Changing My Mindset
From the desk of Carol C . . .
A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a colleague, Katy, about what she did to make math so interesting for her students. “Oh, I just let them play games,” she replied tongue in cheek. Well, I knew better than that.
Katy is an excellent math teacher who is purposeful in whatever activities she initiates in her classroom. One of the keys to students’ success is that she gives up some control in order to fully engage her students in learning…hence playing math games that teach instead of teaching it all from the front of the classroom.
Later I was mulling over what to do to excite some of my students about reading when I came across Leigh Ann’s blog about giving students multiple opportunities to get up and move in the classroom. Leigh Ann made me think though about how I could make my language arts class something more than just sitting and reading books. I love to read but not everybody does, and this was true in my classroom.
I began to surf the web for ideas when I came across some “Mountain Over the Moon” quilt patterns. It hit me. My class was reading the novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. I decided to have my students make a quilt using the same pattern as the cloth quilts did. I bought some scrapbook paper with different designs and had my kids make their quilt squares. They could choose any patterns to put together, and they could choose to put them anywhere on the background paper they chose. Even those originally leery of the project became absorbed in it. After they finished their quilt pieces the kids had to find a quote from the book that meant something to them. They scoured the pages of the book looking for a quote or the quote which resonated with them. It was amazing and heartening to see all of my students completely engaged in finding their favorite quote.
As they made their choices, their excitement grew. It continued as they wrote their selections on their squares. When the kids were finished I put them up on a bulletin board on a Friday afternoon. When they came in Monday the first thing they did was to run to the back of the room to see their square. Next they read everybody’s quote and read theirs to anyone who would listen. “I just love mine!” one squealed.
At the end of the day I reflected back on the project I realized a few things that hadn’t occurred to me before. I started out with the idea of getting my class up, moving, and engaged in a project of some sort, but that was just the catalyst. What I really focused on was getting my students more engaged with their reading. Also, in the beginning I wanted all of my students’ quilt squares to look the same except for the quote itself. I wanted almost total control. Once again I realized my mission was to provide an opportunity for these kids to become more actively and independently involved with their reading. The quilt was simply the thread…the means to achieve my goal.
Although I wasn’t in either Katy’s or Leigh Ann’s classrooms, they were models for me. By listening to these teachers and molding their ideas to make them fit my students’ needs, I was able to reach my readers and “non-readers” in a way I hadn’t before.