thunberg is speaking up and getting people to care.  Countless scientists are learning all they can about climate so we have the information we need to make decisions.  Inventors are working on ways to power our lives, store energy and sequester carbon.  Companies are committing to seeking out and creating new technology to help them become carbon neutral.

    When we teach about climate at school, we work to make sure that we are teaching about the helpers.  We respect children too much to cloister them -- they will, after all, be the voters and the citizens who will need a very sophisticated understanding of their world to make some really hard decisions.  But we also care about children and know that they are vulnerable and need help contextualizing information.  They need a message of hope...we all do.

    We try to make sure that learning about climate means learning about agency.  Last year the Kestrels helped the school change to LED lightbulbs...this year the Robins are creating a podcast to share what they've learned about pollinators and bio-diversity (among other things.) 

When you talk to your child about climate at home - and we hope that you are because children are definitely thinking about it, even if they aren't talking about it -- frame the conversation by talking about choices you make in your home or things you consider when you vote.  Resources like this one describing the world in 2050 and how we stopped climate change helped me feel more hopeful.  There's a lot of work ahead - and there are a lot of people helping, too. 

 

Weaving Pieces Together

In these past few weeks, I've been struck by what the Herons bring into the classroom.  They are fonts of interesting facts and fascinating connections and seem to have something to say about just about everything. With this in mind, the first kind of figurative language we reviewed in reading was the simile.  Similes are how our brains often make sense of new information, relating it to something we already know.  The class's penchant for connecting lends itself to thematic learning -- with careful planning, each new experience can weave together with the preceding, creating a rich and full tapestry.

An example from this past week:

Margit introducing herself to a Heron.

On Tuesday, Margit Zsolnay came to the class to share Hungarian naming practices.  The students practiced sharing their names in the Hungarian manner, last name and then first name.  They also learned about the name day traditions in Hungary and the list of officially approved names that Hungarian citizens must choose from for their children.  Margit also shared how the principal at a school she worked at once declared that the students would call her "Ms. Z" because her last name was "too difficult to say."  Many of the children had a similar experience with people mispronouncing or mispelling their names.  We had a good discussion about how taking the time to learn to say someone's name was a way to show them respect. BUT...

Earlier in the week, we had been working in small groups to learn about Fort Snelling and Bdote.  The historical society re-named the site "Fort Snelling at Bdote" using the Dakota word for the area.  Bdote means "the land where water meets" and Fort Snelling was built there because a bluff overlooking two rivers is a great place to keep an eye on things.  "At Bdote" was added by the historical society to broaden the sense of place and be more inclusive of the history that occurred at the site.  However, this past spring, some law makers moved to reduce the historical society's funding by 85% if "Bdote" was not taken from the signage at the fort.  The Herons also read an article outlining a similar controversy around Bde Maka Ska and Lake Calhoun.

One of the arguments that students cited from the articles for "leaving the names alone" was that "Bdote" and "Bde Maka Ska" were harder to say and harder to remember.  Some of them shared honestly that they felt that way, too.  None of them are native Dakota speakers so the english names are easier for them.  But then Margit came in and shared her story.  We got to hear first hand from someone who had encountered just that kind of resistance (and reflect on some of our own experiences.) Who gets to decide a person's name?  Margit's boss or Margit?  Who determines names for places?  What criteria should they use?

(A quick aside, just because it was really cool: As part of this same conversation, the students read that the "Save Lake Calhoun" organization was upset that the DNR was rewriting history.  The Herons began to poke at this immediately.  They felt that it wasn't "re-writing" history if you are adding new things.  Eventually they developed the idea that "our understanding of history changes as we learn new things" so sometimes you have to reconsider things you once thought.)

Laying the Groundwork for Future Connections...

Traders interacting along the Nettle Road

For the first half of our field trip, students ventured along the "Nettle Road" to trade with other groups.  The prepared for the day by thinking about what their group would need to be successful travelers and each group created greetings, simple language like "yes" and "no" as well as cultural customs they would adhere to.  Once on the the Nettle Road, some students focussed on raw materials - gathering clay or acorns to trade with others. Other groups manufactured things such as pots or jewelry to trade with others.  They were only allowed to trade with the two groups nearest to them or with me at the central trading spot. 

As we ventured around the park, students used the maps I provided but they also used names they created for landmarks.  When they arrived at my settlement they had to figure out how to communicate with me -- placing their hand on their head when they wished to speak...placing their hand on their stomach to show they were listening.  Everyone had a different way to communicate - soon we were taking bits and pieces from everyone's systems.  Two volunteers, Greg and Riley, shared new skills with the Herons - how to use nettle to make rope and how to fold origami stars respectively.  They could take these skills back to their trading groups.

Much of this experience will be the foundation for our exploration of trade along the Silk Road in 800 CE.  Students will travel along the route, interacting with other traders and learning about their language, trade goods, customs, geography, technology, and religion.  The micro-experience on Friday will help them recognize patterns and more fully grasp the abstract concepts imbedded in our history role play such as the transfer of ideas among cultures and the economics of supply and demand.  I hope (and with this group, it's pretty much assured) that I'll hear a lot of "that's like the Nettle Road..."

And then there's the unexpected

But a classroom would be contrived if I could predict exactly how each child would piece things together.  What creates truly rich and authentic learning are the connections I haven't yet thought about, the commonalities that students find by themselves.  That's when we are all learning the most.

What a Reader Does

The Herons begin our morning with independent reading.  Each child reads a just right book or article -- one that is interesting with the right amount of challenge. Already in class, we've had several discussions about finding your learning zone (zone of proximal development for all of you Vygotsky fans).  When something is too easy, we lose interest; when something is too hard we get frustrated or "bored" because we can't engage.  A just right book is satisfying (and often I'll invite the students to read a "dessert book" for the last five minutes of independent reading - this is a book that is very comfortable or a partner book or a "looking" book.  You and I might call it a "beach read."  Honoring books that are not intellectually taxing but are enjoyable is important, we read for many different reasons.

We know that time spent reading is the single most important variable for reading growth.  However, it's important that students continue to receive instruction in the work of a reader.  Learning about craft, vocabulary, inference, figurative language, structure in both fiction and non-fiction are all part of the fourth and fifth grade curriculum.  Students also continue to develop decoding skills - learning prefixes and suffixes as well as more complex and less common phonemes.  We use multiple tools to reach those goals:

Think Marks - The "think mark" is a book mark that helps students concretize the diverse work of a reader.  Every week, students note new vocabulary they come across and authors' craft they notice as they read.  They teach a small group about what they have found during Think Mark share.  In addition, students set a goal for the coming week and calculate the average number of pages they read per day.  This last data point helps them self-assess whether a book is just right and how they are doing on their reading stamina.  Students are expected to read for at least thirty minutes without a break but it does take practice to get there.  We've already had a lesson on "staying in book world" and I've measured students' reading stamina in two different sessions.  

Book Clubs - Once we've established our reading routine, I will introduce book clubs.  Students read a "just right book" in a small group and discuss what they've read, developing arguments and supporting their ideas with evidence from the text.  Students are also responsible for completing a role for that week - teaching the other students about vocabulary or summarizing the excerpt, for example.  Book clubs develop students' ability to make inferences by demanding that they have reasons for their ideas about books and characters.  I'm always looking for book club volunteers.  Let me know if this is something you'd like to do.

Non-fiction articles - Most Wednesdays, we read a non-fiction article.  We analyze the structure the author used to share information as well as the craft that was used to help us understand a new topic.  Of course, we learn about the topic as well.  This is one of my favorite ways to introduce content for theme or to get the Herons excited about something new.  Cathy has inspired me to share daily news articles with the children as well.

Word Study - we develop students' spelling and decoding skills during word study.  After a formative assessment, students receive instruction tailored to their needs.  Some will learn about greek and latin roots, some will identify and generalize common spelling patterns and others will work in Orton Gillingham inspired groups to develop the connection between word sounds and spelling patterns.

Read Aloud - our shared reading experience is an important time for me to instruct children on craft, vocabulary, inference and characterization.  It's also important for students to continue to have fluent reading models to emulate.  I share my thinking as a reader, the moves I make to construct and revise my understanding.

Theme Reading - we also read articles related to our theme.  This gives us a chance to get more experience with vocabulary and concepts.  It also gives the Herons an authentic reason to check for comprehension since they will need the information they are gleaning from what they read for future theme activities.

Sometimes students enter fourth grade thinking that being a good reader is reading the biggest book.  Through our work together, students deepen their understanding of what it is to be a reader.  They develop the skills they need to tackle new, diverse texts and they also, hopefully, develop a love of the things they can learn and the places they can go when they get lost in "book world."