My group spent this last week getting to know each other a little better. I still start out our meeting with asking how everyone's week is going. I feel like there is a consistent trend among some of the students regarding their week. If they were feeling overwhelmed and stressed last week, it is the same this week. Same thing if their week is fine. Still, I like keeping this communication open with the group. Also, asking if they had any ideas about the project since we last met.
We all drew time lines about our "public" lives. I came with mine already done and introduced myself a bit more to them. They obviously had more questions but also didn't ask any inappropriate questions as adults even do. (Things like "Did you ever shoot anyone?" with regards to my military experience.)
After students started making their own, some volunteered information about themselves without putting it down. Some weren't sure what else to put than where they were born. Still, having them refocus on what were important events and favorite moments in life made it easier.
These 5th graders all have had quite busy lives. Some have traveled between living in Minnesota and Mexico and then back. One student had a very difficult time in earlier grades with teachers described as "mean." One student wants to be an architect. They all had experiences of changing and moving schools. I am unsure if this is a consequence of district reshuffling, though I know others mentioned moving in the city (From apartments, to a home, to an apartment again).
With everyone going individually to present, my quieter student started to get talked over. I had to remind them that they had to be respectful of everyone and listen to what they had to say. This one word "respect" seem to have an instantaneous effect on the group. Everyone was quiet and listened.
While I enjoyed my group, I need to hone my time management skills. Therefore, I will come with an agenda with explicit times for each bullet item. A time keeper other than myself would probably be very helpful.
On this week's agenda:
-State the agenda and ask for any other items to be added. (1 minute)
-Check-in (5 minutes)
-I will issue small notebooks for all the students to write down their ideas and notes throughout the week for this project. I will bring markers and stickers so group members can personalize them. (2 minutes)
-Introduce the cooperative learning roles that we will work with and assign roles for that day (5 Minutes)
-Revisit our "essential agreements" again and write them down on the large flip paper notebook. (10 minutes)
-Discuss our issue and what it would look like if it were resolved locally, nationally, globally, etc. (25 minutes)
- [ If time permits, I would like to bring up the idea of a group team name. ]
-Mention the draft agenda for next week (1 minute)
We all drew time lines about our "public" lives. I came with mine already done and introduced myself a bit more to them. They obviously had more questions but also didn't ask any inappropriate questions as adults even do. (Things like "Did you ever shoot anyone?" with regards to my military experience.)
After students started making their own, some volunteered information about themselves without putting it down. Some weren't sure what else to put than where they were born. Still, having them refocus on what were important events and favorite moments in life made it easier.
These 5th graders all have had quite busy lives. Some have traveled between living in Minnesota and Mexico and then back. One student had a very difficult time in earlier grades with teachers described as "mean." One student wants to be an architect. They all had experiences of changing and moving schools. I am unsure if this is a consequence of district reshuffling, though I know others mentioned moving in the city (From apartments, to a home, to an apartment again).
With everyone going individually to present, my quieter student started to get talked over. I had to remind them that they had to be respectful of everyone and listen to what they had to say. This one word "respect" seem to have an instantaneous effect on the group. Everyone was quiet and listened.
While I enjoyed my group, I need to hone my time management skills. Therefore, I will come with an agenda with explicit times for each bullet item. A time keeper other than myself would probably be very helpful.
On this week's agenda:
-State the agenda and ask for any other items to be added. (1 minute)
-Check-in (5 minutes)
-I will issue small notebooks for all the students to write down their ideas and notes throughout the week for this project. I will bring markers and stickers so group members can personalize them. (2 minutes)
-Introduce the cooperative learning roles that we will work with and assign roles for that day (5 Minutes)
-Revisit our "essential agreements" again and write them down on the large flip paper notebook. (10 minutes)
-Discuss our issue and what it would look like if it were resolved locally, nationally, globally, etc. (25 minutes)
- [ If time permits, I would like to bring up the idea of a group team name. ]
-Mention the draft agenda for next week (1 minute)
Time management seems to be hard for all of us. I played the role of time keeper this past week and hope to transition the students into playing that role. I have group roles for everyone so they all have an assigned task for the week. Maybe you could do the same.
ReplyDeleteI am going to steal a couple of your ideas. I really like the journal, and think that the way you did your timeline is really cool and sounds like fun!Last week I had students draw their favorite memories.
ReplyDeleteI have been leaving each week with an idea for the students to ponder until the next week. It seems to work really well and help with time management. Last week it was rules, so we jumped right in when we began, and this week I had the students come up with ideas for group name and tomorrow we will vote on them. I was surprised that everyone in my group really did think about the rules all week! If you always leave them to brainstorm something, they will always come in prepared for something. :)
I think it is incredibly lucky that you have been able to get such a strong glimpse into the lives of your students. How wonderful that they trusted you enough to share these things. I do think that mobility is a very difficult thing on kids, as it often leads to holes in their learning. If you look at the school report card, you can see the rate of mobility. This is another indication of how insecure resources are in a particular community. Generally, the district attempts to make every attempt to keep kids in their home school as housing insecurity comes up. However, there is often so much shame with this or lack of knowledge that it is difficult for the social worker to aid in supporting family networks.
ReplyDeleteLove the timing on the agenda. Can't wait to see it in action!