Making Community, Part 2: Reflection

My third grade students finished their projects to design a new space for their community a couple of weeks ago and I have been reflecting on the process ever since. I asked students to do a self-evaluation, too, and their feedback has helped to fuel this reflection.

Some things that went well:

• The projects were connected to both the classroom curriculum and the literature I shared in our time together.
• Students were engaged with the project and enjoyed the process.
• Students felt empowered by the choice that they were allowed.

Some things to improve upon:

• Focus on the design process: In my last post, I talked a lot about studying the design process with fourth graders. I feel l didn't stress this enough in this third grade project. We brainstormed and designed, but I think it felt more haphazard to them.
• Rework feedback options. I need to find a way to really incorporate more constructive criticism into these design projects.
• Group work: some groups worked well together while others had more of a challenge. Perhaps group work itself is something I need to better teach and facilitate.
• Timing: this project took over four weeks. Meeting students once a week means I might need to focus on projects that can be completed more quickly unless they are done in conjunction with a classroom teacher.

Lost on a Playground in Maine

At Dyer, we are building a maker space. The fifth graders completed a PBL to design it, and last week we had our fourth graders come complete a challenge in the space. Scanning through the PBS Design Squad Educator's Guide, one challenge jumped out: The Speedy Shelter. Fourth grade students have read or are reading Donn Fendler's tale of being lost on Mt. Katahdin either in it's original form, or in the new graphic novel version by Fendler, Lynne Plourde, and Ben Bishop. As such, they have already been thinking about what they would do should they find themselves lost in the wilderness. Here was a chance for them to practice the skills we want them to learn in the Fab Lab in a way that connected to their study of literature.

Students create a strong joint to provide support to their shelter.

Principal Elizabeth Fowler pulled out the page from the Design Squad Educator's Guide on the Design Process and did a weekly shared reading with it as part of the project. Weekly Shared Reading is a new-to-me teaching technique and I have been really impressed. On the first day, students preview the text and share what they noticed. On the next day, the teacher reads the text aloud and the students make note of their questions. Day three we read the text again and asked students to visualize what they saw in their mind's eyes. On the fourth day, after re-reading the text, students dug deeper to try to determine the purpose of the text. And finally, on the fifth day, we read the text a final time and the students synthesized the big picture of what they had learned. This process models and breaks apart what good readers do. For more information on this technique, read Text Savvy by Sarah Daunis and Maria Cassiani Iams. Heinemann has even provided a free sample chapter.