Making time for reflection is more difficult than it sounds when your 3:00am self is listing all the productive items you'll check off your list tomorrow. I have been Tweeting experiences @LiberryLadyDex for the last 2 years, which led to a complete halt of reflective writing. Writing is a practice. It develops with experience. Today is the first step in the direction of more reflection.
I welcomed 6th Grade Language Arts classes today for Genre Stations. It's a 6-station activity we have been honing and tweaking for the last four years. When the ELA team and I feel it's perfect, innovation happens and we realize a need to adjust.
What is working? The student learners have a broad exposure to a variety of form.
Station One: Poetry forms
- Students learn the structure of six poetry forms: Themed, contemporary, limerick, haiku, concrete and acrostic poetry. They search a bin of books to identify the forms, then choose one of their interest to record in a "passport", or journal of experience.
Station Two: Historic Fiction
- There are six selections from a timeline of historic periods on a continuum from Ancient Egypt to the US Civil Rights Era. Students select a book to browse for setting, tone and mood. They identify the setting historic period, then create a CSI card (color, symbol, image) illustrating the tone and mood of the story.
Station Three: Folklore
- Using a variety of sources (print, interactive, video, creation tools), students explore tall tales, fairy tales, legends, fables and myths.
Station Four: Non-Fiction Author's Purpose
- Is the book's author's purpose to entertain, inform, or persuade? Students examine a variety of print resource to analyze content for author's purpose.
Station Five: Fiction Genres
- Students scan QR codes to watch video or read documents describing the elements of science fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy fiction, or adventure fiction.
Station Six: Destiny Catalog Scavenger Hunt Wish List
- Students explore the Destiny catalog to create a wish list of books they will check out. The goal is for them to find books in their interests to read for the 40-book challenge.
This year, I'm seeing a need to blend in the 2016 ISTE standard for Creative Communicators.
I need to figure out how to incorporate the design process to solve open-ended problems.
My CIA group (Continuous Individual Achievement) is in their second and final week of examining fake news sources. How do we use both eWISE and COBRA standards (Currency, Origin, Bias, Relevancy, Authority) to determine the credibility of online news sources?
I also had a 7/8 split Social Studies group in the computer lab working on Actively Learn for front-loading the French Revolution.
Although I'm working independently this year, I am grateful that our media center is a hub of learning activity. Even when I'm overwhelmed or exhausted, I dig deep to find patience and customer service with a smile. You truly never know when a kind gesture turns a child around.
I'll see you in the future reflecting back on life in the Wendell Middle School Media Center.
