2020-21 5th grade Extended Math/Reading, Lines Elementary School

THE RESEARCH IS IN The Mistake Imperative—Why We Must Get Over Our Fear of Student Error The fear of making mistakes is often paralyzing, but cognitive science suggests that errors are part of the fundamental machinery of learning. By  Youki Terada November 19, 2020 When Disneyland opened in 1955, it was a disaster. Although 15,000 visitors were expected, nearly twice as many descended upon the park, thanks to thousands of counterfeit tickets. Guests were plagued by long lines, malfunctioning rides, and a shortage of food. To top it all off, a tiger and a panther escaped from the circus, terrifying children and parents on Disney’s suddenly family-unfriendly Main Street. The day having been dubbed “ Black Sunday ” by his employees, Walt Disney took it all in stride. “If you do big things, you make big mistakes,” he told reporters. For Disney, creativity and mistakes went hand in hand. As the founder of a company that offered fantasy as its core product, he encouraged his team of eng...

Why It's Imperative We All Learn To Be 'Emotion Scientists' MindShift Nov 20, 2019 Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link This is a very interesting way to think about emotions. I took a graduate class that was called "behavior is language" which spoke about our job as adults to recognize behavior and try to help unpack the "why" of the behavior and not look to punish but instead look at it as a way to help kids discover more about themselves.   Here is the  article 

This is great information that can help to see the importance of growth outside of comfort. One goal of mine is to continue to help kids "feeling comfortable being uncomfortable" with their new learning!  It is not easy but it is worth it!  Zones - Worth the read! 

  Sketchnoting  is a powerful tool that can really helps students learn, think, and grow their ideas. We learn and practice this as a tool in our extended class. Take a look.... Why Teachers Are So Excited About the Power Of Sketchnoting Katrina Schwartz Nov 3, 2019 Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Carrie Baughcum's sketchnote of why she uses sketchnoting in her classroom.  (Courtesy  Carrie Baughcum ) Once a month,  Rayna Freedman ’s fifth-graders present their genius hour projects. They get to explore anything that interests them and present what they’ve learned to the class in whatever way they want. Freedman likes  genius hour projects  because students often get more excited about researching and sharing their knowledge about a topic that interests them. But she was never sure what the other kids were getting out of listening to the presentations. One day she noticed a student in the back of the class drawing during the presentations. She went ove...

As I have been reading more and more I have come to see a pattern of what is important in teaching and learning. A pattern I see is having a positive growth mindset and being grateful and happy about yourself and your life. Here is some  information  about what noticing 3 good things a day and reflecting can do. I will be doing a project called #3GoodThings with my reading classes as a way to promote social-emotional learning and reading/writing. Students will notice 3 positive things in their lives or the lives of others around them and write them in a digital journal (or they can choose to use a journal they have) and then on Friday, there will be a Reflection Friday assignment. This is a way to help encourage us to notice more and to find a way to be positive.  This is a website called  Action for Happiness  that has other ideas as well.  Enjoy...and let's be happy together! Warmly, Pam

You are doing amazing things at home to support your child! Here is a great visual to use as a resource. We are in this together!  SEL at School and Home  

Hi all! I hope things are going well. I know this is a difficult time and we are all working hard to make the best of it. I found this resource that I wanted to share with you. I found it to be organized very well and seems like a helpful tool.  Working at home with kids   Although all of this is difficult I hope we all can find the silver lining during this: Silver lining article  As I continue to help students have a growth mindset, it forces me to take that same approach in my teaching and my personal life!  We can do hard things! Warmly,  Pam