This year's program is set to begin Thursday, July 24 at 9am! We will be meeting in the media center of County Line Elementary school. We will be using this blog site to communicate outside of the classroom, maintain access to information, and keep a record of learning experiences throughout the week.
Agenda/Schedule
9-12pm Summer Language Partnership w/ Students 12 - 12:15 Break and "housekeeping" 12 - 1pm Working lunch and group reflection post group reflection to the blog 1 - 2pm Daily professional reading discussion/activity 2 -3 pm Planning and Preparation for tomorrow
Don't forget to post your personal daily reflection to the blog!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Reflections July 29
What things have surprised you so far? What "funds of knowledge" have you learned your students may be bringing with them? How may our learning this week transfer/transform our regular classroom practice?
As discussed with my group, I was pleasantly surprised at how motivated and focused these great bunch of students are. They are having a great time exploring their chosen topic. I was not surprised that many are struggling to produce an end product as evidence of learning.
I think these students are coming to us with a variety of 'funds'. The most prominent of these is their status as immigrants in most cases. One of my students in particular was eager to tell me that she had originally come from Guadalajara, even though she is generally shy and apprehensive to speak to me -- mostly because of her limited English. Her experience, however, could be integrated into many classroom discussions.. And that's just one example.
I think the majority of what we are learning this week can be used in the classroom with enough practice and once the students are acclimated to the open-ended nature of invitations. It would take some thought and imagination to integrate standards into the invitation process; but I personally value the critical thinking involved in this process just as much as the individual standards we are charged with covering. But I think we can do both simultaneously with enough effort.
Today went well, even though we did not finish half of what we planned. I was very suprised that the majority of our students only chose one invitation. My partner and I chose to give the students choice: they could either work on animals or food. Nearly all of the students wanted to work with the topic food. We then quickly regrouped and changed our lessons for the day as well as for the week. I look forward to more suprises that will come tomorrow.
The students are really getting into the topic of pets and are engaged throughout. TheThe y were a little hesitant at first in offering questions or issues to explore, but after seeing some questions I had come up with, they quickly came up with their own. They used computer time to find answers to their questions on the internet. I have been pleasantly surprized by their continued engagement with the subject. Since all of the students have had a pet at one time or other, they all bring certain "funds of knowledge" with them on the topic and can contribute based on the particular pet they have dealt with and on pets in general. I believe there is certainly a place for this type of learning in our regular classrooms, although with the number and specificity of standards to meet, its use must be selective and somewhat more restricted than I would like. I think we see how powerful of a learning tool this can be. Another example of standards-based learning restricting and ultimately impeding real learning.
Denise and I wondered yesterday how many All About Me bags would realistically come back today, and we were very pleasantly surprised by how many children returned them. More than a majority did! I think it was because we had the note translated into Spanish, and when the parents knew what was expected, they came through. Thanks Sandra for translating it for us! I think it really made a difference and really gave the kids a chance to share about themselves, their likes, and their families. This activity tapped into their funds of knowledge some and allowed us to get to know our little ones better and made them feel more comfortable. They were all smiles when sharing their All About Me bags. I think this would be a very worthwhile activity to use in the classroom at the beginning of the school year. Our kids also enjoyed the free choice invitations from today. Their teachers did too!
I think that we had a great day in our group. The All About Me bags were a big hit! The students really enjoyed talking about their items from home. They shared a little of their "funds of knowledge" with us as they discussed their families. We added a few more invitations for the topics we are discussing and the students seemed to really like choosing their own activity.
I am excited to see how the "invitations" concept is being adapted and applied at the different grade levels and for the different groups. I think this has been a learning experience for all us to see what this could look like across grade levels and the potential for student choice!
7 comments:
As discussed with my group, I was pleasantly surprised at how motivated and focused these great bunch of students are. They are having a great time exploring their chosen topic. I was not surprised that many are struggling to produce an end product as evidence of learning.
I think these students are coming to us with a variety of 'funds'. The most prominent of these is their status as immigrants in most cases. One of my students in particular was eager to tell me that she had originally come from Guadalajara, even though she is generally shy and apprehensive to speak to me -- mostly because of her limited English. Her experience, however, could be integrated into many classroom discussions.. And that's just one example.
I think the majority of what we are learning this week can be used in the classroom with enough practice and once the students are acclimated to the open-ended nature of invitations. It would take some thought and imagination to integrate standards into the invitation process; but I personally value the critical thinking involved in this process just as much as the individual standards we are charged with covering. But I think we can do both simultaneously with enough effort.
Today went well, even though we did not finish half of what we planned. I was very suprised that the majority of our students only chose one invitation. My partner and I chose to give the students choice: they could either work on animals or food. Nearly all of the students wanted to work with the topic food. We then quickly regrouped and changed our lessons for the day as well as for the week. I look forward to more suprises that will come tomorrow.
The students are really getting into the topic of pets and are engaged throughout. TheThe y were a little hesitant at first in offering questions or issues to explore, but after seeing some questions I had come up with, they quickly came up with their own. They used computer time to find answers to their questions on the internet. I have been pleasantly surprized by their continued engagement with the subject. Since all of the students have had a pet at one time or other, they all bring certain "funds of knowledge" with them on the topic and can contribute based on the particular pet they have dealt with and on pets in general. I believe there is certainly a place for this type of learning in our regular classrooms, although with the number and specificity of standards to meet, its use must be selective and somewhat more restricted than I would like. I think we see how powerful of a learning tool this can be. Another example of standards-based learning restricting and ultimately impeding real learning.
Denise and I wondered yesterday how many All About Me bags would realistically come back today, and we were very pleasantly surprised by how many children returned them. More than a majority did! I think it was because we had the note translated into Spanish, and when the parents knew what was expected, they came through. Thanks Sandra for translating it for us! I think it really made a difference and really gave the kids a chance to share about themselves, their likes, and their families. This activity tapped into their funds of knowledge some and allowed us to get to know our little ones better and made them feel more comfortable. They were all smiles when sharing their All About Me bags. I think this would be a very worthwhile activity to use in the classroom at the beginning of the school year. Our kids also enjoyed the free choice invitations from today. Their teachers did too!
I think that we had a great day in our group. The All About Me bags were a big hit! The students really enjoyed talking about their items from home. They shared a little of their "funds of knowledge" with us as they discussed their families. We added a few more invitations for the topics we are discussing and the students seemed to really like choosing their own activity.
I am excited to see how the "invitations" concept is being adapted and applied at the different grade levels and for the different groups. I think this has been a learning experience for all us to see what this could look like across grade levels and the potential for student choice!
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