Lydia Middleton Learning Commons
Creativity, Curiosity, Innovation
April 2017
We had so much fun in April. There is so much to celebrate! It is National School Library Month, National Poetry Month, Cardboard Carnival, and Genius Hour. Please read the newsletter to find out everything you need to know about the activities happening in the Learning Commons.
Thank you,
Mrs. Stevenson and Ms. Schmitt
Cardboard Carnival
The Global Cardboard Challenge is a time for kids to create and have fun with cardboard and other recyclable materials. At Lydia Middleton, we will celebrate with a Lydia Middleton Cardboard Carnival! Our 5th graders have been working hard on carnival games and we will be hosting the 1st Annual Cardboard Carnival the week of May 22.
If you are interested in volunteering to help with the carnival, please contact Mrs. Stevenson at jstevenson@madison.k12.in.us or Ms. Schmitt jschmitt@madison.k12.in.us
Genius Hour
I've heard a lot about this thing called Genius Hour and really wanted to give it a try this year but wasn't quite sure exactly how to go about it. We took the plunge and this is our journey.
What is Genius Hour?Genius Hour is a time set aside for students to explore their passions.
How it looked: We introduced the idea of Genius Hour to students by showing them the video below. We talked about how this is a project that they are in charge of. Next, students were to come up with an idea...ideate. Students could choose any topic they were interested in, and create a project to share with the class. Once they chose their topic, they met with us to discuss the idea of a driving question. This was very tricky for a lot of students to understand. We discussed the difference between a Genius question and a Google search.
Reflection: This was really hard for some of them. Not sure a guiding question is needed. Most of them just want to know everything they can. Rethinking this phase.
Each week, during their Learning Commons class, students read, researched, planned and designed their projects. We spent time talking about what resources they could use and how to effectively find information online. Here are some of the sites we use:
http://school.eb.com/ we have a subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica
https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/research269 this is a link to a Symbaloo Research Mix with many reliable resources for students.
Students followed three rules:
1. Brainstorm - topic must be guided by a question (what, why, how)
2. Research - (look into it deeply)
3. Share - (class, school or even the WORLD!)
Students are in the midst of researching their topics and a few have already presented. In reflecting on this project and thinking ahead to next year, here are some things to keep in mind.
- some students were so excited to be able to choose any topic they wanted and they were able to go full force at it, many were absolutely overwhelmed by the number of possibilities (especially 3rd grade).
- narrow down presentation options.
- better demonstrate how to turn an idea into an essential question.
- allow more time.
- spend more time on basic search strategies.
- do not attempt at the end of the year - too much going on!
- check with parents that student idea is reasonable.
Lots of thinking, learning, and creating. I'm so glad we did it and proud of the learning that happened. I will try to share some of the students work in the May newsletter.
April is School Library Month!
School libraries promote a culture of literacy, learning, exploration, and innovation.
All Things Crayons! K-2
Yellow and orange are always arguing about which one of them is the true color of the sun so, of course, we had to vote and graph the results.
Next, students picked the color they didn't want to quit and wrote their own letters (using SeeSaw App) explaining why the color should not quit.
We even melted crayon shavings to make beautiful sun catchers. This was a student idea!
As an added bonus we found out there is a sequel; another book featuring the crayons, The Day the Crayons Came Home.
We had a lot of fun reading, discussing and doing crayon activities.
About Us
- Get students excited about the library space and learning.
- Give students opportunities to work on engaging tasks.
- Provide spaces to work collaboratively, think critically, and creatively.
Also, to transition to a place where students DO stuff, not simply a place where students GET stuff
Email: jstevenson@madison.k12.in.us
Location: Lydia Middleton Elementary School, West Main Street, Madison, IN, United States
Phone: (812)-274-8005
Twitter: @JStevensonMCS