Common Core & Me

Our district has been in the implementation of the Common Core for the last 2 years. Last year, they rolled out CCSS in K-1 and had overall module professional development that provided an overview for all grades. I am not one to wait. I was in my last year of a 1-5th grade looping span and wanted to get myself as ready as possible.

I began to read as much as possible on the Common Core both in books and online. The following are some links that might interest you if you want to read more about CCSS:

http://achievethecore.org 

(offers CC aligned lessons, student work samples, PD, and other useful tools)

http://www.corestandards.org/

(overview and great info on CCSS)

http://www.burkinsandyaris.com/

(great think-tank on CC topics)

http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/

(one of the authors on the CCSS)

These are great places to get your feet wet and then some.

These are also some very powerful reads that will get your wheels turning about your craft and the strategies you use in both reading and math instruction.

 

Before last year, I thought I was giving my students the best there was. I thought I planned and engaged my students in demanding and productive instruction. But after last year, I learned that in my previous years teaching we could have accomplished a lot more and in greater breadth. I am a lot more focused this year.

One area I am really trying to improve on is partner talk procedures, structure, and routines. Why? The Speaking & Listening standards may seem simple at first glance, but they require sophisticated processes. Students must be able to explain their own thinking in complete sentences and cite evidence to support their conclusions. I have my students do Think-Pair-Share all the time, but I wanted the conversations to be more about their work, how they got there, and to really listen in to their partner. We still have a long journey ahead of us, but I feel we are making some headway. Here is a little clip on one such conversation.

I know that it is very difficult to change the way we do things. You have to change your thinking about what you think students can do and realize that you may have to change what you have always done to meet that challenge. I think so many people can be negative about it, because it is hard to change...and it is a very huge change.  It is scary to find yourself on unstable ground, to question yourself, and to rethink your teaching. You have to hone your craft daily.  You have to push yourself to learn more than you ever thought possible.  You have to research and read like crazy, you have to try it on, stretch it out, rip the seams, and in the process you will get all mucky and uncomfortable. I like to think of myself as a caterpillar that continuously must go through metamorphosis. On my best days, I am a beautiful butterfly enjoying the nectar of the flowers, and on my worst days, I am back to being a caterpillar, stumbling form leaf to leaf trying to get my fill of teaching knowledge. Either way, I change again and again. I like to think that due to change (even with all it ugliness), there is always beauty in the end...that's life.

These are just some whirling thoughts and ideas from an educator who wants to always better herself, her craft, her profession...for the sake of the children she teaches. What are your thoughts on CCSS?

The Water Cycle

It has been a while since I last posted and I feel like a newbie all over again. I decided that I would truly focus on my family over the winter break and give blogging a little break. I am so pleased that I did, because during the last 3 weeks, my 18 month old decided to learn crazy dance moves, sing along to songs (more like mumbling), say so many more words (she mutilates most of them still), and most endearing to my heart, she is so affectionate and wants to be with mommy most of all.

We had been learning all about Space and only started discussing the Water Cycle the last week of school in December. While engulfed in Pinterest (that is my teacher addiction), I found this awesome foldable over at The Inspired Teacher that would be perfect for their science notebook. It explains the water cycle not simply with a circle, but in an actual setting. I decided to make our setting a city street. The visuals really help to describe what we had read in our Science Resource text.  

As a follow up to this foldable, we also did investigations on how precipitation and condensation are formed. First, we did the precipitation investigation. We took two cups filled with warm water and each cup had a different food coloring (one was blue and one was green). They then added lots of ice to one of the cups. Students illustrated in their science notebooks and wrote down any observations. They also jotted down any places they had seen condensation before. They listed windshields, mirrors, windows, glasses, frost on plants and roofs, cups with ice, etc. After about five minutes, the green cup formed many droplets on the outside of the cup. I asked students where they thought the water droplets had come from. Some said the droplets came from the atmosphere and some said it was from water in their cups though they couldn't explain how the water had escaped the inside of the cup. We decided to test the hypothesis that water had come from inside the cup. They then took a tissue paper and they concluded the tissue should turn green if the water came from inside. Of course the tissue did not turn green and it became very clear that it came from the atmosphere. (Yippee!) so even though we had already read and discussed that as long as the air stays warm, water will stay in the air as water vapor, but if the air cools (iced watered), molecules of water vapor will form tiny masses of liquid water---Condensation!

Our second investigation had to do with precipitation. Again we took a cup of warm water with food coloring and placed a dome lid on top filled with ice. Soon water droplets began to form on the bottom of the lid. Students were able to observe that as soon as the water droplets are big enough, they will begin to fall (rain/precipitation!). They were so excited about watching the droplets form and then "rain". Fun and learning-beautiful combination!

Here is a video on the Water Cycle that I found on YouTube. It is by Bill Nye the Science Guy. I love the way he explains very abstract/difficult concepts in a very easy and to understand format.

We will be doing other activities that I have found on Pinterest that complement our science curriculum. What activities do you do to help your students understand the water cycle?