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Dy/Dan pointed back to this TMAO post, and it seems particularly relevant to me now. It’s about those moments when a teacher despairs about their effectiveness. I’m not at that point of despair (it is only September), but I am reflecting on the first two weeks, and I’m concerned about my instruction with first and second grade classes.
It’s funny some people’s reactions when the teaching is not working. Some people look inward, but others blame, the parents, the kids, etc. Recently in the staff lounge, I was lamenting how things were going with my first and second grade classes. Another teacher heard me and discussed how there are two theories on campus: one that the primary kids are coming in more troubled, and the other that some of their least senior teachers are in the lower grades (and may not have their chops on discipline).
I found this funny, because my own feeling was it wasn’t the kids or another grown-up’s fault, but my own for not planning and executing better with the primary students. I guess I prefer looking in the mirror when things go wrong.
Enough said about that. The upper grades are going gang busters, and I’m generally pleased. They would still prefer to be on MySpace chatting with friends, but I do have the interest and attention.
This week from fourth grade, the topic was using search engines, and an introduction to Boolean operators. Next week we’re onto fact vs. propaganda. Think they’ll be resources on the Internet to show that?
Fifth and sixth grade both did personal writing. The sixth grade is particularly chatty bunch on the blog. They like to write there. I will need to work on grammar, spelling, etc. but they have a good base to work with.
Issues around getting permission from parents. One doesn’t even want their kid on the Internet, which is almost impossible to achieve, and will be a big pain. I have a lot of public relations work to do, but Back to School night is not until October. The permission for voice has really gotten in the way of starting a voice thread project with third grade. I’m going to see if I can send out a Connect-Ed message to parents with a sample of a podcast to convince them to let the kids do this. Wish me luck!
7 responses so far ↓
1
Mathew
// Sep 15, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I may have missed it if it was in a previous post but what are you doing with your first and second graders?
My thought on working with lack of parental permission is to have students work in groups. You may need permission to record a students’ voice but you don’t need permission to have a student record another student’s voice. When I don’t have permission for students to be in our movies then they’re hired as PA’s, makeup artists, script supervisors, etc.
For younger students in a lab setting I’m a big fan of Comic Life (now available on PCs as well) for really really simple projects and the podcasting feature of KidPix. Good luck.
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2
alicemercer
// Sep 15, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Permission I will need if I am to post their voices, no matter who records them, on Voicethread. That’s a district/site thing. It’s not recording that’s a problem, and I did do recording last week, it’s “publishing” it on the web.
Onto first and second grade. Thank you for the resource suggestions. I will look at Comic Life. Here are the issues:
* Developmentally inappropriate activities (they aren’t ready to log-in to the server themselves yet (even though my son had mastered this at grade one). I will try again with second grade in second trimester. First graders do better in Paint than in PowerPoint for now.
* The flow of the class, at about 30-35 minutes, which is 20 minutes into the activity portion, the group takes on a anarchistic flavor that’s not productive. I’m going to try to have two activities, by mixing in Starfall or some other more structured computer activity. I usually start with 5-10 minutes on carpet shooting my computer screen talking through review/preview.
Strangely enough, the principal did his observation of me with a first grade class, and they were fine, and even before and after he left they were doing good. Of course it was first thing in the a.m., not the after lunch period (which has been deadly to me).
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3
Mathew
// Sep 15, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I wasn’t saying to post voices without permission. I was saying that all students could participate in the making of Voice Thread projects but some would be writers/producers/engineers on other students’ projects.
I’m sure it’s all going better than you think it’s going and that you’ll work out a good flow as you continue.
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4
alicemercer
// Sep 15, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Oh sorry, must read more carefully, DOH! The first activity isn’t suited to that, but certainly later ones will be. It’s not that it’s not going well, but it’s not as well as it could be, and it needs to be better. Your suggestions will be part of the improvement process.
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5
Doug Noon
// Sep 15, 2007 at 2:37 pm
I taught second and first graders for many, many, (too many, maybe) years. After Halloween they will begin to act as if they heard you. In the meantime…you suffer. Saving work to the file server with a whole class is a nightmare for the teacher. I put little “prizes” (like fake coupons for things and privileges) in their folders if they could open and print the coupon for redemption. Their speech recognition programming is still being calibrated.
Short term assignments, like making a card, etc. seemed to work pretty well.
For the propaganda-on-the-web lessons you might be able to use these delicious linkshere. They aren’t all appropriate for elementary-aged kids. But some are OK.
Directing the critical eye inward is a noble instinct and it can point the way toward more effective practice as long as we don’t wallow in blame. Problem solving, yes. All the blame stuff is wasted energy. Success is not an us/them or me/them dichotomy. Understanding the dynamics, identifying the obstacles, all that part is valuable. As if I need to tell you that. The elementary school computer lab, in my opinion, can be a hell hole. I am awed and humbled by anyone who would take on that project.
As always, it’s a pleasure to read your stuff.
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Kobus van Wyk
// Sep 16, 2007 at 11:39 am
Thanks for this, Alice. I am going to use your Grade 5 blog as an example to encourage our educators to use something similar in our schools.
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Lisa Parisi
// Sep 16, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Alice,
I am pleased to hear that you look at yourself when things are not going as planned. While I’m sure they’re not as bad as you think, primary students have different needs and need different methods than older students. You’ll find your way soon enough and bravo for being brave enough to look. The teachers who blame others never find their way and things never improve. Gee, what a surprise!
I would love to help you plan some research projects. It sounds like you have some fabulous, important ideas. Let’s talk.
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