This is a guest post from Monica Snellings (@InquiringMonica). The original posts can be found here and here.
Mark Silberberg, middle school principal at LREI (and a big supporter of Inquiring Minds), integrated our lesson, My Future Self, into a class on values. The student’s schedule for this class is only once a week so getting 5th graders to retain their focus and stick with this provocative thought experiment took some ingenuity on his part. Continue reading Considering Their Future Selves
The following “conversation” between Ana, Michelle and Dave appeared on one of the whiteboards in my office: Continue reading “Splat” — On making mistakes and meaning
Once upon a time, in my tenth year as a music specialist, I was teaching a class of 3rd and 4th graders. We were about to record a 10 minute piece based on what we learned about form, instrumentation, dynamics, and playing together as a group.
Because the piece would be created on the spot, I thought it was important to review the“frameworks for improvisation” I had developed. They were already being used with success by colleagues at other schools. I was eager to try it out on my students.
There was a particularly imaginative and impulsive child who was quite vocal during our preparation. After class he stayed behind to tell me, “Sheri, I really understand why we needed to go over the rules but sometimes I just need the noise.” Continue reading Framework for Improvisation
