Caring for Others

I was reading through Kathy Cassidy's book and I read a section that really stuck with me.  Cassidy mentioned that when her class made online connections with other classes around the world, she found that her students began to genuinely care about those other students.  When her students learned that a class they had been connected with lived close to a volcano, the students cared about their safety.  In the past, I have read a book called Escaping the Giant Wave which is about how a boy and his sister are caught in the middle of a tsunami.  Usually during or after reading this book, the students begin to question how likely we are in Connecticut to experience a tsunami.  They are typically not worried about other parts of the world that are more likely to experience these events because there are no connections with people who live in those areas.
I began to think how different my students' reactions might be if there were more connections with people in areas that are more likely to experience a natural disaster.  Would they pay more attention to news around the world?  Would their questions throughout the story be different?  Having those connections, I would have to say that yes, they would be more interested in what is happening in other parts of the world and their questions would be different.
Having a blog or skyping with other classes in different states would be a great way for my students to expand their worldly knowledge.

Bridge to Terabithia

One book that I love to read to my class is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.  I have found that many students are able to relate to being a new student, like Leslie, and finding that one friend who can appreciate the person they are.  I have used this book as a "think aloud" when we complete our Following Characters into Meaning unit.  We practice growing theories about characters and analyzing how the characters change throughout the book.  In addition, we discuss topics such as bullying and loss.  I love to see how interested students become in the book and their reactions to what the characters think and how they act.  I showed this Animoto to my students and they are extremely excited to start reading Bridge to Terabithia as a class.

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Today's Learners

We have been writing realistic fiction stories and as I began my lesson today to include dialogue in our writing, I went directly to my computer to display my example on the smart board, instead of using the chart paper I already had set up for my lesson.  Without even thinking, I began to type and explain to the students the correct way to use dialogue in my sample story.  It didn't occur to me until later that using the computer was my preference to show the students something I wanted to teach them, as oppose to the chart paper and markers.  Even though I had the students decorate their writer's notebooks to help make the students want to write in them, I began to wonder how many of my students would prefer to use the computer to write their stories?  How much more (or less) would I get out of them if they had the chance to type instead of write?  Using the Writing Workshop model, the students have a chance to "publish" their writing, but would they try harder if they actually had an audience online who could see their "published" work?  I have been impressed so far with the writing stamina that my students have shown, but I know the answer to many of these questions are:  yes, they would prefer to use the computer to write their stories; and given the time, yes, they would give more in their stories.  I also believe that many of my students would feel more like authors if they were able to publish their work in a safe place online that people, other than me, could read and provide feedback.

I realize that the thought of sharing student work online could be scary (I myself experience a little discomfort when I think about it), but our students are digital learners and we as teachers need to learn how to teach to support them.  This YouTube video captures our learners of today.

Making Connections

As I started to read Kathy Cassidy's book Connected from the Start:  Global Learning in Primary Grades, I began to think about my students and all the technology they are growing up with now.  In many cases I have found that the students know so much about computers and sometimes more than me.  I start to question how much longer we are going to be using "traditional" methods of teaching (teacher up at the front of the classroom, students writing with pencil and paper, for example), when so many students are "connected" online.  Having a more digital classroom will not only reach the students on a level they are familiar with, but it will also motivate the students to complete their work more enthusiastically.  I am starting to think about setting up a class blog which the students would be able to write comments to each other and the feedback is immediate.  We could also get in contact with students from other states to have my class practice writing for an audience other than me.  Creating a classroom web page with blogs will also allow parents to check in on what the class is doing, allowing to be a part of the class.  Check out Ms. Cassidy's Class for some great ideas on classroom blogs!

Meet the Teachers

Even in my 4th year of teaching, one night that always gets my nerves going is "Meet the Teachers."  I know everything is going to work out (because it always does!), but it doesn't stop my stomach from churning just a little.   It's the first time that I will be seeing the parents, although luckily I have met several of the parents before.  However, this year seems just a bit more nerve wrecking since this is also my first year in a fourth grade classroom.  So a little more planning and reviewing what I am going to say in my head than years before and I will be ready!

Hoping for a good night!