Adventure Planning

In third grade we wrapped up our year with an individual adventure plan.  Students selected a destination and then created four postcards that represented important information about their destination.  Postcards included mapping information, geographic landforms, weather and climate and tourist attractions.  Students dreamed of their travels to far away places as they created their postcards.

I Have an Idea for Next Week

As we wrap up our final kindergarten enrichment classes for the year, I am excited to report that all the K students have had a chance to share their interests and ideas with each other in centers.  We spent time this week exploring some of our favorite choices from the year.

It was interesting for me to hear all the students making plans for next week and new centers they would like to create!  I have had to repeat several times that we are taking a summer break....and it has often been met by disappointment!  As a teacher this is the biggest compliment...that students enjoy their learning so much they want it to continue ....and that in that moment of excitement they forget about summer (only for a moment!). This year has taught me a lot about how to support student interest in an exploratory manner, and I look forward to the next group of K students ( after summer of course!  )

Enrichment Challenge SuperStars

Today I had the privilege to award students who chose to participate in the RES Enrichment Challenge.  This challenge is a chance for students to try a variety of new experiences, from creating a science fair project, to going to a State Park, to trying a new musical instrument, and much more!  Students learned chess, built giant snow sculptures, created magazines and poetry, made family trees, did community service projects and had FUN!  

The enrichment challenge is one way to enrich students during their time here at RES in partnership with families.   Congratulations to all our participants...we look forward to the 2013-14 challenge!

Student Choice and Fourth Grade Capstones!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/venosdale/7176770413/ ,Created by Krissy Venosdale.


Some time ago I came across this online poster, created by a teacher.  This idea of choice is at the core of my professional educational beliefs.  I want students to feel that they have real choice in their learning. I want them to be thoughtful, analytical and creative about their choices. 

Over the last few weeks, Beth Redford, teacher librarian and myself have been supporting fourth grade students in the completion of their capstone projects.  At times we have felt crazy (at least I have!) as we try to track and support students doing projects that have been completely self selected---from the topic, to the question, to the format which they will share their answer. 

We have been thrilled as students cheered when we announced the start of these projects!  We have watched as students taught themselves new digital tools (check out this post I wrote about the variety of tools students selected: http://enrichmentatres.blogspot.com/2013/05/technology-in-capstone-projects.html), as they celebrated small victories with each other, as they taught each other new ways of thinking and learning.  We have held our breath as students changed topics to align with their interests and went back to the drawing board after hours of work.  We have smiled as students check off that they are "proud of their work" on their list of to-dos! We have been supported by volunteers--other teachers and community members-- sharing their skills and their time. 

Students choosing! Students learning!

On Monday, June 10th from 6- 7pm students will be celebrating this learning at RES. Students will share their capstone projects in the RES gym.  I look forward to this event.

Below is a list of the topics which will be shared (just so you can see what I mean by student interest and choice!) If you cannot make it to the RES event, I encourage you to check out examples of this great work on our working class blog-- linked below.

2013 RES Fourth Grade Capstone Projects
How are airplanes built?
How do koalas survive in the wild?
How does the weather in the rainforest affect the environment in the rainforest?
What did Vikings wear for protection?
How were castles defended and attacked in the middle ages?
How do different types of screens work different ways?
What did a Civil War soldier carry and why?
How did different breeds of dogs become different?
How do rhythmic gymnasts get their arm movements?
How do saltwater fish survive?
How should a family spend their Disney vacation?
How do volcanoes affect the environment around them after they erupt?
How are cars manufactured?
How do elephants survive in the wild?
How did the Minecraft creators create Minecraft?
How are songwriters inspired to write songs?
How do computers work?
How do MRIs work?
How do leopards survive in the wild?
How do you make video games?
How easily did Usain Bolt become a professional runner compared to Yohan Blake?
How do you animate video and computer games?
Why is France a popular place to visit?
How do you choose the right food for your dog?
What is the history of sign language?
How do companies make tennis rackets differently?
How do you use Minecraft?
Why are beagles good pets?
Why are some cars faster than others?
How do farmers plant and raise organic bananas?
How are netbooks made?
How do you set up a website?
Why do bumble bee hummingbirds act the way they do?
Why is Italy a popular place to visit?
How do seahorses survive in the water?
How do you become a player of the MLS soccer league?
How do you become a player in the MLB (Major League Baseball)?
Why are elephants able to live in Africa?
Why is Barcelona FC the best soccer team in the world?
How easily did Usain Bolt become a professional runner compared to Yohan Blake?
How do you animate video and computer games?
Why is France a popular place to visit?
How do you choose the right food for your dog?
What is the history of sign language?
How do companies make tennis rackets differently?
Why are some cars faster than others?
How do farmers plant and raise organic bananas?
How are netbooks made?
How do you set up a website?
Why do bumble bee hummingbirds act the way they do?
Why is Italy a popular place to visit?
How do seahorses survive in the water?
How do you become a player of the MLS soccer league?
How do you become a player in the MLB (Major League Baseball)?
Why are elephants able to live in Africa?
Why is Barcelona FC the best soccer team in the world?

Class Blog Capstone posts:
http://thinkcreatecollaborate.blogspot.com/
(Select May and June Capstone Posts)

Kindergarteners Exploring

As the school year winds down, students in kindergarten enrichment class continue to explore and create at student driven centers.

We have been : building towns, designing car tracks, creating fashion outfits for paper people, drawing angry birds(the conversations about colors and the compliments on replicating what students knew about characters as well as creating new ones was great!), building and learning from and with each other!

What does classroom technology integration look like?

We are always asking students to think about behavior and learning and understanding by sharing how it looks.  I think this is always a valuable question as it helps to explain ideas and values in a concrete way.  Reflecting on my classroom practice this year, I have borrowed this idea and asked myself:  how does integrating technology into the classroom look?  I have collected the below pictures to create my answer.

I fear that many families are weary of technology..assuming that it looks like students plugged into a TV show, or sitting at a computer monitor with no human interaction.

This year I have found that this integration is not an isolating environment for students. I believe that technology has opened up the enrichment classroom learning space and led to collaboration at every grade level.

Students have used iPads to create works of art.  I have watched as kindergarten students sat around a table discovering how to record their drawings and then share these art videos with each other. One student created a reading day in the class which included student pairs listening to nonfiction books from our library website.  In another K class students created a day of exercise and we danced and moved like different animals following a YouTube video we projected onto the whiteboard.  Students have also looked at google images to find a picture of something they want to create, most recently the interior of a rocket shape...which they then translated into their cardboard box!  We have watched short and powerful videos that connected us with places and things that are far away.  Second graders have created blog posts and learned how to communicate and comment in a respectful and thoughtful manner.  Third graders used Google Earth to discover geography and projected images onto the whiteboard as they taught their classmates!  We have danced the samba as a class...with an experienced on line instructor!  We have created movies and filmed plays and puppet shows in small groups.  We have used more than twenty programs in fourth grade to discover and research our interests. 

In each of these examples, technology integration is not passive.  Students must be engaged to think, create, collaborate and share.  Technology allows the students to lead their learning....to work together when they have questions.  Technology is one tool that students can utilize.  I like that my pictures of technology use are not typically a student sitting at a computer typing away....I like that they show movement, fluidity, and task dependent usage.  I also like that they often lead to discussions and creations off of the computer!  I also realized As I was collecting the pictures that some of the most collaborative images of students working together are missing...because they were using every piece of technology available ( including my camera!) to create!

Each time I log on to my twitter feed to read blog posts from amazing educators around the world I am reminded of how much I have to learn and how many new opportunities I want to offer to students.  Despite all of the many things we have not yet tried with technology, a year of teaching with technology as one key component of my curriculum, has made me enthusiastic to continue growing and learning with students.

What do you think classroom technology integration should look like?

Group Dynamics

I have written several blog posts this year about the idea of selecting group sizes that ensure student success.  I have experienced several struggles during various projects when limited tech resources have driven groups to be be larger than worked well for all students.  I have also seen the power of starting students working in pairs and then slowly over time allowing them to share and work in groups of three or four.  

Several weeks ago a second grade class indicated that they wanted to all work together, with the exception of a few students in the class, to create a Round Church from No End building materials.  Given my experience with larger group projects I was hesitant.  We talked about my concerns at a class meeting, but they all assured me that they wanted to try it.  

Students spent a class period working together with this common goal.  They talked, they disagreed,they built, they tore down and started over, they walked away in frustration only to be brought back by a classmate needing their help.  It was GREAT!  And it was not something I would have planned for the class.  The students energy, enthusiasm and spirit allowed them to work together in this large group. They had a common goal, not a common vision, and this drove them to compromise and collaborate.  I am not sure that I would create a whole class project unless students had this sort of 'buy in',  but I now realize that I need to continue to listen carefully to student ideas and let them try things even when my initial reaction includes concerns about the outcome!  I think it is in these moments that succeed or fail, we are learning---with choice and passion!