Where's Waldo

Yesterday, on a beautiful and crisp fall day, the fourth graders of room 103 set off on foot to the Burlington Public Library. This was our second trip. Rather than admire the colorful kites hanging from the rafters, or carouse the new books shelf, we were on a mission - a mission to find Waldos.

Our previous visit to the library was in prepartion for yesterday. A lovely librarian helped our class gain knowledge about the information found in resources such as atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies, and almanacs. With these new insights, we spent yesterday hunting down the most recent and relevant resources to answer questions like, "What were two of Benjamin Franklin's inventions?" and "What was the temperature in Burlington on Monday?". We could rest assured that our resources were the most recent and relevant when, you guessed it, we found a Waldo!

For each question answered and Waldo found, the students were to cite their source (i.e. author, title, publication date, publishers, and page number). As if this experience were not fun filled enough, each completed question rewarded our class with a new book for our classroom library! In total, we brought close to ten new books back to school with us!

Blog Prompt #1 - Personal Growth

"Describe, briefly, one strong conviction about teaching that you brought to the classroom that has changed considerably during this time. What changed, and why is this a sign of personal growth?"

One of my strongest teaching convictions is to be a nurturing and supportive mentor to students. I came into this internship with a high degree of experience working in the primary grades; I was well aware that my teaching style may need to be adjusted to best suit the needs of fourth graders. Although I still hold onto this conviction, the way I live it out as a teacher is evolving for all grades.

In the past I tended to bend the rules for students. I would give multiple reminders of the expectations and not follow through with the natural consequences of failing to abide by them. My CT is extremely nurturing and supportive to students, and yet she also encourages them to be self-dependent. My ideal of a nurturing and supportive teacher now encompasses tough love. If I want to encourage students to be self-dependent, I need to see how my reminders and bending of the rules prevents them from taking the reigns.

This evolution is a huge sign of personal growth. Although it still bums me out when students forget to put a proper heading on their paper and lose points, or leave their completed homework at home, I know that these are opportunities for them to learn and be more prepared for next time. Ultimately, the fourth graders have an incredible amount of respect for my CT - I too hope to give support and receive respect from my students.