Sharing a GREAT day!
Dear Ones,
I'm so excited! It's wonderful when a plan comes together! I just dismissed my 5th graders and I am HIGH from our class today. Now, remember, our Topic is CONFLICT...we began with a discussion of seeing both sides of a conflict, be it familial or world wide. Another teacher came in and we asked her her opinion and she brought up a great word/concept: Misunderstanding. Wow. So we took off on that for a while. Then, when left to their Options (I've attached the list), three went to the board for the Seven Scrabble Scramble, two played "War" & the loser let everyone know he REALLY felt beaten, two continued decorating the Garden of Reading, one is creating a continuum of conflict words on Microsoft Publisher, and the boys all gravitated to the Science Center (yea, there were more than the max but who's counting). There we have a theme of Star Wars (get it?) and they were to look at technology found in the Star Wars movies and decide whether or not it was/will be feasible (speeder bikes, light sabers, droids, etc).They got interested in speeder bikes, coming up with questions on how it might work, one suggested the magnalev trains idea, etc. so we had to get out the magnets and tape string with a paper clip on it to the tables and levitate them, then tape two magnets repelling each other together, and all kinds of things. It was wonderful! Now we have an idea for an independent project to build a model of a magnetic speeder bike track (can we have racing sheets at school?), three students investigating the sides in the Israel/Lebanon conflict, a banner of degrees of conflict (in progress) words, and big 'ol vines hanging all over my reading center with book-leaves hanging from them. They even did a bang-up job of cleaning up the mess! We were late but I made them sit down so I could tell them how much I loved them!
Like I said, I love it when a plan comes together. Okay, I can die happy now. Thanks for letting me share.
Intellectual Itch
Every student needs a dream or has an intellectual itch. I'm afraid we, as teachers, are missing the "teachable moment" by ignoring, or not taking the time to see, this motivational stragegy. If we can offer assistance in climbing the ladder to the dream or helping to scratch the itch, we will obtain the attention of almost any student for the (often) more mundane subjects and curriculum that is mandated. I often use the verbal/visual of the rider on the donkey who is holding a fishing pole with a carrot attached to the line...the donkey wants the carrot so it walks toward it. While that's not a perfect analogy of a teacher leading a student to the educational trough to drink, it's close. Sometimes to be able to pursue a favorite topic is enough to pull the toughest learner through the rest of the school day/year.
Enough soapbox for today!
Be excellent to each other!!
Weekly Thinking Sheet example!
The weekly thinking sheets are composed in Publisher so that there are actually four pages...However, when you fold the sheet in half (hot-dog, long and thin, style) and then in half again, you end up with a card that shows one page at a time. Shoot! Even the folding is a manual dexterity learning experience! However, so far, I have not figured out how to copy and paste into a blog so you will have to be content with these pieces as a sample. I cannot divulge my sources because I have students who would LOVE to know the "answers" prior to some mental sweat! Shhh! If you know the answer, be quiet, let them work as hard as you did!
First Page: Lateral Thinking
#1 A man lives on the 12th floor of an apartment building.
Every morning he takes the elevator to the lobby and leaves
the building. Every evening, he gets in the elevator and, if
there is someone else in the elevator or it was raining that day,
he goes to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the 10th
floor and walks up two flights of stairs to his apartment. Why?
Second Page: Seven Scrabble Scramble
In which you write down all the words you can, using the
seven scrabble letters found below. Add up your score!
(You may use each letter only once per word!)
A-1 C-3 I-1 L-1 O-1 P-3 V-4
(CLAP, for example, scores 3+1+1+3 = 8)
(and, according to the Hasbro Scrabble-itionary, there are
59 words that can be made!) (Shhhh! Don't tell!)
Third Page: MATH Operations
Given the mathematical sentences below, replace the *'s with the
appropriate operation (+, -, /, X) to complete the sentence correctly.
Remember! Always do the operations INSIDE the parentheses first!
(6 * 4) * 12 = 12
(7 * 3) * (4 * 1) = 26
(4 * 2) * (4 * 3) = 24
(6 * 5) * (9 * 2) = 19
(Sometimes there's more than one answer! I love it!)
Fourth Page: It All Adds Up!
Exercise your Addition Skills to fill in the missing numbers,
so that all rows, columns, and diagonals add up to the numbers
found along the right and bottom edges. ................................17
...2...___...5...___...22
...6.....4......0...___...16
.__....9....___ ..___.19
.__ ....2....__.....1.......7
...9....23....15....17....14
Now, think about what you've been working on.
What mental processes did you use?
What was the most fun? What was especailly difficult?
What questions popped into your head?
In class, we have the advantage of getting together on the rug
to discuss what we thought (and WHY).
XXOO!! Mrs. Mac
What's UP for '06-07 school year!
Where we're heading...
We're turning on the light bulbs!
Encouraging curiosity has always been my goal. By learning to ask questions, my students can learn whatever they desire. Einstein said, "To raise new questions, new possiblities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science." So my focus for my students is to dive into concepts, learn philosophies, gain insight into their own character/gifts/drives, practice problem solving, and to have fun, too. What good is anything that you do not enjoy?
Our units, or topics, are all integrated and cover the spectrum of learning areas, styles, and subjects. If math is involved, we do math. If research is called for, we practice several methods to get in deep. If one of the students learns about one aspect of a topic, they are invited to share their expertise with the rest of the group. It strikes me that this is a lot like life - when you need to know something, you learn it, you learn what and when it makes the most sense. Not because it's 9:45 in the morning. Don't get me wrong, with a classroom full of students and a curriculum to cover, I can understand how most teachers feel that they HAVE to teach by a schedule. I have the WONDERFUL advantage to be able to pounce on the teachable moment and key in to student interests.
Ideas I have (from student surveys taken at the end of the '05/06 school year) for this year include debating the concept of conflict, the philosophy and character traits of heros, developing and testing home-made, egg carrying race cars and going up, up, and away with flight. The students spoke and I love it! I can't stay away from SCIENCE! There were also votes for fashion design, magic, animals, games, and origami.
Every week my students are given a sheet of puzzles to strengthen their problem solving and lateral thinking skills, with a little math, some vocabulary, and thinking thrown in for good measure. I believe that, once parents get to see it, they will insist that it come home so they can "exercise", too! In another blog, I'll try to include a copy. There are also all sorts of ideas for mental exercise to be found on the AROUND RIVERCHASE section of the Riverchase Web page, updated weekly.
Enough for now! XXOO!! Mrs. Mac
I
Trying to blog...!
Okay, okay, this is my first blog and I'm not at all sure what to muse about. I hope to use this function a bunch this coming year with my students. Last year, I made them write their thoughts and opinions on note cards. This year, they will do the same
and/or share three computers. I'll play Scarlett today and worry about that tomorrow.
My BIG push for this next year is QUESTIONING. The answers will come but I really want my students to be good questioners. What do they wonder about? What would they like to know? I've been getting a lot of pseudo-questions; those the students think no one else will know but they do...blech. Last year we worked on "Fat Questions" - those questions without one right answer. We'll continue to beef up the questions and see how far we can go!...
