Newsletter: October 11

Dear Families,

Thanks so much to all of you who made it out to Curriculum Night last Thursday. The kids were excited to share a piece of what they've been doing and I know they loved the opportunity to sing a few songs in front of an audience. There's already been much talk about which songs we might sing at Gathering next week. Speaking of Gathering, please remember it will be on Wednesday and will begin at 2:20. The kids have already started writing their scripts for their parts and are poised (if not a bit nervous) to jump in front of a crowd of 250 people and share what they know. We hope you can make it.

In the classroom this week we've been reading a wonderful book called Stone Fox during our reading workshop. We read this together each day and use the text to build upon our studies of solving unknown words and stopping to think about the story in ways that support our comprehension. The kids are absolutely loving it. I am too. I can't wait until we reach the conclusion on Friday. The story ends on a very bitter-sweet note that reveals the complexity of human relations. In this case, it's the outcome of a very important race (one that may be the difference between life and death) between the protagonist and Stone Fox, an elite dogsled racer who is not only racing to win money to reclaim parts of his tribe's land but who has also never lost a race. I'm so eager to see the kids' faces when we reach that powerful last page. It's an experience I'm so thankful to be sharing with them. Be sure to ask your child about it this weekend.

In writing the kids continue to work on memory stories. They're focusing a lot of attention on adding details and description so their reader can imagine the story in their mind as if watching a movie. This is challenging work, to be sure. But they are up to the task. It's amazing to see such transformations in their work. Even if their pieces don't come out exactly as they had hoped (matching the power of the mentor texts we've modeled our writing after) the real value in our work is learning to be more intentional in our writing and to stretch ourelves to consider and try new things.

Lastly, I'd like to share a bit from our Morning Meeting with you. As I've mentioned before, Morning Meeting is a time for us to come together and set the agenda for the day, take care of business items, and then discuss topics, events, and issues that are going on around us. These discussion come from two places. One is our classroom journals. We have five journals right now - culture journal, science journal, classroom community journal, language journal, and math journal. During Explorations the kids have an opportunity to add something they've learned or something they are wondering about. Their journal entries become sparks for our discussions.

We keep our classroom journals on a music stand for all to see. They are such
an important part of our daily inquiry into the world around us.

Here, one of the kids wonders why it is so hot at night after the sun
has gone down and then windy in the morning. 

Classroom journals teach us so many things - to wonder about the world we live in, to question things we don't understand,to seek answers, to observe closely,  to listen carefully to others, to build upon the ideas of others to construct new meanings, to respectfully disagree and debate, etc. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.

We also share news articles during Morning Meeting. As you'll remember, the kids are all expected to bring in a news article to share each month - beginning this month. A number of them have already done so. I share two or three news articles each week as well. As with the journals, these articles allow us to explore all sorts of interesting topics while also supporting us into the skills and habits of an informed citizenry who is capable of having civil discussion - even about topics we don't all agree on. Wouldn't it be great if adults could do the same?!

Here's a sampling of the articles we've discussed thus far...

One of the kids brought in an article explaining how women in
Saudi Arabia had just been allowed to begin driving. This led to a
discussion about how women have historically had to fight for their
right to an education, vote, have a career, etc. The kids shared what
they knew as well as wondered aloud about parts of all this that didn't
make sense to them. It was a great opportunity for them to talk back-and-
forth to not only understand what's happening in Saudi Arabia but to
make sense of how one group could be treated so differently than another.

I shared this article about how traffic lights actually work to
help cars move more quickly through traffic - not slow them
down. The kids were confused how this could be. They expected
the only purpose a red light could serve is to keep you from your
destination. We learned some lights have cameras on them that
record the traffic flow and density in certain intersections and use
this data to determine how long red and green lights should last
at various points during the day. 

Funny, the very same day I asked what a Harvest Moon was one of the
kids brought in an article teaching us about all the special full moons (blue,
harvest, blood, etc). 

One of the boys in class told us about a study that found forgetting
some information actually allows us to learn new things. We all agreed
  this seemed to make sense. 

I shared this one as well. We found out the dam has been
busted since the flood two years ago and is at least a year
away from finally being fixed. This was a great glimpse
into the long-term effects of sever weather. 

One of the girls brought in a fun article about a snow leopard who
survived a pretty large fall on a rock ledge. There was a video we
were able to access online to see what happened. We were so
happy to know the cat was healthy - if not a bit more leery of heights.

One of my first articles was this one about the debate over the legalization
of silencers on guns. We learned some groups are arguing silencers help
protect the ears of hunters while other groups are saying silencers pose
a safety issue in regards to criminals. I used this issue/debate to wonder
aloud about how hard it must be to pass laws for all the country knowing
there are so many different views, needs, and wants out there. These sorts
of tensions help us slowly learn about the role, responsibilities,
and checks-and-balances of our government.

Thanks so much for helping your children seek out intriguing news stories to share with us. We look forward to seeing what you find!