We have hopes of shifting towards a student led conference model here at DuJardin School. We make student ownership and leadership a priority in the classroom, it only makes sense to have them lead their own conferences. The self reflection our kids engage in on a regular basis, in addition to the rich feedback Standards Based Grading and Reporting elicits, allows for students to really take over when it comes to talking about their progress. Of course, there's the necessary teacher input and instructional perspective, but why not allow the kids rock n' roll with this?
Right now, without the students physically there to facilitate their parent teacher conferences, a brilliant idea (shoutout to Miss Beckwith) arose! How about the kids record a little video, using one of our favorite video tools, Flipgrid, to dive deeper and give their own perspective on their learning? You wouldn't believe how honest and meaningful their reflections were. Some of our students even recorded messages in their native languages for their parents to watch. Oh- and if the parents couldn't attend the conference, they still got to see their sweet faces and hear their cute voices on video! Many of our teachers started their conference with what matters- THE STUDENTS. Not the data, but the videos of the kids articulating areas of strength, growth, and more. Parents cried and smiled in delight as their seven year olds shared about their school experience.
Check out the examples below :)
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Guest post written by Third Grade Student. When I and a couple of students went to Mrs. Kurdziel’s class, we learned how to paraphrase. We were reading “The Tale of Androcles” and there was a question that asked to paraphrase the text. Paraphrasing means to put text in your own words. Today, I found text evidence for an essay on stars (the ones in the sky). Later on, my class will paraphrase the text evidence. We paraphrase because it is illegal to put writing that someone else (not you) wrote. The text evidence is in a red box and the paraphrased writing is in a green box. This helps us organize our thinking! Paraphrasing is really important.
Guest Blog Post- Written by Luke & Trinity Tricka
During 11/11, we do many things to celebrate. One of the things that we do when the veterans come is we have lunch with us. They get lunch from school and sit with us. We are allowed to ask appropriate questions about them being a veteran. Another thing that we do is a parade. A parade of them goes through the whole school. The kids are lined on the outside of the hallways. Then the veterans go down them. All the kids have little flags and wave them around. Then, after that, at least, one veteran comes into each room and teaches us. Like telling us stories, fun facts, and answering some of our questions. It is a blast! Then, we all go to the gym and have a veterans day chorus show. The 4th and 5th graders have a chorus show and sing many songs representative to veterans. Then, we say goodbye to the veterans, veterans day celebration is over.
Thank You Veterans! We also created a graphic to show about Veterans Day! Shout out to StoryboardThat :)
This week's TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD is dedicated to the beauty of learning from others. As educators, we often thrive off of new learning to enhance our work with students. Today, continued professional growth has taken on an entirely different meaning. Gathering new ideas and information from other educators is more than just talking things through with a colleague or bringing back something from a conference of sorts.
Social media is very much a part of our world today. True confession, I didn't have a Twitter account before I started here in Bloomingdale. However, as an Instructional Technology Coach (especially with a Superintendent who LOVES Twitter), I thought it'd be a great idea to hop on board. Now, I cannot imagine my professional life without it. Daily, I am inspired by other educators as I continue to learn and grow. Mrs. Fonk, Kindergarten Teacher Extraordinaire, messaged me with a tweet yesterday that I totally missed! Not only was she able to learn from another connected educator, but she also corralled me into the learning. Professional Learning Networks are P-O-W-E-R-F-U-L! Thanks Mrs. Fonk & Mr. Szajner for the new learning & inspiration! OH YEA, what was that new learning, you ask? Well, check out this FANTASTIC, very kid-friendly Virtual Manipulative site! Mathigon Polypad for the WIN!
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