On September 29th I questioned what success in the library would look like for me and I wrote I was seeing glimmers of what I wanted to happen in the library. That was September and it's now April.
We finished up our Dr. Seuss unit and it was exciting to see students signing out his books and enjoying them all over again. I like what I see with the grade one students as they read to each other and read a book together. I am also very pleased with the connections students make with the books we are reading. I just read Anthony Browne's book Into the Forest to students and enjoyed hearing the comments and connections made by students from grades 1 to 4. It was everything I had hoped for in September.
The inflexibility of rigid timetabling really limits how I prep and work with students. I look forward to more freedom next year. So much of what I plan is based on the thirty minutes I have to work with each class. Blogging in half an hour and then not getting to them again for another week has not been the best situation.
My use of technology remains a constant concern. I am excited about a lap top project which will be housed in the library. This should make it easier to integrate technology into the library program as well as make learning more personal for students.
I am busy prepping a unit on pirates that I will use with students from grades 1 to 3. I plan to focus on identifying the sources of our knowledge about pirates and then to to use fiction and nonfiction books to develop student's understanding of the world of pirates.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
On Being an Old New Learner
I have been working on a project with both the grade seven and eight students using the comiqs site. What a great site and for those students who completed the activity it was great.
1) I realised that I have a higher need to control the learning environment when I am unsure of my skills and understanding of the project. I don't find it easy just to roll with the situation. I want to type out the steps of the project rather than allowing students to "play" with the site. I also found that as my stress transfers to the students.
2) After several periods of working on the project I realised that there was something wrong with our school's ability to upload to the site. I had just assumed I was doing something wrong and had not instructed the students correctly. It find it frustrating to want to try new things with students and find that the system is not supportive of that learning.
3) It was easier for the second group of students who worked with the site. We worked in smaller groups, they seemed better able to work through the steps. And oh yes, Donna came out to help us!
4) Students need to have an email account for so many projects which can be done online.
5) Students whose parents have not said there pictures can be on the internet quickly phone home when they want to use photos of themselves and their friends.
So, as an older learner, I am going to need to be sure of the site I am using, ask questions of the tech department when I have questions, and trust that it will work.
1) I realised that I have a higher need to control the learning environment when I am unsure of my skills and understanding of the project. I don't find it easy just to roll with the situation. I want to type out the steps of the project rather than allowing students to "play" with the site. I also found that as my stress transfers to the students.
2) After several periods of working on the project I realised that there was something wrong with our school's ability to upload to the site. I had just assumed I was doing something wrong and had not instructed the students correctly. It find it frustrating to want to try new things with students and find that the system is not supportive of that learning.
3) It was easier for the second group of students who worked with the site. We worked in smaller groups, they seemed better able to work through the steps. And oh yes, Donna came out to help us!
4) Students need to have an email account for so many projects which can be done online.
5) Students whose parents have not said there pictures can be on the internet quickly phone home when they want to use photos of themselves and their friends.
So, as an older learner, I am going to need to be sure of the site I am using, ask questions of the tech department when I have questions, and trust that it will work.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
I'm Back!
I have been back for a while, but this is my first post. Well...
1) In January I introduced the students to the reading comprehension strategy, making connections, as outlined in Reading is our Business written by Sharon Grimes. The students loved using the sticky notes. And I enjoyed hearing their comments and connections. Some students made the most incredible and meaningful connections. I have to say I was most impressed with a grade three student who made the connection between the illustrations in Owl Moon with a local artist, Allen Sapp. The older students found it the most difficult to make connections, or enjoyed the process the least.
2) I worked on a small unit introducing students to author's purpose. Which has gone well. I used a much simpler format than the one on making connections, and I felt it was more successful. I am mulling this over and looking at how I plan my next units. I want students to enjoy their time in the library and I want it to be a meaningful learning experience.
3) Today is the birthday of Dr. Seuss and I am excited about the unit I am going to introduce to students on Tuesday. It is amazing how many ideas and web sites are on the net for teachers to use. My website is small, but I am pleased with the links I found.
4) I continue to work on helping students to find books they will enjoy reading. We are putting out more buckets of books and hope to rotate these so there is always an easy way to find a book. I am developing genre author lists which we will post. As much as I want students to use these they are useful for me as well. I don't know the collection as well as I would like to. I also want to have a web page on the library web page which always have a list of the new books with a bit of a summary.
1) In January I introduced the students to the reading comprehension strategy, making connections, as outlined in Reading is our Business written by Sharon Grimes. The students loved using the sticky notes. And I enjoyed hearing their comments and connections. Some students made the most incredible and meaningful connections. I have to say I was most impressed with a grade three student who made the connection between the illustrations in Owl Moon with a local artist, Allen Sapp. The older students found it the most difficult to make connections, or enjoyed the process the least.
2) I worked on a small unit introducing students to author's purpose. Which has gone well. I used a much simpler format than the one on making connections, and I felt it was more successful. I am mulling this over and looking at how I plan my next units. I want students to enjoy their time in the library and I want it to be a meaningful learning experience.
3) Today is the birthday of Dr. Seuss and I am excited about the unit I am going to introduce to students on Tuesday. It is amazing how many ideas and web sites are on the net for teachers to use. My website is small, but I am pleased with the links I found.
4) I continue to work on helping students to find books they will enjoy reading. We are putting out more buckets of books and hope to rotate these so there is always an easy way to find a book. I am developing genre author lists which we will post. As much as I want students to use these they are useful for me as well. I don't know the collection as well as I would like to. I also want to have a web page on the library web page which always have a list of the new books with a bit of a summary.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
What Do Students Know About the Internet?
I am using the web site Welcome to the Web with students in grades seven and eight. This web site leads students through 5 main topics: 1) the internet, 2) guestbooks, 3) web browsers, 4) searching the net, and 5) researching on the net.The information is presented at a very elementary level. I find the graphics used to be very child like, for example one of the graphics used is a clown.After working though the first section I find that students need to be slowed down to read the information on the page, there is a lot of print on the pages. It seems that they are not used to reading all the print, but just want to find the link that leads them to the next page. As I listened to the students talk, they used each other to support their learning, as not all students knew what a hyperlink was.At the present time I think students know how to use parts of the internet but may not understand its structure and format. Then again, do I?
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Success
I am on a medical leave right now recovering from surgery, but the last blog session with the grade sevens was our best. It was the best writing that we had produced and I believe it was because the students did their writing in a document program and then pasted it into the blog entry form. Students wrote with capitals and used better punctuation. Best of all we could spell check their work. I would certainly recommend this method of blogging.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Blogging With Students
I am blogging with grade seven students during a library class. It has been a slow and painful process, but today it felt like it was getting easier. I will find out tonight when I approve the students' comments.Techno question: Why has it been so painful?Answer is:1) I didn't provide good enough instruction into the process. I had not considered some of the problems we ran into. Students writing in a text message style. Students not having a book to write about. ( I may have rushed into a process without understanding it adequately.)2) I think students want to play with the computers and don't see the computer or my time with them as serious work. Students are keen to change their desktop, knowing it will disappear when they log out, and they want to play games.Reg Block told me yesterday at our meeting that students don't like to blog. He also said to persevere. And so I will.Today I had students use a rubric to evaluate 4 blog posts I had found on the internet and put together on a web page. I was pleased with those students I talked to, who saw what good writing looked like. We also reviewed what the purpose of blogging is.Tomorrow we learn to put an image into out blogs. Should be fun.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Away For A Time
I am at home recovering from hip surgery and am away from the school and the library. Before I left I needed to plan some activities to take the substitute teacher into November and December.
1) Our Flat Stanley letters had just started returning when I left. I think I may have been more excited than some of the students when the letters and pictures arrived. All the responses were excellent, from the pictures to the letters and gifts that people sent to the students. I can not thank these people enough for their hard work and for the parents who picked family members and friends who would take the time to respond to these student letters.
2) I pulled together a variety of books written by Patricia Polacco and some online resources, to be used by the substitute teacher with students from grades one to five. I love Patricia's books and hope that students will enjoy their introduction to her work and the reading comprehension strategies.
I am hoping to do some reading and ordering for the library while I am off. So far I have only got to the reading part. I am particularly wanting to explore young adult literature as I feel this is section of the library we need to build up. I just finished Sherman Alexie's book The Diary of a Part Time Indian. I was moved and touched by this extraordinary book! Wow! I can hardly wait to share it with teachers and students.
1) Our Flat Stanley letters had just started returning when I left. I think I may have been more excited than some of the students when the letters and pictures arrived. All the responses were excellent, from the pictures to the letters and gifts that people sent to the students. I can not thank these people enough for their hard work and for the parents who picked family members and friends who would take the time to respond to these student letters.
2) I pulled together a variety of books written by Patricia Polacco and some online resources, to be used by the substitute teacher with students from grades one to five. I love Patricia's books and hope that students will enjoy their introduction to her work and the reading comprehension strategies.
I am hoping to do some reading and ordering for the library while I am off. So far I have only got to the reading part. I am particularly wanting to explore young adult literature as I feel this is section of the library we need to build up. I just finished Sherman Alexie's book The Diary of a Part Time Indian. I was moved and touched by this extraordinary book! Wow! I can hardly wait to share it with teachers and students.
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