This isn't art school...
9/25/2020
Too many times we hear arguments over why the arts should not play such a prominent role in today's educational settings. However, if you start to break down what the benefits of the arts really are, you will notice that the skills and opportunities that an arts education provide are invaluable. Creativity: This is probably the most popular thought when one thinks of benefits of art instruction and it is indeed important. All students have the ability to express themselves and their thinking and imagining through art. Artistic endeavors allow them to break outside common boundaries and push the limits of what can be done.
Attention to Detail: By helping kids develop this important skill, not only does it improve their focus, but also makes them take the time to slow down and really concentrate on putting forth their best work. It helps to develop a critical eye where they are really thinking about what they are seeing and can then apply that knowledge into their own work. This attention to detail plays into other parts in the curriculum, such as science or social studies. Multiple Learning Styles: There are too many different varieties of artistic endeavors to list them all but one of the biggest benefits of art activities is that they hit all learning styles. Whether students learn best by seeing, hearing, doing or a combination of those, the arts lend themselves to a wide variety of ways in which students can engage in ways they feel most comfortable as well as provide practice in those areas where they might need some more work. Self-confidence: Engaging in artistic activities is a way to express yourself and it can increase self-confidence. There is really no right or wrong way to do art, as long as you are trying your best. The arts are an area where it is easy to give control of decision making over to the artists in order for them to practice this life-long skill. Communication: While art seems like it is a highly individualized activity, there is an underlying thread of communication in each work of art. Whether that is giving or getting feedback on a project or working together to create a collaborative project - like the painting of a set for a play - art lends itself to providing opportunities to communicate. Art can also speak without words and can transcend language and culture barriers to reach the viewer through more powerful ways than spoken or written communication alone. Growth Mindset: When creating, one must entertain a growth mindset to handle the inevitable challenges that arise. Whether that being you don't have the paint color you need, to having trouble getting what you see in your mind onto the paper, determination and a positive attitude will help in achieving the goal. The arts provide opportunities to tackle challenges head-on and think of ways and strategies to solve problems. So maybe every school is an art school after all.
Looking Back...
5/21/2020
I packed up our classroom today. As I sorted through the remnants of our time together, it would have been easy to feel a little melancholy about the way our school year ended. However I found myself focusing on the great and wonderful things that we got to experience and accomplish together this year, even with the challenge of distance learning. Our last class meeting of the year started with a brainstorm session of all the great memories the kids have of 2nd grade. We collaborated to make this word cloud to help us remember the great times we've shared this year. Some of these precious memories are held only by our class and won't make sense to everyone. But they are each part of a connection that held our classroom community together even through distance learning.
I ended our last class meeting the same way I've done all year, with a read aloud. I read them the book "I Wish You More" to send them off to a summer filled with adventures and learning, sunshine and laughter hoping that they will continue to know that they are a loved, valued member of a great family that is waiting to welcome them back with open arms in the fall. What's Missing...
4/17/2020
As we move into the sixth week of home learning, things are starting to fall into place. Routines have been established, tech problems have been addressed, and we've settled as well as we can into this new normal.
But something is still missing. At PNA, we are so blessed to be able to "see" our students everyday via online meetings. We soak in their voices and watch as the personalities we've come to love shine out through our screens. We laugh at their jokes, their antics, and their love for fun and smile as they share their lives with us. But something is still missing. We have found amazing resources out there - apps that allow for online simulations, virtual field trips into the farthest corners of the world, platforms that allow us to share and connect digitally. And finally I know what's missing. It's that connection between students and teachers, the one that gets nurtured and developed all year long, the one that happens as you develop a face to face relationship. It's the quick hug in the middle of the day, the inside jokes that belong to just our class, the simple fact of sharing a snack together. While I am truly grateful for the opportunities to continue teaching remotely, to continue to provide instruction as well as I can, and to continue to nurture the connection that we still have... I miss my kids. Adventures in Home Learning
3/28/2020
The world has turned upside down and the roles of parents, teachers and students have shifted. Teachers are practicing their lifelong learning skills in order to learn and manage different online programs and using these online learning and presentation skills to continue authentic instruction to their classes. Parents are not only being asked to learn new technology, but to also give substantial support to their children in their learning activities while balancing jobs and other family duties. I think the students themselves were the most prepared when things shifted so suddenly because they have been honing their skills as independent learners all year. They are already used to tackling big challenges with a strong growth mindset and courageous attitude, all the while keeping their humor and engaging personalities intact. This is where we see the importance of our school's mission and how it relates to everyday life, long after the school day has ended. One thing our mission doesn't specifically address is the strength of our community. After my first day of online teaching with my second graders, I wrote that I had learned two things. 1. I really, really miss "my" kids. 2. Our classroom is a wonderful physical space to hold our learning...but it's apparent our class community is still going strong! It is incredible the way the entire school community pulled together to create a sense of structure and stability for our students and families played a huge part in that. School might look a little different right now but learning is still taking place and our connections with our students are as strong as ever. Through a Different Lens...
2/29/2020
Students were able to explore the idea of community through a variety of lenses in the past two weeks. The opportunity to be exposed to a topic in diverse ways enables students to think more deeply about what they are learning and provides background knowledge to build connections to as they take in new information. Students have been working on a project in which they are mayor of a paper city. They have a budget in which to build their city, and make choices about what types of establishments they want to include while working with a few constraints. There has been some interesting conversations in which students explore what a community really is - a group of people who share something in common or are connected in some way. They've reflected on what they know about the community of Anchorage and what causes a community to be successful. For example, where do the members of the community get their food from? What happens if there is a sickness? Once the cities are set up, we play a simulation in which "life" cards are drawn randomly and we see how it affects their community. For example, they might pull a card in which they have to pay taxes on their land or they might pull a card that gives them an award for having the best neighborhood. Natural events can also occur, including floods and earthquakes. Another card might have a fire at the grocery store, but if they chose to build a fire department in their town, they can put the fire out. They are really seeing the connection between community members and places and how certain choices can have a ripple effect. They also reflected on community in a different context by helping out as "vets" for the kindergarteners as they raced in the Iditarod. They then made sure to cheer at the finish line, giving the mushers encouragement and support in the form of handmade signs and kind, positive words. They also participated in the annual Science Party event where they were able to interact with a diverse group of community members and science organizations from around Anchorage. The variety of activities around the topic of community are part of an ongoing effort to not only teach content to students, but to also provide opportunities to see ideas and thoughts in action.
Student Led Conferences
2/22/2020
This past week students had the opportunity to invite their families into the classroom to share about some of their experiences as a second grader. PNA does these student led conferences every year in order to have an official check-in with families about how the year is going and allow the students the opportunity to have a voice in how their school experience is progressing. In the past, these conferences consisted of the students sharing their self-reflections about how they feel they are doing, as well as a portfolio of sorts with 1-2 examples of work they have chosen to share. This year, the Lower School has expanded on these student-led conferences into a combination Open House, Parent Lunch and Conference experience. Each classroom from K-5 had a variety of stations set up, each showing a different facet of the school day. Students became the teachers as they took their families around to different stations and explained the work they had been doing there. The second grade stations included teaching and playing a math game with their families, discussing our bat wrap PBL project, and teaching them the steps needed to write an opinion essay. The last station had families, students and teacher sitting together to discuss the student's self reflection as well as the "glows & grows" the teacher had for the student for the remainder of the year. This type of student led conference puts the student in the spotlight of their own learning. They need to be able to understand the content in order to explain or teach it to their families. They are continuing to develop public speaking skills, even if they are speaking only to their families. Students are also responsible for really reflecting about their learning experiences and where they want to improve on. This process is invaluable since students are not only aware of the things they still need to work on, but that they set actual goals in order to improve their school experience. This is the type of learning that we encourage through our school's mission everyday. We educate students to be
exceptional learners and independent thinkers of vision, courage, and integrity. The Creative Individual
2/14/2020
Even as second graders, students at PNA know that they are encouraged and expected to be creative. When we were writing our classroom guidelines at the beginning of the year, one student proposed "Be Creative" as one of our guidelines for the class to work towards this year. During our early conversations on growth mindset and how to stretch your brain, students read "Beautiful Oops." This great book shows that not only is it okay to make mistakes, but that it's an opportunity to be creative. "Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun." -- Mary Lou Cook While it's easier to be creative in certain subjects, such as in art or writing, there are still opportunities for individual creativity in other areas as well. Take math for example. Most of the time, math can be seen as a strict sequential subject with little room for deviation into the creative realm. However, some recent activities the second graders worked on show that there is a bit of room for fun and creativity. Studies have shown that visuals help with comprehension, retention of content in long term memory, and transmit information to the brain faster than text. They can also be very motivating to learners, such as these math activities were. The first activity involved students creating snowman cards in order to create a class chart in which they explored repeated addition, patterning and multiplication. The creation of the snowman cards is a creative endeavor in and of itself; however, some students showcased their natural creativity even more so and still managed to stay within the constraints of the project - having a snow person with three snowballs on each card. "Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way." -- Edward de Bono Another example shows a different way of looking at units of measurement. Using visual representations of inchworms, "footworms" and "yardworms" students were converting the typical units of measurement - inches, feet and yards - by visualizing them as worms. These "worms" were helpful to each other as the bigger "worms" gave the little "worms" rides on their backs. Students were able to measure and create their own individual worms to work with and collaborated with each other to figure out problems such as "If 100 inchworms were waiting for a ride, how many yardworms would be needed?" or "Could 3 footworms fit on one yardworm's back?" Not only is this another way for students to visualize the relationship between units of measurement, it also gave them another change to exercise their creativity. "Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." -- Bruce Garrabrandt Everyday in 2nd grade brings about opportunities for every student to exercise their creativity and individualism in each and every subject area. They are comfortable in being themselves and each student is respected as the unique individual they are.
Cursive Comeback?
2/9/2020
According to William Klemm, senior professor of neuroscience at Texas A&M University, “Handwriting (cursive writing) dynamically engages widespread areas of both cerebral hemispheres.” These studies lead to the idea that the brain is growing and stretching more during cursive instruction, as more parts of the brain are being stimulated.
Results of a study by the University of Washington show that while learning to print and type also contribute to brain growth, instruction in cursive appears to produce the greatest neurological benefit. Mental engagement Handwriting in general requires focused attention on not only the structure of each letter, but how to transfer that knowledge into a physical representation on paper. As with most things, students learn and retain information better as they physically re-create it. Kinesthetic benefits Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination are required as students write in cursive, building important muscle memory. These honed skills transfer over to other areas of a child's life, such as sports or playing music. Visual and tactile processing skills are also being strengthened with students write in cursive. Benefits for students with learning disabilities A 2012 review suggests that cursive may be particularly effective for individuals with certain neurological disorders. Cursive helps students with dyslexia by stimulating both sides of the brain. Students with dysgraphia. may find the connected letters and fluid writing motions of cursive writing help in aiding their motor control challenges during writing. At PNA we utilize the handwriting curriculum Handwriting Without Tears, beginning with print in preschool and beginning cursive in 2nd grade. Every year, without fail, the second graders are eager and excited to learn cursive. They take it very seriously, intently working with grit and overcoming frustration as they practice. While they see it as a rite of passage in "being the big kids", we recognize the benefits of cursive instruction and take the time to carve out a spot for it in our busy academic days. Bat Wraps
1/25/2020
You've probably heard of the devastating fires wreaking havoc in Australia recently. So many people and animals have been affected by these deadly fires and it's easy to feel helpless and hopeless. However, PNA's 2nd and 5th graders learned this week that they can actually make a difference. They were empowered to put forth their knowledge, time and commitment and sewed bat wraps for rescue organizations helping to care for injured and organized animals. This PBL project with our 5th grade buddies is what PBL is all about. Students took a real world problem - the needs of injured and orphaned bats - and posed questions to contribute to a solution. What can we do? Is there really a way to help? What do the bats need? Who is saving them?
After learning more about the situation, and having some information from professional agencies about what was needed, students decided that they could sew bat wraps to send. However, during the course of this project, a wonderful problem emerged. So many people from all corners of the globe rallied to create and send items for the animals and carers in Australia, that they put a hold on accepting items from overseas. As we were full into the swing of the project, we went looking for other places to donate our bat wraps. We found just the place in CARA (Crafters and Artisans for Rescued Animals). This group offers listing of a great many rescue facilities in the United States that are in need of items. Despite the fact that many academic skills were taught, practiced and learned throughout this project, students learned some arguably more valuable lessons. They learned that empathy is a very strong trait, when people work together amazing things can happen, that helping others provides an intrinsic reward and that they can make a difference in this world. Power of Play
1/18/2020
If you look at the picture above, you might notice some kids deeply engrossed in playing with legos. While this would be true, there are also a multitude of other things occurring that aren't as apparent at first glance. Renowned psychologist Jean Piaget notes, “Play is the work of childhood.” and Mr. Rogers elaborates on this statement by saying “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.” In a school setting, there needs to be a balance of both play and serious learning, across all grade levels. When we structure our teaching to include an element of play, even in higher grades, children are learning as well as having fun. They are working with materials that are familiar and intuitive for them which helps them to concentrate on the new information being taught. Different types of play also incorporates multiple learning modes (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) which can also help children retain concepts. This specific activity was actually a science lesson on the very basics of matter, intended to visually show kids how a group of small objects can be assembled and then re-assembled into a completely different object. This is the basis to begin to understand the somewhat abstract concept of how and why matter changes. Were students having fun "playing" with the legos? Of course they were! They were also using problem solving, critical thinking, reasoning and reading skills, as well as exercising fine motor skills. When they combined into groups to create their new objects, they had to collaborate and communicate with their group members.
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Marcella HitchcockMs. Hitchcock teaches second grade, is a mom of two, an avid reader, lifelong learner, and a seeker of sunshine! Archives
March 2021
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