I always brag how much I adore my class this year. Each child brings positivity, kindness and energy to our class! However, what makes this class really special is their ability to work together.
I am constantly throwing them in various small groups to problem-solve and explore. Each time, I am more amazed by how they openly communicate ideas, treat each other with respect, ask questions, and persevere in tasks as a team. This class got the memo on how to cooperate and collaborate! With these skills in their tool belts, I foresee great futures ahead! Below are some pictures of the class working in teams at the Grove and in our Escape From Ms. Storrie’s Library Challenge. Enjoy!
2 Comments
“Math starts in 5 minutes. Finish your morning work.” Time. “Thumbs up if you are ready to go onto the next problem.” Time. “Finish up your observations.” Time. “Quickly write down your homework before we move on.” Time “Line up for lunch, we will finish our book discussion later.” Time “We have to be at PE in 5 minutes. Put away your work.” Time We are in a constant battle with time. Lessons revolve around time. How many minutes, hours, days will they take? By this date, where do we need to be? Did we spend enough time on that topic, skill? Do I need to rearrange our schedule? Do some students need more time? When is it time to move on? Time can be stressful. It can cause anxiety and rush our thoughts. I search endlessly for the wrinkle in time, where we can freely continue our task without the worry of what we are missing or what comes next. Our narrative writing unit began today. I really want my students to feel comfortable writing and at ease. I really want my students to let their imaginations take the best of them. I really want my students to not worry about writing a masterpiece every time they write. So, I asked myself, “What do I need to give my students so that they can accomplish and feel all these things?” Time. If I want my students to understand that being a writer means thinking and writing and crumpling and rewriting and starting anew and revising and editing, then I need to give them time. Time to relax, time to just stare out and think, time to explore their thoughts, time to transfer ideas into written words. So often we judge the end product, and label ourselves by that. Being a good writer is not about the end product, but rather about stamina, tenacity, confidence, and the freedom to make changes. Today I gave my students a gift, a little wrinkle in time. After our first narrative writing mini-lesson, we took a notebook and pencil to our “Power Spot”, a self-chosen spot that helps us get in a zone, and just wrote a story. No interruptions, the world around froze, but our minds did not. Some students wrote 1 sentence. Some wrote 3 pages. Regardless, all students were on their way to becoming writers. At the end of our session, I asked the students for input about the writing lesson. Below are their responses and some pics. I see writers everywhere. “It was fun to just sit down and write whatever I wanted.” “It was nice to have time to write.” “I would have liked even more time because it takes me awhile to think of my idea at the beginning. Usually I don’t like writing about a certain topic, but I like writing about what I want.” “It was fun just making up a story and expressing my thoughts.” “I liked seeing what my stories would form into.” “It was OK. I kind of like writing, but not really. Sometimes I can’t think about what to write and I just sit there and think.” “I liked writing in the morning because usually I am stressed and it helps.” “I liked writing about whatever I wanted to write.” “It was nice and helped me calm down because I can just think of my happy story and I had the time to think about it.” “It gave me the opportunity to think about the story I was writing.” “I liked it because we had a lot of free time to write what we wanted and I got a lot done.” “I thought it was pretty good because I got to write about something I imagined in my head and not about a certain topic.” “I really liked writing today because I like writing in first person and I got to write from my head. I like putting myself in other characters and how they would feel.” “It gave me time to write a long story.” “I think it was good because we had time to write.” “I felt like it was a fun lesson today because I got to write what I wanted to write about today. I like writing my own story and it takes me a long time to think of something to write.” “I like writing interesting stories and I like to sit in a quiet spot and write. I liked what I wrote today.” “I liked writing today because it gave me time to relax.” “I liked it because I got to write about what I wanted. I still need more time for my story.” “I still need more time because it takes me a long time to think about what to write about.” |
Welcome to Room 314!
Have fun following our fabulous 4th grade journey! Important Dates
August 22nd- First Day!
Archives
September 2018
Categories
|