Skyline

Today I got a great idea for an art project. Sadly, only one girl need to put the finishing touches on her project, so I did not get to see the whole process, but a few students in the class talked me through what they did.

1) Cut out a skyline. Many students did city sky lines but some did country.
2) Tear up colorful tissue paper.
3) Glue tissue paper down to create a sunset or twilight sky. Teacher should mix water and glue ahead of time. Students brush glue onto tissue paper with a paint brush so the paper doesn't get bogged down with glue.
4) Allow background to dry.
5) Glue the sky line in place with a glue stick.

Here one last student needed to glue down her skyline.

Her finished work of art. Ooh, aah, lovely!

Reading Buddies

Today I am back in my favorite 5th grade classroom. They have 1st grade reading buddies. Each Friday (when there are no scheduling conflicts) they take turns going to each others rooms to read. This Thursday (they don't have school tomorrow for conferences) the first graders came to the fifth grade room. Before they arrived students picked two picture books to read to the students.  

When the first graders got to the classroom they quickly found their buddy and sat down. They have been doing this all year so they know who their buddies are, there was only a small shuffle for students who were absent.

The fifth graders where reminded to stop and ask their first grade buddy questions about the book. They were also reminded they were modeling what it was like to be a good reader for the younger students. 

Next Friday, the fifth grade will visit the first grade classroom and the younger students will read to the older kids. 

Bulletin Boards

To day I'm in a 5th grade classroom with some simple but effective bulletin boards.

Each new learning target it posted (all in the same style and sized font - very classy). 

A bulletin board behind the teacher's desk show's his former classes (even from different schools) and his college degrees are also posted. A nice quick way to show students and families how you got to where you are.  

This was on the door down the hall. I think its a great way for students to own the classroom and showoff something - school related or not - that they are proud of. The words behind each kid say "I'M REALLY GOOD AT..." and each student created a poster with one big word filling in the blank. 

The Daily Five

I got to guest teach in a second grade classroom with some beautifully designed reading stations. The class was split into 5 groups - The Daily Five. There were six stations and a 15 minute timer running. Each group goes to three stations each day. Part of what made this so exciting was that several of the stations used iPads. Although I have heard about using iPads to flip classrooms and I have looked into several iPad programs for early literacy, this is the first time I got to see this technology in practice.      

1) Well designed reading stations allow the classroom teacher to pull guided reading groups and have the rest of the class stay productive and on task.

2) "Listen to Reading" is a station that uses iPads. Each student in this group got onto Tumblebooks (oh yes, Tumblebooks again). They used a QR code on the back of the "Listen to Reading" sign to log on. 

Once in Tumblebooks students could listen to any book they liked. 

3) "Read to Self" is another station that has students work with iPads. Students use a program called iTalk, were they record themselves reading aloud.

Students label each record with their name and record themselves reading for 1 minute at a time. The students can listen to their own recording to hear how they read. Later the recordings can then be reviewed by the teacher and even emailed to students' families.    

4) "Read to Someone" is a fairly self explanatory station.

There are reminders of good ways for students to read to each other on the back of the "Read to Someone" sign.

Here two students are reading two different books. They each take a turn reading one page from their stories.

5) At the "Work on Writing" station students worked on a previously given assignment. 

6) The "Word Work" station is focused on vocabulary and spelling words. They are currently playing a game that helps them practice making contractions.   

Poinsettia Project

A fun holiday craft! This was done in a 5th grade classroom. Sadly, you will have to create your own black line. Each poinsettia has 6 green leaves, 8 large red or pink petals, 10 medium petals, 10 small petals and 1 large brad to hold it all together.
   

The final product.

Good luck re-creating the black line images.

Learning Through Play

There was a fascinating article, by Gina Bellafante, in the New York Times titled "The Great Divide, Now in the Toy Aisle." The "Great Divide" in this article is the economic divide that exists our country, and the gist of the article is that economic inequalities are apparent even in toys. Many of the specialized toys that are designed to stimulate the brain and promote learning are (according to the article) not typically carried in chain stores. The article notes that "Sean McGowan, a toy industry analyst at the investment bank Needham & Company explained it, the market for educational toys is never quite as big as we would like it to be. While a company like Toys “R” Us carries educational toys, over time its commitment to promoting them has eroded, he said." This is interesting and upsetting to me as an educator. It would seem that this is yet another place where the economic gap is putting out students in poverty at a disadvantage.   

A big part of my training as a teacher has been in outdoor and adventure education and through this I have been trained to recognize the value in learning through play. In every science class that I was trained to teach at Eagle Bluff, virtually every learning objective had a game that went with it. Even in the traditional classroom, math curriculum's always include games. A spelling and phonics curriculum "Words Your Way," that is popular in the Twin Cities, encourages spelling games (way beyond the spelling bee, which I always dreaded as a child). As educators we know the value of getting kids to have fun while they learn and how it helps engage all learners. 

If we try to help students learn through play in the classroom, why not encourage them to learn through play at home too? Learning through play certainly does not have to come from a toy store. David Elkind, PhD wrote the article "Learning Through Play" in which he not only explains the importance of play and how children learn about the world around them, but he also describes several interesting, free activities and word games that parents could do with their children to encourage playful learning. 

This list of suggestions, from Elkind's article, would be a great addition to a newsletter to parents. 

1. Ask a child to think of as many things as he or she can think of that you can do with a paper clip, pencil, or napkin.
2. When riding in the car, play games like finding how many houses have For Sale signs, front porches, or identify particular car models that you see passing by.
3. After watching a TV program together, talk about the story and characters, what did you like and not like about them.
4. Watch some ads on TV and criticize them.
5. Make up new endings to stories you have just read.

   

Points and Rewards

Today I'm in a fifth grade classroom where the teacher has a idea for keeping track of points to reward her class. On the whiteboard, next to the class schedule there is a popsicle stick on a magnet for point tracking that also says what is happening at each time of the day. Classes like math have 2 popsicle sticks (for the lesson and indepent work time) for greater acountablitity for students and more possible points. Win-win! 

The Secedule With Posible Points

 

If students are on task, the popsicle stick gets moved up into the point bank. I like this because it gives the kids are very clear idea of when they are earning points.

The Point Bank

 

The Entire Secedule and Point System