Residency, Whittier Elementary School - Alex Lange, 7 hours
I’m very much getting the hang of things at this point while also trying to scout for the student’s interests. A lot of the students are interested in drawing and also seem to distract themselves by doodling or reading comics during class. I was the same way as a 10 year old so I’m not surprised. I was thinking of showing the students how to make their own zine while also finding a way to make that more engaging and challenging for students who are close to moving on towards middle school. What do 5th graders need to release energy and have creative expression?
4 of the students in the class were chosen to be in the school wide spelling bee and seemed pretty ecstatic about it! I was going to give them a shout out during out closing circle meeting however the students had apparently been very antsy all week and continued to talk. Mr. Alex waits for the students to collect themselves and for every extra minute they take to stop talking or finish cleaning, he adds a minute to how long they miss recess. So far they’re staying inside 5 minutes for the half hour recess period this upcoming Friday. In closing circle, Mr. Alex asked the students what would be the best course of action. One student suggested that they get assigned seating next time so that they won’t be tempted to talk to their friends. Some agreed with the proposition and I believe they decided to try this the next day..
I do like the method of asking students to solve their own problems together. To come to a consensus on how to better the group. I noticed that a lot of the work they did throughout the day was collaborative, but with the issue of talking and distraction, I ask: how do you get students to collaborate without distracting each other and getting off topic?