Behind the Scenes: Inquiry Lesson Plans

For the past five weeks, 3A's Unit of Inquiry has been based around Space and "How the Sun impacts Earth."  Now that we've reached the end of our unit, the students had to complete a summative assessment.  Following is a sample of what our weekly plan looked like:


Monday
Last week, students looked at 10 misconceptions about Space that they or their classmates had at the beginning of the unit.  Before Thanksgiving, they ranked the top three misconceptions that they were interested in explaining in detail.  Today, students were put into partnerships based on their top choices.  The lesson was dedicated to researching using classroom books (of which there are numerous resources on the various topics) as well as the internet.  Students worked on using bullet points to summarize their findings.  One student was in charge of exploring the misconception (why people might believe it) while their partner was in charge of the truth (explaining the reality of the misconception.)


Tuesday
Yesterday in Art, students created a visual diagram to represent either their misconception or the reality of their misconception.  On a large piece of black construction paper, students used oil pastels to illustrate their research findings from earlier that morning. Today, students were responsible for using their bulleted notations to formulate informative paragraphs.  They first had to organize their information in a way that flowed smoothly and then had to create unique, complete sentences to share their information.  Partners edited their peer's paragraphs before conferencing with a teacher.  The final drafts of the paragraphs were attached to a colorful piece of construction paper for the presentation on Wednesday.  


Wednesday
Today was the day of the Science Fair!  Each partnership was set up at a table with their visual aids and informative paragraphs.  3A and 3B took turns hosting the fair while students from the opposite class circulated the room and listened to the presentations, taking down notes as they went.  Many of my students animatedly explained their findings to their classmates, but of course there were a few "Nervous Nellies" who read straight from their paragraph sheets.  After both classes had presented, we sat down as a whole group and had students briefly share with a partner and then with the class a misconception that they resolved today.  


Thursday
Today students will be going on a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History to culminate the Inquiry into Space unit.  In small groups of four, they will be exploring the six "Journey of the Stars" exhibits and learning about how a star is born, progresses through life, and eventually dies.  Students will also be watching an IMAX movie about NASA and their explorations into space.


Friday
Today is a day for students to think back over the entire Inquiry into Space unit, focusing particularly on the information they learned at the Science Fair, to do a "Space Reflection."  Students will be demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of space by providing three ways in which the Sun impacts Earth (the overarching theme of the unit.)  Students responses require great detail and evidence to support their answer.  This reflection, along with the students' final projects, are used as the summative assessment to judge their comprehension.


As you can see, there is a lot of student-led work going on throughout the week.  Students are continually taking active responsibility for their own learning.  It's amazing to witness!  I'll be sure to post photos from the field trip next time I blog.
-Megan  

Technology at Dwight!

One of the unique things about Dwight is how much Technology they try to incorporate during unit and other subjects. Dwight is very fortunate in the fact that they can afford many different types of technology to assist their students in a variety of tasks. Many classrooms have a set of lap tops in their classroom to use whenever they want. My fourth graders use them for practicing typing, blogging about their books they are reading, researching for unit and other subjects as well. Dwight also has a couple sets or maybe just 1 set of Ipads for students to use.  They also have doc cameras, little cameras that can hook up to the computer to be used for video taping, and so many other things.
It is clear to me that Technology is something that is very important in this school, and they try to integrate it in any way that they can.
Students also go to technology class to have even more exposure using various technological devices. And to do activities on the computer. Last week my students made graphic organizers in technology to help them better understand the 3 branches of government. They also did a webquest about democracy. All of these are such great ways to get students more engaged with technology!
 Along with that, my fourth graders and fifth graders as well have someone come in once or twice a week from the technology department (her name is Daniella, she is wonderful! ) and work with the students.  At this time, I am not sure if 1st-3rd grades have this as well.
Currently, my fourth grade class is studying Government as their unit of inquiry. A part of of their unit is to make a brochure for a government that they are designing, and a part of their brochure is to design a sign or symbol for their government. Instead of just drawing the sign or symbol on a piece of paper and coloring it in using markers, or colored pencils the students have the opportunity to use ipads and an application called Brushes to help them draw their symbols.
On Monday, Daniella came in during Unit time and assisted the students in learning how to use Brushes so that they would know when they are working in technology to design their symbol for their brochures. I think that this is a really innovative way for the students to design their symbols. The students were so excited to use the Ipads, and they loved experimenting with this application. I'm sure they are going to do a great job with designing their symbols and I can't wait to see them!

Here are some pictures of them working in class on Monday with the Ipads:

 they played a game called 5 lines. This a game where someone draws 5 lines. Then their partner tries to connect those lines in order to make something. Some of their pictures were very creative!

I also was very impressed by how well the students shared the ipads with their partners in the beginnng of the lesson, and then later they were given their own to explore and play with.
I think Technology is something that is going to continue changing and evolving as our world progresses, and I think it is great that these students have the opportunity to learn and use these technologies in the classroom.

Tomorrow we are heading to the Tree Lighting at Rockerfeller Center! We are pretty pumped for this! Make sure to check back for pictures!

Adios!

-Sarah

How lucky are we?

The longer I have been out here with the girls I have realized more and more just how lucky and privileged I am to be in New York of all places! Obviously it's great to go see all the places in the wonderful city, have warm weather, but the true reason we are out here is to be at the school teaching the kids, learning from the kids and teachers. Each and everyday is something different and I'm starting to realize there is more of a difference in this IB school compared to public schools back in Minnesota. I love that the students are coming up with their own areas to learn about. All we do as teachers is give a main topic and literally the students take it from there. The students are the ones making their own observations that will then lead into a discussion in math or reading. You name it they are able to find the connections. Instead of us just directly teaching the students from the book everyday we help facilitate the learning. The main thing I have noticed myself doing more is asking the "why" questions. Not only is this helping the students start discussion and learning it is also allowing me to learn myself on how I can help the students more. I can't wait to go back to Gustavus and let my other education friends hear about this experience. I wonder how my first seven week experience would have gone if I knew and understood the idea of facilitating rather then direct teaching. Things could have gone completely different - for the better. I am very excited to continue learning more with the experience I have been given and am so lucky to have had this chance to come to New York and learn. I also am very excited to finalize papers to turn in to apply to the Dwight School in Korea!! Hopefully I can take what I have learned here and bring it with to Korea!    

Tomorrow from 5-6:30 is the PYP presentation for all the parents. It allows the parents to learn what exactly takes place at school and for what reasons. Why is the IB program so well designed? I'm excited to go to this because I feel it will benefit me greatly!

I'll keep you updated!
-Heidi

Only 2 weeks left? Time Flies when you are having fun!

Happy Sunday! Today's blog post is going to be about our upcoming week and things we are looking forward to for the rest of the time we are here :)
The reason it is not about today's activities is because Heidi and I have been working on TPA's all day, and have pretty much been sitting in the same spots  in the lobby since 10:30 am. We are making good progress though.

So tomorrow we head back to school after our long weekend, it has been nice to relax a bit, have time to work on our TPA's and do some fun things too :)

Things we are looking forward to this week:
Monday- We are happy to be back at school and see our students and hear about Thanksgiving breaks! I know alot of my students were going out of town, so I am excited to hear about their travels and where they all went.  
Megan will be leading her students in inquiry and assisting them in researching
Tuesday- I am teaching a writing lesson and a math lesson. I hope both of these go well!
On Wednesday, we will be going to the tree lighting in Rockerfeller Center - make sure to check back for pictures of this!
On Friday we are planning on going to a comedy show that we got tickets for earlier during our stay. We are all looking forward to this and experiencing something new!
Next Sunday- Heidi will be participating in a 5K fun run around battery park. Megan and I will be going and cheering her on. This will be a fun way to see Battery park and enjoy the beautiful NY weather!

We have many other things that we want to check off our to do list before we leave and we will make sure to keep updating and let you all know what we see and do and tell you about school happenings too!

That's all for this Sunday, sorry it's so short!

Have a great Sunday night!

-Sarah

Walking in the Shoes Of...

How much CAN a mother/daughter duo see in three days???

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Central Park

Magnolia's Bakery

Brooklyn Bridge

St. John's Cathedral

More Central Park

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Top of the Rock

Street Performers

Santa Clause

Ellen Stardust Diner

Mama Mia

Columbia University

Morningside Park

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Macy's Department Store

World Trade Center Memorial

You know your parents love you when they agree to tackle that much of the city with you even when their feet hurt. :)

-Megan

Lazy Friday at the Hotel

Hey Everyone!  Today Heidi and I had a nice lazy Friday. Our day started off with us sleeping in till about 9:30. Then we went down and had a delcious breakfast. It was nice to be able to enjoy our breakfast's and not eat it on the run.  Then after breakfast we spent some time cleaning the room, and relaxing. We both commented how nice this was. Then this afternoon, we worked on our TPA's since they are due this Wednesday.
Around 7:30, we were very hungry so we went to get dinner at Applebees! It was delcious! I had a really excellent shrimp and broccoli stirfry! Heidi had the 3 cheese penne pasta. We both were very pleased with our meals.
After dinner, we came back here and are relaxing and working on our TPA's once again.

While we have been hanging out at the hotel most of the day, Megan has been on the town with her Mom. They had talked about maybe going to the Empire State Building, and walking around Times Square. Tonight, they had tickets to go see Mamma Mia! I'm sure they are having a great time! We cant wait to hear all about it tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, Heidi and I have a full day planned of shopping and sight seeing starting at 8am! It should be a fantastic day and the weather is supposed to be nice too!
 Well thats all for now! Thanks for reading!

-Sarah

Thanksgiving!

Wow! What an experience we have had so far. We are very thankful for the opportunity we have been given and understand how lucky it is for us to be out here in New York City!


This morning was a very early one again because we made our way to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Obviously being in New York we needed to go. I wonder what it would be like living out here and having the chance to go each year. Would it still have the same feeling as all those times watching on the TV or even going the first time in person. I wonder what my first graders think and feel about the parade and everything else that goes along with it.

There were around 3.5 million people in attendance and don't forget about the other couple million of people watching at home on TV. The streets were absolutely hectic but very much worth the experience. I wonder about all those people who live along the streets of the parade route who have such a great view from the comfort of the windows in their home.

Later in the day Sarah and I took a much needed Thanksgiving day nap while Megan and her mom were out on the town. We thought we would try and make this as much a normal Thanksgiving as possible so a nap was a great way of doing it. We are even more excited to sleep in tomorrow!

For dinner Sarah and I wanted to find some place to have a Thanksgiving dinner. We were recommended to go to Mike's Diner (recommended from Mike the driver). We have a feeling he secretly owns it and wants to promote as much as possible. We decided to venture out and wow were we impressed with the meal. For $17.95 a person we were able to get salad, soup, and appetizers, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, rolls, and a main dish. I ordered a think of turkey that came with stuffing and Sarah ordered a steak. We each had some of both. Don't forget that included a desert too. Pumpkin and apple pies to go please! The portions were so big we could have shared one meal. This was however the closet meal to home cooked that we could get.

Even though we aren't at home celebrating with family we enjoyed the day with each other and our hotel family. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity that Gustavus has given me!

Here are a few fun pictures from the day! Enjoy!

 Holding on to the Dough Boy

 Neil Diamond

 

My favorites growing up - Barney, Scooby Doo and Blues Clues in that order

 Cee Lo Green

 Santa!!! 

 Thanksgiving dinner

 Pre-excitement! 

 Post-nap

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

-Heidi

Things to be Thankful For...

As we near Thanksgiving, Sarah came up with the idea (that seemed most appropriate) to create a list of things that we have been thankful for over the past few weeks in New York:


1 - Our cooperating teachers who have opened their arms and their classrooms to allow us to learn from them and improve ourselves.


2 - Our students who eagerly soaking up our lessons and happily volunteer to be our guinea pigs. :)


3 - Deb S. who organized the ENTIRE trip out here and has made this dream a reality (I'd give her two thank-you's if that were possible!)


4 - Deb P for being such an amazing supervisor and helping us grow as future educators.


5 - The GAC Education Department faculty who have developed and pushed us to become the teachers we are today.


6 - The Hampton Hotel shuttle drivers who ensure that we arrive safe and sound (thank you Chris) to our destinations.


7 - The Hampton Hotel maids and Martin (the breakfast guy) who take care of us, cook and clean for us, like our mothers would if they could. :)


8 - The Hampton Hotel Concierges for answering the trillion questions we pose, reserving our shuttles, and refraining from teasing us when we buy Ben and Jerry's ice cream by the pint!


9 - Our parents, who continue to support us through this whole adventure.  Without your love and care, we wouldn't be able to survive in this concrete jungle.


10 - Lastly, to Burt (a guy from the airlines) who fixed my mom's ticket predicament.  If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see my family on this holiday.


Thanks to all who continue to read our blog; we really appreciate your unwavering support.  Have a fantastic, safe Thanksgiving!  We look forward to seeing you at Christmas. :)


-Megan (and the girls)

Thanksgiving Break in T Minus 1 day!

Today was a cold and rainy day in NYC. Thankfully we were all indoors most of today except for walking from the subway to school and back and that Heidi and I both had our umbrella's!

It's hard to believe but in 3 weeks from today we will all be home and back in MN. We all cant believe how fast time is flying here and we definitley want to make every second count that we have left here!

Something that we have found to be unique at Dwight compared to our other school's is that at Dwight the students go on field trips for every unit of inquiry that they have. We find this interesting because at our other schools, they maybe go on 1 or 2 field trips a year. An advantage that more field trips have is that the students have a real life connection to what they are learning about in their unit of inquiry. For example, today Heidi's first graders went to a place called Poet's House. While they were there they looked at Emily Dickenson's first works, had a couple poems read to them and wrote some of their own. Heidi said that this field trip was benefical for the students because they had the opportunity to experience a couple poetry readings which will help them as they move forward in their poetry unit. She said the student's were very engaged and eager during the field trip. We all have seen how field trips during units of inquiry benefit the students because they connect what they learned on the field trip to what is going on in class. They also continually go back and revisit that field trip experience during future classes.
Now something to think about however is the issue of missing class time for the field trip.  Most of the time these field trips are taking up most of the day and students are missing out on reading, writing, and math instruction time. However, since one of the main focus's of Dwight is the unit of inquiry we can all see where the field trips are important and valuable it is for students that maybe missing one day of school is ok. Just something to think about for today.

Tomorrow we have a half day at school, and then its Thanksgiving Break! We are all looking forward to having a couple days off to recharge a bit before our final 2 weeks at Dwight.
As Heidi said yesterday, we are also looking forward to Megan's mom's arrival tomorrow! And of course the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving (even if we have to get up super early, it will be worth it for sure!)

Well that's all for now.
Tonight is early bed time in our room, so goodnight!

-Sarah

Book Fair at Barnes and Noble!

Today was the book fair for all of Dwight. We had different times where each grade level would be attending. We all took school buses to the store and the students were very well behaved and they all put on their seat belts without us having to tell them. Safety First! It was extremely challenging to keep all 16 first graders in control while out in public. This store was huge! There were so many different levels where students can become lost. Some parents had given their children money ahead of time to buy books because they knew they wouldn't be able to make it. Other parents met us at school to buy books. While at the store parents and students were running around every way possible. Sixteen students shouldn't be this difficult to keep track of. We had about half an hour to shop and the second half was a reading by an author of children's books. The kids loved looking at new books and even buying some for themselves. I even got myself the Balloons Over Broadway - The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade and the first book of The Hunger Games. I can't wait to start reading.

The afternoon was so quick it was done before I could blink. As far as the other two girls day. I know Sarah taught her first math lesson and it went very well and much better then she had planned. It's always a good feeling when things go the way you want them to!

We are now looking forward to the rest of the week and Thanksgiving. We have the parade planned but for a Thanksgiving meal that is still to be determined where we will eat.

We are all having such great experiences out here. Today we were told that if we want to apply to Dwight we need to send in our resume, cover letter, and any references we have. This can be for the New York school or the Korea school. This way it will allow the correct people to come and observe some lessons we will be teaching out here. It will give them a chance to truly see us in action! Wish us luck!

PS: Megan is very thrilled to have her mom here on Wednesday! Sarah and I can't wait to meet her!

-Heidi  

I've been working on the TPA all the live long day!

As you can see from the title of the blog all of us have been working very hard this weekend on our TPA. It isn't due until the 30th but we are wonderful students and don't procrastinate nor do we want to do it over our Thanksgiving break. The sooner we can get it done the more time we have to enjoy our last few weeks. We also can start thinking about applying for jobs too! We know that the Dwight School in New York will be hiring a few new teachers but they also have a sister school opening in Korea!

Deb Sandquist will actually be helping with the hiring process come February. The school would be the same as New York but obviously a different location. The hope for me is that having this experience here in NYC will allow me to learn so much more about myself teaching and the different learning techniques I can include in any school, even though I'm crossing my fingers for Korea!

This week is going to fly by. Tomorrow is the book fair and it isn't like your everyday book fair. We actually go to the Barnes and Noble near by to hear a few stories and look at books. Tuesday my first graders will be heading to a poet's house for almost the whole day. Since our unit of inquiry is on poetry it seems very fitting for us to see a true poets place of living. Wednesday is a half day for all as it is the day before Thanksgiving. We are still figuring out what our plans are for the big holiday approaching us.

Today we met back up with Deb after she was spending time with an old friend. We went to the play Billy Elliot. Wow! The dancing was amazing and quite a show! We have been lucky to see such amazing shows!

Here is a clip from on of our favorite scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c_74VGGb6M&feature=related

After the show we went and ate at Ellen's Stardust. Deb or Megan had not yet been there so we thought we would give them a special treat seeing all the wonderful waiters and waitresses who perform in between assisting you. All of them are trying to get on that big street right outside called "Broadway". All of us were singing and dancing in our seats. Definitely a very fun place to have a meal. Deb headed back to her friends place where she will be leaving in the morning to head back home to Minnesota. It's very odd because we only have one more visitor before we head back home ourselves.

-Heidi 

Ways in Which We are Wiser

Before you begin reading this blog, take three minutes to watch these two videos on YouTube.  I have seen them both before coming to NY, but my teachers began the day with these videos earlier this week and I thought it would be appropriate to include them on a day when we were lacking motivation.


Kid Gives Speech After Learning to Ride a Bike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0zVPZBykSE


Jessica's Daily Affirmations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

8 Ways We Feel We Have Improved as Teachers

1. Show the students you care.  Make an instant connection with them that allows them to approach you no matter what the situation.  By doing this, you also improve your behavior management because students don't want to disappoint you.

2. Allow students to use their own curiosity and knowledge to explore.  Make lessons hands on and revolving around student discussions.  When students are learning about something that interests them, they are automatically more engaged and avid learners because they WANT to know the answers to their questions.

3. Provide students opportunities to teach each other.  We've learned that in order for students to comprehend new information, the teacher doesn't have to be the focus of the lesson.  When students discuss with each other and demonstrate for each other, they are more likely to listen and respond than if the teacher is lecturing or questioning in a large group session.

4. Provide assistance for all students, no matter the circumstances.  Especially at the Dwight school, there are students who come from various countries and therefore aren't 100% proficient in English.  Because students come from such diverse places, they also arrive with a breadth of knowledge and skill abilities.  We have to ask ourselves, "How can I help my students to be successful?  What opportunities can I provide this student so that his learning is as rich as his peers'?"

5. With two teachers in the room, we are able to break the class into smaller groups and give students the focus and attention that they deserve.  Each student gets the opportunity to voice their thoughts and predictions and the teachers can feel confident in their assessments because they've had opportunities to speak one-on-one with everyone. 

6. Even in a city like New York, students need to play outside and breathe fresh air.  Whether it's on the roof of the school or in the park, students should have time to be young and free, practicing their social skills with their peers.  When students are moving, they are able to maintain focus longer and be more productive throughout the day.

7. Model for students exactly what you want from them.  When students understand the task and the expectations, they will spend less time on figuring out the directions and more time practicing the necessary skills and developing their critical thinking. 

8. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.  Get down on students' level and help them understand that you are all human.  Everyone is learning as they go.  When students realize that they won't be reprimanded for their mistakes, rather encouraged to continue experimenting and trying new things, they will thrive as futuristic learners.  

Hopefully this is the first step to improving ourselves as future educators. :)

Megan

Nap/ Movie Time on a Friday Afternoon? Yes Please!

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Hey all! Happy Friday! It has been another good day at Dwight for all of us
Today my class began their morning with reading buddies. This means that the fourth graders are partnered with 1 or 2 first grade students and they read together, sometimes taking turns on the reading. It was so fun to walk around and listen to the 4th graders reading, or the first graders reading. I was so impressed by how engaged the students were during this activity. The room was relatively quiet except for the soft murmur of reading aloud. I think this is such a great thing that the 4th and 1st graders do. It allows them to get to know students from another grade and practice reading! It's definitley a win-win situation. Megan's 3rd graders also have reading buddies except they are in kindergarten.
Up above are some pictures I took during this tine.
After reading buddies we did our weekly check ins! I find it very interesting that they do not use the terms test or quiz here. They are called check ins. I wonder why that would be. I am thinking that maybe they do it so that the students dont get stressed out about the check in, maybe hearing the word test or quiz creates some type of anxiety with the students. I think that I will consider using this term when I have my own classroom, because I do like using that word as opposed to test or quiz.I also wonder if using check in as a way to reference a test or quiz is just a Dwight thing, or IB thing. This would be something interesting to find out.
 After the student's check ins the students went to P.E. During this time my teachers and I spent some time planning for the coming week and the week after thanksgiving as well. The rest of the day consisted of Math, Park, Read A Loud, Lunch, Music and thennnn Nap/ Movie Time :)


You may be wondering why my students got nap/ move time. Let me first assure you that this doesn't happen every week. What happens instead is the students work towards earning a star at the end of each day. When they reach certain amount of stars (I think its 15), the students pick out a reward. There are only 2 conditions 1. it can be something that the teachers have to buy/ use money for and 2. It cant have anything to do with food. I like these two conditions because I think often times rewards are seen as pizza parties, candy, and other things and with these types of rewards many students lack the intrinsic motivation to really stick with something (behavior included). I also like that the students get to choose their reward, because then I think it means more to them.   I again think I will tuck this away in my teacher strategies pocket and  make sure to come back to it another time.
Here are some pictures from our little reward party:

In Case you are wondering- we watched Tangled! Such a wonderful movie and

of course the students loved it :)

After school- we headed to Times Square (my second friday going, I went last Friday with my parents and Heidi as well)
Anyway, once we got to Times Square we walked over to OLIVE GARDEN! yum! I had a big craving for this, so I was pumped we were going! Our food was delicious and we had great discussion about how the week went, and improvements that we need to work on in the coming weeks.
We were all stuffed after dinner, so we headed back to the hotel and have been here ever since.
As I am typing this heidi is asleep, and megan is almost asleep.
Needless to say, we are exhausted after our long week and are excited to have the opportunity to sleep a little longer tomorrow morning :)


Be sure to check back tomorrow and see what exciting Saturday Adventures we have!
Adios for now!


-Sarah