As I mentioned in a previous post, our teacher writing group had the assignment to take a risk in our writing instruction. My goal was to publish some writing digitally. I have taken the podcast class twice (so I should have a little knowledge) and created some podcasts with the help of our technology teacher, but I have not done it all independently. I have been putting it off for a couple of reasons. First, I wasn’t sure how to manage the rest of the class while I recorded the kids’ voices and the biggest reason…time! Where do I find the time to take their pictures, record their voices, and put the podcast together? Well, as always, when I have a goal, I find a way to make it happen.
I decided to record their voices while they worked on illustrating their personal narratives (which we will be publishing using iMovie next month!). After explaining the importance of working quietly when they heard my signal, I got started. The kids did a great job! Each time I announced, “Recording,” the class quieted down and we were able to get most of the class done. The art teacher was kind enough to let me pull the rest of them out a couple at a time to finish up.
I went back to the directions I received in my podcast class, Googled for more information, and went to work. OK..I was at work pretty late that night and the next day, the technology teacher told me that I made a major mistake in putting the kids’ names in the chapter titles, but I did it! I fixed the chapter titles and republished it yesterday.
What did I learn? I learned to give myself permission to make mistakes (don’t we remind our students all the time that it’s OK to make mistakes?) and to be patient with myself as I learned a new skill. Plus, I am gaining confidence in myself in trying new things with technology. Google has become my best friend! Taking a chance with this project has stretched me and I’m ready to do it again. Next time, it will be even easier. Take a look at the wonderful research work being done by a great group of first graders.
A few weeks ago, I was having breakfast with an old friend. We’ve known each other since our girls (who are now 22 years old) were in kindergarten and we decided to take on the role of Girl Scout leaders. She is a gifted teacher and someone I enjoy spending time with. We share the same passion for literacy and can commiserate about our children. She’s contemplating starting a blog and is worried about having enough to say. As we talked that morning, I came up with about 4 different topics that she could blog about. I told her that as things happen in your classroom or even your life, you automatically think about how you could write about that on your blog. She laughed and said, “It’s Blog Curse, you know, like Math Curse!”
Well, I was afflicted with “Blog Curse” yesterday at the Dublin Literacy Conference. As I listened to Dr. Tim Tyson and the other speakers, I thought of a million things I could write about. As Dr. Tyson talked about the possibilities with technology, he kept coming back to the point of teachers as leaders. He said, “School can be anything you imagine. The hard part is not plugging in the interactive white board. The hard part is envisioning the possibilities.”
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about the possibilities for my 4th and 5th grade after school writing club. We finished writing scripts for the drama club and are ready to start something new. I want each of them to choose a topic that is important to them and makes them feel passionate. I want them to think about what means to much to them that they want the world to hear their voices. And I want them to know that their voices matter. Our final project will be a multi-modal, multi-genre display. I sent an email with my rambling ideas to our technology teacher and we are going to meet this week to discuss the possibilities. (I think she’s afraid to open any emails from me!)
To begin with, I want the students to create a page that tells about themselves. I am going to read Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Meyers. I read Karen’s review and bought it right away (thanks to one-click shopping). I think the kids will love the vibrant illustrations and jazzy language. (I looked in the mirror and what did I see? A real handsome dude looking just like me. He put out his fist. I gave it a bam! He said, “Jeremy! I said, “That’s who I am.”) I’m going to use it as a springboard for the students to think about the different roles they play in their lives. Then I’m going to have them create a page that shows who they are using Glogster. I just recently heard about Glogster and I took some time to explore it tonight (which means I’ll be up really late tonight finishing up my lesson plans). Here’s my attempt at introducing myself. I’d love to spend more time with it, but I do have to get more school work done tonight!
Kevin Hodgson commented on yesterday’s post how attending conferences like these energize us. I so agree with him. I can’t wait to get to school tomorrow and see my little ones and my writing clubbers. I have so much to share with them!
This was the 21st year for the Dublin Literacy Conference and the theme was 21st Century Literacies. I have to say that this was one of the best conferences. I had a difficult time deciding which sessions to attend. I love being surrounded with like-minded people who share a passion for literacy and exploring new ideas. My mind is spinning with all of the possibilities for my first graders as well as my after school writing club (both teachers and kids) groups. As I took notes (yes, the old-fashioned way…I used a pen and a notepad), I came up with several ideas for my blog posts. It also got me thinking more about Dr. Bloome’s risk taking assignment and how important it is to take risks in our teaching so that we don’t become stagnant. We truly are on the cusp of new and exciting work. I’ll be writing more about the great thinking that happened today.
I’ve been wanting to expand my blogging in some ways and I decided that I would participate in Nonfiction Mondays. I always get so many good ideas from other blogs!
I went to the library today in search of some books on nutrition. Two OSU dietetic students will be visiting us this Thursday to talk about the food pyramid and making healthy food choices, so I wanted to build some background knowledge for the kids. I found several books and one that I liked was The Edible Pyramid: Good Eating Every Day by Loreen Leedy. This book, considered a hybrid informational text was originally published in 1994 as a Reading Rainbow book. It was updated in 2007 to reflect the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s newly redesigned food pyramid. I think my students will enjoy the simple (and sometimes humorous) text and soft, colorful illustrations.
In this book, a cat, dressed in a tuxedo, welcomes all the animals to the grand opening of the Edible Pyramid Restaurant. The frog hopes the flies are fresh and the pelican hopes they have seafood. The pyramid menu helps the customers plan healthy meals. The cat, starting at the left hand side of the pyramid, explains each of the food groups. Lots of examples are given in each food group and the illustrations are luscious looking! I know that some of my kids have not tried some of these foods, so we’ll have fun trying some new things (beets, rye crackers, kiwi, to name a few). I even learned something new. The steps at the side of the pyramid remind us to be active every day. There are many pictures that show ways kids can be active…swimming, hula hooping (is that a word?), biking, skating, and dancing.
I’m looking forward to sharing this book and the others I checked out with my students. We’ll tie math and technology into our study as I ask the kids to keep track of how many fruits and vegetables they eat during a week’s time. We’ll tally their results and create graphs on the computer with the technology teacher. Maybe we’ll even create a podcast about the importance of eating healthy foods.
You can see the round up of other nonfiction books here.
I’ve been watching the Olympic coverage tonight and saw the premiere of the new We Are the World to support Haiti. It brings chills to me as I see the world come together for one purpose. We celebrate our best athletes as the Olympics become a symbol of peace throughout the world. In the same way, musical artists of all different genres come together to aid a country in dire need.
I’ve been thinking about my post for quite awhile. Tonight’s Olympics and the airing of We Are the World brought it all together for me. It’s that time of year when I am very worried about my struggling young learners. Will they learn all the skills they need before their time with me ends? How can I best help them make the most gains between now and the end of the school year? I know that I can’t do it alone. It’s imperative that there is open communication between classroom teachers, the support staff that also works with my students, and parents. We all need to be on the same page working for the same goals. If we don’t collaborate, our kids are pulled in different directions and the adults are busy running around trying to solve the problem by themselves. It makes no sense. Unfortunately, it is our reality at times.
Choice Literacy had an article about what makes a good teacher in last week’s Big Fresh. Although there was a lot to take away from the article, one thing in particular clicked with me. Resonating among all great teachers was their mind-set. They refused to accept failures from bureaucracy, poverty, and lack of funding. They constantly reevaluated what was happening in their classrooms. There’s no denying that I’m reflective, but I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been “pouting” because I haven’t been able to meet with the other teachers who work with my kids like I want to. After reading the article, I realized that I’m not helping my kids by lamenting on what I don’t have. It’s time to reevaluate!
I have a renewed sense of purpose again! It’s up to me to make the changes that I need to make in my classroom so that I can better meet the needs of my most struggling learners while they are with me. I will continue to invite conversations with the other teachers, because I still believe that if we are going to make the most progress we need to work together as much as we can. However, if the conversations don’t happen, I will find other ways to move forward.
In the same way that all the musical artists came together for one goal, so must we teachers open our doors and invite others in so that we can best meet the needs of our shared students. It is through this important collaboration that we can most efficiently raise the achievement of all of our students and help them be the best they can be. If we all believe it is important, we will find a way to make it happen.
As I mentioned in a previous post, our teacher writing group had the assignment to take a risk in our writing instruction. My goal was to publish some writing digitally. I have taken the podcast class twice (so I should have a little knowledge) and created some podcasts with the help of our technology teacher, but I have not done it all independently. I have been putting it off for a couple of reasons. First, I wasn’t sure how to manage the rest of the class while I recorded the kids’ voices and the biggest reason…time! Where do I find the time to take their pictures, record their voices, and put the podcast together? Well, as always, when I have a goal, I find a way to make it happen.
