Treasured Lessons & Moments

  I've wrestled with ways to publicly reflect about the tragedy that took place in Connecticut yesterday. I've thought about whether or not to post politics or personal philosophies and rather landed on the conclusion that the best way for me to react is to post about the positive moments of learning that remind me why I love being an agent of education. I wish the families, neighbors and the world healing right now. I know we will work together, like my students, to make a solution real.

Science:
 The other week I sat in front of my computer and glared at a CPI (content progress indicator) waiting for my mind to respond to a lesson that will captivate and engage. Then I stopped thinking so much added what is in green:

CPI: Your group must be able to Demonstrate and explain that the frictional force of an object changes based on the surface it travels upon.

Students keep materials in shoe
boxes for easy storage.

I taught my sixth graders for 4th and 5th grade which helped in knowing and assessing their background knowledge. Before they started, we took apart their challenge word by word. For example, that an "object" could mean anything from a soup can on its side to a a toy car. We reviewed measurement of data and the possibilities for this lab. We also reviewed friction as a force and real world examples. My students were given a rubric and phases of the project that were checked-in by me along the way.

The creativity and team work that happened during this inquiry based, cooperative learning objective was beautiful. There were times when groups needed guidance through disagreements and coaching to remain focused. Work was lost due to computer or student error but it was rebuilt after a pep talk and some recess time. In the end, students' creativity came through in each of their process and the assessment was embedded in their solution.

Who knew that sometimes not thinking so much can actually work in every one's favor?

Prove-it

While learning photosynthesis with my fifth graders I asked them to provide proof that a plant "drinks" water. They mostly responded by saying that the proof is that it grows and when they water the plant the water isn't there after a day or two. This is when I love playing annoying teacher. I ask them a strain of questions that gets them thinking about the things they assume and what data can be supported to prove the assumption true.

The experiment that we conducted for this was perfect for the time frame that I was working with. We placed celery stalks in blue water and then observed the celery turn blue, the looking at the xylem with a microscope. My students just didn't look at a diagram and accept something to be true, they now have the proof.

Coming up in Social Studies:
My fifth graders have been using colonial era portraits and resources from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to add depth to how triangle trade was used by people in the middle to upper classes. This will add importance to the protest of British goods and the impact it had on lives. They will soon be constructing their own personality that they will follow into the American Revolution.

Building Ancient Communities: My sixth graders will be using milk cartons to build a replica of the ancient city of Catal Huyuk. This will definitely be an experiment that I hope looks as good as my mental image.

My students and I have good days and ones filled with life lessons. This is part of having a working relationship with the class and what brings us closer in the end. I am grateful for them and what they constantly teach me.