Franklin 9/3-9/13

It has been a great two weeks at Franklin. I have had the chance to work closely with Team Odyssey, Team Enterprise, and Team Pursuit. I have seen great work happening both academically and in terms of team and community building. We've wasted no time jumping into challenging tasks and academic content. Students are engaged, thinking critically, and collaborating well.

Team Pursuit

I have loved shifting gears and working with K/1 students. Ms. Schaefer's group has delved into opinion writing. To launch this unit we gave students the chance to express their opinions and provide reasoning. They started with looking at pictures in a slideshow (ice cream vs. cupcake, swings vs. slides, winter vs. summer). They shared their preference by moving to different areas in the room. To wrap this lesson students taste tested two types of cookies then shared which they liked better. They were asked to give at least one reason for their choice. This segwayed into writing time where students will begin describing their opinions, supporting with reasons, and making suggestions/giving warning regarding different items. Next week we'll be modeling how to give specific and constructive feedback. We will be incorporating critique and revision into students work this year in the context of PBL.

During my time in Ms. O'Connor's class, students were developing the letter sounds and recognition. Students took part in writer's workshop, describing a favorite thing to do at recess. We then introduced a feedback strategy called Praise-Question-Polish. Several students volunteered to share their writing pieces then received peer feedback. We will continue practicing this so that it becomes a regular ongoing part of the writing process.

Team Odyssey

Last week Team Odyssey took part in a team building activity. They were asked to created the longest chain possible with only two sheets of paper and limited tape. Groups had to discuss strategies and work together to see their vision through. After chains were completed, students measure them in inches.

We extended this activity when students wondered "How long would all of the chains be combined?" We aded all of the lengths then converted this measurement to feet. We touched on the partial quotient division strategy so students will have had exposure to this before we did into the unit.

Team Odyssey has also begun exploring poetry. We read a couple by Shel Silverstein and Ken Nesbitt. Students made observations about structure, interpretation, rhyming patterns, and vocabulary. Next week they will explore poetry by a number of different writers, determining one that speaks to them. Eventually students will be crating their own poem inspired by the style of their chosen poet. 4th Graders are reading Love that Dog and 5th Graders Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech to supplement this writing unit.

Team Enterprise

Team Enterprise has been a busy crew the past 9 days. We've done team building activities, community circles, established classroom expectations, started exploring Place Value, and a poetry unit.

In math we will be giving students the chance to self-advocate. After shared lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesday students can sign up for "More Instruction" or "Different Instruction". Students who need feel they do understand the current content can receive re-teaching. Students who feel they have mastered the current content can sign up for a lesson that goes beyond the grade level content. This week multiple students reflected and realized they needed additional instruction. They were able to receive small group lessons until the material made more sense. Students who showed mastery in Place Value of whole numbers were introduced to decimal place value.

I have absolutely loved co-teaching and being in the classrooms consistently these past two weeks. I think we're going to have a great year at Franklin!

Collaborative groups are working to Establish classroom expectations for different learning scenarios (whole group, independent work, guided groups, collaboration, and transitions).