Alecia Gardner

Cardinal Community School District

2013-2014


My goals this year were all tied to developing enriching experiences, which
allowed students to use the 4Cs of 21st Century learning. This generation of students
needs to be able to learn using more than just memorization skills to succeed. The world
is more centered on coming up with creative ways to solve a problem and less focused on
answering a question these kids can copy from Google. My classroom was designed to
immerse students in culture, engage them with technology and guide them as they took
ownership for their own learning. Thus, I allowed them to make a connection to their
world in a way that helps them to become strong problem solvers and passionate leaders.
In order to do this, I focused on the 4 Cs of 21st Century learning; communication,
collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.
Communication
My classroom focus was on developing experiences, which required students to
share thoughts, ideas, practice active listening and engage in respectful discourse. The
classroom was designed with communication in mind. The desks/tables were arranged in
such a way that students were able to ask questions of each other, share ideas and discuss
ways to solve a problem. The students were also allowed to move around the room to
work on tasks, some of which practiced communication without spoken words. This led
to powerful discussions about how our body communicates our thoughts, feelings and our
response to others. It also allowed the students to feel safe sharing as the year progressed,
and they were encouraging all of their group members to participate. The students
developed group communication norms, which we posted on an anchor chart. This helped
them to stay focused, and they could point to the chart when their group was not being
productive or failing to communicate effectively.
The students also learned to communicate with other cultures, countries, states
and individuals of varying ages through Mystery Skypes. The students were responsible
for asking questions to determine location of the Skype contact. Then they were able to
share some information they felt was pertinent about our own community, and gathered
information about cultures from all across the globe during this powerful communication
tool. It was amazing watching the students not only become better at working together to
locate our opponent, but then to begin asking questions less to do with weather and more
about what the individuals were like, what their families were like, what types of jobs
they had, and how their country celebrated holidays.
Through Skype we were able to speak with a writer in Utah, Paramedic in
Nebraska, family in Las Vegas, Nevada, survivor and witness to 911 Attacks in New
York, Pennsylvania students, Director of Medical Simulation in Texas, simulation
specialist in Alaska, and a Lego-maker in California. We also learned Spanish from Iowa
students. We Mystery Skyped with students from Missouri, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon,
Wisconsin, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Florida, Michigan,
and Colorado. We were able to meet with teachers from around the world as well. These
included; Nepal (Where the base camp for Mount Everest is located), Cape town, South
Africa (Home to the best surfing in the world), Sacile, Italy, Austria, Melbourne,
Australia, and Antarctica.
We also spoke with a member of the US Embassy in Kuwait, and a deployed
American soldier in Afghanistan. During our volcano and earthquake study, we had the
privilege of a Skype session with Wyoming, Montana through a Yellowstone National
Park Ranger. This experience was amazing and educational in a way that we had never
even imagined possible. There was also interaction through Dot Day International with
Russia, Brazil, Hong Kong and India. As you can see we truly escaped the four walls of a
traditional educational facility this year. We have been around the world and experienced
communication with other cultures and individuals in as real a way as possible.
Communicating their thoughts, emotions, and opinions in writing also played a
vital role in the classroom this year as well. The students had a lot of experiences using
different types of writing formats to produce a coherent message for various audiences.
The students created their own blogs using kidblog, and commented on each others
thoughts and perspectives. They wrote discussion board responses using Edmodo, and
presented their work using Prezis, wikis and weebly. They even spoke at a school board
meeting explaining why our class should receive the "Geek Your Classroom Grant."
They also practiced writing letters and notes to others in our community using the post
cards provided by the school district. They researched motivating quotes they could write
and send to an injured local area man, and created cards thanking their parents for various
reasons.
Students were able to interview people from different countries for personal projects
using Skype and email as well. They also had a fun time recording and interviewing each
other, and used recess time to make videos of them communicating with one another. I
even had students asking me to tweet a project or quote from their group throughout the
day so they could interact with their world outside the walls of Cardinal as well. Every
student became a better communicator throughout the year, and was able to openly
discuss topics without hurting another person's feelings. They came to accept one another
as one of the team, and really focused on showing a speaker, presenter, and classmate
respectful discourse and active listening.
As an educator and a parent, I also know the value there is in keeping parents
fully informed. I truly believe that the classroom will be stronger with parental support
and awareness. Therefore, I utilized Remind101 to send home notes, daily reminders,
homework, and videos pertaining to classroom activities and events. When a homework
assignment was particularly difficult I developed a video with me walking through the
problems step by step. I then published this to my YouTube channel. I mailed the link out
to parents via text on Remind101. The parents could watch the video on their phones or
computers, to better assist their students in the new concepts and algorithms in the
Everyday Math Program. I then made sure to post all the videos for homework, important
information and helpful tips to the classroom website: Mrs. Gardner's Fourth Grade and
our Facebook page: Mrs. Gardner's Fourth Grade.
Collaboration
Collaboration is a skill needed so heavily in today's society that we, as educators,
must incorporate it into our classrooms daily. Cardinal uses Gradual Release of
Responsibility, which has a collaborative work model built in, so it works very well in
our lesson planning. However, we must be adamant about making these collaborative
experiences enriching and facilitate them not take them over. There are a lot of things you
can learn if you work together, and some of those things have nothing to do with an
academic subject task.
The students worked hard in Social Studies to use research and collaboration
skills to develop a presentation about an explorer in history. They had to develop a
collaborative Prezi (their first) to share about the individual. Then they had to write a
letter of persuasion to the Governor of Iowa to make a national holiday for their explorer.
They presented to the class about their explorer, with the Prezi as the tool used to help
enhance the audiences experience.
We also studied WWII and after creating a timeline as a whole group of all the
important events that defined WWII, we began a readers theater reenactment of Pearl
Harbor. The students had to work in groups to practice their parts, critique one another
respectfully, and record their scenes. Next they had to find pictures that were best with
their scene, by finding the actual individuals in history online. Next I took their pictures
gathered, and their Garageband recordings and compiled it into a movie suited for an
audience. They worked very hard, and the scenes were all recorded multiple times
because they wanted to make them as perfect as possible. The outcome was amazing, and
their handwork certainly paid off in the end.
I believe the greatest collaborative experience the students had in the classroom
this year dealt with the "Geek Your Classroom Grant." They had to work together to
determine what they would need in a classroom to help them be better learners. They had
to research together, listen to individual ideas, and present it to their classmates and to
me. Eventually, they even requested that they be allowed to present it to the school
board.
They came up with the ideas, shared how it benefited learning for themselves and
information obtained from research. They also came up with the need for a budget,
because after collaborating they realized some people were choosing items that would
costs thousands of dollars. So, they established their own budget, and decided to focus in
on the most important aspects of the classroom first. Together they determined comfort,
ability to move and group tables were the most important. Then they researched to find
the best material for the price, and I began to create the video and ten page research paper
to back up their ideas. There level of commitment to the project was inspiring and the
collaborative model was intriguing.
Once I had compiled the information, I let the students know I would be sharing
their idea with the school board that evening. A few minutes later I was stunned into
reverent silence as a few young men approached me with a request from the class. They
wanted to come to the school board meeting to share and present their ideas. How could I
say, "No," to such an awesome request? I had a handful of boys who quickly set out to
help me create a Prezi, missed recess to rehearse and came to present the night of the
board meeting. They were all respectful, responded well to questions, and truly made me
feel blessed to have been allowed to be in that room that night.
I am impressed with the teamwork, consideration for others, and respect for
differing opinions seemed to blossom this year. The kids were tried really hard to
incorporate each other into tasks assigned, and learned to problem solve as a group. I
have never seen a group of kids work together like these student learned to do throughout
the year. I am so honored to have had the opportunity to experience their growth.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills are vital to success. You must know how to look at a
problem in a different way, and find ways to solve it. This year our classroom has had to
wallow in difficult challenges, and come up with ways to accomplish the task. We
communicate our failures, and learn from the mistakes of others as well as our own. Our
number one rule in our classroom was to Be Yourself. Therefore, the students were
challenged to come up with their own ideas, and be willing to stand up for what they
believe. They were given chances to share ways to solve problems.
We played a lot of games that required them to work as a team. Cup stacking was
one of those games. This game included 6 red solo cups, a rubber band with five strings
attached, and a group of 5 students. They were to then take the single stacked cups, un-
stack them and replace them into a pyramid design. The only thing they were allowed to
use was the rubber band with the strings tied around it. Each member of the group had to
have a hold of a string with one hand. I felt they needed a bit more of a challenge so if
they talked they had to restock the cups into a single stack and start again. It was great
watching how they problem solved when they knocked a cup to the floor or one
individual was not pulling hard enough on the string. They had to think critically and
creatively to develop a strategy that worked.
We also had a great opportunity arise out of a troubling incident in our classroom.
I was contacted by a parent about some cyber bullying going on between a few students
the first week of school. We had a class meeting and discussed the issue at hand. When I
asked how they felt we should solve the problem they shared that it was not just an issue
in our classroom. They felt they could do something to make bullying stop all across the
district. So, they began to brainstorm what that would look like and how they could get
their message across. They gave themselves a name, "The 4th Grade Bully Busters."
They were determined to make bullying stop, and felt a video or song would be
something other students would relate to.
It just so happens; this was also the last week for entries to the annual Governor's
Anti-bullying Summit. So, we decided to build a video to show what Cardinal kids can
do to stop bullying. They had to write a script, record scenes, and had to include students
from every grade level, parents, teachers, and community members. The week went by in
a whirlwind, and I still do not know how we were able to get it all done. However, we
were selected as one of the top ten videos in the state of Iowa. I could not believe how
these students banded together to use their critical thinking skills to not only improve the
lives of kids at Cardinal, but also to raise awareness all across Iowa.
In the Everyday Math program they have had to use critical thinking in ways they
never have before. It has been a challenging, yet, rewarding program. They learned how
to create 2D and 3D shapes with straws and twist ties, and this was a great task for
critical thinking. I loved watching their faces light up when they, "GOT IT!" We also
had a fantastic game night where parents came out and enjoyed playing some of the
games associated with this new curriculum. The students were able to problem solve and
laugh with their parents throughout the evening. It was one of the most enjoyable nights
for me this year because I was able to watch families learning together.
The students have also learned new methods for each function, and even became
great instructors of different methodologies to complete a problem by the end of the year.
Whenever I shared a problem on the board different students across ability levels would
rise, grab the student microphone, and educate the rest of us with their "method to their
madness." We have a saying in our classroom that was repeated almost daily; "There is
more than one way to skin a cat." Now, this was an old saying my grandmother shared
with me, and although it seems crude, it is true.
These students created critical thinking tasks on a daily basis, and kept an open
mind for new opportunities to learn and grow. They know there is not just "ONE" right
way to finding a solution, and this is one of the reasons I love teaching. I want students to
see that they do not have to have cookie cutter answers, and they need to add their own
personal flair to life. They should be willing to work with other, agree to disagree,
problem solve after failure, find new ways to improve their own understanding, and be
lifelong learners.
Creativity
Creativity is a powerful word defined as, "the use of imagination or original
ideas." These students have quite the imagination when it comes to creating material that
is unique and entertaining. I love watching them work diligently on a task, which they
take pride and ownership. Their faces are lit up with enthusiasm and excitement.
However, at the beginning of the year they were not as bold about taking risks,
and they were not as willing to try to come up with something all on their own. They
began to develop stories and poems as the year progressed that were funny, sweet and
entertaining. However, they were fearful of being different, even though I shared how I
embrace the "weird" label with gusto. The Halloween stories were among a few of my
favorite pieces of writing they created because of the awesome sounds and descriptive
words they used to make their creatures come alive.
One of the hardest things to do is to create something, and then share it. I watched
them get stuck and not know how to press forward, because they themselves have been in
a box for too long. However, when a representative from Z-Space, an interactive and
immersive technology company, agreed to come share the product with the students I
watched light bulbs begin to spark anew with life. The kids were able to use this 3D
technology to dissect the brain and heart. We were studying the human body in science,
so this was a great way to help them better understand these intricate systems. After this
engaging, exciting and highly enjoyable interaction their creativity seemed to blossom.
They were able to see what creativity and persistence could do.
We began to view math as a great outlet for creativity as we manipulated the
numbers and shapes with our hands and our minds. We designed skyscrapers, went on
world tours using measurement, and created great works of art using geometric tiles. The
students loved the way they were given opportunities to be creative in math as this is one
area the opportunities to do so seem to be lacking. The great things these little minds
would come up with were nothing short of amazing.
The year progressed, and I still felt this was an area where the students needed
pushed further. They were communicating, collaborating and solving problems given to
them using great critical thinking skills. However, they did not have confidence in
creating something from nothing. So, I started researching ways to improve this type of
learning. Through a great conversation with some Skype contacts in my professional
learning network, I found out about something called, "Genius Hour." I started
researching this concept, originally started by Google, and knew this was what I had been
hoping for to help my students their creativity flow.
Genius Hour was an idea started by Google that allowed individuals to work on
whatever interested them for 20% of their work week. The productivity increase was
through the roof after this, and now educators everywhere are starting to investigate how
this works in a classroom setting. I told the students they were to create a presentation.
The presentation was to answer a question they had that they were interested in
answering. I explained I had only two stipulations. One, the question they wanted to
answer could not be easily answered by merely googling it. Second, they had to share the
project with the world in some way. I gave them resources or tools they could use to
house their information (kidblog, google docs, linoit, or padlet), and some presentation
sites, which would help them share it worldwide. (Prezi, Weebly, Google Sites, Wiki)
At first, this was a struggle just coming up with a question. They were all
interested in something, but could not figure out how to word a question about the
interest to create a proposal. I had to approve their question as one not easily answered by
googling, and they had to explain how they were going to organize information, what
they wanted to use to present, and where they felt they could go to look for information.
However, after some open-ended questions, and some biting of my own tongue they
figured it out on their own. They each had a topic, question, proposal and a plan. Then
the real work began, and I watched an idea grow even bigger than I ever thought
imaginable.
Students were checking out library books covering their topics, watching videos
pertaining to their topic, asking for recess time to interview teachers, Skype contacts, and
email leaders of companies across the nation. They were focused, driven and full of
passion as they set before their computers creating original projects that gave them joy. I
was excited to watch them figure out on their own that their first project idea had grown
much bigger than they even anticipated so they were altering how they wanted to
organize their information. I loved the conversations students were having as they
worked fervently to make their presentations appealing, interesting, and "perfect."
Once the presentations began the level of knowledge these kids gained in those
short 8 weeks was apparent and astronomical. This was evident when members of the
audience would ask questions about the topics and the presenter answered clearly and
succinctly. However, some of the material was not in the presentation that they were
conversing about in the first place. Thus, they had learned enough information to be able
to really talk about the topic, not just simply gather facts.
The presentations were all wonderful and all the kids worked so hard on creating
a unique and powerful project. They were focused, engaged, and CREATIVE! I loved
watching them share their work, and how considerate everyone was of each presenter. A
few students had even created some games to help support the learning from their Genius
Hour project. We played the games one morning in rotations and the noise level in class
was deafening; due to their excitement. The games were filled with learning tasks,
and this competitive group of geniuses LOVED them.
Throughout this project, I stood watching them help each other navigate different
technology pieces, and accidentally locate information they knew would be helpful to
another classmate and share it. One day in particular will live forever in my mind. I
realized that I have not worked with Powerpoint very much, so I was unable to quickly
assist a student trying to add a video. Another student came over and said, "Mrs. G.
watch as I walk you through this, then we will try one together."
The young lady proceeded to patiently and slowly walk me through step-by-
step. However, this was not the best part. She then asked if anyone else in the room
needed to add a video to their project. When she found two willing individuals she
walked me over to one and asked me to go through the process with her. The third time,
she stated, "Now, why don't you practice one on your own, and I will watch to make sure
you do not get stuck." I did exactly as she instructed, and was able to add the video.
Although, I now know the steps to adding a video to Powerpoint, this is not the
most important lesson I learned in that moment. Instead, I learned how important the
way we treat our students really is. For, I will always remember how she treated me
respectfully when I did not know how to do something. She made sure I understood and
gave me a chance to work on my own before her instruction was done. I did not know
whether to cry or laugh. In fact, that evening, I did both as I replayed this awesome
moment in my teaching career in my head. This was the highlight of my entire year.

OUR YEAR AT A GLANCE:
Field Trips :
Homecoming Parade in Eldon
Christmas Trees in Eldon
Living History Farms
Swimming Lessons at the Beach Ottumwa
Gothic House
School Activities:
Water Relays
Field Day
Grandparents DayChristmas and Spring Music concerts
Ag Day
Subject area topics covered:
Language Arts
o Daily Five
Read to Self
Just Right Books
Read to Someone
Fluency Folders
Listen to Reading
Wonderopolis
Raz Kids
Bookflix
Readworks
Tumble Books
Work on Writing
Lucy Calkins
Dot Day International
Word Work
Words Their Way
Iowa State Fair Spelling Bee Competition
Classroom novels
Jerry Spinelli Author Study (6 different novels)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls
Wilder
Read Alouds
Assortment of picture books
The Dot by Peter Reynolds
Hatchet by Gary Paulson
A Dogs Way Home by Bobbie Pyron
Brave Pilgrims By Rush Limbaugh
Math
o Everyday math curriculum
o All 12 chapters were taught and tested
1. Geometry
2. Place Value
3. Algebra
4. Decimals
5. Multiplication
6. Division
7. Fractions
8. Perimeter and Area
9. Decimals and Percents
10. Symmetry
11. Volume
12. Rates
Social Studies
o Geography
Mystery Skypes
How to read a map
Regions of the US
Parts of a Map

o Exploration
Prezis on Exploration
Writing as an explorer
Letter of persuasion
o Colonization
Research paper
Presentation
o World War II
Timeline of conflict
Pearl Harbor Readers Theater/ Movie
Technology
o ZSpace
o Mystery Skypes
o Yellowstone National Park Ranger
Youtube Channel Version
Leadership / Committee Roles
o PBIS Worked as a communicator for PBIS team. Developed unit plans, PBIS
map and used classroom visits to promote and observe positive words.
o Math Leadership Committee: Developed materials for teachers to better serve
their students in Everyday math. The materials I created were progress check
forms and study guides for progress checks.
o Student Leadership Team- Worked to assist MS and HS level students to
develop a series of teaching opportunities next year as part of a safe and
supportive schools grant. These students will be helping to stop bullying, creating
a more positive learning environment and supporting fellow students.
o Grant Writing
o TLC Grant narrative writer, and editor for remaining sections (denied)
o Bright Ideas Grant for elementary Library materials (Awarded)
o Presented and assisted with presentation of 21
st
Century Learning Grant
(Awarded)
o Geek your Classroom Grant (Awarded)