After thinking about the word expedition and the title of our expedition... we were ready to be immersed (we clarified that too!) into the world of maps with Dave Remington on Tuesday. We had a fascinating Tuesday morning in the UI Map Room after a beautiful walk to campus scouring for all kinds of atlases after Mr. Remington wove the story of maps. He really took the kids on a very interesting discussion. We are using maps as text and so each was able to read from a different atlas and notice and wonder why it was created.
On the way back, the crew got to meet the young man that picked one of the sunflowers that reside by the windows of our classroom that were planted by Ms. Schillberg and Semolina. When I told him that the flower he picked for his girlfriend was planted by a student in this group, he trotted over and hugged Semolina-- which surprised her. I kidded him that he was so moved by love that we understood his actions, but that he would probably want to volunteer at our school. He responded enthusiastically-- and I have his name and will follow up:)
The biggest news for this crew is that we had our first full on 5/6 dodgeball game. The kids played as fair as ever with no chiding, and good sports behavior. They were completely sweaty, which is always my goal--get those heart rates up-- and feeling pretty proud at their own maneuvers. We worked a lot this year on catching and throwing footballs to get ready for this play because if you can catch and throw a hard egg shaped football, a round squishy dodge ball seems easy! There were plenty of jail breaks as each team loaded up the jail with players. This crew really wants to do a fund raiser with dodge ball by challenging the other schools. It would be fun!
This crew took a giant step in trust this week as rumors were addressed, information clarified, apologies and appreciations shared. We worked Monday in Writer's Workshop crafting 'I Statements" and these were utilized throughout our crew circle, academic and social situations. In case you have forgotten, the phrasing of an "I Statement" goes, " I feel ___________when I______________." Fill in the first blank with the emotion, and the second blank with what is happening that is causing that emotion. So it goes like this: "I feel happy when I know that parents are reading the planners and asking questions to their kids. :)"
Their honesty with each other was truly inspiring.
Ms. Bonzo's PPSEL 5-6 Crew... Be sure to scroll past the posts to get to all the pictures... This is the blog for the 5th and 6th graders at Palouse Prairie School of Expeditionary Learning. These kids are terrific and these pages and pictures are for their parents and community to know what they are doing and learning with a focus on the 10 Design Principles of Expeditionary Learning.
