by Krissy.Venosdale | Sep 30, 2012 | Reflect
Sometimes on Sundays, when I’m getting ready for the week ahead, I just sort of gulp when I realize everything facing me for the week. Family errands. Doctor appointments. A paper to write. Committee meetings. Research to read. Robotics Club. Grant projects. Parents to call. Projects to get started or finish up. Lessons to finish writing. So much to do. I tend to lump the week together into one big jumble of things in mind to ‘get through.’
In the process, I’m missing out.
I forget that each and every day in our classroom is part of something bigger. That gets buried in ‘stuff to do.’ These days? They are part of the entire learning experience a student will have in their year spent with us. One day? It counts. These moments? They matter. The errands? They’ll get done. The kids? I need to stop. I need to have those conversations that matter. Listen to the things that are important to them. Create lessons that involve the kids in the experience, that are guided by their learning. I need to close the door. Learn with them. Stop watching the clock and thinking about the things I need to do. The day of learning? It isn’t something to “get finished.” It’s something so much more. It’s something we need to focus on. Something we need to make ridiculously amazing.
And that? It’s been moved to the top of my to-do list.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Sep 29, 2012 | Reflect
Yesterday my students were creating original myths. They were sketching, concept mapping, outlining their stories, and beginning some rough drafts. Some are creating scrolls, some are designing books in PowerPoint, some are even going to turn them into digital recordings with sound effects. Simple choices. Their ideas. I said “Let’s write…” They scattered. Some laid on the floor under a table. Some grabbed a clipboard and moved to the carpet. Some sat in a chair with a foot propped on another chair. I looked around. That? It’s engagement. The choices. The open seating. The idea that they were creating something. The excitement in Greek mythology. Their ideas. They were motivated. They were being creative. They were engaged. Not because I told them to “get to work.” But, because they wanted to write.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Sep 27, 2012 | Reflect
My students? They know what I’m crazy about. The collection of space stuff on my shelf, the Blue Flight Suit I will occasionally put on, my insanity over our rocket launches, the ironic space t-shirts I wear on Fridays? I don’t hide it. I do love space. They know it. Do I share it with them so that they will all love space and decide to become astronauts? Nope. Not every kid is going to love the same things I love. I share it with them so that maybe if they know how much I love space, they will find their own ‘space’ in this world. Life is about so much more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. No matter your own passions. Whether it’s running marathons, hiking in the mountains, zoology, cooking, or drawing comics. Share it. Whether it fits in your curriculum or not. Inspire them. Life is about finding what you love, doing what you love, and learning what your ‘space’ is.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Sep 26, 2012 | Reflect
Yesterday was one of THOSE days. The kind where you are like, “Wow, this teaching thing? I kinda just totally love it.” You know, where engagement is at an all time high, kids are collaborating, and learning? It’s in the air.
One of our rovers… on MARS!
They were building model Mars rovers. I know, many would say, “But THAT is not in the curriculum. Building a Mars Rover is not EVEN a Common Core State Standard.” But in that one little activity came so much learning. So much thought, connecting, and real authentic experiences with the curriculum along the way.
We’ve been studying Mars and have already learned a little about how the rover got to Mars. Students used diagrams and photographs of Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity and worked in small teams to compare and contrast these rovers. We also tried driving the rovers. What parts were there? What was each rover’s job? What did we know about the surface of Mars and how would that effect the rover? Their answers were full connections. Their questions? They were like little shovels digging deeper.
Next, students priced each item for their rover so that they could analyze the cost and determine where most of their budget was spent. Cost comparisons among various designs were held as I asked questions and students compared with each other. Students figured their own budgets by multiplying and adding to reach their grand total. Our most expensive rover was $2,465. A tiny bit cheaper than NASA’s. 🙂
While working on their plans, students completed diagrams of their rover designs, complete with labels, and presented their idea to their own “Board of Scientists” in the classroom. It was our first try at classroom presentations, so our focus was on speaking with a loud clear voice and being a great audience.
As a group, we held a discussion on what type of graph would be best to display the budget. Kids took turns justifying what type of graph would work best, but ulitmately, the decision was made by each student to use a pie chart. The pie charts were created using Create-A-Graph.com. Since it’s early in the year, we also learned how to save a PDF to the classroom server. That will come in handy. A couple of students served as “PDF experts” and taught the rest of the class how to save.
At the computers, each student shared their pie chart with a partner and explained what it meant. I roamed and overhead great discussions about the size of the ‘pieces’ and how that meant it was a ‘big part of the budget.’
Finally, we brainstormed questions we had for the scientists who worked on the Mars Rover Curiosity. Then, at the close of our day, we did a Google Hangout (webcast chat) with one of those scientists. Dr. Sengupta described her job to us, answered student questions, and inspired each student to reach for the stars. She talked with us about the descent process, the parachute, the collaboration involved in building. The kids recognized her from 7 Minutes of Terror and were so thrilled.
The Mars Rover may not be a Common Core Standard, but everything we did with it? It is. It was real thinking. Digging deeper. Questioning. Making connections. Collaborating. Not answering questions about a fake graph from a workbook or writing a pretend interview about a scientist. It was real. Afterall, isn’t that what learning is?
by Krissy.Venosdale | Sep 25, 2012 | Reflect
NOTE: The Project has been moved to it’s own blog at http://www.greatdaytolearn.com/kidvote.
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Our Mock Election planning is underway. Check out hashtag, #kidvote, if you’re on Twitter to collaborate and share activities your class is doing to get ready for Election Day!
If you’ve shared your email on our GoogleDoc, I will be sharing the following information with you on Sunday, October 8, 2012:
1.) The link: On Election Day, our class will be updating the votes constantly to show totals as they come in. The hope is to have ALL 50 states, so that students can calculate the electoral votes and simulate the effects that “just one vote” can have on a Presidential election. We’re building a blog to keep the whole project organized and will share the link with all participants so we can anticipate the big day!
2.) Voter registration cards: We’re creating some voter registration cards and will share by email. You are welcomed to use these, or your own, in your school. It’s fun to have kids create them for your school, as it helps them in understanding what goes on a card, what the purpose it, and simulate the “real” feel of the election.
3.) Ideas: We’re going to share our election day plan with you and you are welcome to use any of the ideas or come up with your own. It’s an online, collaborative project, of all ages, so it’s flexible. Run the election how you want, in your school, and what works for you. Just be sure that each kid only votes once. 🙂 (That’s what my students have requested!)
DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: October 10, 2012. This will ensure my students have time to prepare everything they need to track the data, and more importantly, get it shared on Election Day!
Thank you all for taking this event to the next level for our students. A mock election is fun, but a mock election shared with the whole country? THAT’s what 21st century learning is all about: collaboration and authentic experiences!
Here are the states we still need…. if you’d like to sign up, please do, on our Google Doc!
(Check out our map to see who all has joined!)
Montana
Arkansas
Washington, DC
-NOTE: List Updated, October 6, at 4:50 Central Time. 🙂
