"Wisdom Begins with WONDER!" ~Socrates

Just the other day I was teaching my third graders in a small reading group.  We have begun using a free app called SUBTEXT.  We were reading the book shared with them electronically through a pdf.  The story we are able to share with them in that format comes from our leveled readers in our textbook adoption.

Inside the story was the word "slope."  We had not used the SUBTEXT app very long and someone remembered that the app allowed them to highlight the word using their finger and choose from a list of commands.

 We were looking at the word "slope."  The child decided from the list that she would google the word definition.  The definition that she found was something like the following from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slope:

slope

  [slohp]  Show IPA

verb (used without object), sloped, slop·ing.

1.

to have or take an inclined or oblique direction or angle considered with reference to a vertical orhorizontal plane; slant.

2.

to move at an inclination or obliquely: They sloped gradually westward.

verb (used with object), sloped, slop·ing.

3.

to direct at a slant or inclination; incline from the horizontal or vertical: The sun sloped its beams.

4.

to form with a slope or slant: to slope an embankment.

noun

5.

ground that has a natural incline, as the side of a hill.

6.

inclination or slant, especially downward or upward.

7.

deviation from the horizontal or vertical.

8.

an inclined surface.

9.

Usually, slopes. hills, especially foothills or bluffs: the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

For a 3rd grader - even with a group of other 3rd graders - this was a difficult thing for a few to understand.  One child in the group had been skiing once and thought that you always found snow on slopes - so they told about their prior knowledge of slopes with snow.  For some the definition was still difficult to understand.  Then another child decided to google slope, but instead of the definition HE picked "images".  This is some of what he found and shared: 

 As you can see - once we shared pictures through the app we could talk about slopes.  Slopes don't always have to have snow on them.  When someone goes up or down the incline - the kids could easily visualize what slope was.  They began talking about the slope of the  slide on the playground and the slope of the stairs at our school.  They connected and related the images to things that were personal to them. The kids began to direct their learning.  They took ownership for what they didn't know.  Instead of doing something that I would have in class 20 years ago (ask a teacher) - they asked each other and more importantly - they used the tools that they had in front of them to FIND the answer.  The group shared their "notes" and "pictures" with the class group.  Their friends who also had the copy of the book within the SUBTEXT app and were signed into my class group could see what the others took time to find.

Now, when my children look at a word - they problem solve HOW to find the definition if they don't know it.  They don't always pick the ipads in their hands, sometimes they reach for a dictionary or talk with a friend.  They have a new sort of independence and bravery.  They speak up when they don't understand and they enjoy learning.  They may not know everything yet - my children are only 8, but they are training themselves to be detectives.  Search for what they do not know.

I am very proud of my students.  They amaze and inspire me daily.  I am glad I am continuing this journey with them!

Words I tell them to remember daily.