Failure Is Impossible

Madison author Dean Robbins admitted to the second graders who'd gathered to hear him speak at Stormonth this week that as a boy he'd been a devoted fan of Superman. But he said that his ideas about heroes had changed over time. The non-fiction children's books he writes today are about real heroes of American history like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony - people who saw problems and worked hard for change. Their spirit, determination, and creative thinking are their super powers and what makes them heroes, he told the boys and girls.

Robbins ended his talk with a quote from Susan B. Anthony: "Failure is impossible." He asked the children to repeat the words three times loudly, which of course, they were only too happy to do. Back in the classroom, I asked the boys and girls what they thought "failure is impossible" meant. Surely, we all fail sometimes, I argued rhetorically. "But it's not really failing if you keep trying," one child said. "If there's something you really want to do or need to do, you have to keep going. You don't just say, 'I failed' when one little thing goes wrong," said another.

Classrooms are always a mix of success and struggle, and ours was no exception this week. Some children drafted, revised and edited their final opinion pieces with ease; others made several false starts before hitting on the right ideas. Some breezed through new chapter books I'd given them to read and write about. For others, this work took more time. In math, some children were able to read word problems and recognize almost immediately the steps involved in finding the solutions, while others had to wrestle with the numbers.

Behavior goals are not so different. For some children, it was relatively easy to listen respectfully and earn the check marks they needed for our class reward. For others, containing their energy and ideas for even a few minutes is like trying to hold back a flood.

All students are challenged in various ways. For most children, some things in every school day are easy and some are hard. Not everything can or should be a challenge. But there's a growing awareness among the boys and girls that the challenges are where the real growth lies. School should be about embracing the challenges. Each child believing that he or she has what it takes to be successful at even the hardest things - maybe not today - but eventually, with time and effort and others to help point the way. This is the message at the heart of the popular notion of a "growth mindset." And many second graders will tell you that it's probably what Susan B. Anthony was thinking when she said "failure is impossible" almost 150 years ago.

As the second trimester comes to an end and I work on report cards and prepare for conferences, thoughts about how students learn and how they view their successes and struggles are much on my mind. I want each student to have the mindset to look past disappointments and mistakes, to keep pushing through the hard parts, and to keep reaching for goals. It's asking a lot of second graders, but I see signs of this kind of thinking every day. I see heroes in the making.

Mark Your Calendars:

Mon., Mar. 6 - Report cards are sent home.

Wed., Mar. 8 - First day for parent-teacher conferences (3:00-6:30 PM)

Thurs., Mar. 16 - Parent-teacher conferences (4:30-8:00 PM)

Wed., Mar. 22 - Early Release Day for students; parent-teacher conferences (3:00-6:30 PM)

Mon., Mar. 20 - The real first day of Spring (It just seemed like spring this week and we took advantage of the warm weather with an extra recess.)

Sat., Mar. 25 - First day of Spring Break

Hearts and Sundaes

My mom, a longtime teacher, confessed that she was a little jealous of me this week for getting to be part of the fun of an elementary school Valentine's Day celebration. "It was always one of my favorite days of the year," she told me. Mine too! It surprises me year after year to see how happy children are just to exchange their valentines. Sure, they love getting the treats, too, but it feels like more than that. By this point in the school year, children have formed close ties. They know each other very well. They appreciate each others' talents and accept the rest. Valentine's Day is their chance to celebrate the special community they've become.

Award-winning books took their place alongside the paper hearts that filled our classroom this week. As the boys and girls continued to write "award nominations" as a way of sharing opinions about their favorite books, we took a look at some books that already had been deemed exceptional. Dozens of winners of the Caldecott and Newberry medals, as well as other honors, quickly went from being on display on shelves into children's hands.
I read aloud the 2016 Newberry and Caldecott winners. Both are beautiful books with heartfelt messages. "Last Stop on Market Street" tells of a boy's

weekly trip with his nana to the poor side of town. Initially reluctant to make the trip again, the boy finds beauty and kindness in unexpected places and wisdom in his nana's words. "Finding Winnie" is the true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. The story follows an orphaned cub and the soldier who rescued her across Canada, aboard a convoy to England, and finally to the London Zoo. Wonderful inspiration for young writers!

In Social Studies, we've been taking a virtual trip around the world. Thanks to Stomonth teacher Jennifer Ahles, second graders are visiting sights in all seven continents via Google Classroom. Mrs. Ahles has linked images and videos from interesting destinations around the globe to pins on Google maps. So far, our class has been to the Rockies, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and Banff National Park in North America and the Great Barrier Reef and the Outback in Australia. The boys and girls collect information about the physical geography, climate, and resources of each continent as we go.

Most of our math time this week has been spent turning word problems into equations. Deciphering these stories, deciding whether addition or subtraction will yield the solution, and then carrying out the work requires a lot of careful thinking. Thanks for your help on the homework that supports what we do in the classroom.

Mark Your Calendars:

Mon., Feb. 20 - No school for students

Tues., Feb. 21 - Last day to turn in box tops for the PTO fund drive

Wed., Feb. 22 - Early Release Day for students

Fri., Feb. 24 - Jump Rope for Heart Assembly

Mon., Mar. 6 - Report cards are sent home.

Wed., Mar. 8 - First day for parent-teacher conferences (3:00-6:30 PM)

Thurs., Mar. 16 - Parent-teacher conferences (4:30-8:00 PM)

Wed., Mar. 22 - Early Release Day for students; parent-teacher conferences (3:00-6:30 PM)

Sat., Mar. 25 - First day of Spring Break

Reading and Riddles

I am tall and skinny and I always wear yellow.
I have an unusual pet who gets in trouble a lot, like one time he got carried away by a bunch of balloons.
I am patient and kind and I always help him out.
Who am I?

I have yellow, spiky hair.
I draw my own cartoons.
I have a big sister named Judy and she's very, very moody.
Who am I?

If you were at the Second Grade Character Show today, you know the answers to these riddles and lots more. The event was a dramatic way to showcase the good work that the boys and girls have done around series books. They were excited to take the stage. But let's go behind the scenes, too. Besides dressing up as their characters, the children engaged in a lot of character analysis this week. One activity involved thinking as their characters to answer a series of interview questions. It took close reading and deep thinking to respond to questions like these as their characters would: What would the perfect day be like for you? What's been your biggest disappointment? Your greatest achievement? Do you think you would make a good Stormonth student? If a new series was written about you, what would it be about?

In Writing Workshop this week, opinion writing about books took a new turn. After discussing book awards that exist in the real world like the Newberry Medal, the boys and girls tried writing the kind of nominations that bring outstanding works of literature to the attention of judges. In nominating their own books for awards, they tried to support their opinions with solid reasons and powerful words. Meanwhile, we published some of our earlier work. The bulletin board outside the classroom is filling up with letters of advice from our class about what other students at Stormonth should read. Publishing, or publicly sharing work, is an important step in the writing process and it lends an authentic purpose to the hard work the children do day after day.

Perseverance has been key in math. The tricky work of multi-digit subtraction has been getting easier for some with practice, practice, and more practice. "Oh, now I get it!" has been heard any number of times this week as we worked through numeric and word problems together.

It almost didn't happen, but today the boys and girls finally got their chance at ice skating. Getting to do this in second grade is right of passage at Stormonth. I was pleased that the year didn't go by without at least one turn at the rink.

Thanks to those who have already volunteered to send in items for our Valentine's Day party on Tuesday. We still need bowls, spoons, and Valentine napkins. Let me know if you can help.

Mark Your Calendars:

Mon., Feb. 13 - Literacy Information Night for Parents, 6:30 PM. Laura Witkov, Kate Schroeder, and I will present information about how reading is taught at Stormonth and how you can help at home. You can RSVP by sending me an email or returning the flyer you received earlier this week.

Tues., Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day celebration. Don't forget to bring your valentines! We will be making Valentine holders at school. No need to send special boxes or bags.

Mon., Feb. 20 - No school for students

Wed., Feb. 22 - Early Release Day for students

Fri., Feb. 24 - Jump Rope for Heart Assembly

Mon., Mar. 6 - Report cards are sent home.

Seeing the Math

At Stormonth, we're fortunate to have lots of experts. One of our math experts, interventionist and coach Abby Piatti, joined our class this week at my invitation to help us with multi-digit subtraction. With Mrs. Piatti, we took a few steps backwards and worked on conceptualizing place value. She knew that place value concepts provide the foundation for the challenging subtraction work we've been trying to do.

She helped us "see ten" as both a unit (one ten) and a composite (ten ones). It's easy to take this understanding for granted, but true  "tens thinking" requires a fair amount of mathematical sophistication. It means that children can quickly and flexibly increase or decrease by tens and coordinate tens and ones mentally. It means that they can structure numbers around the dynamic relationships between hundreds, tens, and ones instead of just relying on rote exercises.

We started our work with craft sticks bundled as tens and envisioned adding on to a collection or taking away, sometimes unbundling sticks to do these tasks. We tried thinking of subtraction as "jumping back" and addition as "jumping up" and practiced making a series of quick mental maneuvers. (Start at 220, what is ten more...  twenty more... two less... 100 more... ten less.....) As we eventually returned to standard algorithms, it was hopefully with a more solid foundation and what Abby calls a new way of "seeing the math."

In Reading Workshop this week, many children moved on to new series after having met or exceeded their goal of at least three books with the same characters. Look for a letter in your child's binder today that lets you know your child's status on this character work.  If your child still has reading left to do, please encourage him or her to make an effort this weekend. Our Character Fashion Show is just a week away. Remember to send costumes to school on Tuesday. And please plan to join us for the big event next Friday!

In Writing Workshop, opinion writing about books continued with the children broadening their range of topics beyond characters and plot. For example, some are writing about how the illustrations enhance a book and others are writing about the lesson a book holds for readers. We'll be looking especially at the craft moves authors use as we wrap up our opinion letter writing next week.

A list of the names of all of the children in the class should be in your child's folder today. Use this to address valentines. We'll share our valentines on Valentine's Day, Tues., Feb. 14. And we'll celebrate our friendships with ice cream sundaes. If you would be willing to provide any of the following items for our party, please let me know: vanilla ice cream, sundae toppings, bowls, spoons, napkins, or water bottles. Thanks!

Finally, we've declared February "Respectful Listening Month" in our classroom. We're keeping tabs on individual behavior with our Heart Chart. Any child who fills his or her heart with stickers for good listening will be eligible for fun, in-class reward times.

Mark Your Calendars:

Tues., Feb. 7 - Rehearsal for the Second-Grade Character Fashion Show. Send your costumes to school. Also Makers' Club continues during recess.

Wed., Feb. 8 - Early release day for students. Makers' Club continues during recess. Also last chance for ice-skating during PE.

Thurs. Feb. 9 - I will be out of the classroom to attend the Wisconsin State Reading Association Convention. Mrs. Maier will be the substitute.

Fri., Feb. 10 - Second-Grade Character Fashion Show, 9:15 AM in the cafeteria. Parents are invited to attend.

Tues., Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day celebration. 

Fri., Feb. 24 - Jump Rope for Heart Assembly