being a teacher, questions, Student-centered

Today I Didn’t Answer their Questions

Pernille Ripp

Hey Mrs. Ripp, where is Panama? Hey Mrs. Ripp, what does sum mean again? Hey Mrs. Ripp, I don’t get it. Substitute your name for mine and and I am sure this is what many of our classrooms sound like on anay normal day. Except today I didn’t provide the answers, today I didn’t answer with what they wanted to hear. Instead I asked, “How will you find the answer? How will you figure that out?”

Not answering a child is not something I was taught in college, in fact, quite the opposite. I was taught the curriculum, taught to memorize it so I could give it back to the students whenever it was needed. Not anymore, not all the time. Now my students are being taught where to find the answer, where to turn to to figure it all out. Nothing revolutionary, nothing I invented, instead something I learned from watching other great teachers do it.

So today, what happened to those students that didn’t know the answer? Panama was found through studying our classroom map, sum was looked up in a math reference book, and an explanation was found through a classmate. Will this approach always work? Who knows. Today it did.

Have you tried not answering? Is it something we have to teach or can we throw students into it without help?

being a teacher, believe, inspiration, self, students

Adding Up the Weight of Words

Pernille Ripp

I used to think I was a good dancer. Not the “So You Think You Can Dance” kind but not horribly ungifted either. I could shake it without care, busting a move with the best of them, and carefree live my life. I used to think I could dance until I met my husband. Brandon is a natural, he moves, he shakes, he glides. Why he knows how to twirl around a dance floor I do not know, but next to him, I acquired two huge left feet.

At first, we laughed about how I was clumsy. Being tall, skinny, and with two large feet didn’t help me either. And yet, as we laughed and joked about it, I really did get worse at dancing. For every negative comment I started to believe a little more that perhaps, just perhaps, there was something to it. Perhaps I really was bad at dancing, perhaps those jokes and comments were truth and not just fun to be had. Now, I barely ever dance, mostly just around my house with my daughter, but I am no longer the first one on the floor and I definitely always looking around seeing if anyone notices just how uncoordinated I am.

I think of my students, of the little comments we make throughout our day. Of snappy lines other students make, often in jest, but oft repeated. I wonder how many of those lines, those comments, dig themselves in and burrow down deep until they latch themselves into their psyche rendering them useless at something. How often do they start out laughing along until they realize that it is just not that funny?

We must always carry a sense of humor about ourselves, but when does that humor become destructive rather than funny?

So those little words, those small actions, add up to more than we can ever know. And not just the negative ones, but the positive ones as well. How about laughing about how talented someone is rather than how inadequate? Perhaps if I had joked about how incredible of a dancer I was, I would believe it now. I know that words have power, but often I forget about the small words and how much power they gain when I add them up. It is time for me to give weight to the positive ones.

Diary of, writing

Diary of an Animal – Digital Storytelling

Pernille Ripp
I love the “Diary of…” series by Doreen Cronin and knew my first year that I wanted the kids to write their own diary of something.  Last year, my fantastic technology teacher Myrna found a way to combine this project with digital storytelling.  So today, I am excited to unveil our next writing project; Diary of an Animal.  This project focuses on the traits of voice, organization, ideas and presentation.

The process is easy, and not one that I created but simply one I borrowed and then tweaked to fit us.

Build Up:

  • I build excitement by reading aloud “Diary of a Fly” and “Diary of a Spider.’  Most students have seen these books but love hearing them again.  I also put them all out on display for the kids to flip through whenever they want.  
  • After this, it is time to unveil the project.  Kids usually cheer when I tell them about studying a particular animal, and then I show them the final product.  I still have some of my old students’ projects and they love to see what they will be making.
  • I also scaffold by reading aloud a couple of example diary entries written by former students and there is always time for questions before we move on.

Process:

  • Then it’s time to get started, I give the students a couple of minutes to brainstorm a top 3 of animals they would like to study and then we are off to the library!  I encourage students to pick different animals so we learn about as many as possible.
  • Otherwise they may choose whichever one they want to, as long as it is one they are interested in.  They check out books from the library to find their fun facts.
  • The trick with this project is that they have to write their diary as that animal, so instead of a normal research project they really have to understand how that animal works and would think.
  • Students use this sheet to find fun facts that they may use in their final product.
  • Once they have all of the facts needed, and some extra ones, they start on the pre-write.  We have this great graphic organizer for that as well that students may choose to use.

All of this has been taking place during our literacy block up untilnow.  Now we get tech involved.

Tech Piece:

  • Students type all of their entries in keyboarding and then copy and paste it into a storyboard template.
  • For pictures, there are two options:  either draw their own using a drawing program or import them from the internet.  This may also depend on your student, sometimes this can take way too much time.
  • If searching the internet for pictures, students are also taught how to cite the source and put this into their digital story.  
  • When both of the above are completed, students are then shown how to import into Digital Story, add titles, record the story and then put in transitions and music.  

This whole project usually takes a couple of weeks in technology but only about a week and a half in literacy.  The end result is very creative, funny, and something the students love to share with their family.  This is also a great introduction to Digital Storytelling.

In the end we evaluate through peer review and we share these projects with our 1st grade reading buddies as well.

being a teacher, teachers

Ok, I Admit It

Pernille Ripp
It is time I admit a few things.  Not any secrets, nothing that will hurt others, but truths that I am ready to share about myself.  After all, my birthday is nearing, time for reflection is now, and honestly, why not put it all out there?  So in no particular order, here it is 
  • I am not tough.  Far from it in fact.  Although my steps seem self-assured and I can argue all of my opinions, inside I am still that awkward 15 year old hoping for acceptance.  So when people speak of “people” and what these “people” are saying about me, that pit in my stomach grows.  And yet, I know that life is a series of ebbs and flows, and someone out there likes me and what I do.  
  • I am a massive (proud) geek.  Oh, such a cliche, but it is true, my husband reminds me all the time that I would be a Trekkie if I had more time.  Instead I consume all things zombie, Neil Gaiman, techy tools and nerd style.  I would rock geeky glasses if I needed them.  I get excited when students quote obscure books or Sherlock Holmes.  I will talk videogames with you.  And it’s ok, I embrace it in my own nerdy way.
  • I am not an extrovert.  I am boisterous, I laugh loudly, and I sing in my classroom.  That does not mean I am comfortable around people.  In fact, I think the internet has provided me with a much needed shield so that I could explore facets of my personality and let myself shine amongst others.  See me at a conference and don’t be surprised if I am very, very quiet.
  • I do not have all of the answers.  I am sharing my journey, not selling a path.  
  • I change my mind.  This year certain things are working for me incredibly well but that does not mean they will work next year as well.  I am forever open to change, to reflection, to reinvention.  After all, life is not a passive act and neither is teaching.
  • I don’t think I am a great teacher.  I have been around great teachers, my mother being one, and I am not even close to that.  And thankfully so; my journey has just begun and I need to aspire to something.  I think I have good ideas, passion, and dedication, but greatness – maybe in 25 years.
I wonder what others wish the world knew about them?
assumptions, being a teacher, inspiration, no homework, students

We Are Not the Most Important Piece of Life

Pernille Ripp
I used to think student vacations meant lots of projects for them to do,  but then again,  I used to think a lot of things. This year with the advent of limited homework and more in-school learning, I stopped that practice. First I felt guilty; after all, wasn’t I supposed to assign lots of work for students to be engaged in when they were not in school? if I didn’t assign work, would they remember what it means to be in school, to work hard, to learn?  And yet, I knew that it had to be done.  Students were asked to read, maybe blog if they felt like it, which some did, and otherwise just be with their family.
The result; happy students who came back eager to learn and share all of their experiences.


As one of my students struggles through the sudden loss of her beloved grandfather, I am strengthened in my resolve to not encroach.  To not impose too much on the outside life, to let my students breathe, reflect, and in this case, mourn, without the pressure of school hanging over them.  For me, it is time I embrace a radical notion;  an education may be important but it is NOT the most important thing.   Life is the most important, and the chance to live it fully, remember it, and grow as a person will always beat the things we do at school.  We are important pieces, but we are not the biggest piece of a person, and nor should we be.
students, writing

A Child Argues Against Sledding

Pernille Ripp
I had to teach persuasive writing this week for a mandatory writing assessment so since we had gone sledding this week, I asked my students to try to persuade me to let them go again.  One child, Erik, decided to go another route; I love it when they get creative.

Dear Mrs. Ripp,
I think you shouldn’t let us go sledding.  First because it’s dangerous.  You crash multiple times every time you go down the hill.  Also, people might flip over in their sleds.  Lastly, (for this reason) kids might try to go down the hill on their feet.

Second, it might get us in trouble because we aren’t allowed to sled in the big hill.  The teachers might yell at us to be quiet.  Also, you have to go up the wrong side and could get hit.

Third, it will make other kids jealous.  They might bring their own sleds from home because we did it.  They might also try and stop us from going down and that might get people get hurt.  Kids might throw snowballs at us to stop us sledding.

That is why we shouldn’t go sledding again.
Your friend,
Erik

If you would like to leave him a comment on his post, please do so!