Women's History Month: On Being Connected with Women You Have Something in Common With

My students love learning from Capstone's PebbleGo Encyclopedia. We use it in first grade for rotting log critter research, biography research, and ocean animals research. In second grade they use it for endangered animal research along with smaller projects. We have our own units mapped out along with the data gathering sheets created for these units.

Yet, sometimes a great new opportunity to get students exploring and learning arises. I was looking through ideas in the Capstone Community for Women's History Month. (If you are not a member of the Capstone Community, check it out here: My Capstone.) 

Turns out they had just what I needed! A quiz that my second graders could take and then get paired with the biography of a woman from history. Answer the following four questions and viola!

I got Bessie Coleman!

Who were my students connected with?

At the start of the second week of our project, the students shared who they were connected with and why they thought they were lead to that biography. Here are their responses:

We had a snow day, so I was not able to ask these two classes the same question, but look at the differences in all four of these classes. Wilma Rudolph hold strong among all four classes, but class three must see themselves as more athletic. Class four has some future teachers and scientists. Classes one and two above have some serious science interests as well.

Class three:
Wilma Rudolph - 12
Marie Curie - 8
Jane Goodall - 1
Bessie Coleman - 1
Frida Kahlo -1

Class four:
Wilma Rudolph -6
Mary McLeod Bethune - 5
Marie Curie - 4
Frida Kahlo - 3
Bessie Coleman - 1
Jane Goodall - 1

There are printable data collection sheets from Capstone, 

but I had another idea and in mind and made one of my own. I wanted for them to choose a woman to read about on their own and to see how having a connection to a person makes it more interesting. Having them state why they chose the person they did helped get them thinking about this connection.

I reminded the students how to use the breadcrumb trail across the top to navigate back to read more articles about women.

Who did my students choose to read about?

Due to the snow day, I was only able to get to this part of the lesson with two of the classes. It was really interesting to see how the students chose their second biography. In one class, a child who had been matched by the quiz with Amelia Earhart talked all about her, which led two students to seek her out when they had a chance. 

First Grade Biographers

The first graders have finished the biography unit we began back on January 7th! It's amazing how snow days and a forgotten early release day can really throw a project off course!

The students began the project by exploring the biographies in PebbleGo. They had to choose a person to study by the end of the period. 

The next two visits to the library had the students reading and listening to the biographies and taking notes and creating a draft of a picture about their person. 

Now, unexpectedly pause here for two weeks.

With faith in my students and a healthy capacity for constructive chaos, this next visit involved a quick refresher of Kid Pix.

The students created a picture about their person (always MUCH better than mine). Understandably, some of the students needed a refresher on the person they had chosen as well as help decoding notes. Two weeks is a long time when you are in first grade, but these amazing first graders created their pictures, named them with the naming conventions, and saved them to the desktops.  

Here are some example of what they created:

Okay, now take another week off for vacation. 

Here we have arrived at yesterday and my optimistic idea that I can get all the students' comments recorded in one forty-five minute class. I knew that some students needed a few minutes to finish their art, so it was going to be a bit tight. The lesson began with me showing them how to record their voices in Kid Pix. This involved me modeling: recording and then listening to and rerecording my comments; saving my comment; dragging it onto the image; and saving the image. 

Off the students went.  Here's where my heart grows big with pride and excitement. What began with many little hands in the air looking for help turned into a quiet buzz of activity and students helping each other. The first few to record and save their pictures went on to then help their classmates. 

How can projects like these be managed with just one teacher and the occasional (and helpful) aide? Put the students in leadership roles. 

I think the students would have had longer comments on their slides had we not had the breaks in learning, but maybe not, if you listen they really got to the essence of their person. Here are some of their projects.

The students are excited to share what they have learned and created with each other. I am excited too! 

First graders choose their own learning adventure in the PebbleGo Encyclopedia

The first graders had the opportunity to explore the PebbleGo Encyclopedia. I reviewed how to access PebbleGo from my webpage and then how to navigate through the articles - using the "breadcrumb trail" at the top is VERY important. This took about five minutes. The remainder of the library time was spent reading and listening to articles. You have to watch this movie and listen to the students excitedly sharing their new knowledge.  One student came over to impart her new knowledge: "Dolphins live all over the world and the salt water keeps their skin soft." I love these information gatherers!

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.

Slice of Life: A Surprising Discovery

The first graders have been learning about our biography neighborhood - where it is, how to identify the books, and how they are organized. Just as important, I hope they will understand that biographies are not just about famous people or celebrities. I encourage the students to use this definition when they think about biographies in our library. 

It's March, so I've been using this opportunity to book talk and read books about women. Yesterday, the students explored the biographies in the PebbleGo encyclopedia. I gave the students a quick access and navigation refresher and then told them the only parameter was the first biography they read had to be about a woman. 

I walked around the library taking a quick tally of the subjects of the biographies.  Not surprisingly, Jane Goodall topped the list with 19 readers, Wilma Rudolph came in a close second with 14 readers, after these  two women, the remainder of students read biographies on a wide range of women: Helen Keller, Michelle Obama, Rachel Carson, Pocahontas, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Clara Barton, Mother Theresa, Sacajawea, Mae Jemison, and Sally Ride. 

At one point I looked down and couldn't believe what I saw. 

“Mary Kay Ash.” PebbleGo. www.pebblego.com. March 25, 2014.

I did not know who Mary Kay Ash was until I read the article. Of course, if someone had said only Mary Kay, it would have rung a bell, but I never knew her last name and my mindset was not thinking about her.  I went back to see how the student had found this article.  It was under this heading:

Interesting that the two women with biographies under the "Inventors and Business Leaders" section both established women's cosmetics/beauty companies. I hope that there will be more biographies about women business leaders in the future.

This part of the lesson went as expected. I was surprised by what happened next - many students stayed within the parameters and continued reading biographies about women even though they had free reign. This small, but important choice made me happy.  I'd like to think that the more women are viewed as people who make a difference the better chance we have of making a difference.