"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.

What is YOUR Super Power?? Could it be AWESOME?

My five year old thinks EVERYONE has superpowers.  Luke is one of the slowest runners in his preschool class.  In his mind however, speed is just ONE of his handful of superpowers.  He also claims to know BEFORE the day begins if it will be a good day or not. (This is predicting the FUTURE.)  Recently, he told me that being nice WASN'T his superpower.  It was "hard" to be nice all the time.  My reply?  "Luke, you are correct, nice isn't a superpower.  Nice is an EXPECTATION."

My eight year old thinks her brother is ridiculous.  "Nobody HAS superpowers,"she says.  "Superpowers are NOT real, buddy.  Nobody can save the world like they do.  Superpowers are just pretend."

My questions today are:
When does the hope inside us die?  When do we stop believing we can do ANYTHING we want to change the world? When do children as young as my 3rd graders think they are too small, not smart enough, not powerful enough to have ideas that can touch people in positive ways?

The idea of superpowers is pretend obviously - but the hope in changing the world doesn't have to be - does it?

When my kids came back from Christmas Break we watched one of my all time favorite uplifting message entitled "A Pep Talk from Kid President."  The child himself is a special child.  I didn't want to focus on that for my kids.  I wanted them to hear his message.  I wanted to see if he could inspire them to be AWESOME.  Please take the time to watch this message and think about it.   My classroom has.  We will post more on the topic of AWESOME.  Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/l-gQLqv9f4o