Sixth Grade Teachers

Today, sixth graders at Trinity School embarked on an exciting adventure! In class, we opened the door (just a crack!) into the world of blogging. It was definitely an exciting day!

The goal of our first lesson was to build excitement about the world of blogging and to assess sixth graders’ initial understanding of this Web 2.0 tool. Through class discussion and an interactive powerpoint presentation, the sixth graders brainstormed the ways in which blogs can promote community, encourage reflective writing and critical thinking, and establish networks. They learned that blogging in a way to CONNECT. Throughout this in-depth unit, we will encourage students to think about reading and writing through a new lens.

As each slide on the powerpoint was displayed, we asked the students to think about how the image related to the subject of blogging. Their insights were extraordinary and quite thought-provoking:

The computer made students think about…connecting with others through the virtual world…the web is a tool to help communicate with others…developing friendships.

The computer made students think about…connecting with others through the virtual world…the web is a tool to help communicate with others…developing friendships.

The “thinking man” made students think about… blogging requires thinking (reading and writing)…the ways that internal thoughts can be shared with others…thoughts come out onto a blog and are shared with others.

The mirror made students think about… reflecting is an important part of blogging… when one writes on a blog sometimes people respond (reflecting)…bloggers can see similiarities with others…sometimes bloggers reflect on things other people are blogging about.

The hands and clapping sound made students think about… bloggers can have an audience who appreciates each individual post…. confidence grows through comments on a blog post…blogging can be a source of pride.

The seeds made students think about…ideas are like seeds – they grow into something bigger…bloggers can plant a seed in a community and it can grow into another seed for others… “don’t spill the beans” – don’t put something personal on a blog…bloggers can gain an audience (more and more people will read it) and blog popularity will grow.

The binoculars made students think about…searching and being selective about writing topics…blog is a public space…readers can see past the surface…it’s important to read between the lines…bloggers can look closely – small things can turn into big posts/ideas.

The symbols made students think about…bloggers can write about anything- a world of choices…bloggers must respect other people’s beliefs and ideas…blogs can be “melting pots”…bloggers can use passions and write about what they know…on blogs, one will find a wide variety of opinions, ideas, and thoughts.

The conversation bubbles made students think about…bloggers have to “think outside the box” and search for inspiration….bloggers can have face to face discussions about your blogs.

The boy, computer, and books made students think about…bloggers can write about academic topics (specific subject, book you’ve read)…sometimes blogs can be intimidating (wanting to read many different blogs).

The fire made students think about…bloggers may get comments from others that challenge you… blogging takes a lot of thought…there is a mature way to handle hot-button topics (ie: politics, disagreeing with teachers).

The people and the world made students think about…bloggers are connected with everyone in the world (bloggers can find people in other countries with same interests)…everything bloggers say is public: both in the Trinity community and around the world…bloggers can blog about anything.

Where Should I Live?

Advantages and Disadvantages

of Geographic Features

Last week, you and your classmates brainstormed a list of possible advantages and disadvantages of living near specific geographic features and climate zones. Your teachers were so impressed at the inferential thinking you did! Now, based on the thinking you did, you will select a feature, develop your understanding of it, and take a position: Do the advantages of living near this feature outweigh the disadvantages?

Use the following websites to help you with your research:

**Ecology and Society (an online journal): you can use this to search a variety of journal articles (http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/search.php)

VOLCANO:

http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/volcanoes/theadvantages.shtml

http://www.fema.gov/hazard/volcano/index.shtm

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/education/index.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01186/dangers.htm

SEA LEVEL:

http://geology.com/sea-level-rise/venice.shtml

http://carbon-based-ghg.blogspot.com/2008/02/sea-level-low-in-venice.html

http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends.shtml

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs2-00/

http://geology.com/articles/rebuilding-new-orleans.shtml

RIVER:

http://classgeo.blogspot.com/2008/08/advantages-of-living-near-river.html

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol10/iss2/art15/

PLATE BOUNDARY:

http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate4.htm

http://geology.com/plate-tectonics.shtml

http://www.geodyn.psu.edu/research/americas/sanandreas.html

http://oceansjsu.com/105d/exped_shakin/11.html

MOUNTAIN:

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/13438-american-geography-

the-mountain-states-volume-ii-video.htm

TROPICAL ZONE:

http://www.irrigationfutures.org.au/zones.asp?ID=6

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/tropics/tropics_intro.htm

http://www.pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/teacher_levels.html

HARBOR/BAY:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay

http://www.savesfbay.org/site/pp.asp?c=dgKLLSOwEnH&b=479739

ISLAND:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island

http://tinyurl.com/3vs8le

FOREST:

http://tinyurl.com/4dm5hc

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss1/art18/

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art2/

MOUNTAIN:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/PeoplePlaces/Sherpa

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol10/iss2/art14/

PLAIN:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_Plain

http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/TheJourney/Geography.htm

It’s been three days, and the sixth graders are in full swing at Trinity School. They are choosing school themes in values class, reflecting on their Scimatician summers, organizing their new lockers, making folders (both electronic ones and “regular” ones!), preparing binders, learning the importance of leading by example, and of course, exploring their new tablets!

The sixth grade teachers have been conducting a three-day Tablet Workshop where students rotated through different lessons in small groups, instructed by a variety of teachers. As I think about the past three days (as crazy and hectic as they were), I am certain that it was time well spent.

When asked to reflect, one student noted that on Tuesday, the word “nervous” came to mind. Nervousness about technology and tablets is normal and this student explained that much of the anxiety came from the fact that “I knew I didn’t know as much as the others did.” The same student provided a different word to describe Wednesday, the second day of using tablets. The word “enthusiastic” described the day because the student “was excited…and knew so much more about the tablet.” By “trying new things and going to new places,” the comfort level with the once foreign and intimidating piece of technology was growing. Finally, on the final day of the Tablet Workshop, the student chose to use the word “confidence.” Because of the thoughtful approach to the training, the student felt “proud and comfortable” and noted the desire to explore even more outside of school.

To grow from anxious to excited to proud in three days…wow.

In my trek across the country (Boston to Atlanta, Atlanta to LA) today and my flight across the Pacific (LA to Kahului) tonight, I will have plenty of time to process my experience at BLC this week. I feel encouraged by what we are beginning to do at Trinity with education and technology. Obviously, there’s so much more out there, but the sixth grade team of teachers and students jumped in last year with enthusiasm and courage. And, as a result, we have great stories of success.

 

In Ewan McIntosh’s Keynote, he asked us to think about three questions as the week progressed. I wanted to include them here, as I’ll try to address them in my mind and hopefully in writing over the course of the next couple of weeks.

 

1)      What simple tools make learning become remarkable?

2)      How can one create a shared awareness of learning goals?

3)      What changes could be made to get small, passionate groups creating themselves?

 

Overall, I am most excited about the connections I made this week. I already feel as though my network is expanding, and I am anxious to learn more about teaching and technology from people like John Davitt, Laura Deisley, Clarence Fisher, Darren Kuropatwa, Ewan McIntosh, Brian Mull, Bob Sprankle, and others.

 

I am challenged by so many of the things I learned as well. Alan November’s presentation (and book) on Webliteracy has inspired me to teach the grammar of the internet with the same gusto that I teach English grammar (and sentence diagramming!). Jessica Flannery’s KIVA presentation on Wednesday caused me to re-think the way I teach my students about community service. I see the implications of this new approach directly affecting the focus of my explorations class next year. My conversation with John Davitt at lunch (as well as his presentation) inspired me to think about how my students can live in both the digital world and the real world. How can their writer’s notebooks, art sketchpads, and blogs be combined to capture and reflect on the world as they see it? 

 

Although it’s tempting to broaden the scope of my thoughts to Trinity School and the total sixth grade experience, I know that I need to think about 2246 and my class of sixteen students. I want to make a measurable difference by changing and shifting, not by adding. To do this, I have a lot more thinking to do…

 

Luckily, I have many miles to travel before I sleep…

It’s sad to say that it’s been since the end of March since my last post. But, is it okay to say that I needed a break? At the end of school (I’ll include both the April and May whirlwind), my brain was dead. June was a glorious month of rest and relaxation, and summertime has been a great time to renew and reflect. It’s also provided some time to begin to think about next year. We have 46 tablets prepped and ready to go…it’s hard to believe that August will be here soon enough.

This blog post specifically serves as my warm up for the Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston next week, which will definitely stretch my thinking in amazing ways. I’m excited and ready to make connections, explore possibilites for next year, and strengthen best practices from last year.

And, as if I need another excuse for being a blogging slacker, I’m trying to keep my mohawk dog, Maisie, from destroying my house!