Happy Birthday Hagrid & Discovery Drafts

What an exciting day in our classroom.  Today is Hagrid's first birthday!  We had a small celebration where he ate a birthday treat - a big, fat, juicy mealworm.  We opted not to partake in the mealworms this time around.  Maybe a gummy variety would be better at another time for us!

After his birthday treat, he decided to hang around for our history lesson.

Yesterday in our writing we began "discovery drafts" of our narrative pieces.  The discovery draft comes once the students have had ample opportunity to collect ideas, choose one seed story to continue to nurture, plan and rehearse through the use of time-lining, and try on ideas to strengthen the piece.

During the discovery draft, the students don't look at all of the work they have put into this piece in their notebooks and they write from their hearts, discovering the truth of their story through the flow of their writing.  They hated this idea when I first offered it up.  Several had even declared they were done with their stories already.  How could I make them rewrite it?  But I did anyway, telling them to trust me and the process.

After our first day of this kind of drafting, students shared with the class about how they didn't realize how much better they could make their story until they had to write it without their notebooks.  They eagerly opened up about how much detail they were adding and how much they loved this new version of their story.  Today, they dug into the process of finishing their discovery drafts with enthusiasm.  What a wonderful way to discover ourselves as writers!

Definitely "looking sharp" in honor of Hagrid's special day! 

Hagrid's First Day of School

We were so excited to have Hagrid, our class pet, come to school for the first time today!  At the start of the school year, the students developed a plan that would give them a timeline to determine when they were ready to have him in the classroom.  They earned quills for exhibiting great behavior and work ethic.  Each day they set a goal for themselves and on Monday they made it. 

Hedgehogs are shy creatures by nature so sometimes a new environment can make them ball up in fear.  We didn't have to worry about that today.  I was very impressed with how calm and peaceful the class was.  Hagrid loved it!  He was happy to show his face to everyone and sniff around.  Before long I know he will feel right at home in our classroom.  The students and I look forward to having him as a part of our classroom community.   

Inside/Outside Circle

This morning our class was visited by the school counselor, Mrs. Taylor, and her friend, Dr. Bader, from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (NCADA).  Dr. Bader and Mrs. Taylor led us in an activity called the Inside/Outside Circle.  This activity put us into roles of being either part of "the circle" or being outside of the circle and asking to join.  We each were given a scripted response to, "Can I join your circle?"  Some responses were a simple yes or no, but many were a "Yes, but..." statement.  For example, my statement said, "Yes, but only if you have curly hair."  It prompted a thoughtful discussion on the real life game we play of Inside/Outside Circle everyday at school.  We talked about ways that, as fifth graders, this is important to think about as leaders of the school and as we will be going on to another school next year.

Thanks to Mrs. Taylor and Dr. Bader for bringing this to our attention and helping us be more reflective about our actions as they relate to the different circles in which we take part.  This could also be a conversation-starter at home to get the children thinking about how this plays out in their lives inside and outside of school. 

During reading today we read the Time For Kids Magazine (TFK), which focused on the Republican and Democratic National Conventions leading up to the the presidential election.  The students had so much interest in the topic and were so engaged!  For more information from TFK you can visit http://www.timeforkids.com/minisite/election-2012. This is a great resource for kid-friendly information to help with conversations about the upcoming election.  What an exciting time for the students to learn about our country.
  

Welcome to our new class blog!

Welcome to our 5S class blog!  My goal for this blog is to offer you a bit of insight into the learning that happens in our classroom throughout the school year.  I am hoping to maintain regular updates for your reading pleasure, and to allow the voices of the students to be shared here, as well.  Many times in this stressful, fast-paced world, a disconnect can grow between the classroom and home.  Perhaps this is one way we can foster a connection.  Please enjoy sharing our learning with us as we grow as a class. 
Happy learning!
Ms. Stephens