Depth and Complexity From Day One-Multiple Perspectives

Rigor can begin from Day One even with the little ones. 

I like to use this book to introduce Multiple Perspectives:

IIt's all about school from the school's point of view. The students can then write/draw what they think our school felt on the first day.

I also like the classic:

How do parents feel on the first day? If you were a parent what would you do?

A story about a gung-ho principal who wants to have school every day. We discuss what the principal does and then students write about how it feels to be a principal. What would they do if they were a principal?

I think this video is really fascinating. I show clips to Compare perspectives-it's easy for you to go to school-what if it wasn't? Would you value school more?

Most Dangerous Ways to Get to School

Books About Being Creative

Well my goal to post more on this blog hit a bit of a roadblock with Hurricane Beryl. I was without power for a very very LONG 8 days. But we are back in business! What a relief. I actually missed being able to do laundry. :)

Being unique is a goal of mine as a teacher. I don't want to read the stories the kids have already heard and take the field trips they have already taken. I want to give them a unique experience. So even if my teammates think I'm crazy, I will decorate our room like a bat cave or have students paint like Michaelangelo by laying under their tables. Modeling this for my students is as valuable as teaching it explicitly.

It is important to me that my students have an understanding of what it means to be creative.

Back when I was allowed to do read-alouds, :) these are the stories I would start with. I want students to learn to be creative and come up with original ideas. I want them to know that they are unique and it's ok to march to a different drummer. These characters are great models for this:

Stephanie wants a hairstyle different from her classmates and goes to great lengths to accomplish this.

Woolbur doesn't want to be like the other sheep. His family worries about him being different but in the end he stays true to himself.

I was surprised by how many teachers were not familiar with Tacky when I did my last PD presentation. Tacky is an odd bird but sometimes having an odd bird around is a good thing.

There is a video of this read aloud from Reading Rainbow. Monique likes digging in her mother's clothes to find accessories that can make her school uniform "unique".

Introducing Creativity

So I'm going to try and get back to posting more regularly on this blog. One of the first concepts I teach my students is what my expectations are when it comes to creativity. There is a controversy in the education world-some believe you are born creative, others believe it is something you can be taught. I believe it's a little of both. Some people have an innate creativity, however I have seen that with activities implemented regularly, a student's creativity can be enhanced.

The first day of school I explicitly teach that word and give them lots of visual examples. I let them know that when we write or create in class I expect them to try and come up with something different than their classmates. In the beginning, this is hard for them-they will write my example or someone will yell out an answer and everyone writes that one.

We do an activity called divergent art. I give the students a shape or object and they have to turn it into something.

This is an example of our first try at this activity. They didn't even use the shape in their design.

Another example.

As the year goes on and we do these activities more regularly the more creative their designs get.

And then we can use other things and be creative through the seasons and holidays.

The key to introducing these activities is not to give up. I have talked to teachers who try it and say my kids just don't get it. When you do the activity and someone does something that really impresses you-share that with the class. This is what I am looking for. You will see growth in their creativity and what I love about these activities is I can show that growth in their portfolios. Something that does not show up on a standardized test but when it comes to meeting with parents and the students to review their growth you can show them how much they improved.

TPT-like Lessons for Depth and Complexity

There is a center for Depth and Complexity resources-J. Taylor Education:

https://depthcomplexity.com/dc-collection/

Easy-to-use, reasonably priced lessons ready to go whether you are introducing the concepts for the first time or looking for some variety in your lessons.

Let me know what you think.

The Impact of Media

We watched this video in my Art of Thinking class this week.

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I know personally, growing up without any kind of internet access or social media and then seeing how prevalent it is in our world today-you can really see a difference in society. Priorities have shifted. The information at our fingertips has changed the way we think about the world. These were amazing discussions I had with my students this week.

Then we asked them to create a comic strip with the theme being media-the good or the bad. I LOVED to see what they came up with.

Thankfulness

Our district has been through a lot of changes this year. I would be lying if I said this did not cause a lot of anxiety and stress. However, there are some things I am truly grateful for:

1) My team. I work on an unusual team. Half of us are brand-new teachers, half of us are veterans. We both learn from each other every day. They bring excitement and passion, we bring what is hopefully sage advice. It really works.

2) My students. They come to school every day willing to learn. Our school day was extended a full hour this year. I know by my last class that those kiddos are tired. But they pay attention, they participate-I couldn't ask for anything more.

3) My administrators. I have worked for a number of different kinds of leaders in my 23 years. We are lucky to work for administrators that are so supportive and open to ideas. They don't always say yes, but they are willing to discuss it with you. 

4) My online colleagues: this little ole blog has led me to meet many people over the years-Tammy, Terri, Kimberley, Donna, Ian, John. This has led to opportunities to present my ideas to others and to learn and collaborate from people with the same passions.

What are grateful for this season?

What if....?

Sometimes my mind wanders and I wonder what things would be like if....? What would our world be like if we adapted our culture to that of the Native Americans? What if the cell phone had never been invented? What if people ran for office but did not take donations-they would just make speeches on their positions and we would vote? Shows like The Man in the HighCastle where it re-envisions history had just a few things been different make me think.

Whether it's a Do Now writing activity or a journal entry, I like to challenge my students to think about a world of what ifs.

Some journal ideas:

What if we had no clocks?

What if dinosaurs were not extinct?

What if velcro had never been invented?

What if electricity had never been invented?

What if the continents never separated?

With my 5th graders this year after learning about the Revolutionary War we wrote about what would have happened if we had not fought back against King George. Here's what some came up with: