Visiting a Land of Stories

The highlight of our short week was without a doubt our field trip to Bookworm Gardens. The two-acre site in Sheboygan, is divided into six areas. Each one is beautifully landscaped and decorated around themes from classic children's literature. At the area called the barnyard, for instance, there are hints of "Charlotte's Web" and "Peter Rabbit." Part of the woodlands area is reminiscent of "Little House in the Big Woods." Another part recalls "Goldilocks and Three Bears," including Papa Bear's too-big chair. (Though it seemed just right for some second graders.) The pond area, otherwise known as "McElligott's Pool," is stocked with dozens of colorful fish to feed.

Bookworm Gardens invites children into these settings and then gives them free rein. To say that the displays are interactive is an understatement. Children can climb, crawl, collect, create - and most of all imagine. As a first-time visitor, I was surprised that there wasn't more actual reading going on. Was I disappointed? Not at all. This is a special place where children bring what they know about classic books and become part of these beloved stories.

Back in the classroom this week, we did some close reading of two books by Jane Yolen, the Caldecott-winning "Owl Moon" and the lesser known but equally touching "Elsie's Bird." We considered Yolen's intentions as she wrote each of these books. We examined the ways that she made us react and the writing techniques she used to prompt those reactions. Throughout the year, we'll study authors like Yolen and when we do our reading and writing lessons align so closely it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. 

Also, this week, we solved word problems galore, including tricky problems with too much or too little information. We had our first science lesson about pebbles, sand, and silt. The boys and girls observed three kinds of rocks. By rubbing them together, they began to explore the concept of weathering. Finally, we met with our buddy class, the first graders from Mrs. Hogue's room. For our first meeting, the second graders demonstrated how to shake hands properly when introduced. Then each of them worked with a younger student to create a special buddy handshake that they will use to greet each other from now on.

Next Thursday, Oct. 20, Stormonth holds its first round of parent-teacher conferences. These continue on Wed., Oct. 26, and Thurs., Oct. 27. I look forward to meeting with all of you. Since I'll be busy with conferences on the next two Thursday evenings when I usually write the blog posts, I will wait until the first week of November for the next update.

Mark Your Calendars:

Wed. Oct. 19 - Fire Safety program

Thurs., Oct. 20, Wed., Oct. 26, and Thurs., Oct. 27 - Parent-Teacher Conferences. I look forward to meeting with you. 

Fri., Oct. 28 - Stormonth Halloween Parade and our class Halloween party (new date). I am still hoping to find a volunteer or two willing to help plan the party or supply treats. Please let me know if you can help.

Setting Goals

One of the goals I've set for myself this year is to help students set goals for themselves. If this sounds a bit convoluted, let me explain. I see goal-setting as a way for the boys and girls to begin to take charge of their own learning; to be reflective about what they've already done and to challenge themselves to do even better. Taking this kind of ownership for learning, even in small ways, means that children are likely to be more motivated and successful. With practice, goal-setting becomes an important habit of the mind and heart.

Since the beginning of the school year, our class has talked about goals. We discussed how goals need to be specific and realistic, and how they need to have a deadline. The first goals we set were class, or community, goals for reading and writing stamina. Being able to read and write in quiet, focused ways is important, we agreed, because this creates an environment where we can practice our skills.

We reviewed our stamina goals this week. The boys and girls were tough on themselves and decided that they hadn't quite met our goals of staying on-task for 30 minutes a day for each subject. So we revised our Sept. 30th deadlines, discussed some new strategies, and are trying again.

The children had better luck meeting their individual goals. For these, they chose particular ways in which

they hoped to improve their own reading and writing. I suggested the kinds of goals they might consider, but I held back from laying out specific goals for students to tackle. I wanted this to come from them. I was impressed by how accurately students saw their strengths and needs, how willing they were to take risks, and then how honest they were in assessing whether they'd achieved their goals. Once goals are reached (with some evidence to prove it), we post them on large bulletin boards in our classroom. Then, new goals are set. "It's a cycle," one student said. "We'll just keep going and going." Exactly!

Here are examples of second-round, individual reading and writing goals. Notice the common language. I think this is helping children to understand achievement as a consequence of their own actions and to express this clearly.

• I hope to bring my stories to life so I will add thinking and feeling to my next three stories.
• I hope to read bigger words so I will figure them out chunk by chunk until the end of October.
• I hope to stay focused on my books so I will move away from my friends until November 1.
• I hope to get better at comprehension so I will ask myself questions about my next two books.
• I hope to read longer books so I will try a chapter book series by Oct. 14.
• I hope to write about my reading so I will write down my ideas about my next five books.

In other news from the classroom this week, we continued to solve word problems in math, wrote small moment stories about everything from lost teeth to lost cats, played with word patterns, read from our book boxes, visited the book fair, smiled for our class picture, and put the finishing touches on our hallway display about lessons we learned from Leo Lionni books (check it out more closely when you come for conferences).

Mark Your Calendars:

Tues., Oct. 11 - Second-grade field trip to Bookworm Gardens, 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM. Thank you to Mrs. Woods, Mrs. Langerman, and Mrs. Duback for joining us as chaperones.

Wed., Oct. 12 - No school

Wed. Oct. 19 - Fire Safety program

Thurs., Oct. 20, Wed., Oct. 26, and Thurs., Oct. 27 - Parent-Teacher Conferences. I look forward to meeting with you. 

Mon., Oct. 31 - Class Halloween Party. If you would be willing to plan or help plan a small class party (about 30 minutes of fun activities and a treat), please let me know.