Cannon Elementary hosted me for a visit this week, and I enjoyed seeing how they are coordinating Humanities curriculum within the context of their STEM schoolwide emphasis. I know this has been a balancing act for them in the past, but on my visit, I saw lots of examples of how they are merging things beautifully. I've heard it said before that without the Humanities, there would be no STEM. Social Studies issues drive the need for STEM solutions, and STEM solutions must be effectively communicated using the skills learned in ELA. There is great interdependence here, and I enjoyed seeing how Cannon is building these skills in their students.
During my visit, I saw students who clearly understood the routines of reading workshop - reading independently from their "just right" books, conferring with the teacher, working with their teacher in a guided reading group, and reflecting on what they'd applied in their reading that connected to the day's mini-lesson. I saw examples of this from kindergarten up to 5th grade, and it was neat to see how the same classroom culture existed during the workshop at both ends of that developmental scale. I also saw students working very earnestly in writing workshop. I saw students in kindergarten classes who clearly knew how to run the show - independently getting more of their choice of paper type, working around the room, and spelling words independently based on either the word wall and/or their knowledge of sounds. I especially loved the interactive nature of a kindergarten word wall where students could come to the wall, pull off the word they needed, take it to their seat, and return it to the correct spot when finished.
I saw lots of great anchor charts throughout all the grade levels, and I saw an amazing model of organizing/combining anchor charts and "I can" statements in 2nd grade (see picture below)! What an awesome way to organize your teaching and keep resources handy for students! In addition to anchor charts, I enjoyed seeing the wide variety of reading areas/classroom libraries and whole group areas on the floor (some with risers and other creative boundaries). I saw evidence of cornerstone task work and was able to use this as a gauge to see where folks are in comparison to the curriculum calendars. I know this year is tricky as we learn to gauge the timing of units. (Hats off to 5th grade for managing to stay on time thus far!) Technology usage in classrooms appeared to be seamless. Students could easily have taught a class to many grownups in the district on how to navigate both their Chromebooks and iPads. :) Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the debate being conducted by 5th graders to determine whether the colonists should go to war against England. Students demonstrated a depth of understanding (that was aligned to the expectations in the TEKS) and their classroom walls showed evidence of what they'd been learning.
During my visit, I snapped several pictures that captured aspects of the Common Instructional Expectations and/or the curriculum. These photos may be viewed here by GCISD employees.
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