Group work

I am reading Comprehension & Collaboration: Inquiry circles in action, by Stephanie Harvey & Harvey Daniels. In reflecting on this book as part of a ning group discussion, and from threads of inquiry from last summer, I have been attempting to implement more student collaborative work into instruction. I am working with two second grade teachers on an author study. Students are evaluating character traits for a character of their selection from one of many books they have read by the author, Tomie DePaola. (Don't miss his video interviews on Reading Rockets.) We are able to climb Bloom's Taxonomy a bit as students evaluate the relative importance of the different traits they uncovered for their character. We'll develop wordles based on their evaluations.

It's fascinating to facilitate group work among students, especially 7 year-olds. My reading of the Harvey & Daniels book has made me acutely aware of the importance of this work, yet as a nation of educators, we do not do enough to prepare students for the essential skill and experience of productively working together.

As part of a reflection piece mid-project, we read Lousy, Rotten, Stinkin' Grapes by Margie Palatini. It's a fabulous, fun read aloud, and a perfect springboard for discussing group behavior. The kids had so much to say about both positive and negative group experiences. They came up with amazing options for dealing with challenging behavior on the part of team members. It's my hope that this type of discussion recurs frequently in their elementary education.


Thanks to my friend Sarah for nudging me to wake up my blog from a long snooze. Here's a shout out to Christine, one of Sarah's students: Thanks for tagging me!

Having fun with nonfiction

First graders are enjoying their study of nonfiction, culminating in writing their own book on a topic of their choice. We played with the idea of fiction and nonfiction in the library today. We read Naked Mole Rat by Jody Sullivan Rake and identified many nonfiction features we have studied. Then, we switched gears a bit and read Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. Lots of laughs! Finally, we read Animals should definitely not wear clothing by Judi Barrett, and we wondered which animal we might use in our own illustrations of Ms. Barrett's theory.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Courtesy of one of my favorite sources for navigating the web, Librarian's Internet Index, here is a helpful guide to Martin Luther King, Jr. at the San Jose Public Library. They link to an interesting page for kids, including games. Try and guess the words to Dr. King's legendary I Have A Dream speech here. Check out the origin of Martin Luther King Day at factmonster. Two lesson plans for K-2 on ReadWriteThink: 100 Acts of Kindness and Identifying With a Hero. Take a virtual tour of Dr. King's birth home in Atlanta. This year on January 19, 2009, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of Dr. King's birth.