Bonita, I too teach 5th grade and have found that there is an adjustment period for students in my classroom from their previous years experience. I love how you tell your students you want them to ask "why" again like a 3 year old! That is a great visual for them. I have found that being honest and upfront with the kids and parents about what my classroom looks like/sounds like/feels like helps with their change. Some adjust quicker than others (including parents :-)) This was my seventh year teaching and I completely let my students own their reading and writing process/learning and I had the best year and I believe they did too. Now, after doing my summer reading I am realizing changes that I need to make. I know I have said previously that I am new to listserv, but it always gives me food for thought, but thank you for letting me know that others experience the "beginning adjustment" with new students.
Happy Summer, Lynnelle ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 8:24 PM Subject: Re: [Understand] Understand Digest, Vol 4, Issue 16 > >> Maybe, just maybe...there is a strong tie between the 'Fourth grade >> slump' >> and the age at which we have schooled out all the curiosity of early >> childhood... >> Jennifer > > I think this is very possible, Jennifer. One of the things I have battled > is the feeling that students already come to me in fifth grade comfortable > with the structure of unthinking schooling. They WANT me to just give > them answers, to give them papers and more papers, to let the hand-up > addicts control the class while the rest doze off into oblivion. Each year > I battle this preordained culture and some years I am more successful than > others. > > Understand, I am not blaming teachers here. They are working within the > culture. It stretches way beyond the classroom IMHO. > > I generally start my fifth grade science unit by telling students I would > feel very successful as a teacher if I can return them to their 3 year-old > selves. They look at me like I am out of my mind and then I talk about how > they had a natural curiosity back then that annoyed their parents and > caregivers enormously. Usually, someone in the class knows a > three-year-old, starts laughing and calling out, "Why? Why? Why?" Then we > talk about how why, how, and what if can take us to wonderful learning > places. When students ask fabulous and impossible questions in my class, > I get very excited. I often have a posting for fabulous questions. If > they ask me to answer them, I offer to help them know where to look. It is > the start of rebirthing curiosity, but it takes time and patience. Some > students will go overboard to begin with. Others will not see the value > initially. > > Some things that I think stand in the way of curiosity in our classrooms > are: > --ditto on hurrying through curriculum. As Gardner once said, "Coverage > is the enemy of understanding." > --not listening, really listening, to children--if we are not interested > in their observations, however simplistic they may sometimes appear, then > they will refrain from sharing them and eventually (in some cases) from > thinking about them. > --classroom management--people I meet, parents, administrators, other > teachers, mistake the quiet classroom for the better classroom. And I do > value quiet thought (I love that about reader/writer workshop), I also > notice that when you begin to value student thought, they act up > more--they can be more argumentative, more passionately loud, more likely > to call out thoughts and turn to their neighbor if the wait to share might > be too long. These behaviors are not perceived as positive by outside > audiences, even though I have come to be quite comfortable with them (much > prefer them to a bunch of deadheads who do not care what we are > discussing) > --remembering to ask students why they think something...so much of > curiosity is housed in the "Why" of things. > > :)Bonita > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Understand mailing list > [email protected] > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org > _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
