I hope that everyone has had a fun, peaceful, revitalizing break. I caught up on some much needed sleep, got to have fun with friends and family, and read quite a bit.
It's time to get back to the grind. The school year is similar to a professional basketball season. We both start in the fall (September/November) and end in the spring (May/June) We play 5 games a week while the average pro team plays 3 a week. We're at our half way point (or very close at least) and there's a lot more to accomplish, improve upon, discover, and learn.
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| Is that Coach Thibodeau and the Bulls or Mr. Vaid and the students? |
I titled this blog post "discovery learning". I talked to the chief (Mr. LeCrone) and we had an enlightening conversation about giving students more opportunities to at least begin their learning through a process of discovery. This doesn't mean we leave them to their own devices. It means that when we
begin studying a concept (magnetic fields), content (the American Revolution), skill (writing ratios), or strategy (re-reading to understand) we give the students more time to discuss what they already know, more time to experiment with methods, more time to talk to each other about how they would solve a problem, more time for the kids to experiment with multiple options,
and demonstrate their understanding in varied and multiple ways. It also means that I step in and model possible or correct methods afterwards, and assess for learning. I think we've come close to practicing this in writing and definitely in science (during our weather unit especially), but it's going to occur more in math and social studies too.
Henceforth I will refer to it as the DMA model! (Discover, Model, Assess)
Math: Please refer to the 5V Math Class blog with the link provided below. For easy access, the link is also located on the left hand column in the links for learning section. Or... http://5vmath.blogspot.com/
Reading: What will the kids learn or discover?
* How to distinguish between minor and major details in non-fiction and fiction reading.
* To use organizers to help them clarify, summarize, and comprehend what they read.
* Strategies for determining meanings of words.
* The beauty of literature and its connection to our lives.
* We'll continue to use Edline for our reading responses this week. (2-3x a week)
Current Events: What will the kids learn or discover/discuss?
* What's going on in D.C (We've already talked about bipartisanship)
* The Bears looking for a new coach.
* International and domestic affairs.
* The NFL playoffs
Science: What will the kids learn or discover?
* How a molecule is different from an atom.
* Different properties of magnetism (magnetic fields, polarity, attraction, repulsion, magnetic types, and more)
* The learning will be in the hands of the kids. They will try to determine or prove the existence of the properties.
Writing: What will the kids learn or discover?
* Recurring themes in the texts they read and their relation to real life.
* How to compare and contrast themes across two or more texts.
* The necessity to think about audience and genuine purpose of writing prior to actually composing.
* New information/content via discovery and inquiry. This will be done through our weekly research and blogging.
Technology: What will the kids learn or discover?
* The kids are learning a lot through their weekly research and blogging; learnings with word processing (for their weekly notes), multi-media usage (as part of using the blog), and internet navigation (as part of their research).
Citizenship: Next week we will focus on:
* One item on the agenda for this week is to discuss our feelings about the first half of the school year which will include a written reflection about how the first half has been for us.
* We'll also re-visit the building expectations and especially the playground safety rules.
