After lunch and recess, we discussed our SAGE Class Rules.
- There is no such thing as a dumb question or answer.
- This is a safe place to try new things.
- It’s okay to say, “I don’t know.”
- If you don’t understand, ask.
- If you still don’t understand, ask again.
- Be respectful of other peoples’ feelings and ideas.
- It’s okay to disagree– try explaining your ideas.
- It’s okay to be yourself, originality is in!
- None of us are perfect.
- This is a safe place to make mistakes- jump in a give it a try!
I am confident the boys and girls will find success with these rules.
In the computer lab, the students had a chance to read and respond to the comments written by our Quadblogging partners. We have gotten 10 or 12 comments posted from the partner schools/students already this week. That has been fun, but our A day students have each published a comment to respond to the questions the partner students have asked.
The students analyzed the comments and noted misunderstandings, unfamiliar vocabulary and raised questions when the partners discussed something for which they were unfamiliar. They even inferred from subtle details the students wrote, such as some of the schools wear uniforms, one of the schools does not make hot lunches and New Zealand is in a very different season from Missouri. --Great Ah Ha moments!
The students' comments have been wonderful (keep in mind, in most cases, this is their first attempt.) They are beginning to understand how to use a greeting, compliment the writers, add additional new information, end with a question (to encourage further dialog) and close their comment appropriately. They are so excited about it (and so am I!)
Next we learned the importance of having strong research skills. We discussed and defined our 2nd grade Academic Vocabulary words: knowledge, comprehension, research and independent. We are encouraging the boys and girls to be as independent as possible in their work.
We ended our day working at our individual Exploratory Centers. Ask your child what he or she learned today.
Dear Mrs. Koch and A Day students,
ReplyDeleteI love your class rules. That is the kind of environment that we try to have at home and I wish every classroom would have those rules. I hope it’s okay that I told a couple of friends about your class rules and one is a college professor who teaches a math class for students who want to be elementary teachers. She would like to include them in her syllabus and encourage her students to always strive for that when teaching--she already tries to have that environment, but never put it into class rules before. Do any of you watch The Magic School Bus or read the books? Don’t these rules sound like something that Ms. Frizzle would have in her classroom? I’ve always loved her saying, “Take chances! Make Mistakes! Get Messy!"
Nathan’s Mom
Dear Nathan's Mom,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your thoughtful comment. You are more than welcome to share the link to our blog with anyone that is interested. They are also welcome to use our class rules. We have all of the other "Do what you are supposed to do" kinds of rules too, but I think they should be an understood standard, so I don't post them. Continue to give us your wonderful thoughts and comments. We appreciate it. Are you taking college classes now? What are you studying?
Mrs. Koch
Dear Ms. Koch,
ReplyDeleteNathan's mom posted your classroom rules on her facebook status one day and I just wanted to say thank you. These are rules that every child should see, live and experience everyday in the classroom. So many times the focus is get the answer that little time is spent on the joy you feel in the journey to get an answer. I teach a college class for elementary school teachers and I tell my students exactly the same thing. I want to model this attitude in my own classroom so hopefully when they work with the little ones they have the same idea that we learn from mistakes, let your mind explore ideas, and curiosity should never be a negative thing. It just never occurred to me to put this down in writing. I applaud you for making these rules explicit. Would you mind if I use your class rules as part of my syllabus or as an example of what they can strive for in good teaching?
Thank you for all that you do,
Sharon Stefan
Dear Mrs. Koch,
ReplyDeleteI'm not currently taking classes, but I hope to in the Fall after Nathan's Dad finishes his Information Technology degree. I've taken a lot of different classes off and on over the last 19 years though. I finished three years towards a Math degree before life sidetracked it. I kind of fell into an accounting job by not being afraid of numbers, which led to taking accounting classes to try to get a better job in it. A few years of doing that and I've come to the conclusion that accounting isn't really for me. While taking other classes, I also took programming classes for fun and I really enjoyed those so I think when I get to go back to school I will focus on that. So, I guess what I'm really saying is that I'm not sure what I want to be when I grow up. Do you have any recommendations for colleges? I think I'm going to need it to be mainly online now that I have two kids to keep up with.
Another friend is going to write out the class rules and post them in their study area at home. I printed them out and hung them by Nathan's desk too. You worded our feelings so well that we just can't pass it up. Thank you for sharing them and I think you will see several new visitors coming to see the rules. You should be able to include locations in Texas, New Jersey, and Utah on your map of visitors soon.
Nathan’s Mom