Cycle 1 Reflection

Spring 2014 - third year in cycle 1, third year in 4th grade

Jim Smart

A lot of good teaching comes down to a series of choices about pacing, variety, and
awareness of what is best for the students at any particular time. Now that Im settling in to
fourth grade, I feel wiser about when to end or extend and activity, when to leave something for
another day, and when to seize the moment. Sometimes you need to completely switch up what
the students are doing and where they are doing it. I love the self-contained classroom, where I
am free to make choices and changes that will benefit the students. I feel like I am finding my
stride in fourth grade and settling into a good thing.

The world is changing fast; technology is changing the
way we live and work, and there are so many implications for
my students and what they need to learn. There are more and
more choices and options on my pallet. Every year involves a
lot of new activities, apps, skills, and ways of teaching. More
and more, the students are in charge of their own learning. The
old sage on the stage we grew up with is far away in the rear
view mirror. Inquiry learning is transforming the way we do
everything; I love the challenge of that. I love turning over my
classroom to my students, and being more of a mentor and
helper, and individualizing instruction more every year.

My writing program is probably the best example of individualized learning in my
classroom. I have developed a system where students have specific writing activities assigned
to them in the first half of the year, but towards the spring students learn to choose their own
topics and publish them. In addition to sharing their writing aloud regularly, finished pieces go
into sheet protectors where they are displayed before going
into our folders; the students love to read each others work.

During Writers Workshop I am constantly working with
students on their particular needs. Some of my students have
very sophisticated skills; they write dialogue and use rich
vocabulary. Others struggle mightily with punctuation and
spelling, and turn in work with no capital letters or periods. I
have developed our writers workshop time to meet their
various needs, and keep everyone improving and growing in
their ability to express themselves. Technology may change
the ways we can express ourselves, but humans will always
need to learn to communicate effectively.

More and more, my classroom is centered around
project-based learning and inquiry. My assessments often
involve some sort of publishing, sharing, or posting work for all
to see. I have built shelves for the students work that wraps


around our Castle Hall pillars, and each child has a personal bulletin board on a pillar. Ive
combined and adapted several ideas into my Smart Notes, which serve to keep the parents
informed and help the children to aim high.

My cycle one goal this year was to
force myself to learn a new program or app. In
the fall I leaped into Explain Everything. I
borrowed a class set of iPads and dove into a
new activity that I hadnt done in previous
years. Over the years I have gotten
comfortable trying out new activities. I
remember how the teacher I replaced at
Punahou many years ago spent hours
showing me her file cabinets, four giant tall
ones full of files; her main idea was that you
should do the same things every year, pull out
a certain folder every October at the same
time, etc. I have never found that to be a
useful model for me. I am glad I got rid of all
those folders and bulky cabinets! Each year is
a new adventure. I anticipate that the pace of
the changes coming to my classroom and education in general will only increase with time, and
Im happy about that. I get bored repeating the same thing too often. Im proud of my flexible
approach, always evaluating what I do, fine tuning and trying new things.

My students learned a lot about digital literacy this year, especially movie making. I split
up my camp video footage into 25 folders so they could each make a unique movie. Once they
finished that first movie, they had more freedom to choose from all of the footage, and make any
kind of movie they want. Its important to hold everyone to clear expectations while also having
meaningful extension activities for those who finish early. We also learned how to make stop
motion animation with our modeling clay, which brought out a lot of creativity, imagination, and
problem solving. Im unsure about where we are all going with technology, but I know its going
to be exciting, and I want to be a part of it. I know I could adapt to iPads in fourth grade, or other
platforms, and I look forward to incorporating GoPro cameras next year. I am confident that I
can adapt to any new kind of technology, and I know one thing: The future is full of amazing
possibilities.
A special focus for me has been my Math Journey,
which started by mastering the EveryDay Math program. I
attended all of the Math Hui meetings and went to an


awesome workshop on Mathematics in the City, which is the Cathy Fosnot math program in
New York. I observed other teachers teaching her way, and taught a unit myself called Muffles
Truffles. I have ordered several other activities for next year, and I am looking forward to
attending Cathy Fosnots workshop in August. I enjoy these new ideas, but I still love the way
that EveryDay Math anchors the curriculum; it has a wonderful clarity that is organized in a way
that works well for students and parents.

There are some concerns with Fosnot math and project-
based learning. Some students do not spend their time well, and
need a lot of help making good choices. Some students
passively watch their teammates actively create, build,
research, and explore. Some students disengage from the
intellectual work and cede it to others while they do something
like color in the bubble letters on the groups poster. So as
waves of change and educational revolution sweep over my
classroom, my task is to keep the right balance for each student individually. I love the
challenge of keeping a diverse group of fourth graders engaged, interested, and active.

During my second observed lesson this year, my goal was to show a full range of
student activities, moving the kids around within the classroom and varying what I ask of them.
Starting at their desks with a brief pre-test on the computers, students joined together on the
carpet to discuss our new vocabulary words. There was a lesson during which students were
expected to listen attentively, followed by a creative challenge: each student had to make a slide
for one of the vocabulary words. This is a noisy, busy process where students think of
sentences and get their friends to be in photographs that illustrate their word. Mr. Nagel was
invited to be in a couple of the slides!

This part of the hour was very noisy and active. As the finish their slides, students settle
back to their seats. The final part is when I share
all of the slides with the students so they can get
familiar with the vocabulary words and see what
their friends have done. I always try to include
some sort of publishing or sharing element to
any project, and students use these slides like
flash cards as much as they like. So hopefully
this was an hour where I took a part of the
curriculum that could be dull (Wordly Wise
vocabulary words) and made it multi sensory.
The kids moved around, alternated between
quiet listening, active collaborating, and created
a real product that is useful to themselves and
others.



At the finish of my third year in my
new grade level (now not so new), I feel
grateful and happy that I made the change
from middle school. There is just something
magical about these nine and ten year olds. I
enjoy spending my days with them, and I feel I
have the right skill set to help them learn and
grow. I look forward to many more years in the
fourth grade, the just right Goldilocks grade. I
will continue to work on pacing, variety, and
new and innovative worthwhile experiences
and activities for my students.