Traditions
12/22/2018
It's that time of year when traditions are at the forefront of our lives as we host family and friends and celebrate holidays. Merriam-Webster defines tradition as the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs and also as cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions. According to author Frank Sonnenberg, "Traditions represent a critical piece of our culture. They help form the structure and foundation of our families and our society. They remind us that we are part of a history that defines our past, shapes who we are today and who we are likely to become." He also notes that tradition contributes a sense of comfort and belonging, reinforces values, helps create lasting memories for families and friends, and offers an excellent context for meaningful reflection. I cannot help but notice how traditions contribute to the culture of PNA, to our students' sense of belonging to the PNA community, and to their excitement about being part of the PNA culture and community. This week, we had the privilege of visiting second grade's shops, as did many other classes at the school. For my students, experiences like these make them excited to be part of it in a few years. Next year, they will visit the shops again as first graders and, after that, they will create their own shops. Students in the upper school remember creating their own shops when they were in second grade and reflect on their shops and how the products of the current class are alike and different than their own. There are similar experiences across the grades as beloved projects re-emerge each year, among them our castle sleepover, mock Iditarod, and EK reading buddies, second grade's egg drop, third grade's arcade games, and spring trips across the grades. These are things that students look forward to with excited anticipation or reflect on with nostalgia. Through sharing these experiences, students interact with peers beyond their classroom. They do not just feel belonging to their class, but to PNA. It is so rewarding to see students' excitement as they take part in these traditions, to see the anticipation of younger and new students and to see older students reflecting and helping the younger students with such care and attention. The culture of PNA is truly something special, and the traditions that students share makes that culture stronger and ensure that each student knows s/he belongs and is an important part of something wonderful. Thank you for choosing PNA and helping us to build a wonderful culture rich with tradition for our sweet students.
Student Voice & Choice
12/8/2018
One of the key components of a PBL project is student choice. The extent of student choices and which choices belong to them changes project by project. Sometimes, they choose a subject they would like to study or create. This was the case for our first project, when we made the stop motion movie about people in our community and they each got to decide what professions to create for the movie. Other times, they help decide what the finished project will be, like in our partnership with the class in Thailand, or what we will do with it, as was the case with our weather forecasts. Always, I find that allowing students to have a say makes the projects even better. It not only makes the project more meaningful for our little learners, but our students' ideas enhance the project itself. In the case of creating pattern texts, I nudged the students to choose the option of making books. However, they suggested recording the books in an audio version for the Thai students to listen to. While I had plans to make audio books in the future, I had not thought to take that extra step with this project. It not only makes the product more useful to the Thai students, but it gives my students additional practice bringing books to life and makes the project more "theirs." Student choice also played an important role in our birthday weather forecast project. I knew I wanted students to study weather patterns to make forecasts, but I had not decided what to do with the completed forecasts. Our sweet little ones had a vision bigger than mine, and they wanted to send their forecasts to the meteorologists at KTUU for them to review. I immediately thought it was a brilliant idea and the meteorologists graciously agreed to review their videos, so we sent them off. Teachers have a vision for the project and know which standards and content students will learn through each project, but students truly drive the project. They too are encouraged to create a vision for the project and their ideas are heard and honored. Sometimes their ideas even change the direction of the project. And that is powerful for them. When their ideas are consistently heard and honored, it gives them the confidence to continue to share them, to continue to refine their vision for themselves and their classmates. At PNA, our mission is to educate students to be exceptional learners and independent thinkers of vision, courage, and integrity. Giving our students sway in the projects we create helps us do this. If students are consistently taught to do what they are told, they learn to do what they are told. However, if within boundaries and structure, they are given choices and the freedom to express their opinions and shape the projects they take part in, they learn to find and refine their voice and vision and to think independently. The more PBL projects I undergo with our sweet little ones, the more I see what a powerful tool PBL really is. Through projects, students broaden their experiences, positively impact our community, get to have a say in their learning experiences, learn to dream big... and find their voice in this world.
Authenticity
12/8/2018
"I can't believe we're actually making REAL books!" one of our sweet little ones squealed as they carefully transferred their rough draft of a patterned text onto a chunky board book. I heard others whispering to their classmates, "We have to do our best because these are for our Thai class!" We will be sending the books to a kindergarten class in Thailand to help them learn English. Our little readers pretty quickly decided they wanted to write pattern books, the same kind of books that have been helping them learn to read, to send to the class in Thailand. Each child will also be making an audio version of their book so that the Thai students can listen to it and learn English. According to the Buck Institute of Education, one of the leading sources for PBL, authenticity in project based learning takes different forms. A project is authentic if:
In the case of our books for the Thai class, students are not only using the writing process and tools that authors use, but they are creating a leveled text that will be used by real kindergartners across the world. They will be providing something that will help those kindergartners learn more English and learn how to read. In our weather project, students again used processes and tools that are used by professionals. When we went to KTUU, students saw a real news studio and practiced using a green screen. In fact, they were coached on how green screens are used to give weather forecasts by a real meteorologist. I am so thankful for our amazing community that allows all of Anchorage as part of our classroom. Students saw the green screen at KTUU and they then used a green screen in our classroom to create their own forecasts. They studied weather patterns in their birthday month, just like meteorologists study weather patterns, and then created a five-day forecast infographic and delivered a forecast for their birthday month. Some of them were rather silly as we recorded their forecasts (because at the end of the day, they are still five-year olds :)). As we watched the forecasts and they saw themselves with their five-day forecasts behind them, many of them noted that they should have been less silly, looked at the camera, pointed to their forecast, or spoken more loudly during their forecast. Some even wanted to do it over. Others were proud that they said what was actually on their forecast, that they looked at the camera, or that they disappeared because they wore green. Both of these projects provide a beautiful picture of the way authenticity naturally drives high expectations. Because the product set up a realistic scenario, students, upon seeing it, elevated their standards for themselves. They also learned an important lesson that adults and professionals learn over and over as well - reflection is an important part of learning and growth. You can be proud of a job well done but still strive for improvement next time. We learn from "mistakes" to grow and become better. Perfection is not the aim; progress and learning through the process are. Our little ones know that I love spending my days at school with them, and I do. It is my joy to help authentically open up the world to them and see them embrace it, to see them be so preciously five but so mature at the same time, to see them reflect and grow, and to so excitedly tackle real-world things. This is how they learn that they can make a difference in our world, and this is how they will be equipped to do so.
Writing Development: A Closer Look
12/1/2018
Our progress reports provide a very detailed picture of your child's current academic, social, and emotional development. However, they can also be overwhelming if you are not sure exactly what they mean. In my previous blog post, I outlined some of the key factors of reading development and I am following up with some more information on writing development here.
Like reading, learning to write is a highly developmental and complicated process. Our youngest writers are not only learning the letters, their sounds, and how to correctly form them, but they are also learning what a word is, how to write a proper sentence, and how to craft and compose an interesting story that makes sense and is readable. I don't think I have to tell you that this is quite a few skills to master all at once! Like in reading, children typically follow predictable patterns as they progress in their writing skills. This allows teachers to provide targeted instruction of the necessary strategies for each child to continue developing as a writer. On your child's report, you will see a writing section, "Foundational Skills," and "Language." These are a few of the key indicators that will give you a clear picture of your child's current developmental phase of writing. Each standard under Foundational Skills and Language is broken into sub-standards. A 1 in these areas indicates that, at this time, your student is reliant on the teacher to approach the standard and that they need support. A 2 indicates that your child is beginning to use these strategies on their own but that they are using them inconsistently and are thus approaching the standard. A 3 indicates that, at this time, your child is consistently using the taught strategies independently and is meeting the sub-standards that were taught. At this point in the year, a 1 is not necessarily something to panic about. It could mean that there is an underlying issue, but most likely, it just means that your child is relying heavily on teacher support because of their current developmental level on the writing continuum or because they are not yet able to compose a story. At this point in the year, some children are beginning to write conventionally. Others are still using letter strings to tell their stories. Still others are finding it challenging to compose a story and consistently "read" their own writing without changing the story each time. At PNA, writing, like reading, is taught in a workshop model. All students participate in a mini-lesson in which I present a writing strategy or skill and provide an exemplar. Students then spend time doing, writing, and practicing the taught strategies. As some students work independently, I work with others to pinpoint their individual needs and help them continue progressing in their writing development. This trimester, students will also start making writing goals, which they will adjust and discuss with me during our conferring times. If you would like to help your child progress in their writing, here are some things you can do at home:
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Saania AliMs. Ali graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. She specializes in Early Childhood Education, ESL, and Special Education. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and painting! Archives
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