Vision
10/31/2020
Students enjoyed learning from our guest marine engineer, Rett Tanner, this week. As students listened to how engineers came up with the inventions for scuba gear, I recognized the truth in Pacific Northern Academy’s mission statement: We educate students to be exceptional learners and independent thinkers of vision, courage, and integrity. Students showed courage by asking questions and showed integrity by showing our guest respect, but what I really noticed was their vision. Students were fascinated by all the “what if’s” they could come up with. Some may consider questions like, “What if you run out of air?” or “What if a shark swims up?” silly, but these are the questions that guide engineers to the next great invention and questions that will help them accomplish their personal visions for the rest of their lives. At the start of the year, students came up with their hopes and dreams for First Grade. Many said things like, “I hope to read lots of books” and “My goal is to have fun this year.” Doing this gave students a vision, or “a sense of purpose and direction” (Bowman) that helps students see that our class rules, daily goals, and the decisions we make each day all play a part in assisting them in accomplishing their hopes and dreams. In fact, every couple of days, students are asked to come up with a goal. Some say they want to win the soccer game at recess, some want to read three books, and others set a goal to finish a particular assignment. Doing this establishes an intention for the day and gives the students ownership of their learning. As the day progresses, they are reminded of their goals and are asked to reflect on what they need to do to accomplish them. Many times throughout the day, students are offered choices. Some of these choices are decided by vote. Doing this helps students see what adults in the community do and will do this coming Tuesday and also allows them to see how their vote can change what their classroom community does. Students are also offered choices during subjects like reading. For example, they may choose to read to themselves or work on word work during reading rotations. These choices give students more purpose and interest in their learning and reshape their vision of the day, Some make a choice that helps them accomplish their goal, and some are left reflecting on what they can do differently to reach their goals next time. I believe having vision also means having the ability to problem-solve. As I said before, this group of students is excellent at coming up with “what if” questions. What if the fire alarm goes off and I’m in the bathroom? What if the boat breaks down while scuba diving? These questions not only help them think like engineers in science but also help them recognize the problems that might arise in any given situation. Identifying the issues that might come up prepares them with new ideas to guide them back to track or to an even better destination when plans do change. These are skills that will help them be successful in the future because once they see a problem arise, they will already have a plan in action. Giving students a voice in what they want each day and choices to help them succeed is vital in helping them see that their vision is important and that they can accomplish what they set their minds to. As we move forward, students will see how their vision can change into something else (maybe the student who wants to be a veterinarian will want to be an engineer) and how the choices they make shape their hopes and dreams today and in the future. Bowman, Matthew. “3 Key Reasons Why Having A Vision Is So Important (And How To Define One).” Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, Thrive, 1 Oct. 2020, thriveagency.com/news/business-vision/.
Pipe Cleaners and Clothes Pins
10/17/2020
This week first graders put spoons on their fingers and used them to dig in the dirt like an animal with claws! I feel so blessed to be teaching in-person and at a school that encourages hands-on learning, especially when I see how engaged and happy the students are. Not only do students reach higher cognitive skills through hands-on activities, but they are working on multiple skills and content areas, like fine-motor skills and art, and are directly observing, doing, and understanding what is happening.
In math, you can see our students adding and subtracting with tools like dominos and number racks that they made with beads and pipe cleaners. The number rack is a tool that helps them see and represent a number, and allows them to move the beads as they count, add, and subtract. Math also includes workshops that allow students to explore through games and activities like: domino games, making objects and designs with pattern blocks, and measuring furniture with number cubes and popsicle sticks. Students enjoy these hands-on activities because they can interact with peers (with distance and sanitizer), use their creativity, and do something that they are likely to do in the real world, like measure. Play-Doh is another fun, hands-on tool that students can use to make things like their weekly spelling words. Students also enjoy building their spelling words with magnet letters, pipe cleaners, and their personal letter cutouts. It’s wonderful seeing students get creative with making the letter K out of pipe cleaners, and hearing other students help give ideas and explain the process to their classmates. Science and social studies include many hands-on activities, as well. As you saw earlier in the year, first graders practiced using a compass that they each made from a paper plate. This week in science students explored animal adaptations with many household items. After digging in the dirt with their “claws” they had the task of finding cheerios and gummy worms with different bird beaks, or in their case, with chop sticks and clothes pins of different sizes. After exploring a few more adaptations, like blubber with Crisco, students made an organism with spikes. The goal was to make it so a bird could not eat their organism. These activities weren’t only fun, but allowed students to use their creativity, communicate and discuss methods and ideas with peers, and see the importance and function of an organisms structures. In the time of Covid-19, hands-on learning can be tricky. However, students have many of their own tools and manipulatives that they keep in their own bins. Hands-on supplies are also sanitized before and after use. Along with this, students wash or sanitize their hands before and after touching the items, and all of us work hard to maintain our distance. We all work together to stay safe so we can reap the rewards of hands-on learning, including the wonderful memories we are making. Nature's Influences
10/3/2020
Scientists today look to animals and nature for inspiration on how to make human lives easier and longer. For example, our airplanes are shaped like birds, burn victims are treated with fish skin, and scuba fins for diving look like the fins you see on some marine mammals. Researching the capabilities and adaptations of plants and animals is especially important today as scientists search for a cure for things like cancer and Covid-19.
As scientists in our world look to nature for cures, the scientists in our classroom are looking at the Driving Question: How can humans learn from the way plants and animals use their external parts to survive? The real-world problem of the pandemic might not be solved in our classroom, but these independent thinkers are definitely excited to think like scientists and learn about how animal parts help animals survive and see how humans are inspired by them. As we research, students are not only learning about science but are also working on their reading skills and discovering how much we can learn through reading. This week students listened to the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood" from our StemScopes science curriculum to see what animal parts help the wolf use its senses and survive. As we look at how each animal, like the wolf, uses its parts to survive, we go back to our Driving Question. In this case, students realized that animals can inspire our writing. After hooking students with this fairy tale, we listened to the story, What if I had Animal Teeth by Sandra Markle. This put our small scientists in the shoes of the animals, taught them some fun facts, and set them up for our project on animal teeth. For this project, students selected an animal and began recording facts they already knew about their animal’s teeth. After recording their background knowledge, students helped me look at unknown vocabulary and inferences we could make on the texts about elephants and beavers, so that they could do the same for their own animals. These reading skills not only help readers understand the text but also help them see how we connect things we know with new facts to come up with answers to questions that may not be answered directly. In the coming weeks, students will continue using technology and reading skills to explore animal parts. I’m excited to see what their new facts, inferences, and imaginations come up with. Maybe, with the vision and independent thinking these students exhibit, these small scientists will grow up and create a new invention or cure inspired by nature. |
Hali TuomiMs. Tuomi has over five years experience in ASD, where she taught first and fifth grade classrooms. An avid skier, Ms. Tuomi is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Alaska Pacific University’s Bachelor of Arts in K-8 Education. Archives
April 2021
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