August 23, 2018 by plemmonsa

Social Studies & Citizen Voice: Students Raising Their Voice on What Matters

Two years ago, Ms. Shelley Olin and I collaborated on a student voice project at the very end of the year. Students picked current news topics that mattered to them, researched the topics, and created letters and art to send to local, state, and federal representatives. In addition, they created Flipgrid videos of their letters and art to inspire other young people to raise their voices too.

We loved this project so much and wished we had given it more time. This year, Ms. Olin made student voice a priority in her social studies blocks. She wants students to start the year with what it means to be a citizen, what our rights are, and how we can speak up on topics that matter even if we are not old enough to vote. She wants to weave this thread of citizen voice throughout the year as students study events in US history. We hope that they see how many of the topics from the past are still topics we are working on today.

Ms. Olin scheduled all 4 of her social studies classes to visit the library to kickoff this idea before they dive into US history.

Voices from the Past

We opened our time together by listening to students from 2 years ago. I selected 5 students for us to revisit and hear about the issue that mattered to them.

Javian talked about police brutality.

https://flipgrid.com/fd213c

Andrew discussed separation of humans based on certain factors such as citizenship and religion.

https://flipgrid.com/594a96

Cadence talked about global warming.

https://flipgrid.com/fc7fa5

Our Rights & Freedoms

We used these students to connect to the Bill of Rights and why this document exists. We specifically focused on Amendment 1 and our freedom of speech. We read the first amendment as written and also a translation. I wanted students to know that even at their age, they can speak up about things in the world that they want to see improve, and our students from 2 years ago were exercising that right.

Next, we thought more broadly about our freedoms. We looked at the book My Little Book of Big Freedoms illustrated by Chris Riddell. Students read the single words on each page while I read the longer descriptions.

We paused on the page about hope because it reminded us that adults can choose our leaders, but it’s every person’s responsibility to speak up about how our country is run.

Again, I wanted to emphasize as much as possible that students should begin to pay attention to what is happening in our world, research current events and topics, and speak up in appropriate spaces to help make the world a better place.

Global Goals

This finally brought us to the Global Goals, which were established in 2015 by a gathering of world leaders. The goals include targets that the whole world should be working on in order to see a better world by 2030. I asked students to visit https://www.globalgoals.org/ and scan through the 17 goal topics. I wanted them to pick a few that stood out to them, their interests, and their concerns. Then, I wanted students to spend time reading the goals and their targets.

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As students explored, it didn’t take long for intense conversations to spark at tables. The collaborating teachers and I rotated among the tables and chatted with students about their discoveries and their thoughts. Some students were so fired up on topics, they were ready to write a letter that very day. It was inspiring to hear students already speaking with passion on topics that might not have surfaced if they weren’t given this space to speak about it.

Some students got fired up about single-use plastics polluting our oceans. Others talked about gender equality and how women and men need the same kinds of opportunities around the world. Students were having matter-of-fact conversations about poverty and hunger around the world, including right here in our own city. A few students spoke up about the importance of clean, renewable energy. We spent about 20 minutes exploring on computers.

As we returned to the carpet, students were already thinking about a topic that mattered to them and were primed to begin a deeper dive as we move into the 5th grade curriculum. I can’t wait to see what develops.

Youth Leadership

As we closed out our time, I wanted to show them that this wasn’t just an assignment to keep them busy. We truly want to support students in civic engagement in whatever way we can and for whatever causes they believe in. I left them with one last example of youth leadership in the United States.

We looked at the climate lawsuit of Juliana vs. The United States. These 21 youth are suing the US Government for careless environmental practices that are impacting their right to life, liberty, and property. Their case began back in 2015 and the government has tried to silence their voices. However, in July 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled in their favor that their case must be heard. You can learn more information about them at https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/us/federal-lawsuit/

I hope that each student in 5th grade finds ways their voices can be heard whether it’s in our classes, our school, our community, our state, our country, or the entire world.

April 27, 2018 by plemmonsa

Using Objects from Nature to Inspire Creativity

As we near the end of the year, I’m collaborating with Natalie Hicks, one our gifted teachers, to create a project with the entire 3rd grade. In science, 3rd grade studies habitats and human impact on them. Our school is also a “Green School” which offers many opportunities throughout the year for students to explore how we care for our planet.

Each 3rd grade class is coming to the library for 2 one-hour sessions. The purpose is to use found objects from nature to create letters. Those letters are photographed so they can be used to spell various words and also inspire writing. Ms. Hicks and I both gathered as many objects as we could from outside the school and our own yards. Our original plan was for students to bring in objects to use for the project, but that piece didn’t happen this time.

Session 1:

As students were seated, they saw a clip from a Rose Bowl Parade video.

The purpose was to get them thinking about real-world examples of people using objects from nature to create. Another purpose was to think about the time and planning that went into the floats. Our students had a connection to the Rose Bowl since UGA played there this year.

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Next, I segued into a book called Our World of Food: Discover Magical Lands Made of Things You Can Eat. Each page features a scene made with foods of a similar color and poetry that brings the scene to life. Again, we talked about how each object was intentionally placed into the scene.

Finally, I gave students their challenge. They could choose up to 5 objects from our nature tables to create one of their initials. I asked them to think about the shape of their letter and which objects might be the best choices to form that shape. We looked at some pictures of fonts as well as some letters found in nature for inspiration.

I covered our library tables with colorful tablecloths to use as backgrounds and building spaces. Students sat in groups of 5 and waited for their turn to collect objects. It was wonderful to have Ms. Hicks, the classroom teacher, and Ms. Em (EIP teacher) as support during this project. Ms. Hicks had conversations with students about their selections, while the classroom teacher and I supported students with questions about how to build their letters.

When letters were made, students used iPads to take a photograph and then bring the iPad to me to upload the picture in Google Drive.

Then, students returned their nature objects for the next class to use and went to Ms. Em to select nature poetry to read while others finished. My hope was that reading lots of nature poems would serve as a mentor text for the work we will do in session 2.

I was very impressed by how efficient students were. They selected objects, experimented with combining them in different ways, and moved through all the areas of the lesson with the help of adults. Adults were all able to circulate and have conversations with students about their selections, creations, and reading. I wonder how things would have been different if we had time for students to actually collect the objects themselves.

Before session 2, I’ll print the pictures so students can use them in their writing and recording. We can’t wait to see how all of this comes together.

December 10, 2014 by plemmonsa

Coding and Beyond with PreK Using Sphero, Osmo, iPads, Computers, and Books

I love it when a small seed of an idea turns into something much more. A few weeks ago, I approached PreK about using our Sphero to practice writing letters. I knew that PreK was working on forming the letters of the alphabet and I thought that the Sphero Draw and Drive app would be a perfect way to merge letter practice with some programming. I originally thought that small groups might come to the library and use the Sphero with me, but further brainstorming with Ms. Heather resulted in us deciding to do 5 centers that students would rotate through in order to experience many technology, math, and literacy experiences.

Ms. Heather’s class has been bubbling with excitement about coming to the library to try out all of these centers. Ms. Heather split the class up into 5 groups which was 4-5 students per group. Ms. Heather, Ms. Melissa (parapro), Ms. Callahan (parent), and I all led a center and one center was independent. Each center lasted about 10 minutes and took up about an hour with transitions. Here’s what they did.

Center 1: Hour of Code programming with Sphero

Since this week is our hour of code, I was so glad that PreK got to experience an aspect of coding. While coding didn’t fill up our hour, it certainly sparked their interest in how to make a computer or robot do what you want it to. Students sat in a row and each took a turn to think of a letter to practice drawing. Using the Draw and Drive app on iPad, students drew a letter and pressed play. The Sphero drove around the carpet in the shape of that letter. With a shake of the iPad, the letter was erased and the next student had a turn.

We repeated this process over and over until we were out of time. Each time the robot rolled around the floor there was a burst of excitement. As the facilitator, I asked students about the letters that they were drawing to make sure that they understood what they were trying to draw.

Center 2: Osmo Tangrams and Words

Our Osmo devices are one of our favorite tools in the library. The Osmo is came out this summer. It includes a base to put the iPad in and a red attachment to place over the camera. Osmo comes with 2 sets of tools to use with the apps: a set of letter tiles and a set of tangrams. The three apps are free to download but you must have the base and attachment for them to work. For this center, students used the Junior version of the Words app. This app gives students a picture with a matching word. The beginning sound of the word is missing and students have to lay the correct letter tile in front of the iPad. If it is correct, the red attachment “sees” the letter tile and magically adds it to the word on the screen. If it is incorrect, students have to try again.

Students also used the Introduction to Tangrams in the tangrams app. This app shows students 2-3 tangram pieces pushed together. For this beginning phase, the colors of the tangrams on the screen match the colors of the actual tangrams. As students correctly place the tangrams on the table in front of the iPad, the red attachment “sees” them and fills in with black on the screen. When they are all correct, a new combination is shown.

This center was one that needed adjustment as we went along depending on student needs and strengths. Some needed to focus more on the shapes while others were ready to think about letter sounds in words. All students had a blast watching the magic of the Osmo happen on the screen and table.

Center 3: Starfall on Computers

Ms. Heather facilitated the computer center. I put out a computer, mouse, and headphones for each student in the group. One part of this center was simply using fine motor skills to practice using a mouse. The other part was to use Starfall to continue practicing letters and sounds.

Center 4: Reading

A parent volunteer read aloud stories that I pulled. The selections were Peanut Butter and Jellyfish, Job Site, and Stars. She had students engaged in discussion about the story and the pictures all along the way.

Center 5: iPads

PreK has 5 iPads in each classroom. Students have a variety of word apps that they can use at their own center time in class, so they are used to using these apps independently. This made the perfect independent center since we didn’t have 5 adults. Students sat on the bean bags by the windows and used the iPads by themselves for the 10 minutes of this center.

I think many times people think that our younger students can’t use technology or they are unsure of what to do with younger students. I love giving things a go and seeing what happens. We were amazed by students’ engagement and excitement today. Some asked, “Can we do this every day?” That was a sure sign of success. When working with younger students, you have to think about what your barriers might be. For us, we wanted smaller groups in order to have more adult support if needed. We also wanted smaller groups so that students wouldn’t be waiting around since we only have 1 Sphero and 3 Osmos. Using the teacher, parapro, parent volunteer, and me helped to make this possible. You might have a different barrier, but I hope that you will consider what you might leap into with your youngest learners in your building.

February 1, 2011 by plemmonsa

Becoming Blind

Students in Mrs. Slongo’s ELT class became blind last week, but not like you might think. For the past two years, Mrs. Slongo has taken her 5th grade class on a journey of exploration and empathy through blind sculptor Michael Naranjo’s work. Students watch a YouTube video about his work and philosophy. Then, students are blindfolded and given a lump of clay to sculpt what they picture in their mind. Last year students wrote letters to Naranjo and sent them to him, but this year Mrs. Slongo wanted the letters to be in a format that was more connected to Naranjo. After students wrote letters about their experiences “being blind” and how they were inspired by his work, students came to the media center to record their letters using Audacity. Their work will be burned onto a CD and taken to one of Naranjo’s art exhibits that Mrs. Slongo’s sister will be attending. It was so inspiring to listen to these 5th grade students share how they were inspired by Naranjo’s passion to keep doing what he loves even though he can’t “see” his work.

You can listen to each students’ letter here.