My students have been out of school for four days now, while I've been out for two. I'm a night person, so I admit that I love the luxury of not setting that 5:15 alarm . . . but I miss my students already. Teaching fifth grade is especially strange, because my students will go to middle school, and I won't see them in the hallways next year. They may come back to visit for assemblies or younger siblings' events, and I may see them when we tour the middle school next February and we exchange waves or hugs or book recommendations. But this is not the same. We know so much about each other. We've spent eight or more hours of the past 190 days or so together. We know stories about families, about activities, about trips. We know about the struggles and sadness and triumphs and creativity over the past year. We know how to push each other's buttons, and we know how to make each other laugh. Around April, all this familiarity becomes a little too intense. Really, you can see fifth graders transform on the bus ride back from the middle school tour - they sit a bit taller, and their elementary world seems too small. Lining up in the hallways and sitting flat at assemblies - these things no longer seem to apply to them as they reach toward French class and passing time and sitting with friends from other classes in the cafeteria. Elementary school suddenly seems like clothes that no longer fit. Spring becomes an exciting time of year to try new things and mix it up. Fifth graders are ready for new challenges, so they are open to new projects. They create work with more unique voices and formats than they did in the fall, because now they are more interested in expressing themselves than in carefully following the modeled work sample. They are more confident, independent, and experimental. They are also less patient with each other, and in trying to assert themselves and figure out who they are, there are inevitable conflicts. These are painful, and personal. There are also extraordinary examples of kindness and generosity. We walk through all of this together. And then the year ends. I am happy for my students to move on. I know they are ready. But I think about them and wish so much for them: that they will keep reading, that they will continue to create things and pursue their interests, that they will use their voices for good. I won't know all the details of those journeys anymore, but I did, for a time. I hope I have had a small part in making those paths brighter and better. "My hope for all of us is that the 'miles we go before we sleep' will be filled with all the feelings that come from deep caring -- delight, sadness, joy, wisdom -- and that in all the endings of our life, we will be able to see the new beginnings." --Fred Rogers
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My colleague and I offered fifth grade students this writing prompt as part of our current unit of inquiry - Who We Are. Our central idea is "Conflicts transform communities," and although I have some hesitation defining "who we are" with an emphasis on conflicts, it does make for an interesting lens as we study the Civil War, food webs and interdependence, and persuasive arguments. I notice many of the students personalized the writing, rather than connecting it explicitly to the curricular standards, but I love seeing the diversity of students' responses, so with their permission, I'm sharing some of them here. What's worth fighting for?
One of my librarian courses this semester was about instructional technology, and I loved getting to try new apps and tools. I have asked my students to use Book Creator before, but I had never made a complete project myself.
I'm sharing this short book, which can be read aloud to you if you use Chrome. I borrowed some vocal talent from a semi-reluctant teen for the complaining relatives in the story! I'm thinking of giving students the option to choose one of the four design challenges presented in this book for a maker exercise this week . . . and then extend it by having them design their own maker challenges in digital twisted fairy tales that they create. It might be a great exchange idea for our Canadian buddy class, too. Digital storytelling is incredibly hard for fifth graders to do well, as it involves so many decisions. Topics, research and content, organization, voice, presentation, and editing all involve choices that can quickly become overwhelming. That's why I waited until the end of the school year to ask students to create a TED Talk, applying skills such as research, organization, and the use of digital tools. Students were invited to choose any topic that was appropriate for school that they cared about. The message needed to have at least one goal: to make others understand, to make others care, or to inspire others to change (take action). Our topics included the appeal of graphic novels, the importance of art in our lives, how people treat each other, and why bees should matter to humans. See some examples below! We don't have great audio tools to easily record students, so even though we watched some TED talks to get the feel of the experience, we weren't able to stand up and speak and get a good quality recording. Instead, students introduced their short films in class and let those pieces do the speaking, and then we took questions and comments afterward. Our revision process included "consultation time" with class experts who offered feedback about messaging, presentation (visuals or sound), and editing. Although the final products contain some errors and places that could be refined, student ownership is strong in these works, and each one has improved from its original version. We are still considering how we might be able to present our pieces to a live audience, but for now, we're excited to share ideas online. We hope you enjoy the work! The Importance of Art You Should Probably Have a Chicken Gratitude Adopt a Dog Why Bees Matter to Humans |
Jamie Wright
I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of students and families in IA, CT, NC, MO, TX, and Canada. I love being a teacher-librarian! Categories
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