Reading through The Activist Learner has helped me see how students can work together to share knowledge with each other and the larger community through culminating projects. After doing some informal prep work during out dinosaur unit and introducing non-fiction books--we delved into a unit on the human body. Traditionally, my students have been super engaged in a Human Body unit and this year was no exception. We spent three weeks learning about the body and incorporating a myriad of learning opportunities to engage all kinds of learners in this unit. At the end, we spent time in a small group drawing on inspiration from non-fiction texts in order to create our own non-fiction book on the Human Body. To be totally honest, I didn't know how this small group was going to shake out. There are plenty of times as a teacher you plan something you think is amazing and it flops. However, I have the really brag on my 4 and 5 year olds right now--they ROCKED the non-fiction book. They were so proud of making it all by themselves! Furthermore, we got to showcase the book to my administration and parents and let them see just how talented we all are! This project showed me the capabilities of my students and how much self confidence they gained from this project. We already have in the works a poster project about space as well as a mural project about plants and insects.
My 2nd big high of the month was introducing guest speakers into our classroom to help students see themselves as change agents. It started off a little rough with our animal expert not being as engaging as I would have hoped, however, we're really excited to host hospice nurses, the watershed management, and other community members that will help us think more deeply about our role in the community. I'm excited to see where the kids will take it and I'm confident that they will come up withs some amazing stuff to help change their community!
My lows have been consistent with some lows that I've had previously. Time management and organization continue to be a struggle for me. Sometimes I have amazing stuff planned for the kids, and it works out great, but sometimes I don't have things planned perfectly and those things tend to fall apart a lot faster. I often feel discouraged about the fact that I'm not as organized as I think I should be. I wonder if I'll ever become a type A and organized teacher--and I wonder if this is necessary for me to become the best teacher I can be.
I also struggle with some of my students having emotional breakdowns on a daily or almost daily basis. Although I feel like I do my best in the moment of being able to meet them where they are at--I often feel as if I'm not reaching them properly. I know that I can't have all the answers and I shouldn't feel guilty for their reactions. I can't believe this school year will be over in 3 months--we've accomplished so much together and we still have SO much more to do.
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! It was awesome to get a peek into the work that you are doing with kids. I would like to know more about how the process of writing a class book went for you and what were the results of the showcase. My class created their own non-fiction books about American symbols and my girls were really engaged. I couldn't believe how much knowledge they had attained over the course of the unit. Like you, I also planned an event for my girls to showcase what they have learned to parents. However, with winter breaks and unannounced snow days, we never got the chance to. I'm interested in hearing how it went for you though because I am definitely interested in doing something like this in the future.
Also, we're starting our community helpers unit and I think it's awesome that you invited real community helpers to speak to your class. I hope that I am able to do something like that as well for my class. I look forward to reading what happens with your class next month!
Lindsey!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your post this month. I agree with you that this month went by crazy fast which made it difficult to get things done. With that being said I want to touch upon your low of the month. Don't be too hard on yourself about organization and time management. With a short month I think that we all struggled with getting things done in the span of time that we needed to. Give yourself the next month to plan ahead and see what you can do with a full month and see if that changes anything. Don't be too hard on yourself! We are all human.
I also think that it is so exciting that your students are published authors! YIPPIEEE, Especially when it comes to non-fictiont texts. Getting young students engaged and excited about it non-fiction texts is a huge hurtle. Shout out to you and your class. I also think it is super exciting that you shared student work with parents and admin this shows students that they should be proud of their work. Congrats to you and your kids and to a successful month!
Kyla