Be the Mouse: Reflections on Persistence!

 "Be the Mouse!"

All set for the Reading Week Vocabulary Parade!  What does a mouse have to do with persistence you ask?  Read on to find out!

While looking through the teacher materials provided by Code.org I discovered a link to the video below.  It was part of lesson to help students persevere when struggling with a difficult coding problem.

I love this video!  I was completely enamored and I couldn't wait to show it to my students!  As expected, all eyes were glued to the screen as they watched the mouse struggle to carry away the cracker, and when he finally succeeds they erupted into cheers!  Every class, every time.  

I decided that my year-long theme would be persistence.  Students understood that when I said "Be the mouse!" I was encouraging them not to give up.  I developed a unit on "growth mindset" for every grade in the school, and I was terrifically impressed with the response. 

In kindergarten we read Mo Willem's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Mark Pett's This is MY Book.  Both books have characters who get very frustrated!  We talked a lot about what frustration is, and I carried those discussions over into our time working with Bee-Bots in the classroom.  I always carried my "frustration" and "persistence" vocabulary cards with me, and the students had plenty of opportunities to practice both!  😊 

In first grade I encouraged the students to think about a time that they stuck to a difficult task and succeeded.  Then I invited them to complete the sentence, "I showed persistence when I...."  They came up with lots of wonderful examples both from school and at home.  Click here to read more about it and see examples of student work!

In second grade we enjoyed Mousetronaut, a story about a little mouse who travels into space and, with a lot of persistence, is able to save the day!  We brainstormed ideas for what to do when getting frustrated while coding, and I put together a tip sheet with their ideas.  They all got a copy to keep in the library folders.  It was wonderful to see the students trying out some of strategies suggested by their peers!  Click here to see the tip sheet!

In third grade the students were given quotes about failure/success to discuss, then each student selected a reflection sheet that matched the quote of their choice and wrote down their thoughts about it.  The following week the students used their notes to record a Flipgrid video about success!  Click here to read more about it and see examples of student videos!


In fourth grade we read Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak, watched a C.J. Luckey video called “The Power of Yet” (it's amazing, you should watch it!!) and did a number of activities to learn about the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.    

I highlighted the theme through our library's first "book tasting" during Reading Week in March.  I set up the library to look like a restaurant and each class rotated through to "sample" a variety of books in the hopes that they'd find something new to devour!  I named the restaurant Chez Squeak in honor of my Be the Mouse theme.  [Click here to read all about the book tasting!]

When I went shopping for table card holders, I found these adorable examples.  Cute little mice!!  I couldn't believe my luck!!  When the book tasting was over, I gave them new homes on the library's shelves.  Each is now on display with a growth mindset mini-poster.  I mentioned at the beginning of class what I had done, and the students were very excited to look around the room to find all eight of them!  

 
Little did I know as I was finding spots to place them that the school would be closed the following week (and then for the rest of the school year)!  Suddenly the library was going to be empty, and we were all focused on planning how to stay connected with our students.  Now the theme of persistence was front and center in all of our minds! I recorded this short video, mouse ears and all, to post at the beginning of my first lesson for every class.  (I'm so glad I brought home the sash I made for the vocabulary parade!)

As I sit here at home writing this, I'll admit that it's very frustrating to not know exactly how long this is going to last or when I'll be able to see all the kids and grownups in my Ashaway family again.  But I do know that ours is a remarkable community, one that I am terrifically grateful to be a part of.  We can get through this, and the day will come that we will all be under the same roof again, learning and laughing together.  Until that glorious day comes, please know that I am thinking about you and wishing with all of my heart for your health and happiness.  And, as always, do remember to...

BE THE MOUSE!!!

Love,

Mrs. Mann

❤️

Reflections on Success

"I haven't failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison

We've been coding for several years now at Ashaway School.  The students love solving the online puzzles and are so excited to make progress from level to level.  The activities are meant to be challenging, and there are times when students get frustrated because they get stuck.  As a response, I decided to do a unit focused on persistence with every grade in the school this year.  My goal is to help them to understand that making mistakes and struggling with something difficult is a normal part of the learning process, and this can lead to an opportunity to shine!

"Fall down seven times, get up eight." -Japanese Proverb

In third grade we read Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty.  In this story young Rosie loves designing crazy new inventions, but when her uncle laughs at her she resolves never to build again.  When her aunt Rose comes to visit Rosie is inspired to take another chance.  Her splendid design works...for a moment...and then crashes.  Rosie declares that she has failed and gives up, but her aunt helps her to see that her failure was just one step along her path to success!

"Failure is not the opposite of success. It's part of success." -Arianna Huffington

After reviewing the theme of the story, each table was given a quote about failure/success.  The students did a turn and talk to discuss the meaning of their quote and then they rotated to a new table to consider a different quote.  After repeating this one more time, each student selected a reflection sheet that matched the quote of their choice and wrote down their thoughts about it.  The following week the students used their notes to record a Flipgrid video about success!  Themes included the idea that mistakes are a part of learning and that true failure only happens when you quit.  The students really enjoyed recording themselves and I loved that I got to listen to them explain their thinking. 

Click on the selections below to view some of the students' work!

Practicing Persistence!

We've been coding for several years now at Ashaway School.  The students love solving the online puzzles and are so excited to make progress from level to level.  The activities are meant to be challenging, and there are times when students get frustrated because they get stuck.  As a response, I decided to do a unit focused on persistence with every grade in the school this year.  My goal is to help them to understand that making mistakes and struggling with something difficult is a normal part of the learning process, and this can lead to an opportunity to shine!

In first grade we read Ashley Spires' The Most Magnificent Thing.  In this story a young girl has an idea to create something truly wonderful.  She tries and tries and tries, but it just doesn't go the way she plans.  Frustrated, she quits.  Then, with the encouragement of her canine assistant, the girl shows persistence and eventually celebrates her success!


We discussed the story and focused on when the girl became frustrated.  The students were excited to point out that the illustrator showed the girl's frustration with the same "anger squiggle" that Mo Willems had used for Pigeon!



Grrrrrrrrrr!

Fortunately, the girl's dog suggests taking a walk, and this is just the break she needs to calm down and try again...and she succeeds!  Yay!  We do love a happy ending!  😊

I encouraged the students to think about a time that they stuck to a difficult task and succeeded.  Then I invited them complete the sentence, "I showed persistence when I...."  They came up with lots of wonderful examples both from school and at home.  I put up as many as would fit on my bulletin board.  They're awesome! 

Click any image in this blog to enlarge!

Please enjoy the "virtual bulletin board" below!

Code Dance Party!

"peer programming" -- These second graders are working together to solve the puzzles

The first week in December was Computer Science Education Week.  It was the perfect week to kick off our units on Coding in the library!  Kindergarten and first grade enjoyed exploring Kodable while the second, third, and fourth graders tried out the all new Code Dance Party!

To get the students engaged and excited, I invited them into the library with the music turned up!  I told them to dance to their seats and keep going until the music stopped!  Not only did I have everyone's undivided attention, but it was also a fantastic movement break for all of us!

Singing and snapping along!

After an introduction, we broke out the Chromebooks and the students jumped right in.  (We were all extremely impressed by the variety of music available to choose from within the program; there was literally something to please everyone!  The team over at Code.org did a truly incredible job!)  The class was over in a blink, but I assured them that we'd continue the project for the rest of the month.  I also gave the students a copy of their Code.org passwords so they could work on their own if they wanted.

During our last class before break, I posted a form in Google Classroom so the students could share their final projects with me.  I'll be sharing these with each class when we come back from break.  We'll be having a Dance Party Book Look in grades 2-4!

Click on the links below to get a look at some the students' projects.  We had an absolute blast and there was a lot of learning going on!

Click here to watch Mackenzie's video (2nd grade)

Click here to watch Luke's video (3rd grade)

Click here to watch Santino's video (4th grade)

Click here to watch Kyleigh's video (4th grade)

These Kids Love to Code!

At Ashaway School, December became the "Month of Code"!

We started off with the world-wide "Hour of Code" initiative which took place during the first week of December.  (You can read more about this event and Computer Science Education Week by clicking here!)  During Monday's morning meeting, the students enjoyed a surprise visit from Ash, an adorable robot who introduced a short video about Coding. 


[Pay no attention to that principal with an iPad behind the curtain!]

Then, throughout the week, I demonstrated how to play some fun online games in the library that are designed to teach the basics of computer programming. We talked about how the students would be paired up and each student would have a turn to be the "driver" and the "navigator".  Then I set the students loose!  They worked remarkably well together as they collaborated on solving a series of puzzles, and the room was abuzz with laser-focused learners!

"Drivers" control the mouse and keyboard while their "navigator" partners make suggestions for solving the puzzles.  After completing each level they switch places!

Assistant Superintendent Jane Daly came to visit and was able to watch the "Hour of Code" in action!

In the following weeks I experimented with a program I had discovered through my exploration of Code.org.  Called Kodable, this learning website allowed me to enter my classes, along with the students' first names, to enable the students to keep track of their own progress.  Now they can access the game from any computer, at home or at school, and pick up where they left off!  They were so excited to see evidence of their progress as they achieved each new level.  Click on the video below to see the reactions of some third graders!

The students were so excited to know that each new level they achieved would be saved for the next time they got to play!

In addition to the desktop computers in the library, some of the younger students used iPads while the older students used their classroom Chromebooks!

We will be continuing our exploration of Code in all grade levels during the new year as part of the Computer Science for Rhode Island Initiative, or CS4RI.  I'm as excited as the kids are to explore this new territory!!