Tuesday, January 17, 2012

All in a day


Today my students were excited to get to work. They are making movies from the novel they shared in their literature circles. They have worked hard storyboarding, editing, scripting, and creating their sets and characters. They used iPads to shoot the stop motion animation and are ready to move on and finish up voice-overs.

Its been an exciting time and I am not sure who learned more..the teacher or the student. I am always impressed by their innovation and how quickly they pick up and run with every new project I give them! Nothing holds them back and the day flies by.


I learned:

• students can spend the whole afternoon creating multiplication raps
• they will jump at the chance to learn their timetables if they get to create the rap instead of listening to it
• e-portfolios and blogs inspire students to write and they will continue to return and edit past work as they develop new language competency
• they value each others work and are always sharing their work and encouraging each other
• problem solving is a team sport
• math can be fun

I still work on :

• organizing work time so that we have the right workflow to keep everyone moving ahead at their own pace
• encouraging students to take the initiative to help each other, and find something productive to work on if they are stumped
• taking risks and moving ahead to find better and more effective tools for students to use
• to grow as a learner everyday with my class