This is a little treasure I found this year on some shelf in the library. It was calling my name! And you will love it too.
It is called "The Black Book of Colors". It is a story with completely black pages (white text). Each page has a Braille translation and a picture drawn in blank raised ink.
What I love most is that is requires students to visualize on their own. They must paint the picture in their mind because there is no color in the book because the written description.
It is an absolute MUST-have!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
What Moms Can't Do
Some of my kids were reading a book called "What Moms Can't Do" in a guided reading group yesterday. To connect to prior knowledge, I asked the kids prior to reading what types of things they thought moms couldn't do.
One of my kiddos says "When moms are pregnant, they can't repent." I asked him what he meant and he said, "Well, they just can't... I think."
It took a lot for me to hold back my giggles. But, I thought it was kind of funny. I wonder what idea actually made him think that.
One of my kiddos says "When moms are pregnant, they can't repent." I asked him what he meant and he said, "Well, they just can't... I think."
It took a lot for me to hold back my giggles. But, I thought it was kind of funny. I wonder what idea actually made him think that.
I needed new ideas... so...
I googled "homework choices for 2nd graders".... and I was APPALLED (very disappointed) at the results. EVERY single site I visited documented, mostly in great detail, teachers' homework policy. This feeds my desire to want a school of my own someday.
The amount of "kill and drill" homework activities is outrageous. I actually read this:
ast year I had the exact same homework and I doubt that it ever took longer than 20 minutes.
"I use math-drills.com for math worksheets." YUCK! Drills?? What does research say about drills... Automaticity or memorization. I know you can find research that pretty much proves any point, but I have a really hard time with kill and drill activities... the transfer is just not there.
"I use specific spelling exercises that are brain-based and research-based. They take NO writing and probably take about a minute per night." WHAT??? This is one of the big problems I see with spelling! When students have a list of 10-15 words to memorize the spelling, it rarely transfers quickly into writing. And not writing the words? What is the point of that? Isn't the point of spelling to get kids to spell words correctly in their writing? In the real world, I rarely have to spell a word aloud.
It leads me back to the question: "What is the point of homework?"
In my opinion, there are several reasons for homework:
1. Reinforce what is learned in class
2. Connect school and home
3. To give children an opportunity to take learning by the horns and apply the learning process to something in which they are interested.
I think that standardize testing has killed this natural love of learning. Many teachers are teaching to the test. Choice and student responsibility for learning are not present. Teachers are teaching the same way they have taught for 20, 30, 40, even 50 years.
I believe that the whole purpose of education is to create a life-long learner, someone who wants to learn any chance he/she gets. The classroom should be full of choices, encouraging students to love learning and to seek opportunities to learn everyday.
The other day, a couple of my students were outside during recess. The previous night, snow had fallen creating a mini-winter wonderland outside. They also noticed (as most boys do) that there was a puddle of water. They decided to take the snow and throw it into the water and watch it. What many teachers might do is tell them to stay away from the water and stop throwing snow, but I seized this moment as a teaching opportunity. They hollered at me, "Ms. Berg, come over here... the snow is disappearing in the water! It's magic." I came over and asked them why they thought the snow was disappearing. We talked about what snow is, which lead to a discussion on melted snow... and where the puddle of water came from the in the first place. First hand science experiment... Real world learning...Student-centered... and student-created understanding.
This is all because I allow choice in my classroom. My kids have two choices everyday. They have the choice to learn, 0r not to learn. I hope they always choice the first choice, but sometimes they don't. They are invited to learn everyday... and THEY are responsible for their learning. I am responsible for giving them opportunities to learn.
But, what motivates the kids in my class is that choice is such a huge factor. Most lessons and activities are done at their own pace and adjusted to their needs, desires, and to their choosing. They choose what books they read, they choose what math activities to do based on what they think they need practice with, they choose what they do for homework, they choose what they write about. My kids LOVE almost everything we do because they know what they need to learn... and they DO something about it.
The amount of "kill and drill" homework activities is outrageous. I actually read this:
ast year I had the exact same homework and I doubt that it ever took longer than 20 minutes.
"I use math-drills.com for math worksheets." YUCK! Drills?? What does research say about drills... Automaticity or memorization. I know you can find research that pretty much proves any point, but I have a really hard time with kill and drill activities... the transfer is just not there.
"I use specific spelling exercises that are brain-based and research-based. They take NO writing and probably take about a minute per night." WHAT??? This is one of the big problems I see with spelling! When students have a list of 10-15 words to memorize the spelling, it rarely transfers quickly into writing. And not writing the words? What is the point of that? Isn't the point of spelling to get kids to spell words correctly in their writing? In the real world, I rarely have to spell a word aloud.
It leads me back to the question: "What is the point of homework?"
In my opinion, there are several reasons for homework:
1. Reinforce what is learned in class
2. Connect school and home
3. To give children an opportunity to take learning by the horns and apply the learning process to something in which they are interested.
I think that standardize testing has killed this natural love of learning. Many teachers are teaching to the test. Choice and student responsibility for learning are not present. Teachers are teaching the same way they have taught for 20, 30, 40, even 50 years.
I believe that the whole purpose of education is to create a life-long learner, someone who wants to learn any chance he/she gets. The classroom should be full of choices, encouraging students to love learning and to seek opportunities to learn everyday.
The other day, a couple of my students were outside during recess. The previous night, snow had fallen creating a mini-winter wonderland outside. They also noticed (as most boys do) that there was a puddle of water. They decided to take the snow and throw it into the water and watch it. What many teachers might do is tell them to stay away from the water and stop throwing snow, but I seized this moment as a teaching opportunity. They hollered at me, "Ms. Berg, come over here... the snow is disappearing in the water! It's magic." I came over and asked them why they thought the snow was disappearing. We talked about what snow is, which lead to a discussion on melted snow... and where the puddle of water came from the in the first place. First hand science experiment... Real world learning...Student-centered... and student-created understanding.
This is all because I allow choice in my classroom. My kids have two choices everyday. They have the choice to learn, 0r not to learn. I hope they always choice the first choice, but sometimes they don't. They are invited to learn everyday... and THEY are responsible for their learning. I am responsible for giving them opportunities to learn.
But, what motivates the kids in my class is that choice is such a huge factor. Most lessons and activities are done at their own pace and adjusted to their needs, desires, and to their choosing. They choose what books they read, they choose what math activities to do based on what they think they need practice with, they choose what they do for homework, they choose what they write about. My kids LOVE almost everything we do because they know what they need to learn... and they DO something about it.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Is it just one of those days?
I was bored today. And frustrated due to the boredom. Every year, it seems as though by the end of 2nd grade, my kids are finally "getting it" and becoming so independent. When it feels like we are finally "there", the school year comes to a close and I get a new class.
I am always VERY excited about getting my new class. But, quickly, my excitement turns to frustration when I realize that I don't have almost-3rd-graders; I have pretty-much-1st-graders. They are very needy and aren't used to independence. The concept is completely foreign to them and they can't seem to make a single decision on their own. They try so hard to impress me (and they do!) but I long for the day when they start making educated decisions without having me walk through every step of the process.
This happens every year. And every year I am frustrated. When am I going to remember that this is COMPLETELY normal.
Back to today. We had a bat exploration unit this week because we found a bat outside of our school (as well as snakes and tarantulas). The kids were full of questions so we had "Bat Day" which turned into "Bat Week". It was actually pretty awesome and the kids did really well. They created these bat books and they are FULL of new information.
I wanted to give them a new way for them to account for their learning and to share what they did. I had them create podcasts using GarageBand. Last year, my kids had a blast doing this and I figured we could do these all year long. This year, the kids are NOT into them... AT ALL. It wasn't even cool in the slightest bit. One student even said to me, "This day is long. When do we get to go home?" That's what I was thinking... when will this day end? When do I get to go home? I hate those days. There's always Monday.
I am always VERY excited about getting my new class. But, quickly, my excitement turns to frustration when I realize that I don't have almost-3rd-graders; I have pretty-much-1st-graders. They are very needy and aren't used to independence. The concept is completely foreign to them and they can't seem to make a single decision on their own. They try so hard to impress me (and they do!) but I long for the day when they start making educated decisions without having me walk through every step of the process.
This happens every year. And every year I am frustrated. When am I going to remember that this is COMPLETELY normal.
Back to today. We had a bat exploration unit this week because we found a bat outside of our school (as well as snakes and tarantulas). The kids were full of questions so we had "Bat Day" which turned into "Bat Week". It was actually pretty awesome and the kids did really well. They created these bat books and they are FULL of new information.
I wanted to give them a new way for them to account for their learning and to share what they did. I had them create podcasts using GarageBand. Last year, my kids had a blast doing this and I figured we could do these all year long. This year, the kids are NOT into them... AT ALL. It wasn't even cool in the slightest bit. One student even said to me, "This day is long. When do we get to go home?" That's what I was thinking... when will this day end? When do I get to go home? I hate those days. There's always Monday.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Great Books for Generating Ideas (Prewriting)
I use several months in the beginning of the year to teach prewriting (pretty exclusively). From August to, ideally, the end of November, my students work on generating ideas and prewriting. My students compile a list of stories that they might write about. From that list, they decide which ideas they will actually form into a piece of writing.
As for generating ideas, I use a few books that really spark ideas. I'll continue this list throughout the next few months.
Getting Ideas:
- Gooney Bird Greene (Lois Lowry)
As for generating ideas, I use a few books that really spark ideas. I'll continue this list throughout the next few months.
Getting Ideas:
- Gooney Bird Greene (Lois Lowry)
- Gooney Bird tells stories about her life. These stories typically spark an idea in students for a personal narrative of their own.
- Wilfrid is a boy trying to understand what a memory is. I have my students compile a list of memories using the definitions of what a memory is from the book (something warm, something from long ago, something as precious as gold, something funny, something sad).
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Making Connections
Here are some children's books I have used for MAKING CONNECTIONS:
Text to Self
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Judith Voirst)
- Edwurd Fudwupper
Text to Text
- The Stinky Cheese Man
- The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
- The Jolly Postman
- The Princess and the Pizza
- Any version of Cinderella (The Korean Cinderella, Cinderhazel, Cindy Ellen)
Text to Self
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Judith Voirst)
- Edwurd Fudwupper
Text to Text
- The Stinky Cheese Man
- The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
- The Jolly Postman
- The Princess and the Pizza
- Any version of Cinderella (The Korean Cinderella, Cinderhazel, Cindy Ellen)
Let's Get Back Into This...
I am back, ready to jump headfirst into the blogosphere. Last year, I managed to make it to day 2 of the school year before I was completely engulfed with teaching and my Masters program. But, let's just try this again.
Over the past few weeks, I have been meaning to start up a blog not realizing that I already had one. To my surprise, I found this blog (which needs a serious name overhaul). Anyway, I wanted a place to put my thoughts about teaching, funny moments, things I want to remember, and other random thoughts to share with anyone who cares to read about it.
So, here goes round 2...
I'll update on the beginning of the year and then share some ideas I am having. You know in the beginning of every school year... all the copies, labels, folder-making, organizing, and inputting... it always seems as if you have too much to do and not enough time to do any of it. Well, this year, for me, it seemed even worse. It seemed as though I already had a stack of papers and my year hadn't even begun.
A new school was built just down the street from us and opened just in time for the new year. Our school boundaries had changed and with that, our school was in mass transition, bringing kids in from another school and transferring them to the new school. On top of this, our district decided to implement a new software program for school management which has been nothing less than a migraine for everyone. Needless to say, this was a recipe for quite the bumpy beginning of the year. As educators, we are expected to be flexible, but everything felt so chaotic and disorganized, I was really struggling to hang on this year.
Now, it is nearing the end of September and I feel as though I am slowly catching my breath. Not quick enough. The other day, I started to fret about the end of the school year rapidly approaching (yes, I know. It's only September). You see, October's coming quickly which marks the beginning of the holiday season. You can pretty much say goodbye to October, November, and December with all the holidays and other festivities. Before you know it, it's January and by that time, you only have about 3 months to prepare for the end of the year testing. Does anyone else ever feel this way or is it just me?
Besides my beginning of the year "freak out", I have some other ideas that I am excited to try this year. My focus last year was "beefing" up my writer's workshop. I was really happy with the results from last year and my new focus this year is actually understanding reader's workshop and creating an effective literacy block. I am currently reading a book called "Reading With Meaning" and I LOVE this book. The author is amazing and it is super "reader-friendly".
One thing that has been constantly pressing on my mind is this notion of understanding ourselves as learners. I had quite the eye-opening experience in the beginning of my masters program with this concept and yet more ideas came to me while reading this first chapter. Applying this to reading, if we can understand what type of reader we are, how we read, why we read, and what we do with what we have read, we might have a better gauge on how our students feel about reading and what they do with the information. I would really love to conduct some sort of professional development on understanding ourselves as learners as a way to get teachers to feel like a learner again, inviting a deeper understanding.
My ideas are spewing out of my head so fast that I can barely keep up. Over the next few days, I'll update on how my reading is going and some of my thoughts.
Over the past few weeks, I have been meaning to start up a blog not realizing that I already had one. To my surprise, I found this blog (which needs a serious name overhaul). Anyway, I wanted a place to put my thoughts about teaching, funny moments, things I want to remember, and other random thoughts to share with anyone who cares to read about it.
So, here goes round 2...
I'll update on the beginning of the year and then share some ideas I am having. You know in the beginning of every school year... all the copies, labels, folder-making, organizing, and inputting... it always seems as if you have too much to do and not enough time to do any of it. Well, this year, for me, it seemed even worse. It seemed as though I already had a stack of papers and my year hadn't even begun.
A new school was built just down the street from us and opened just in time for the new year. Our school boundaries had changed and with that, our school was in mass transition, bringing kids in from another school and transferring them to the new school. On top of this, our district decided to implement a new software program for school management which has been nothing less than a migraine for everyone. Needless to say, this was a recipe for quite the bumpy beginning of the year. As educators, we are expected to be flexible, but everything felt so chaotic and disorganized, I was really struggling to hang on this year.
Now, it is nearing the end of September and I feel as though I am slowly catching my breath. Not quick enough. The other day, I started to fret about the end of the school year rapidly approaching (yes, I know. It's only September). You see, October's coming quickly which marks the beginning of the holiday season. You can pretty much say goodbye to October, November, and December with all the holidays and other festivities. Before you know it, it's January and by that time, you only have about 3 months to prepare for the end of the year testing. Does anyone else ever feel this way or is it just me?
Besides my beginning of the year "freak out", I have some other ideas that I am excited to try this year. My focus last year was "beefing" up my writer's workshop. I was really happy with the results from last year and my new focus this year is actually understanding reader's workshop and creating an effective literacy block. I am currently reading a book called "Reading With Meaning" and I LOVE this book. The author is amazing and it is super "reader-friendly".
One thing that has been constantly pressing on my mind is this notion of understanding ourselves as learners. I had quite the eye-opening experience in the beginning of my masters program with this concept and yet more ideas came to me while reading this first chapter. Applying this to reading, if we can understand what type of reader we are, how we read, why we read, and what we do with what we have read, we might have a better gauge on how our students feel about reading and what they do with the information. I would really love to conduct some sort of professional development on understanding ourselves as learners as a way to get teachers to feel like a learner again, inviting a deeper understanding.
My ideas are spewing out of my head so fast that I can barely keep up. Over the next few days, I'll update on how my reading is going and some of my thoughts.
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