Week two and we are off and rolling!

At the start of our SAGE day, the boys and girls finished writing the rough draft of their "Take a Closer Look at Me" poem.  Next week the students will type them.  They should be finished and on display by our Oct. 2nd Fall Open House.


Next, the students learned about International Dot Day and we read the book, The Dot. International Dot Day is a time to celebrate creativity in our children.  More than a half a millions teachers and students are participating in the global project.  Each child is asked to create their own dot image.  The students came up with a diverse gallery of dots. 

 For anyone who has been afraid to express themselves - from a child in art class to an adult whose fear has shut down a dream, Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot (Candlewick Press) is there to remind us all to "Make your mark, and see where it takes you."

After recess and lunch, we discussed Bloom's Levels of Thinking and what each level might look like.  I introduced our Exploratory centers and the procedures we follow to select and complete a center.  The students had an opportunity to look through the choices and list their top three picks.  The boys and girls met with me individually to be sure their first choice center is a good fit for them. Ask your child which center he/she chose and what drew them to that center. 

The first step in beginning any center is to fill out their Exploratory Contract.  This helps me keep track of their individualized work and it empowers the children to become more independent in their learning.

After filling out their contracts, they had about 20 minutes to begin the reading at their chosen center.  Next week, they will have time to continue their reading and/or watch their center’s video.  (The Knowledge Level task usually takes 2-3 SAGE days to complete.)

Today, we also wanted to take advantage of our new podcasting booth.  Below you will find our very first podcasts.  We used the site, Audioboo.fm to make our recordings.  Each student made their podcast about something they learned from the center’s Knowledge Level reading task.

listen to ‘Rotation D-1’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-2’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-3’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-4’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-5’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-6’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-7’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-8’ on Audioboo