I have spent the last two years focused deeply on my classroom -- on making things better, finding inspiration (looking at you, Terri Eicholz!), and creating a learning space that I would be excited and proud to share. This year, I've dipped my toe into the next level as a teacher, (how's that for mixing metaphors?), providing professional development to other teachers. It's been terrifying. And thrilling. Today, I spent the morning with a dear friend creating a pitch to present at next year's SXSW EDU. We want to take what we've learned from Making in our classrooms and translate it into something teachers can use in ALL classrooms. To find out more, check out our video.
And stay tuned -- Ed Remix has lots of ideas, just waiting to be shared.
"I wrote a chapter book!" This pronouncement, unexpected from the lips of a first-grader, made me smile. She had taken to our latest project with gusto, and had been writing on Storybird for hours. This fantastic website was shared by a friend last year, but has really taken off with my storytelling group this semester. (For more great tech ideas, check out Cristina Popescu's blog "Think Appy Thoughts!")
Basically, the website provides the artwork, and your students pick the picture that inspires them. They can write poems, chapter books or picture books, and can even "publish" their stories to share. The basic level of the website is free, and teachers can sign up 30 students (after that they have to pay for subscriptions). It's also safe: Teachers can moderate all stories and comments that their students make, and any stories published in the public realm are moderated by the website's team for family-friendliness. I shared Storybird with the teachers on our campus, and the first grade teachers decided to sign their classes up. One of their students enjoyed writing so much, she authored the picture book "How to Write a Book on Storybird."
Although I'm using it in class with younger elementary students, I can see this working with kids through high school -- or even adults. I'm personally working on a children's chapter book right now -- it's pretty rough, but I promised my students that if they're writing, then I would, too. They love being able to see my writing take shape, and giving me suggestions on it. Enjoy!
"Oh, your kids really have fun, don't they?" I've been asked this question, or versions of it, more times than I can count over the past year as a GT facilitator, in tones ranging from wistfulness to sneer. And I reply, "Yes, they do -- and they think hard, too." Because really, people, what's wrong with a little fun in school? I'm thinking of this after spending an hour watching my fifth graders just have fun today. We were supposed to teleconference with NASA, but due to technological difficulties, had to reschedule. Which left me a classroom of fifth graders and an unscheduled hour.
Pentago
"Free choice!" I called out, deciding to give them their Christmas present early. They scattered -- LEGOs, chess, marble runs. Some chose new challenges, like Pentago or In a Pickle. Others went to old favorites -- Quoridor and Quirkle. To be honest, I struggled with this decision -- was I wasting an hour? What would their teachers -- strapped for time with the stress of state testing in three subjects -- say if they found out? Then I stepped back and just watched. Part of our district's mission statement reads: "...ISD,where we encourage collaboration and communication, [and] promote critical thinking..." In their play, my students were embracing all three of those district goals. So yes, they were having fun. And thinking -- a lot.
