This Morning's Concer and News of Next Year's Loop

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it in this morning for the concert. I asked the kids yesterday which families were planning to come and based on that conversation I was expecting two or three visitors at most. Wow, I think we wound up with about fourteen or fifteen! The kids really did work very hard on their songs and were excited to have such a big audience between our families and the visiting classes from second and fifth grades.

No matter how their interests change and develop over the coming years I hope many of the kids keep writing songs - as well as lots of other types of writing. This short unit was such a great opportunity to read carefully for both meaning and structure, identify patterns across multiple sources of information, and model our own work after that of others we value. We'll record these songs tomorrow afternoon using the equipment you all purchased for the classroom last year.

In regards to next year's loop, thank you so much to everyone for filling out those sheets concerning the possibility of a four-year loop together. Knowing this was a real possibility allowed us the flexibility to interview not only teachers with experience and comfort teaching 4th and 5th grades but 2nd and 3rd as well. In the end, however, we found an amazingly strong teacher with lots of experience teaching 4th grade. Her name is Emily and she is actually a classmate of mine at USC whom I first met at a professional conference in Orlando a few years ago. We have since met many times to talk about education, reading methods, and how to take up issues relating to social justice in the classroom. I'm so happy for our school to have found someone who can seamlessly step in and not only fill a vacant spot but even challenge us all to think beyond ourselves.

Because nearly all her experience is with older students Emily will be stepping into Mrs. Vice's spot and inheriting Mr. Foote's students (as Mrs. Vice would have done). This means your kids will be moving on to Ms. Mahowald as originally planned. While I'm happy we found a great candidate with lots of experience I am also saddened to know this means the next few days will truly be the last with this group. Today we created lists of songs, books, and recess games we want to share together over the coming days as a way of reflecting on the great experiences we've had together. Not surprisingly, they picked some really good ones.

I want to make sure to thank each of you as well for all you've done over these two years. I hate cliches (and, thus, avoid them like the plague) but I truly do appreciate the trust you have afforded me in working alongside your children each and every day. Even on our worst days (which really aren't that often, I promise! ) I love each and every one of them with all my heart. Ten years from now I hope that's what they remember most about second and third grade.

In our two years we have learned a whole lot together and even tackled a few issues that are not always comfortable for everyone yet I've never received anything but support and honest feedback from you all. As a result of the stories you've offered about conversations at home, your child's feelings and experiences, and your own hopes for what we might accomplish together here at school, I have reflected on and reshaped a number of my own ideals about classroom practice and procedures. There was a time when I believed that at some point teachers come to have figured it all out. Now I realize that like parenting this is far from true because the context keeps changing.

I'd love to invite the kids to come play at some point during June (in batches). I've had some of them over already (due to established friendships with my home kids) but really want to make sure everyone who wants to has a chance to come hang out with us for a day of games and swimming. I'll send something more about this later on.

Thanks again,

Chris

Special Concert Next Wednesday

Our class is hosting a special concert next Wednesday at 9:30 am. We will be sharing all we've learned about songs as well as performing a number of original pieces the kids have been writing individually as well as in small groups over the past couple of weeks. All parents who can make it are invited to join us. Also in attendance will be Ms. Mahowald's 5th grade class and Mr. O'Keefe's 2nd grade class.

Weekend Homework

Please type out the lyrics for your original song and e-mail them to me this weekend. Remember to format it so that the line breaks help us (and you!) see where there are supposed to be pauses. Also separate each verse and chorus as you would a paragraph - with spaces between them. We read songs all the time in class so you should have a really good idea what it is supposed to look like.

During our concert next Wednesday we'll put your lyrics up on the Smart Board for everyone to see while you introduce your song (writing it, the structure, etc).

Pictures from Our Garden Box Box Build on Wednesday

The Curse

Here's a video I told the kids I would post to the blog. As part of our songwriting unit we read these lyrics in search of the story being told. It is a good one! After discussing the story we enjoyed the video featuring puppetry. The video fills in parts that we had not imagined when reading (such as the woman lying in the mummy's case at the end). Our lingering questions: (1) Did the mummy  pass the curse on to the woman?, and (2) Did he mean for her to die?. In terms of the song structure, we noticed this song was unique in that it has no chorus - just verses.

The Curse - Josh Ritter

He opens his eyes
Falls in love at first sight
With the girl in the doorway
What beautiful lines
Heart full of life
After thousands of years
What a face to wake up to
He holds back a sigh
As she touches his arm
She dusts off the bed
Where til now he's been sleeping
Under miles of stone
The dry fig of his heart
Under scarab and bone
Starts back to its beating

She carries him home
In a beautiful boat
He watches the sea from a porthole in stowage
He can hear all she says
As she sits by his bed
And one day his lips answered her
In her own language
The days quickly pass
He loves making her laugh
The first time he moves it's her hair that he touches
She asks "Are you cursed?"
He says "I think that I'm cured."
Then he talks of the Nile and the girls in  Bullrushes

In New York he is laid
In a glass covered case
He pretends he is dead
People crowd round to see him
But at night she comes round
And the two wander down the halls of the tomb
That she calls a museum
But he stops to rest
Then less and less
Then it's her that looks tired
Staying up asking questions
He learns how to read

From the papers that she is writing about him
Then he makes corrections
It's his face on her book
More come to look
Families from Iowa
Upper Westsiders
Then one day it's too much
He decides to get up
Then as chaos ensues he walks outside to find her
She is using a cane
And her face looks too pale
But she's happy to see him
As they walk he supports her
She asks "Are you cursed?"
But his answer is obscured
In a sandstorm of flashbulbs
Rowdy reporters

Such reanimation
The two tour the nation
He gets out of limos
Meets other women
He speaks of her fondly
Their nights in the museum
She's just one more rag now he's dragging behind him
She stops going out
She just lies there in bed
In hotels in whatever towns they are speaking
Then her face starts to set
And her hands start to fold
Then one day the dry fig of her heart stops its beating

Long ago on the ship
She asked why pyramids
He said "Think of them as an immense invitation."
She asks "Are you cursed?"
He says "I think that I'm cured."
Then he kissed her and hoped
That she'd forget that question

The Long Walk Home

As you know, yesterday our class watched the movie The Long Walk Home. It provided an emotional look at how hard times were back then and the strength and bravery required to fight against inequality and racism. There were plenty of ugly words and a few scenes where we worried for the safety of the characters. However, as the kids came back in today they were well prepared to take on a discussion about what this all meant to us and how it felt to watch. Below are a few examples of the kids' thoughts as well as some description of how we explored these thoughts.

"My mom and dad said it was okay to see the movie even though it had bad words in it because I need to know what people said back then and how things were."

Discussion: Yeah those words were harsh and very inappropriate. But to leave them out would change the story and the characters. Sometimes we have to see and hear things we don't permit in our own lives to help us understand others.




"It was different seeing the movie then just reading about it in a history book because when you read it in books you don't see what it was like."

Discussion: History books spend so little time on big ideas because they try to cover a lot of things. This gives us the impression these events and times were simple and have little effect on our lives now.


 


















 "Most of the white people were cruel but not all of them."

Discussion: Mrs. Thompson (Sissy Spacek) changed as the movie went on. She learned to see outside of her own world. Her husband changed as well but he became worse. There were a number of White people who fought on the side of equality. Unfortunately, in the South there were a whole lot more who fought against it.




"The husband had a lot of power over Mrs. Thompson."

Discussion: Times were different back then. In most cases men were the bosses at home and at work.




"Why would the teenage girl ride the bus again? It was dangerous. Her brother had to come rescue her but couldn't fight the boys back because back then Black people couldn't stand up for themselves or fight back against White people. They would go to jail or worse."

Discussion: The laws may have been the same for everyone in regards to violence but how it was enforced was not equal at all. Black people were at the mercy of White people. 

"Mrs. Thompson was a hero because she was able to change from her original ideas about Black people and because she stood up to help give rides to African Americans even though it was dangerous to do so."

Discussion: The story of African Americans standing up for their rights becomes a movie where a White woman is the hero for changing. It's wonderful that she changed but why does this need to be focus of the movie? Why not focus on the struggles and accomplishments of the Black community who were risking so much for a better life for their children? The movie ends with Mrs. Thompson (Sissy Spacek) joining a line of African Americans to sing in protest rather than ending with the defeat of the bus boycott. This tells us what the real story is in this movie. 




"Odessa was a hero because she didn't ride the bus."

Discussion: Yes, she was a hero for risking her job and the welfare of her family. Yet, this was barely explored in the movie. She was a main character but really served to help tell the story of Mrs. Thompson's change to being a better person. Why not have movies that are about the Black experience? Do we have those now?

Homework: May 13 - 20, 2013

1. Read each night for at least twenty minutes. If you did not complete your Charlotte's Web reading earlier during silent reading time you can finish this up at home. Otherwise, read from your personal reading book.

2. On Monday you'll bring home the rough draft you finished just before PASS testing. This is the piece where you are working to describe setting, use dialogue, and include all punctuation (including quotation marks). Edit and revise with an adult at home and bring them back on Wednesday, 5/15. You'll take your draft home again on Thursday and publish them either on the computer or by hand. These published drafts are due back on Tuesday, May 21st.

3. To help fuel our study of songwriting in writer's workshop you need to supply the class with a favorite song of yours as well as a copy of the lyrics. You can send the song to me via a Youtube link or bring a CD in. I'd prefer Youtube but CDs are fine if that's easiest for you. You also need to search for the lyrics online, cut-and-paste them into a Word document, format it to fit the page nicely, and then send this to me electronically. If you cannot send it electronically then print it out and bring a hard copy. We can use the document camera to put it up on the board for everyone to see. When you present your song to the class be ready to tell us about all the things you notice about the song - particularly things that will give us ideas for how we might write, format, or sing our own songs. Here's the example I provided in class...

Almost There – Opus Orange

So much time spent in slow motion,

Don’t need to worry about this commotion

You and I will get to catch this flight before it’s gone

once or twice we’re going to catch this flight before it’s gone.

Doot doot doo

doot doot doo

doot doot doo

doot doot doo

Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Open your eyes!

cause we’re almost there,

yeah we’re almost there.

So much time spent moving quickly

Don’t need to worry we’ll get there you’ll see

You and I will get to catch this flight before it’s gone

once or twice we’re going to catch this flight before it’s gone

Doot doot doo

doot doot doo

doot doot doo

doot doot doo

Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Open your eyes!

cause we’re almost there,

yeah we're almost there. 

*****************************************************

The line-up for presenting songs is as such:

TUESDAY - Ashley, Ryan, Maisy, Jalen

WEDNESDAY- Laila, Rachael, Anna, Trent

THURSDAY- Chandler, Chase, Jackson, Connor

FRIDAY - Surya, Abrianna, David, Ellis

MONDAY- Jade, Tyler, Micah, Jasier, Grace 

Newsletter (or sorts): May 10, 2013

Due to PASS testing there is not much of interest to share from our week. The kids spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings testing and the afternoons reviewing for the next day's test. Certainly not a typical week. The kids did a great job with all this and are happy to be finished. Next week we'll move back to our normal routines. Here's what the rest of the year has in store...

Reading - Novel study of Charlotte's Web; Final book clubs
Writing - Study of songwriting (I hope to have everyone create a song to record on the class CD)
Math - The kids are going to suggest topics they are  interested in knowing more about (and some review)
Social Studies - Civil Rights Movement and its impact on life today for people of color
Science - various demonstrations, observing and inferencing, and perhaps a final opportunity to develop and conduct an experiment.

Also, in a few weeks a group of high schoolers are coming from Westwood HS to help us build garden boxes for the playground. This is the first stage of our plans for the CFI Nature Garden. We;ll be measuring, sanding, drilling, and much more. We'll leave the cutting to the high school kids, though. I don't have the exact date just yet but I'll let you know when I find out. If anyone would like to come help us with this project we'd love to have you. Just bring along an electric drill/screwdriver if you have one!

Thanks,
Chris

PASS Testing Next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

As mentioned last night, PASS testing is next week. We will be taking the reading test on Tuesday morning, the math test on Wednesday morning, and science/social studies on Thursday morning. The kids are randomly assigned either the science or the social studies test. I never know who will get what until the tests are distributed to me that very morning.

Testing generally takes a couple of hours. We'll begin by 8:45 each morning and most will be finished by 10:30. When the kids finish the test they will sit and wait for their classmates. It is okay for them to put their heads down and rest but they cannot read, write, or draw during this time. As unfair as that feels at times it is just too hard on those still working to see their classmates turning in tests and enjoying a book or drawing a picture. I want to encourage everyone to take their time, grant themselves small breaks from time to time, and do their very best.

We'll have snacks and juice each day in the form of:

Tuesday...Pancakes with strawberries/whipped cream (no syrup) and juice
Wednesday...Muffins with juice
Thursday...Banana Bread and Chex Mix with juice

We'll also have mints during the test.

This really is no-stress. As a class we'll frame PASS testing as a way to show off all we know the very best we can. We don't harp much on it at all. It is what it is (and exactly what it is is a blog post I am NOT making here). The kids will do well and we'll go about our regular routines as soon as it is over.

Please make sure to have your child here at school by 8:00 each day. This will help things to run much, much more smoothly.

Thanks,
Chris

Newsletter: May 2, 2013

Dear Families,

Thanks so much for your help with Mr. Chris' sendoff last week. He misted up as each of the kids took turns offering him a bit of advice about working with children, handed him their homemade letters and cards, and presented him with a $140 gift certificate for the bookstore. By the end of the day about 2/3 of our class was crying (hysterically in some cases). As I walked them through the Gathering Room I commented to the school nurse "I think I might need a mother to come help me with this. I tried telling them all to 'buck up' but that didn't really help too much!"

This week we have been working on the writing drafts we began last week. These are free choice pieces where the kids are trying to be deliberate about how and where they introduce and describe the setting. We've studied a number of published authors (such as E.B. White and Cynthia Rylant) to see how they go about establishing the setting. The kids' pieces need to be a minimum of three pages long (not counting big spaces or illustrations) and are due tomorrow. I've told them that if they need extra time they may bring these home over the weekend and complete for Monday. About half the class has already completed their stories. We'll work after the PASS test next week to begin revising and editing.

In math we've spent the past couple of weeks exploring pi, learning the parts of a circle, measuring the circumference of trees outside and using a formula to calculate the diameter, learning to do long division, and reviewing for the PASS test. We'll spend the last month of the school year exploring all the areas of math people have been dying to know more about - square roots, exponents, pre-algebra - while also revisiting some of the trickier material from this year.

In social studies we finished up a quick look at the post-Civil War Reconstruction. Our conversations seemed to revolve around the idea that while laws may work to create change (say, ending slavery or voting rights for African Americans) people still work to develop new ways to keep things the same (say, sharecropping or unjust voting requirements targeting Blacks). We also noticed there are a lot of streets, cities, and counties in South Carolina named after people who are responsible for some pretty ugly acts and ways of thinking. We wondered how these sorts of places come to be named. We'll finish the year with an extended study of Jim Crow laws, the civil rights movement, and what role these play on life today. Someone hinted that they didn't think there was racism or unfair laws or practices anymore because we had solved all these problems. That'll be a great question/topic to explore. Perhaps there are parents or other family members who could contribute to this discussion?!

I look forward to seeing everyone who can make it out for our potluck/Curriculum Night this evening. The kids are very excited to have fun together as well as share with you a little piece of what they've been doing over the past few days and weeks. We'll begin with dinner at 6:00 and finish up in the classroom no later than 7:30.

Thanks,
Chris