Mrs. Smith's Learning Playground

On second thought ...

2010-03-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all who responded to my last post with ideas that we should have thought about before launching into the Ladder of Prjudice Lessons ...

We took it all to heart (<3) and are excited for two things:

1. The station work that they kids did this past week show that they really do understand how the ladder works (that as speech becomes acceptable it is easier to avoid groups of people, and so on) - they also have some pretty unique and original ideas about how to break down the ladder!

Once again, I am in awe at the amount of learning I glean from the students and fervently hope that they learn at least half as much from me!

2. Their videos. This week, the kids will be creating videos with the aim of teaching others about creating a positive chain reaction - stopping the prejudice and hurt - and caring about others in the world, no matter how similar or different they are!

I'll post back here this week with some stduent samples, hopefully .... their plans reflect the reality of the world they live in, and their hopes for changing it!

Shattering the Ladder

2010-03-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Just glancing at my last post, I crowed about the perseverance of my students and yet, this morning, I was wondering what happened.

In ELA class.

Just like that - just as the kids pass one another during those three long, luxurious minutes. What happened in ELA class? What do we do?

Nothing. Just nothing.

OK, time for reflection. What did we do? WE, that is my co-teacher and I, planned this fantastic (or so we thought) lesson around shattering the ladder of prejudice. Great idea! We have been studying the Holocaust in Social Studies, read Daniel's Story by Carol Matas, were even asked the famous question, "So why do we have to learn about this sad stuff?"

We.were.ready.

or so we thought ....

The question seemed easy enough. What should you do when you hear someone or a group of people using speech (the first rung) against their fellow man?

Eyes to the floor - without stopping.

Of course, kindergarteners can answer this question, so 8th graders ought to be able to as well? Right?

The difference is that kindergarteners don't feel peer pressure.

Eighth graders, do.

And we hadn't thought about that.

In reflecting on my experience from this morning, I realize that though we may wish to shatter the ladder of prejudice, it is no easy undertaking. The enormity of the small difference one person can make struck me in the gut as I considered that some very outgoing young people suddenly became so very quiet as I asked them to think about their experiences walking through the hallway, listening to the exchanges between their peers, feeling that teenage angst as they heard words that should never be directed at another human being. Maybe used in jest, but hurtful none the less.

What to do now?

Continue to encourage students to speak out in the small ways that they can, supporting each and every effort. This morning we also asked the stduent to write poetry, create a page of a children's book, write a diary entry from a different point of view and create a visual display .... all aimed at breaking down barriers we as humans create between ourselves.

Be a model myself... no, a role model. Conscientiously use words like please and thank you. Stop in the hallway to pick up books or papers that have fallen. Reach out to others and help before they ask for it. Stick up for those with not enough voice. Recognize and praise all efforts....

Any other ideas?

Perseverance

2010-03-08T05:11:00.000-08:00

Absolutely lovin' life right now! I have a fantastic group of students who are beginning to really think of themselves as readers and writers! Right now, a small group of them have embarked on a journey that they have challenged themselves to write a drama set in the Roaring Twenties. It is interesting to watch them as they work and grow as writers! Each small group has introduced their own ideas and interests into their work and have begun to explore more deeply. They are researching and reading and writing - and they love it!

The whole group will embark on a new journey in patnership with some researchers from Buffalo State College as well! Come back and visit our blog soon to see what we are doing with this new project!

Blow Me Away!

2010-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have to say that in fifteen years of teaching, I have never been so blown away by a group of students! We have been reading excerpts from Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse as a supplement to our Social Studies unit on the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. Throughout this reading, we have been examining her use of specific adjectives, adverbs and verbs as well as figurative language.

Wondering what kind of project to do with the kids to follow up, I brainstormed a few ideas, none of which hit me, spent tons of time searching the internet to be inspired and, unfortunately, came up with nothing that grabbed me .... which concerned me that, of course, it wouldn't grab the kids' attention, either.

Fir the first time in my life (and probably their's), I asked the kids ....

"So, what kind of project do you think we should put together to go along with this?"

Immediately, the air around us was filled with ideas and the one we settled on:

Writing a Drama! They want to research, write and produce their own drama!

I sat back listening to their discussions about what they could do ... and I realized the awesomeness of the activity fluttering before my very eyes and ears!

How much more authentic and engaging can learning be when kids are given the opportunity to develop their own ideas? WoW!

I.
Am.
Speechless!

Post-It Poetry

2010-01-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

The kids had a great time playing around with words (and Post-Its that stick!). They were asked to reflect upon perseverance, what it feels like, sounds like, looks like, times when they have used perseverance and times when they have not ....

What resulted is a lot of really great "stuff", ideas that became moshed together to form group poetry. It took some doing, but working collaboratively they created something to be proud of!

Enjoy our poetry ... the journey we have begun will take us to examine the perseverance of scientists as they discover and work with DNA and the time period of the "Roaring Twenties". We will also use perseverance as we continue writing response paragraphs for the novel we are reading and solving inequalities and graphing them in math!

Whew! That's a lot of work to be done!

Post-It Poetry: Pink Group

2010-01-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Perseverance is never giving up.
A race car driver is trying something new like
sky diving
boxing
NHL
running
writing
ballet
Perseverance is thrilling, aggravating, anxious, surprising, frustrating
Perseverance is scholarship
Feeling proud

Post-It Poetry - Blue Guy Group

2010-01-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Courage and Perseverance R like trying to
Endure a tornado. It gives you self
confidence and makes you brave.
Perseverance is braver, stronger, tougher
Perseverance is to try something new inportant 2 U.

Post-It Poetry - The Yellow Girl Group!

2010-01-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

Perseverance

never give up

no matter what,

Don't back down

you feel accomplished

you feel emotional, love

Don't be nervous, stay powerful

you have courage

:-)

Perseverance

2010-01-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of the school year, the students and I have been examining the world through new "lenses". They are finding that they are having a lot of fun (and , by the way, learning as well!) as we continue our journey together. I must credit my enthusiasm and pedagogical approach to my summer fellowship experience with the Western New York Young Writer's Studio! Please click on the link and check out the vision Angela has for growing writers in the Western New York area! Each of the traits below are traits that writers and readers display as they create their craft .... this inspiration comes from our work with Communities for Learning.

We began the year examining COURAGE: talking about what courage is, how people can show it, and then looking into our Social Studies curriculum to find examples of courage. At the time, we were studying the Native Americans and westward expansion ... just the playground to find plenty of examples of courage under difficult conditions. Students discussed these examples with one another and wrote collaborative poetry that expressed their admiration for the courage the Native Americans showed as the US government denied them basic human rights.

The next trait we played with was UNDERSTANDING, but more specifically how authors help their readers to understand their topic and genre. See the December archive for the questions we surveyed others about using SurveyMonkey. We were all excited to know that responses came annonymously from around the world! After reading other's opinions, the kids developed their own thesis statement about helping those who live in poverty. Astounded describes how I felt when I realized the diversity of their thinking! PLease read their comments - I am sure they will renew your faith in the youth we work with everyday!

Our next venture is PERSEVERANCE! Ask my students about perseverance and their experiences editting their collaborative novel extension to Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass and they will tell you that they have already learned about this trait! Every time they thought they were done, more "stuff" was found to be edited, revised, changed, re-worded, etc .....

The tools available to us on the web have truly enhanced our learning experiences! Please return to visit us often and see what crazy and unusual projects we have concocted in the name of "learning" (well, and a lot of fun, to boot!)!

Are you responsible for your fellow human beings?

2009-12-15T07:00:00.001-08:00

We have recently read selected text from The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. In this excerpt, the people of Ember have recently arrived and the people of Sparks have become concerned. The big question they are trying to answer is whether they should allow the people to stay or force them to leave.

If the people of Ember stay, then there is a serious chance the there would not be enough basic supplies for everyone to survive.

If the people of Sparks do not take care of and educate the people of Ember, they will not survive on their own.

What should the people of Sparks do? This was the basis of our discussion, but we also discussed what happens in the real world.

Students thought about, surveyed others, and discussed the following questions:

What exactly do you need to survive?

What do you consider wants? Luxuries?

Exactly who do you consider to be part of your community?

How far should we extend help to those who are less fortunate than ourselves? our community?state? nation? the globe?