Glowing Up to Become Writers

Ever since the Kodiak Island Virtual Learning Conference's "Hacking Your Notebook" workshop, my brain has been swirling with ideas on how to implement what I have learned about paper circuitry into my second grade classroom. What follows is my implementation plan for the 2015-2016 school year. As all teachers know, plans can and will change as we experiment with new materials and get to know our students. The students will ultimately decide how this will all play out, and my hope is that they will be motivated to explore beyond what I have drafted here. I look forward to sharing our progress throughout the year on this blog!

My ideas began when I flew from Kodiak to North Carolina this June to spend some time with my aunt who had recently lost her husband. We were sitting on her back porch enjoying the cool evening breeze when I saw what looked like low-flying shooting stars. They were fireflies, or lightning bugs as they call them in the South! Immediately, I thought about the children's book that I so often use in my classroom during both reader's and writer's workshop:  Fireflies! By Julie Brinckloe

While we don't have fireflies in Kodiak, children are fascinated by these little flying bugs that light up like sparklers. I thought right away that this would be a perfect way to integrate LED lights and paper circuitry into science, and the writing/reading curriculum.  We could learn about fireflies in science as part of our insects unit-- what makes them glow? The very next day, my aunt pulled out a page in the local newspaper that was all about fireflies. It talked about the various light patterns that they make and why-- for example, when the males are trying to attract a mate they will make a 'J' pattern with their light. Fascinating! Even to me, this was new knowledge and I could envision pages in a science journal with beautiful drawings on trees with lights that would reflect facts about fireflies. Then I thought, will my second graders be able to do this?

That's when I had to back up and think about what I needed to do as a teacher to prepare them for using paper circuitry in such a way. There is the obvious issue of fine-motor skills that will perhaps be the biggest challenge in implementing these materials. Many kids have a hard time just cutting and gluing strips of paper, let alone copper wire. I knew I would have to utilize patterns and do lots and lots of modeling and practice. In my classroom I do a lot of group work and partner work. I thought, maybe 4 hands are better than 2? Maybe I can teach them to build a simple circuit as part of a guided center? And finally, so what if they can't make a perfect circuit? Why not just try it!

So this is where I came up with the idea of introducing the concept of electricity in science class and creating a visual learning display where we can track the class's understanding of electricity throughout the year. I integrate specific "thinking routines" into my classroom through the Making Thinking Visible or Project Zero model, by Ron Ritchhart, after taking a course through Harvard School of Education several years ago. (Stay tuned for a Fall workshop open to teachers in KIBSD that I will be leading)

I have found using these thinking routines to display student learning is very effective as student motivation, reflection, and assessment. I get excited just thinking about their brains growing throughout the year as they ask questions, explore answers, and share their thoughts with each other! So, we begin with a discrepant event-- electricity. What makes the lights turn on? Where does electricity  come from? I know this was a big question I always wondered about when I was a kid. To further push their curiosity, I will include various artifacts-- lamps, flashlights, even our iPads. I'm sure the kids will come up with several more examples of things that are powered by electricity.  I haven't yet constructed the details of this unit (I have yet to meet my students and hear their questions), but I see this as a very exciting unit of inquiry that we can continue throughout the school year. I see it growing and connecting into various subject areas and topics-- like our local windmills, hydroelectricity, fossil fuels, renewable vs. nonrenewable resources. The possibilities are endless! I only hope my students will be as excited as I am about this! By October, my goal will be to spend one day a week during science exploring the concept of electricity and practicing building circuits. We can look at magnets, batteries, and using the multimeter to experiment with voltage and currents, during science center time. They will keep science journals to document their learning, and I will pull or create resources so they can have guided labs and activities to grow their knowledge of electricity. We will continuously revisit our visual learning display and add their thinking to the board-- showing their growth.

Now to go back to fireflies. Fireflies aren't powered by electricity-- another discrepant event! I managed to capture some video footage of the fireflies this summer and will use this video in a thinking routine called "See, Think, Wonder." After the kids examine a picture or video clip I ask them what they see-- what they observe (observation being one of the key scientific method skills taught). Then I ask them what they think-- what do they think it is? What are they thinking about? And finally, what do they wonder about-- what questions come to mind?

Telling my story about seeing the Fireflies this summer, watching footage of fireflies in nature, examining photos, and also reading the book Fireflies! to them, will hopefully cause huge explosions in thinking and creativity to occur-- from comparing and contrasting, to synthesizing their learning, and finally creating something visual to display their learning. By December, my goal would be for kids to have a science notebook with trials and errors involving paper circuitry, an understanding of how electricity flows and what it needs (a power source, conductive material), and what electricity can do.  Then later on in the year they can use their knowledge and skills and apply to the subject of fireflies-- creating a page in their journals on what they have learned about fireflies using the LED lights and circuits. All kids will understand that fireflies tend to congregate near woody areas as opposed to open areas. Some kids may also create a display to show the intentional patterns they make, like the 'J' pattern the males make when attracting a mate (or girlfriend).

This takes me to the writer's workshop. In order to keep paper circuitry going throughout the year I envisioned a bulletin board display for my classroom called:  "Glowing Up to Become Writers."
At my school I am in charge of teaching writing for both second grade classrooms. Writing takes up a big chunk of my school day, and after reflecting upon last year's successes and challenges, I felt like I needed something BIG to celebrate the growth they make in second grade as writers.
In my classroom I will create a bulletin board of a forest. Each student's name will be scattered throughout that forest next to which they will place a picture of a firefly (made during science class).

Writer's workshop teaches the writing process. Each time a student achieves a step in the process they will gain inches in creating a circuit that will eventually reach their firefly when they PUBLISH a story, celebrating the achievement with a glowing, flickering light on the board! Each time they accomplish a step, they will gain 1 inch of copper tape to begin building a parallel circuit. They accomplish the pre-writing/brainstorming activity (for example, a circle chart or a bubble chart) they will gain their first inch in their parallel circuit. Next, they accomplish a first draft-- another inch. After that, they will revise and edit and create a 2nd draft-- one more inch. Then they will conference (during the first half of the year with me, then later with peers), and gain another inch. Finally, they will publish their first story and reach their firefly-- they are a published writer! And the light goes on while we celebrate! This will accommodate the students' various levels in writing-- last year ALL students were able to publish stories, whether it meant having an aide scribe for them or if they managed to type their story all by themselves. All students become writers in my class, no matter what their skill levels are-- everyone has a story to tell, and everyone is a writer. I have found the greatest motivator to writing is seeing their work published and basking in their success as a real writer. Ask my students last year what they remember most about second grade, and I bet that they will mention our huge Writer's Waffle Party. Celebration does not have to be limited to one day, or one sugar-infused party. We can celebrate each day with our bulletin board display. We can cheer each time a student gets to light up their firefly. We can turn the lights off and gaze at our lights, watching them grow throughout the year. I can't wait to post REAL pictures of our successes!

With that being said, I hope my enthusiasm for using paper circuitry in the second grade classroom will be welcomed by my colleagues and students. I realize this is an experiment and a learning process for both myself and my students-- but most importantly, I think it will be a lot of fun.

Kodiak Island Virtual Learning Conference Reflection

How did my knowledge and skills change from the beginning of the conference to the end? 

I almost didn't sign up to attend this conference because I assumed that none of the content would apply to my grade level (second grade). Given that I only have 4 laptops and an iPad cart that is shared among 4 classrooms, the use of technology in my classroom has taken a backseat to other learning methods and materials. Having spent much of my teaching career integrating technology and keeping up with the latest trends in education, I felt it was time to come up with some ideas on how to do this in my current second grade classroom. It was Nicole's enthusiasm for paper circuitry that prompted me to check out the Kodiak Island Virtual Learning Conference and sign up for the "Hacking Your Notebook" workshop. Prior to attending the conference, I had no idea what paper circuitry was other than that it took notebooks and writing to a new level, adding lights and special effects. It sounded cool, but also complicated. I've never been that interested in "electricity" and it was always a subject that I found boring as a student and later as a first year teacher thrown into running an elementary science program. I admit I was hesitant and intimidated. During the first day of the conference I said to a friend, "I feel like the dumbest person here!" I was having a really hard time understanding how to build the circuits, given that the explanation was mostly verbal. I am a "show me, then let me try it" kind of learner. I felt very challenged in just trying to keep up with the pace of the workshop and understanding all of the new materials, terminology, etc. Thankfully, David Cole was patient enough to sit with me and give me some much needed hand-holding. By the end of the day the light bulb went on, literally and figuratively, and I felt more confident in my knowledge of circuits.  

Now to figure out how to teach this to second graders! If I had a hard time, how are they going to get it? During the workshop I was so focused on being a learner, that I did not have time to really think about how this could work in my classroom. It wasn't until after the conference that the ideas started growing. I'm now confident that I can and will use some of the skills and knowledge gained from the workshop, using paper circuitry in my classroom as part of a year-long project. I will be explaining this more in my final project.

How will this experience change my teaching practice? 

First of all, it will challenge me. I have been teaching for 8 years, and in those years have taught all grades from Kindergarten to 8th grade, and all subjects. I have a wide range of experience, but have also never taught the same grade/subjects for more than a year at a time. Each year was always brand new, often creating most of the curriculum from scratch. This will be the first time I am teaching second grade again, in the same classroom at the same school. I feel like now that I have a good idea of the curriculum, school culture, and abilities of the kids, I can start to push myself to do things that I would not be so comfortable doing the first year in a new job or assignment. I am excited about bringing something completely new into my classroom and school, pioneering this paper circuitry and hopefully knocking everyone's socks off-- Look what second graders can do!

How am I a virtual teacher and why did I attend the conference?

I've never thought about myself as a "virtual teacher," since I have always taught in a physical classroom, face-to-face with my students. However, teaching is not just what we do with our students. Teaching is also the process of gathering and sharing ideas with others. I think back on all of the ways I have been inspired, ideas I have found, people I have connected with who have helped me grow as a teacher, and I realize that most of this has happened virtually. I was fortunate to have attended grad school at a liberal arts college with a small cohort for 2 years. We worked so closely together that many of us continue to connect as friends and professionals, mostly online. I have a large group of teaching peers whom I go to for advice, ideas, and inspiration. As a teacher I am also a huge fan of Pinterest and have created many public boards relating to various subjects within education (for example, Teaching Science to Primary Kids, Integrating Technology into the Classroom, etc.). I feel like by sharing and organizing ideas, this makes me a virtual teacher to some degree. 

I attended this conference in order to learn something new that I could apply to my teaching. I wanted to do something different, something out of the box that most teachers may never have heard of or be exposed to in their typical professional development. I think of all the ideas I have "borrowed" from others, and I hope that I can share my success with paper circuitry in the primary classroom with others.