Newsletter: October 23, 2013

Dear Families,

This week we have been working to learn the power of revision. On Monday I put a photo of a butterfly on the Smart Board and invited each of the kids to draw it. After they finished these drawings they shared their picture with a partner who compared it to the model and offered a series of suggestions for making it more closely match the real thing. With these revision notes in mind the kids set out to make a second draft of their picture.

The following day I asked them to give me feedback on my own second draft. Everyone was given a copy of my picture and marked it up with suggestions for what I might change in my third draft. They shared these out to the whole group and then the kids paired back up with their partners to jot down revision suggestions for them.

I must say by the third draft their drawings were looking awfully good. We found out there is great power in revisiting our work multiple times while inviting the input of others. We also learned it's very important, when offering ideas to others, to be both positive and extremely specific. In the coming week we'll use this experience to think about how we can duplicate this experience in our writing conferences with one another. One thing I noticed during this work was that it was much easier for the kids to generate great ideas for their partner than it was for many of them to genuinely listen to revision ideas for their own work. Learning to value the input of others while also remaining open to the idea of making revisions is hard for some - but essential.

In math we've been exploring different ways to make 10. Next we'll begin work on word problems. This year most the teachers at CFI are trying out a new math program  recommended to us by a math professor at USC. I am generally not one to embrace packaged programs in the classroom. However, since this vote of confidence came from such a trusted source I decided to give it a try and see how the kids responded. So far there have been a number of things I have really appreciated - such as the opportunities for exploration and the construction of knowledge (as opposed to teaching the memorization of facts or procedures with little understanding of the how or why behind these procedures).

I have been hard at work each night writing the kids' progress reports. I can't wait to share them with you. Totaling between four to five pages for each student, they are definitely an investment of time. However, the information we can share with you when when writing narrative reports is so specific (much more so than the traditional A-B-C-D-F alphabetic assessment most of us experienced as kids). Look for these reports to come home in a few weeks. As part of this report I'll ask for your feedback as well. Both you and your child will complete a brief assessment of their year so far as a second grader.

Items of Interest...

* We will be hosting Gathering on Friday at 2:20. We began work on this Wednesday. And while it truly looked as though the song we have been writing over the past few weeks would never be ready in time for Gathering it somehow came together at the very last minute. On Thursday we'll get to begin practicing it in full for the first time in hopes of sharing it with everyone Friday.

* Saturday is our Walk-a-Thon. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported their kids in this work as well as those bringing snacks on Saturday. Feel free to show up anytime between 9 and 10 and bring a blanket and picnic lunch (or late morning snack) for afterward if you'd like to hang around let the kids play. I'm happy to stay as long as you do.