Post date: Oct 23, 2010 4:5:44 AM
Hello again all.
My CouplaThings email of last week sparked some valuable conversation between myself and some parents (and even students) regarding classroom atmosphere and the balance of structure and autonomy. I appreciate the dialog and have gained some great insights regarding many families' views and experiences. I am glad I brought up the topic and received such articulate responses -- yet more evidence that DCS is a truly unique school.
This past week in English the students read (in or out of class) the final four chapters of The Bridge to Terabithia, and then were able to choose their own topic of the writings for the final chapters and get some brief feedback from me. I am very impressed by the whole list of proposals that they wrote and am eager to watch their essays form. After writing their proposal, they wrote initial ideas into their comp books, then began writing their rough drafts onto the Terabithia page of their own websites. If you get a chance over the weekend, it might be a good idea to have them show you their work-in-progress on their site, and get some suggestions from you about content, clarity, and/or mechanics. On Tuesday the students will be reading their essays to their groups and eliciting some final feedback before the essays are graded.
Which brings me to the whole realm of grading English papers. The assignments for which grades show up on PowerSchool don't include the major writing projects so far (Reader Profile, BTT7, and of course BTT 10). I'd like to stray a bit from the 'normal' grading scenario in which the teacher reads an essay, marks it up with some brief comments, and then posts a score. Instead, I hope to find a way to do a modern version of a process that I used to do in the '90's, when VHS players were the norm in every household... when I "corrected" each student's essay, I would set up a camcorder on a tripod over the table, pointing down on the paper, and then record my reading of the essay as well as the comments I said and wrote as I went. When I handed each paper back, I gave the student the tape as well, and then they could go home and 'watch' me correcting their paper. It provided some detailed feedback, and really helped to increase their writing skills. The problem (other than finding a big chunk of time) is that I don't have a VHS camcorder any more, and most people don't have VHS players any more. So, what I'm thinking might be the best would be to find a camcorder that records to DVD directly. I do have a document camera at school that has video and audio outputs, so if I could find a way to record from composite video (the yellow, red, and white RCA jacks) to DVD (or usb stick), I'd be in business. Any suggestions?
The highlight of the week in science was our trip to the Exploratorium. Every exhibit in that massive building is interactive and offers an engaging experience that usually takes an elusive science concept and makes it completely understandable. I have been there before but never with a school group, so I was so thrilled to watch our kids get into it. They did have to document their experiences at some exhibits of their choosing and then enter that text into a form. Check out their postings here -- impressive stuff!
Also, this week Heidi Giles got the students into painting our chair and decorating it with some very interesting quotes that the students came up with. This one-of-a-kind item will be up for auction at the Fall Festival. Cheers also to Victoria Brouse and Jane Schmidt for their efforts towards discussing ideas with the class and making this event happen.
The plans for next week include finishing our BTT discussions and then moving on to The Hunger Games. It is a powerful book that will certainly provide the basis for some excellent discussion. A huge thank you goes to ShellyMcCarthy for getting us enough copies to be able to provide one per student.
Next week also brings with it a science test, and then some experiments on friction, forces, buoyancy, and basic mechanics. The students should be finishing up their home experiments this week as well, and then organizing/displaying their data, drawing conclusions, and publishing their findings onto the science page of their site. Next up... their first "How It Works" project.
Thanks for reading this week's newsletter and enjoy the rest of the weekend -- not many warms ones left, so make the best of it!
Sincerely,
Chris Heumann