Happenings

I was talking with a colleague today about working with those children who are “gifted”. I use the term lightly, because being labeled “gifted” is all a matter of how well you do on the specific test the your school district chooses to use to identify those children who rise above the average standard. The ironic thing is that in one school district a child can be labeled as gifted, but when they move they are faced with having to test again and may not qualify on another district’s test. I suppose instead of our saying our discussion focused on the “gifted”, I really should say we were discussing the children who achieve higher than the grade level expectations. Are we meeting their needs or do they, in the long run, end up being punished as a result of their early achievements?

I can only use myself as an example. I was one of those children who excelled in reading (math…well that’s an entirely different story). In second grade I was reading at the level of a 5th grader, in 5th grade I was reading at the level of a 8th-9th grader. I attempted to read Watership Down as a 4th grader…notice the word attempted. As a 5th grader I found myself in detention all of the time because I would never have my summary for our reading group assignment written. As 6th grader I almost lost out of a local science competition because I just didn’t do my project.

Why didn’t I finish Watership Down when I was certainly capable of reading it? Why didn’t I just write the summaries in order to avoid detention? Why didn’t I just do the science project without having my G.A.T.E. teacher have to sit and walk me through it? Why? Simply put…I just didn’t know how!

No one ever taught me how to pace myself through a long, difficult chapter book…they just assumed because of my test scores that I knew how to do it intrinsically. No one ever taught me how to write a summary…they just assumed because of my test scores that I knew how to do it. No one ever taught me how to do a science experiment…they just assumed I knew how to do. No one ever taught me how! And what’s worse is that I didn’t have enough knowledge about what I didn’t know to realize that I should ask for help.

I think as educators we often assume that our students have a certain amount of background knowledge and as a result we don’t need to cover the minor details of any given topic. Either that, or we assume that our high achievers already know it, so we don’t need to remind them and instead focus on those kiddos that need a little bit more support. My own experience has taught me to assume that the children in my class know nothing…about anything…so that I can make sure they have all of the details they need to succeed at the work I give them. Nine times out of ten, those high achieving students already have the background knowledge they need…but there are those occasions when they don’t and even the simplest of explanations provides a “light bulb moment” for them. I’ve even heard them whispher “Oh….so that’s why…I never knew why I had to work it that way!”

I look now at the high achieving students in my class and I worry about them…will they be faced with the same experience at some point in their educational careers? Will they be left to figure it out on their own because “their test scores show they can do it”? Will they have to face failure and punishment because they didn’t know enough about what information they lack to realize that they should ask for help? Or will someone understand…will someone realize that even the “gifted” need to be taught the basics-they can only be high achievers if we teach them what it is they need to achieve.

What is a blog? That was the question I was faced with at the beginning of the year when I was approached with the idea of having my students start blogging. What would they write about? Would they enjoy it? How in the world could I connect it to my curriculum? When would I find the time? And most importantly would it be worthwhile?

As the year quickly comes to an end, I find myself reflecting back on the new things I’ve tried with my students. Blogging was perhaps the biggest undertaking that I found myself most unsure of at the beginning of the year. It has had it’s problems, difficulties, and challenges but overall I feel it has proven to be not only beneficial to the students but also extremely enjoyable (At times I find myself putting off, oh..say…lessons plans and grading because I just HAVE to respond to the kid’s blogs)!

Some of the challenges I have faced with blogging begin with time! I assumed early on that the kids would naturally be drawn to just the idea of blogging in the beginning and that would be motivation enough (it wasn’t). I discovered that when left to their own devices (”Post when you can…”) they RARELY did! It wasn’t until I specifically set a requirement in place that each child needed to post at least one blog a week that I saw an increase in participation. It still wasn’t enough though and some kids always seemed to find themselves scrambling on Friday afternoons to get their weekly blog posted. The posts really started to increase when I set aside a specific time for the children to blog during the week and even more so when we arranged to have the COWS every Friday afternoon to work on blogging.

Initially, I worried about whether or not the kids would be able to find enough topics to write about, yet they haven’t seemed to struggle with this aspect of blogging. One real hurdle, however, was comments! I truly underestimated the difficulty of providing a high quality comment to the students blogs. If I had trouble with it, it should come as no surprise how much trouble the kids had! It took several lessons (and even still frequent reminders) about what a good comment should include. Just like writer’s workshop, the kids have learned that you should comment on something positive about the entry before offering suggestions for improvement. We also tried to get the kids to see that you need to explain the reasoning for the suggestion so that the writer understands how their choices affected the reader’s ability to understand the piece.

Blogging has also transfered into our Writer’s Workshop as well. I make it a point to respond to as many of the kids blogs as I can. They love receiving comments on their entries. I was surprised to see them start commenting to each others blogs using the same terminology that I was in my comments. That terminology then began transferring into the response groups during Writer’s Workshop as well. I giggle everytime I hear one of them say to another “You’re hot spot needs to be stretched out more” or “that language is very powerful!” and I have to ask myself just whose blog I posted that comment on anyway!

As the year quickly comes to an end, I find myself struggling with the idea that my “bloggers” will no longer be mine…and so have they. Several children have asked me if they will get to blog in 5th grade…and what if they don’t? I promised them that their blogs will be available for them and someone (myself, Mr. Mattson, their 5th grade teachers) will find the time to approve their posts and comment back to them.

I feel that blogging has given myself and the children a true purpose to our writing this year. It’s authentic-we are not just writing for a test, we are not just writing because it’s Writer’s Workshop and that’s what we do, we are not just writing and stuffing a published piece in a folder to sit there until the end of the year…we are writing because there are real people out there who are reading what we have to say and sharing with us what they think about it! I believe it has taken my students’ writing abilities up a notch and I definitely want to find a way to incorporate it into my writing program next year as well.

Has blogging been worthwhile…what do you think boys and girls? Check here to see their opinions!

“Shamu! Shamu! Shamu!” the crowd fervently chanted beneath the crisp, warm California sunshine. This was it-the penacle moment of our vacation, the moment we’d get to see Shamu for the very first time.

The kids and I sat perched on the edge of our seats-waiting anxiously for Shamu’s arrival. Suddenly, we were stunned as the graceful giant leapt unexpectedly out of the water, appearing as though he would fly straight up to the sky!

“There he is!” my son chattered excitedly, frantically pointing towards the center of the pool!

Then as quickly as it all happened, Shamu was gone. He splashed far into the depths of his pool…only to emerge moments later…directly in front of US! However, this time we were not facing his friendly fact-it was his enormous flukes taht were gently waving to us in what I now know was a teasing fashion. “Aw, look-he’s weaving to us,” my daughter cooed softly as she began to wave back.

And that little wave from her was all it took! As if on silent command, Shamu raised his flukes high into the air and…

SPLASH!

…he slammed his giant flukes against the salty water with an enormous thud-and then it came-like a million buckets of ice water showering down on us, a humongous splash…

a gift,

a memory,

a treasure from Shamu!

It was a warm spring morning with nary a cloud in the sky when our family packed a picnic lunch and headed to the beaches of Camp Pendleton, California. We had been waiting of this day for months, and the long drive along California’s congested highways was met with much anticipation.

After weaving our way through the tangled traffic, we finally arrived at the almost deserted beach. The kids peeled away their clothes until only their swimsuits remained and bounded across the warm sand towards the crashing waves.

Upon arriving at the water’s edge, they both squealed and ran away from the creeping liquid when they felt just how cold it was.

Not to be outdone by their boundless energy, the waves silently chased them up the sandy beach in a gem of tag. The kids looked down just in time to witness their feet swallowed by the ocean, and then the ocean ran away, begging them to chase it.

And chase it they did. In and out, back and forth for well over and hour. The kids and the ocean palying tag. the ocean’s mighty waves roared in the distance-but quieted to a whisper as it approached them-almost as if it was afraid of frightening its new playmates away.

After hours and hours of fun in the sun, we begrudging ly loaded up in our van and began the long drive home along California’s congest highways with much disappointment that the day we had been waiting for for months was over so quickly. Afte weaving our way through the tangled traffic, we finally arrived back home. I sighed a bit and thought back to our fabulous day. I’ll never forget that day of watching my children play tage with the ocean. Although the day itself was short, the memory of it will remain forever ingrained in my heart.

Now that the year is coming to an end, I find myself looking at blogging and wondering whether or not it was a worthwhile venture. I suppose the best way to find out is to ask those who were impacted by it.

So, boys and girls…what are your thoughts on blogging? Please take a moment to post a comment back to me that answers these questions:

1. Have you enjoyed blogging this year? Why or why not?

2. Do you feel like blogging has made you a better writer? Why or why not?

3. What are the best and worst parts about blogging?

4. Do you want to continue your blog when you leave 4th grade?

5. Would you recommend blogging to future 4th graders?

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Dear Future 4th Grader,

So here we are, you are finishing up 3rd grade and getting ready to come to the Fabulous 4th Grade! I’m so glad that Mr. Mattson has introduced you to our blogs while you are still in 3rd grade so that you can see what is in store for you next year!

Writing is one of our biggests tasks in 4th grade. Many kids think we only write for the TAKS test…but our blogs show you otherwise! Writing is such a fantastic way to let the world get to know who you are, your words have the ability to paint magical pictures for your readers to see-if you let them!

Sometimes, when you post a blog you will be sharing one of the pieces you have completed during Writer’s Workshop. For example, Belle wrote her story “My Big Jump” at the beginning of the year. After you post a blog, your classmates, friends, teachers, and even family members from around the world can write comments back to tell you what you thought about your writing. This helps you improve your writing because your reader tells you what they think is good and needs to be improved.

Other times, when you post a blog you will just be posting a short message, idea, or thought about what is going on in your life, just like Frankie did in his post called “Moving“.

The best thing, the most exciting thing is when people write back to you and let you know what they think about your writing! Sometimes they tell you what they liked or even related to, other times they ask questions about the parts that confused them, and still other times they give you suggestions about how to make your writing better. You can even comment back to them on your blog to answer their questions or to agree or disagree with what they are saying!

I would love hear your opinions about our blogs! I invite you to leave comments on the student’s blogs. Also, let me know what you think by leaving a comment here and whether or not you think a blog is something you would like to do next year in 4th grade! I can’t wait to get to know you next year…let’s see where blogging will take us in the future!
Mrs. Hulburt

Earlier this year, I awoke one cold winter morning and peered out the window to an unusual sight. The entire neighborhood appeared to be wrapped in a soft white blanket. It was clear, that the fog had rolled in during the night. Most people might not understand why that weather phenomena touched my heart so, but they should know that the fog-even the tiniest bit of it reminds me of “home”. Home for me, for my heart, will always be in the tiny (or at least it was when I lived there) town of Clovis, California. In Clovis, we had REAL fog, Tully Fog it was called. Fog so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, fog so thick you felt as if you were blanketed from all the troubles of the world. I loved the fog. And anytime we get fog in El Paso…my mind races back to my childhood days playing in the Tully Fog.

When the fog rolled in to Clovis, we awoke to a feeling of comfort while the thick grey blanket wrapped itself securely around our house.

When the fog rolled into Clovis, we lingered at home a bit longer since school would have to start late. My mom would make me a steamy cup of hot chocolate with it’s own layer of fog floating gently on top. The hot chocolate would warm my insides so that when I stepped out the door on the way to school I was not chilled by the dewey fog.

When the fog rolled into Clovis, the glaring headlights of oncoming traffic were nothing but tiny specks of light crawling, creeping desperately along the road through the dense cloud.

When the fog rolled into Clovis, the children played on the playground-they could be heard-but not seen. Their smiling faces were hidden by a layer of white softenss. The sounds of their laughter gave the only clue that they were even there.

When the fog rolled into Clovis all was peaceful, and calm. As a child I always enjoyed the peaceful feeling of waking up, wrapped in the fog.