Non-fiction topic study is going well. This week we will continue to work across text and be mindful about the way we present our non-fiction information on a poster, using just the right text feature to do it. There are a few kiddos on the fringe right now who really benefit from having a planning sheet that I scrutinize and give feedback on before moving forward.
I continue to be amazed by the depth of understanding I gain during the analysis part of the teaching learning process. Yet, I have to remember there is only so much time in the day. In this increasingly demanding world of education, I need to pick how I use my time carefully. If the general public had any idea the complexity buried within the teaching and learning in a classroom, they would be awestruck. It is a beautiful thing, - and amazing thing - teaching and learning. This topic study, for me has become a touchstone experience for how teaching and learning should work in a public school system. With all that is good and right about the wonder of discovery, I have given my students the gift of time and the gift of depth. With this one unit, I have discovered how to balance the skills and strategies within the context of a project focused study.
I finally see what Lucy Calkins and the teachers at Columbia Teacher's College are doing. It doesn't look like anything spectacular. But it is.
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