Use Fictional Writing with Elementary Authors

In response to:  "Fantastical Enlightenment for Elementary Students."

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/elementary-student-writing-fantasy-gaetan-pappalardo

In this blog post by Gaetan Pappalardo, he emphasizes the importance of introducing young writers to the genre of fiction.  In his post, Pappalardo refers to the fact that many states do not even add fictional writing to their standards/benchmarks and that kids are being cheated.  Children are exposed to fictional material on a daily while on the internet and watching television.  The majority of the books that children read are fictional stories.  When it comes to writing, many young students struggle more than they did when beginning to read.  If students were encouraged to use their imagination in their fictional writing, they would enjoy writing much more.  Pappalardo talks about how teachers do tell students to write about what they know, but often times do not give students the freedom to really write about what they want to write about.  Instead, teachers often times tell students to write about anything that true and non-fictional.  I agree with Pappalardo that if a teacher takes the time to model fictional writing and discuss fictional writing ideas with a classroom of upper elementary students that kids would really enjoy writing much more.  As teachers, we need to find time to squeeze in fictional writing as much as possible!  

Using Technology to Study Landscapes Outdoors

In response to:  "Learning Landscape:  Kids Monitor Terrain with Technology."

http://www.edutopia.org/wetland-ecology-technology-video

This link connects you to a five minute video that describes a program that upper elementary school students in Minnesota are involved in for Science.  Students have been working outdoors in a open area of land that has many different types of plant and animal life.  Students are put into groups and are given a number of plants and animals that they need to research and monitor.  Each group becomes specialists/experts in their area of study and is expected to report to the class about their findings.  The area of land that they have to work with is large and most schools do not have programs set up like this for their students, but it is something that teachers could strive for in the future.  The elementary school in this post has gotten grants to buy new technology for their students to use in the field and the kids really respond well to the atmosphere of learning.  Using the technology allows students to collaborate and become life-long self-learners inside and outside of the classroom.

Responsibility for Learning on Teachers or Students?

This blog post is in response to:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-commitment-depends-on-teachers-ben-johnson

In the blog that is linked above, Ben Johnson raises the question of who is responsible for learning in the classroom? Does the responsibility to ensure that learning is taking place that of the teachers or of the students?  When Ben posed this question at a faculty meeting his teaching staff had mixed feelings.  In this blog Ben discusses the need for teachers to have the mentality that "all students will learn in my classroom."  On the other hand, students need to have to want to learn something as well to have the perfect atmosphere for learning to take place.  As a teacher, I know that all students will and do learn in my classroom and I need to set the bar high and help students to reach positive goals throughout the year.

Involve Students When Creating Classroom Rules

This post is in response to:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/bill-student-rights-classroom-rules-nicholas-provenzano

In his posting on Edutopia Nicholas Provenzano described the setting of his classroom while his students worked in groups to create a set of classroom rules that they would use for the school year.  By reading his post it is clear that he did not send his students on their way blindly.  They studied and discussed both the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights before beginning their class sessions dedicated to the creation of classroom rules.  I really like how Provenzano uses both Social Studies and Language Arts as a lesson plan/unit for creating classroom rules that were created by his students.  

Teaching in the U.S.A. vs Other Countries Around the World

This blog post is in response to:  http://www.edutopia.org/groups/elementary-school/63840

Hector, the person who wrote the blog post above, is not happy with the American school system and how it compares to the school systems of other countries around the world.  Hector claimed that Finland has one of the highest ranking school systems in the world.  He gave credit to the country for only allowing the top tier of their college education graduates the opportunity to apply for teaching positions.  Those who do not make the cut are simply not allowed to apply for teaching jobs.  Hector claims that unlike in the U.S.A., the country of Finland places a very high value on their education system and is willing to pay their teachers high wages to educate their youth.  By paying their teachers competitive wages, top tier college graduates strive to become a teacher just as people in the U.S.A. strive to become engineers, doctors, accountants, and lawyers.  If teachers in the U.S.A. were paid better, the quality of education might go up?  I have mixed feelings on this rationale.  What do you think?  

Student Data Folders

In response to:  "Create Student Data Folders for Parents"
http://www.teachhub.com/news/article/cat/14/item/778

In this blog post Charity Preston discusses the need for "student data" folders to be sent home bi-weekly throughout the school year.  By sending home student data folders, parents are more involved in the education of their child.  Grades and comments will be sent home by the teacher and parents will be required to sign and return the folder on an assigned day of the week.  Preston said that she also creates room on the data page where the students are required to write a self reflection about the past couple of weeks and how they think things are going and what they can do to improve.  This is a way of having students track their own progress and so that they always know where they stand when it comes to their grades.  Students are encouraged to take ownership in their work by sending home grades more often.  Preston claims that even with the 24 hour a day grading system that is available on the school website that parents still claim they had no idea their child was not performing well in the classroom.  This is a way to avoid that and to encourage more parental involvement.  Preston offers a detailed example of how to make the folders and what to put in them to get you started in your own routine of sending home student data folders in the link above.  I have used a system very similar to this and it works great.  It really does cut down on the number of upset parents when report cards are sent home...

How to Have a Successful School Year

In response to:  "Two Simple Secrets to a Successful School Year"
http://www.teachhub.com/news/article/cat/14/item/736

In Kim Oliver's blog post on how to have a successful school year she discusses two key necessities that every successful classroom needs.  First, Oliver shares that building a relationship with your students is the most important thing a teacher can do to create the setting for a successful school year.  Students want to do their best work for the teachers that they like and respect.  Secondly, Oliver says that teachers need to set the bar high when it comes to expectations.  In order for students to reach high to meet those expectations a teacher needs to ensure that their classroom is a safe place for the students to be.  Teachers need to focus on being themselves because students are good at seeing right through a teacher who is trying to be someone that they are not.  Kids love it when teachers are themselves and happy in the classroom!