"Egg"-citing Times
9/28/2019
This past week the second graders participated in our highly anticipated and always challenging annual 2nd grade Egg Drop! This project provided students with the opportunity to strengthen their Science and Engineering Practices as laid out by the Next Generation Science Standards. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Working within a few parameters (they had to use a real egg, the contraptions would all be dropped from the same height with the same weather conditions, they had to work on their own to design, plan and ultimately create a contraption), students were challenged with the question "How can you protect an egg from a 30 foot drop?" Analyzing and Interpreting Data Students watched video of other egg drops before creation started and also used prior knowledge gained from watching past egg drops to help to create the best possible first version of an egg contraption that they could. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Building on their prior experience gained during the test drops, students used critical thinking to explain why their test drop was or was not successful. They then used that data as evidence of what they could re-design or strengthen in existing designs to produce their second version of the contraption for the official egg drop. Engaging in Argument from Evidence Finally students underwent a reflection process in which they took the outcomes of the final egg drop to explore the relationship between the contraption design and ensuing result for each of the students. They were engaged in discussions that moved from possible flaws in design to why people were successful. The discussion moved into talking about the generalities of gravity and why some of the contraptions fell at different rates. Some of the questions couldn't be readily answered such as "Why did the egg that fell out of the box and hit the concrete survive but mine that stayed in the box didn't?" because the students felt that they had insufficient evidence to come to a satisfactory conclusion. This type of discussion, reflection and questioning is what we strive for to further strengthen the critical thinking and communication skills of students. Arguably an equally important aspect of this project is the opportunity for students to strengthen their growth mindsets. Students learn that not everything will always go as planned. They work on overcoming frustration and disappointment to persevere through challenges that arise. They offer support and feedback and encouragement to their classmates. And through it all, they learn that it's ok to make mistakes and that is where real learning happens.
Seven Minute Stories
9/22/2019
"Mr. Robot guy was doing his normal clean up one day when he found some mysterious spare parts. Outside the base, there was a fish looking for his spare pieces. It was a secret base deep underwater. Another robot looked out the window. He saw something that surprised him. The alarm started to call all of the robots..." This was a story told by the second graders during a recent morning meeting. This new storytelling activity has been a big hit with the class. Tell Me a Story is a deck of creative story cards with just pictures. Students are given between 2-3 cards that they will need to play in turn to contribute to our collective story. Students take turns playing one card at a time and adding one sentence to help create the collaborative story. This is a great activity for several reasons. First of all, it is inclusive and everyone has a turn to be creative and add to the story in their own way, while simultaneously building upon a collective storyline. Secondly, the second graders really have to listen and pay attention to each other in order to follow the previously played card to continue a coherent story. They communicate ideas and suggestions to each other easily, while still respecting each student's contribution to the plot, no matter how crazy it might be. The third opportunity students have when we play this game is to practice using transition words or phrases to continue events in the story. Things like "Meanwhile..., Suddenly..., However..., But little did they know on the other side of the world..." are now being naturally used not only in this activity, but also in the student's writing as well. Oral storytelling has been a part of human history since there has been oral language. Research suggests that oral storytelling not only provides an opportunity for strengthening vocabulary, creativity and interpersonal skills, but that it also supports the improvement of critical thinking skills, active engagement in learning and narrative thinking abilities. These are all great skills that are reinforced in a quick seven minute game! You can find these games online if you wanted to have a deck or two for a quick educational time-filler! Agosto, Denise. (2013). If I Had Three Wishes: The Educational and Social/Emotional Benefits of Oral Storytelling. Storytelling, Self, Society. 9. 53-76. 10.13110/storselfsoci.9.1.0053. Community Minded
9/14/2019
One of the things we strongly value and strive to nurture at PNA is the sense of community. While the term community is often referred to a group of people living in the same place or having the same common characteristic, the Oxford dictionary also defines community as "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals." It is this result that we are all striving for everyday inside and outside of the walls of PNA. One might ask why this is so important and why we spend so much valuable instruction time in the nurture and care of our community. In a recent article in Huffpost entitled "The Importance of Community", the author identifies 5 questions to consider and reflect on when developing a community. Three of these questions are important for our purpose of building our school community. 1. What are your values and what values do you want to be aligned within the community? 2. What is the purpose and goal of creating or joining a community? 3. What do you have to offer the group and what do you want to receive? How can you share and collaborate? The answers and reflections from these questions lead to the idea that we are looking to build a place where students, faculty and families all play an equally important role in building a place where every member is loved, respected and supported. Not only this, but true communities motivate, push and drive its members to better themselves and their surroundings in a safe and goal-oriented environment. Here are a couple of examples in which our sense of community was strengthened over the last week at PNA. 2nd and 5th graders continued to develop their "buddy" relationships by enjoying some great books together. Middle School students enjoyed a retreat at nearby Birchwood Camp as they continued their important work of building a strong 6/7/8 community to embrace the joys and challenges that middle school entails. The second graders worked together during an exploratory time to collaboratively build this great land, encouraging and supporting each other along the way. Some friends spent their weekend supporting a fundraiser to end childhood cancer during the annual Trick or Treat in the Heat. The first round of Lower School ACE classes met together in multi-age groups where they enjoyed doing activities in these different electives that spoke to their own personal interests. The whole school turned out to support one of our own, Ms. Annie as she moves on to new opportunities and adventures. The students created cards, posters and gave out flowers as we lined the halls to say a bittersweet farewell to a much loved member of our community. And we are all looking forward to another of our much loved annual traditions - the Fall Outing next week. This is a time for more multi-age magic to happen as students in grades K - 8 walk over to a nearby park where they enjoy a picnic lunch and play games and engage in team building activities. The Fall Outing will end with the students supporting the past and current MS students at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate their student designed and created obstacle course in the woods near our school. That's what being community minded at PNA means - supporting, encouraging and growing alongside each other. Spero, Harper. "The Importance of Community" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-importance-of-community_b_6978186
It's a Growth Mindset
9/7/2019
You might have hear the words "growth mindset" in your conversations with your second grader this week. We began exploring the work of Carol Dweck, a world-renowned Stanford University psychologist. Dweck took decades of research on achievement and success and developed the mindset theory. There are two different mindsets according to Dweck: Fixed Mindset: This is the belief that intelligence and talent are fixed traits and talent alone creates success. In other words, you either have it or you don't. Growth Mindset: This is the belief that intelligence can be grown and that abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. Perseverance, grit and determination all play a role in growth mindset. At PNA, students practice a growth mindset. They are engaged in challenges and opportunities for growth every day. Teachers support and lead them in developing a courageous and reflective way of thinking to not only come back from mistakes, but to not be afraid to make them in the first place. One way of doing this is to provide students with the language they need to "train their brain" and strengthen their growth mindset. Poster available at https://www.brainwaves.net/growth-mindset-posters--brain-train/ The second graders tackled some different challenges this week in order to practice their growth mindsets. Some of the challenges were easy and the students succeeded right away. Others required a bit more grit and perseverance in order for students to accomplish their goals. Some of the towers never held the weight they were supposed to and the students figured out that that was ok too. The best part about these challenges was not the successful creation of towers however. It was hearing the students not only speaking to and encouraging themselves, and reflecting on their designs but also how they began to encourage and help each other using phrases like "I'm sorry your tower fell down because I know you worked really hard on that. Want to try again?" and "Wow, it took you a long time to build that tower but it really worked!" The seeds of growth mindset in our second grade classroom have been planted and I can't wait to watch these kids bloom in their abilities this year! For more information on the idea of growth mindset, please see these resources. This article talks about the brain science behind growth mindsets. https://www.mindsetworks.com/websitemedia/youcangrowyourintelligence.pdf This site contains several short and kid-friendly videos that discuss growth mindsets and how you can train your brain. https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/growth-mindset-videos/ Carol Dweck's Mindset book is another great source of information on this topic. |
Marcella HitchcockMs. Hitchcock teaches second grade, is a mom of two, an avid reader, lifelong learner, and a seeker of sunshine! Archives
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