quick check in

Tonight was our first Portfolio Night of the school year--a wonderful evening as usual, but I am exhausted so I just want to jot a few notes to expand on later...

1. more on portfolio assessment..how I use it, how it reflects MI thinking (for students & teachers)

2. got some advice on our big loom from our class parent art teacher, aka weaving resource

3. our new MI question of the session: what matters to you? what is important to you?

* responses

* the power of semantics when attempting to assess understanding

4. a new problem: too much to do, too little time

5. Yo Yo Ma--genius/intelligence/music and what we value

I hope to address each of these points(or cryptic notes as I'm sure they seem!) in my next few posts, with a bit more energy, after a lot more sleep! more soon....

things are not always what they seem

It occurred to me as I was reading through my last few posts: this classroom sounds so wonderful and pleasant and interesting....and it is all that...BUT, there is also frustration, confusion, desperation even! Last week was a really tough week--just lots of social issues, demands from all different directions, and too many deadlines looming. Many late nights and early mornings. And it is difficult to come off a vacation and hit the ground running at 90 miles an hour!

But this is teaching. And learning.

I was able to scrounge up a videographer for my weaving demo. After watching the tape, it suddenly dawned on me that most, if not all, of the videos of teaching I've ever seen--are so staged, so unnatural. The primates all respond appropriately, everyone pays attention, there are no interruptions, and the teacher never loses train of thought. That is about as opposite from reality as it can get! My tape is not perfect--several inappropriate responses, at some point everyone's attention strays, there are interruptions, and I lose my train of thought. But that is what it's like. That is the reality. And I think because of all those "real" moments, it is critically important to journal and reflect, otherwise all the frustration/confusion/etc is too consuming. And watching videos that edit out the "real", puts an unrealistic pressure on new teachers, on all teachers. It creates an illusion of what teaching and learning looks like. Juggling all those "real" moments, while weaving in some learning, truly is an artistic endeavor. Watching myself on video inspires me to appreciate that a bit more.

Here's to a new week!

diving in

Last session we "messed about" with weaving:

- reading about Native American traditions

- learning paper weaving (over and under, over and under)

- experimenting with kumihimi (Japanese braiding)

- visual observations of weaving "tools" (yarn, various looms, etc)

- weaving dreamcatchers with yarn

- spiderweb paintings

- making "human spiderwebs"

Today I announced the official beginning of the weaving project. I explained that we would explore several different ways to weave, a variety of materials, various examples of weaving & patterns, and weaving "words". Each primate will create their own final woven project, and then we will include a writing piece connected to the woven item. I introduced the words "warp" (which is the up and down string on a loom) and "weft" (the right and left weaving). I asked if anyone noticed something about what I said. Several hands went in the air and a primate eloquently said, "You made a rhyme--weft and left." (mental note of that primate recognizing and identifying rhyming words in a different context, ie authentic understanding!)

We posted "weft" and "warp" on sentence strip cards in the classroom, and began our first activity, which consisted of three steps:

1. explore: look through piles of patterned fabric strips

2. choose: pick 2-4 different strips and make a pattern

3. re-create: copy the patterns on each of your chosen strips onto paper strips

We will use these strips as a guide when we begin weaving on the wall loom tomorrow-I am so excited!!! I will take small groups of 7 into the hall during snack time and project time tomorrow and demonstrate weaving on the big loom. I should really have someone videotape...I'll have to work on that first thing in the morning...

Weaving on the wall loom will be a choice for 2 primates at a time during snack time, and possibly other times of day. Primates will attempt to follow the pattern they created today, using the paper strips as a guide. I explained to the primates that the piece we create on the wall loom will be a collaborative work of art--meaning it is one piece to which we will all contribute--and we will decide as a group what to do with it....use it as a rug or blanket or wallhanging or something else entirely.

Finally we sorted the like patterns together in boxes. This organizing will make it easier to find the strips we need.

I have to say, I was feeling pretty blah about being back to work--missing the family, missing shutting the alarm clock OFF--but writing these entries has me energized and really looking forward to our day tomorrow. Writing this blog is not only a great way for me to reflect on my teaching and learning, but it's also therapeutic! Of course, I also just realized I have a new reading group starting tomorrow and no prep time all day....work day isn't over yet!

catching up, happy 2010

Is there anything like the holidays to make time just fly by? I'm still recovering from the last few weeks...and yet, here we are, back at school!

So, to catch up....we did set a "brownie trap" of flour (to catch footprints), around a bowl of milk on Friday, and what a mess we walked into on Monday! (I have pics but will post separately). Chairs were piled up on tables, our baskets of weaving fabric strips were strewn all around the room, the daily schedule was crazy, and he left a note!

Many primates arrived late that morning (I think it was snowing), so as each one arrived those who discovered the mess excitedly retold the story--embellishing a bit at every retell! There were many guesses as to why our brownie reacted so negatively...maybe he doesn't like milk? maybe he doesn't like us trying to catch him? maybe he has transformed from a mischievous brownie to an angry, disruptive boggart (much like what happens in The Spiderwick Chronicles). We decided to write the brownie a note (AFTER we cleaned up the big mess).

We asked him to please NOT make such a mess in our room and if he would prefer we left him a snack of honey (which we read in another book is a favorite of brownies). One primate asked if "he" was a boy or girl...this led to a nice discussion of pronouns, and we also reflected on reasons why we assumed the brownie was a "he". We added that question too.

After lunch our brownie left us a written response, asking for honey, but not revealing "it's" gender...so we are left guessing. Honey graham crackers were all we could find, so we left those out at the end of the day.

The next morning there was no mention of the brownie, and only one primate checked to see if he ate the crackers (he did not). I'm sure the impending holiday was too overwhelmingly exciting to think of anything else and since we've been back (is it really one day?....feels like we never left!), no one has mentioned the brownie except to note that the crackers remain uneaten. It will be interesting to see where, if at all, this leads us as the year continues....

So where is the learning?

Clearly this was quite engaging to the students, and took up a moderate amount of class time, so the question is fair--was this a valuable use of learning time? Here are my thoughts:

* valuable informal assessment of the primates' memory from last year's fairy/Spiderwick project

* vocabulary building (mischievous and mysterious)

* spontaneous exercise in imagination (completely child-driven)

* research skill development (the primates poured over all of our fairy/faerie books to find more information on brownies for days)

* experimentation (setting the trap and then trying again with the honey)

* letter writing (whole group instruction/collaborative activity)

* responsibility for class materials (cleaning up)

* discussion of pronoun use (he/she)

* discussion of gender stereotypes (why did we all assume the brownie was a "he"...still pondering that one!)

Wow! I didn't even realize how valuable this divergence from the norm was to our learning. As Raising Z commented, these are the best days--when you let them lead the way and drop everything. These little digressions are so powerful in allowing primates to take ownership over their school day and learning experiences.

Traditional teaching and learning does not allow for the time needed to explore and delve into the unexpected. What a shame, because these often are the most exciting moments in teaching.

Sitting in desks in rows, following prescribed programs strictly, and linking everything that is said or done to a "standard" takes away the exciting, surprising twists and turns along an educational adventure--and these can only come from the primates, not a curriculum guide. Of course, as a teacher, these spontaneous variations are much more fun and move along more smoothly because of experience and flexibility. I can link these experiences to standards...but I'd rather spend my time reflecting on the experience in this way and thinking of what the primates are showing me about their learning as we move through the experience. Personal reflection: it's nice to be at a point in my career where I am comfortable with, and even anticipate these moments!

Final analysis: time well spent, and I can't wait to see where it will take us next!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

the brownie's back

My wonderful student teacher celebrated her last day with us on Friday, and I have to say I had a bit of culture shock adjusting to "being on my own" this week. I've never had a 2 week takeover, and although I was a bit unsettled the first week, by the second I was adjusting nicely to actually accomplishing things during the work day. Ah well, it's over! We miss her!

Wed was a half day for kids, and we were pretty busy with preparations for our "Traditions Feast" and good-bye party for our student teacher (combined celebration was today!), on Mon and Tues. So wed was really a chance to catch up. We literally spent 45 minutes on the rug, just sharing--and it was great. I realized how much I missed hearing about all the little details of the primates' lives, and it felt good to be back in my comfy chair on the rug. I felt so proud of them--being away for even a short time makes their growth so much more visible--even just in the way they share stories about themselves.

Of course, it was back to reality today--4 days before the break and the holidays approaching--yikes! We began the day with intense wailing from a primate who bumped his knee on the stairs (way more wail than wound!) and then once we hit the classroom, chaos broke out because one of the primates noticed something amiss--a pine cone in an unusual spot--and insisted that our classroom had been visited by a mischievous "brownie" (a brownie is a trickster fairy--not the wings & flower type, but a rather ugly, nasty fellow we discovered last year in reading The Spiderwick Chronicles). Suddenly everyone was noticing things out of place and there was wild running and screaming around the classroom, pointing stuff out (sigh). While I wanted to scream myself, I couldn't dismiss the opportunity to take advantage of their curiosity and use of imagination, so we marveled at broken puzzle pieces (clearly bitten by the brownie) and wondered why he chose to fill a bug collection jar with acorns. And after about 10 minutes, I asked everyone to take out their journals and do a little writing about this very mysterious morning. Several students then asked to share their writing at morning circle.

Now I honestly have no idea if one of the primates did all this rearranging yesterday unnoticed, but I know I didn't. Maybe there really was a brownie? The reason I feel compelled to write about this, is because I am astounded by the impact our Fairy Houses project, (which included reading book one of Spiderwick) had on my 2nd graders (then 1st graders). Throughout the day, primates asked what exactly a brownie is, which offered me the chance to use vocabulary such as "mysterious" and "mischievous" repeatedly. We'll add those words to our "Words we've discovered" board tomorrow. The 2nd graders recalled parts of the story they were frightened by or enjoyed most. One of the 1st graders has read the whole series and shared her thoughts too. Last year we set a trap for the brownie as we had a rather noisy vent that the primates insisted was a brownie hammering something, and the characters in the book had set a brownie trap. So the 2nd graders asked if we could set a trap this year too, since clearly, the brownie's back. Unfortunately, the escalated behavior today put me in no mood to set brownie traps, so I said we could do it tomorrow pending better self-control from the group. I'll be sure to post what happens!

Anyways, our day ended with a fabulous "Traditions Feast" which included delicious foods and visits from many families. Primates also took home tradition/recipe books compiled by me, that included recipes and family traditions from each primate. It was a nice collaborative project, and primates were excited to look through the books and the drawings of traditions and food. I hope families will enjoy reading about each other's traditions and I am excited myself to try some of the recipes. Our student teacher visited and we gave her a class album that included a crayon resist self-portrait with a typed good-bye quote from each primate. She generously gave them each a set of books and holiday pencils in a case. One of the primates commented that "today feels like Thanksgiving and Christmas because of all the food, family, and presents". It was a nice ending to a crazy day. I'm so exhausted I feel as if I'm just rambling, so forgive me if this post is jumbled. I think I'm ready for pajamas and Survivor--tomorrow's Friday!

teamwork

Last Friday we had a few free moments to work together in our MI groups, so my documentation team collaborated on this wonderful wall loom. It looks fantastic and I am so grateful for the help of my colleagues! We will use fabric strips to weave a large product (maybe a rug or wall hanging) next session. Over the summer as we discussed the possibilities of this project, my husband suggested having each primate weave in a strip of paper with something written on it--maybe a hope or a dream, maybe a goal...not sure yet. But I love the idea and hope to preserve it untouched until this crew hits the 8th grade when they'll be invited back to un-weave their paper. If you're around the building, please stop by and check it out. I will post pics as we progress!

catching up

Today's post is catching up with some photos from things I described in previous posts...beginning with...paper weaving... ...primates glued pictures they chose from our applepicking trip. Some chose pics of themselves, others chose friends. They glued the pics to paper and then cut them into strips. They weaved the picture strips with other blank strips, (the weft). I also encouraged primates to be creative in their use of lines as they cut the "warp" of their weaving mats--curvy, jagged, straight, diagonal, etc

One of our curriculum themes this year is "seasons", so I am "weaving" that into this project by using pictures from our fall applepicking trip, and next I will ask primates to use words and/or pictures that represent fall to fill in 5-7 blank squares. In these images (below) you can see differences in the warp lines (darker colors), and also placement of photo strips for the weft. Most primates tried to reassemble their photos rather than going for a more Picasso-like image--although a few turned out Picasso-ish--not pictured. I'm not sure those were purposeful, as opposed to just more concentration by the primate on the act of weaving and less on design.

The Turban Squash (from painting primates post, November)Watercolor interpretations of the Turban Squash...