The answer to this question is the BEST

So asked a kindergarten teacher...

...So answered the wise kindergarten student.

Beyond being a fabulous answer to a question, what makes this question and answer THE BEST is how it was shared. I heard it from the parent, who heard it from the teacher. From person to person, it was shared with such joy. It demonstrates the close knit nature of our community. 

Happy Saturday!

Tell it like it is: first graders explain about Rotting Log inhabitants

The first grade information consumers are now information producers! 

The first graders spent a few few weeks observing a rotting log habitat, learning about the food chain, and gathering information from print and electronic resources.  They produced reports, created observational drawings and labeled their art. 

Wanting to give them an additional way to express their new understanding (as well as practice producing digital content and all that that entails), the classroom teacher and I modeled how to use Explain Everything app and then sent them off in pairs to practice their reading. They then helped each other use the app to photograph and record their information. 

The classroom teacher and I are excited to bring this app back to the students, introduce more tools, and watch the students' skills grow.

Where did they get their knowledge?

Here are the students gathering information.

Inquiring minds want to know..."Why are the eyes topside?"

So asked an astute first grader.

We are not even into the animal adaptations unit, but given what I have heard this week, these first graders are going to be great researchers.

The students and I spent November exploring Steve Jenkins' books, which aligned with their nonfiction picture book month challenge. During this unit, we learned about our Wonder Wall (or nonfiction neighborhood).

Following this unit, the art teacher and I co-planned a Lois Ehlert lesson. I would book talk books and explore her work as an author and illustrator, while she would use her books and technique as inspiration for a winter birds collage project. I introduced Lois Ehlert's work by picture walking and reading snippets of her books.

The students and I then worked through a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Steve Jenkins and Lois Ehlert as authors and illustrators. The looked at the style of collage work, the materials used, and the subject matter.

I decided to tie the lesson back to our Wonder Wall unit by pointing out that all books make us stop and think and can inspire wondering questions.

I used this example from Lois Ehlert's book, Lots of Spots.

With just these four lines, the students generated wondering questions such as these:

''Do only the spots change colors?"

"How do they change color?"

"Where is its mouth?"

"In what ways does it look like a pancake?"

"Why are the eyes topside?"

How does the flounder see with its topside eyes?"

"Why to the fins look like fans?"

"How can it swim?"

"Who is it trying to hide from?"

That was week one.

Today when the students came I helped them recall last week's lesson and then reread those four lines.

The students recalled their wondering questions and added a few new ones.

The next part of the lesson was done in part to bring all the first graders up to speed as only two of the classes had used the library databases for the recent research projects. (We'll be diving into a new unit after the December break and I want them all ready.)

I demonstrated finding the databases on my Webpage and then demonstrated how to look for an article and navigate through it.

Sadly, there are no good articles on flounders in either database.

Luckily, I found a very cool video on National Geographic. I just showed the first minute. I reminded the students that they can take in information from multiple sources and to watch the movie and try to answer their wondering questions. I stopped the movie once to ask what migrate meant, and then played it to the same point (just after the flounder eats the shrimp).  **please note: The movie follows the predator/prey food chain, and an eagle comes along and swoops a flounder out of the ocean in the next part of the movie. Since I wanted to focus on answering our questions, I did not show them this part.

The students were able to answer most of their questions from the video footage and use examples from the movie to back up their answers - a valuable lesson about digital literacy and taking in information from multiple sources. #coolbeans.

Wherein we receive a visit from Louise Borden

The wonderful Louise Borden happened to be in my neck of the woods and was able to squeeze in a visit to our school. She met with our three fourth grade classrooms this morning.  It was much fun, and, as important, it was an informative and inspiring visit. 

Have a look:

The classroom teachers had the students think about questions for morning work.  Here are a few things the students wanted to know:

"Do you have a special way of organizing your notes when you research?"

"What is a favorite book that you have read?"

"Do you do a lot of note-taking before you write down a draft for your story?"

"What are good fiction and nonfiction writing strategies/"

"What resources do you use: books, websites, etc?"

"What are your favorite books to look in?"

"Where do you do your note taking?"

"What is your favorite genre to write?"

"What is your favorite genre to read"?

"What inspired you to be a writer and why was it mostly historical fiction and biographies?"

"What was your favorite book when you were a kid?"

"How do you get ideas for your books?"

Louise was full of great stories and advice. I took many notes:

She talked about liking to write about journeys and adventures and how the stories of the characters became her own stories,

Louise showed how ideas, experiences, people, and artifacts from her own life became threads and objects in her stories. Hearing that the idea for the polished Sunday-best shoes in Across the Blue Pacific came from a pair of shoes she wore as a child made the subsequent reading of that story all the more rich and meaningful. 

I was happy that Louise emphasized that each book is a team effort, and using a baseball analogy, she explained that she is just one player when she steps up to the plate with her idea. Hearing about real world collaboration and teaming reinforces the work that we do with students and students do with each other each day. 

When Louise spoke about writing biographies and finding connections with her subjects, their hobbies, and their accomplishments.

When talking about writing biographies, she encouraged the students to listen to: ask wondering questions; become a detective; and look at the details. When she noticed the mark on the canoe that one for the Wright Brothers had used as a pontoon on his aircraft, she researched the maker of the canoe and visited the place where the shop existed in New York City.

Louise's research for the book on Margaret and H.A. Rey was extensive. The students were amazed that she traveled around the world gathering information on the Rey's. The fact that many of these documents had not been looked at in many years was astounding to them, as was her quest to find the chateau that the Rey's lived in while in France.  The students also loved that the Rey's traveled to the United States with a dummy of the first Curious George book, although it was not titled that at that time. 

There is really too much to share, so I will stop with this last piece of advice that Louise received from a teacher and that I think is so apt. I can't quote it exactly, but it was something about recognizing that she enjoyed research and wishing her a bon voyage!

How fitting for Louise and the work she has done. What a wonderful encouragement for all learners...a wish for good travels in our hearts and in our minds.

It was a great morning!

Moving and Shaking with Hour of Code

An Hour of Code with fifth graders looks and sounds much different than it did with the kindergarten students. The productive din and full body re-enactments of the movements the students wanted the objects on the screen to make were proof enough of the value of this activity, as well as examples of the students building and practicing spacial relations, math, and critical thinking.

It's HOUR OF CODE: Kindergarten Style

Have a look and listen at a kindergarten classroom engaged in an Hour of Code:

Reclaiming the library shelves

I spent about an hour trying to reclaim the library today. 

Circulating over 6,000 books from a collection of 11,000 and a student population of 468 results in messy shelves that look unappealing for browsing. 

When I had finished tidying, organizing, and straightening, I was feeling like we were starting to look pretty good again, so I took a few pictures, which led to creating an Animoto movie. I will definitely improve upon this movie tour of the library. I think there's relevance even this late in the year because we are always getting new students, and really, can't everyone use a refresher?

Happy Thursday!