Chrome Sweet Chrome...

The chrome books have finally arrived and we are looking for unique ways to use them in our classrooms. Google classroom allowed me to share videos, articles, and critical thinking questions to my students.

My students logged into their Science classroom on their chrome books and worked in their guided reading groups to answer critical thinking questions in a Google doc. On Monday, the groups will present their findings to another third grade classroom while also presenting a kahoot quiz. 

My students read about and listened to both sides of the argument of whaling for scientific research. Some students began to see a possible reason for whaling and shared with the class that the limits need to be carefully thought about because over population might cause issues with other animals such as seal pups.

Excuse Me While I Charge My Chrome Book...

Dealing with the somewhat expected, unexpected happenings in a classroom with new technology :)

     It has been less than two weeks since our district distributed chrome books to students in the third and fourth grades in our elementary school. Students have been excitedly anticipating getting their mini computers since before they started school in September. All year long we have been answering questions and listening to their thoughtful wonderings about the technology that would soon be heading their way. Finally, they have arrived.

    While these little technological additions to my classroom have created excitement and engagement, they also have created learning...it is just that the learning is a little different than I thought it would be. So far, I have learned a few things from teaching with technology.

Be patient, it will pay off in the end (I hope!)

   I am learning, and my students are also learning; having patience through this process is a must. In the first week I encountered problems such as students not having their chrome books with them, or they had them but they were not charged, there were issues logging in, issues getting onto the websites, problems typing in the proper address, and even the problem of accidentally blocking trusted sites. I am not kidding you when I say that the period felt like it just got started and we barely got into our work! I have to remind myself that there is a learning curve and we will all improve. I will improve by understanding the pitfalls and heading them off before they happen, and students will get better at navigating the issues on their own, or with each others help.

For now, less is more...be strategically hopeful

    There are so many cool things to do with computers from games, to online polls, to blogs, to reading programs, to whatever you can pretty much dream up and the online barracuda doesn't choose to block! So....you want to try all of it, right? Nope, wrong. I am thinking of my time on the chrome books as an investment. Then the next question I ask myself is which activities are worth the squeeze? Which ones are going to give me the return on instruction that I am looking for, and are therefore worth the upfront investment in time to teaching my students how to use the program and get acclimated to it. As of this point, I have been focusing on using the technology for an online reading program called Raz-Kids. The jury is still out if I will get the return on investment yet, but I am (strategically) hopeful.

Be prepared for the unanswerable question...have a backup plan

   I am really enjoying teaching with the chrome books, but inevitably there is always the student who forgets his book, or the student who does not have a charger and the computer is hopelessly dead without power, or the elusive problem that I am not technologically savvy enough to handle on my own (oh why, oh why do I need a network administrator password to make changes!). Whatever the issue may be, I now make a point to remember to have a back up plan such as some handouts that students can work on the old fashioned way, or an actual real book that a child can hold and read. Having a backup plan is a must, and make sure you have copies for everyone in case the technology turns out to be a complete flop!

It is just me and my technology (WRONG!)

       My relationship with technology was always my own, just me and my computer. Now my relationship extends itself past myself to my students as well. I don't want to be the lid on technology, so I have to learn too. When taking time to figure things out, I still get the occasional "If my dad was here, he would have figured this out already." LOL. I think it is OK, because I am embracing it, learning from it, and allowing it to expand in my classroom. It is not rocket science, I get it, but it is a learning experience for me, as well as my students.

     

A Learning Heart

Last year I graduated with my Masters Degree and embarked on a special journey to Europe with my cousin Heather. After traveling together for over a month I learned more about myself and the world than I had throughout all my years of formal education. 

I learned that many traditions I keep are part of my Swedish heritage. I traveled to Gotland, Sweden and met my Cousins on my mother's side for the first time. I learned so much about my family history and that being strong and a little bit stubborn was a family trait that ran deep. The traditional food we ate was less unfamiliar than I originally thought it would be. I took for granted that the pickled herring my mother would make us growing up, the cream of everything, and the Swedish style cakes were just what our family liked, not realizing these were recipes and lessons passed down from generation to generation. Meeting my Swedish relatives helped me to understand better who I am, reconnect to my mother who passed away in 2005, and helped make the world seem a little smaller. 

After leaving Sweden, my cousin and I traveled on to Germany and many different cities in Spain. We learned how to find our way around without understanding the language fully. We learned how to listen to one another and not let one or the other take over, we talked things out. For example, when we were confused about where we were and how to get somewhere and one person though we knew better we would talk and explain why. We also had moments where we just took a chance and tried each other's way with trust and faith that we would figure it out if it did not work. Our partnership took on a natural flow and neither one of us over powered the other. If one of us made a mistake, there was never any I told you so talk. We just would try again.

We did things that were hard together, like lugging heavy suitcases up staircase after staircase. We did scary things together like walking over a high bridge when I am terrified of heights. We figured ways to save and not to spend so much money. Once we found a bus ride to the airport that was only 5 euros. We found ways to be kind to strangers. We once gave our unused bus tickets away to a stranger. We even had to act like an airplane once to find the bus to the airport. 

It was a beautiful adventure, I learned so much, and there truly is no price tag I could place on that experience. It is a piece of me now and I am grateful for it, especially because I get to bring it to my teaching every day. 

Testing Our (PARCC) Anxiety

 

 

It is 4:05pm on Thursday and I am sitting in my classroom looking at the empty desks in my room. Just moments ago my room was full of life; my students were packing up, chatting with each other, laughing over funny things that happened during the day, a few students were having a disagreement, some were sitting quietly at their desks reading their books, and others were anxiously helping me with different jobs around the classroom. These moments are the most hectic and the most chaotic; my students have contained themselves all day long for learning, for work, for cooperation, for rule following, for thinking, for creating, for problem solving, for dealing with whatever I decide to put in front of them. They deserve this small amount of time for themselves, and it gives me a chance to observe how they interact with each other without the structure. I listen to their conversations even though they don't realize I am listening, I watch how they treat each other when they think it doesn't count anymore, and learn about the things that interest them and excite them. When they all finally leave and the last bus is called it is like a whirlwind; suddenly the class is silent, the desks are still, and their little smiles, laughs, and quirks are just a memory left in my heart and on my mind.

 

When I am left with that silence it feels like relief followed by immediately missing them. But the quiet gives me moments to reflect and to think about the conversations we had during the day. I think about all the things that went well and the things that did not go so well (and how I can make them better). I have to pause and think about each student and something new that I learned about them. They are each their own individuals with their very own ways of being.  

As I reflect on them as individuals and think about how each of them has grown so much in the year I smile knowing that they have grown, they have stretched themselves. These thoughts, however, are quickly followed by how it will all matter in the end when these same students sit down to take the PARCC assessment in March.

Recent articles posted on nj.com tout how this test, unlike the NJASK will be able to quantify just how far ahead or behind little Johnny is and what skills he needs to work on. Or how little Sally's scores compare to the district or the state average. These quantifiable items reported in color direct to parents is supposedly an improvement from previous data. Now even teachers will be able to see exactly what needs to be taught. 

I don't think of my students as a number or a piece of data. I look at little Johnny and see a very smart boy who at an early age is analyzing all of his thoughts for logic and I can see where that slows him down in writing. Or bright Sally who uses the formula to write because she wants to do a perfect job and if I can encourage her to loosen up her creativity will flow, hopefully. Or Lee who is smart but struggles with confidence and gives up too soon so I help to build up his self esteem. These are the children I work with each day, so eager to learn and to work hard. How will they feel when all of their work turns into a scorecard from a computerized test? 

I understand the need for more accountability, I guess I just want that accountability to go back to focusing on the students... as creative individuals rather than computerized test takers.

For the article about the Parcc Assessment:

What the parcc results look like...

Snow Day Fun!

     I am looking out my window on this Sunday morning and thinking about the impending snow, sleet, and complications the weather is going to cause for the morning commute and for my 3rd graders (who most likely will have another snow day). 

     Last week my students had Monday and Tuesday off from school due to the snow. During our Wednesday morning meeting we got caught up and students shared all their stories about what they did during their snow days. After we shared and all got reconnected, I had students go back to their desks and write all about the adventures they had on their snow days! 

      My students wrote about getting pummeled with snow by their brothers, and they used amazing sound words like BAM! and KABOOM! They added text properties to their writing by making words like "Frozen" look like icicles. They added details and used "show not tell" by writing about their faces having big goofy grins as they slurped down the warm hot chocolate as fast as they could. 

     There were stories of forts and snowball fights, stories of sisters locking each other out of the house and laughing uncontrollably, stories of moms and dads helping children build snowmen, and taking them sledding and snowboarding, and so much more.    

     While my students were so engaged in their writing, I reminded them of the elements of writing a paragraph. We discussed who would be the audience of their writing and what they wanted their readers to think and feel while reading their piece of writing. We talked about the different styles of writing and mentor texts that helped us to see how adding details helps excite the reader and gives them so much more to visualize while reading. 

     My students were excited about writing and took their own form of compositional risk by trying something new with their piece. In the end, our snow days were not a complete loss, and in fact they were the impetus for some truly creative writing!