Our 2nd graders’ exploration into Monarch
Butterflies this past fall opened their eyes to the winged critters’
3,000 mile migration to the warmer climates of Mexico and California to
escape New England’s harsh winter weather (that we’ve grown all too
familiar with this year). Their Expeditionary Learning task this winter
has been to research other critters who live close-by in hopes of
opening Monarch Butterflies’ eyes to some alternative “wintering”
habits. The final product will be a collection of chapters written from
the perspective of the critters who are eager to share their winter
habits.
This exploration has provided a powerful context for learning how to effectively collaborate, and the kids are learning to look at their classmates as colleagues who can help. By providing helpful feedback, their colleagues
can guide them towards more specific questions as they read to gather
more information, point to particular pieces of their scientific
drawings that can be tweaked to be more accurate, or suggest different
word choices in their writing to help them develop a voice that hooks
their audience.
Providing these types of feedback has become an
ongoing piece of this exploration’s process, and the 2nd graders have
been framing their feedback with these guiding questions:
- Do you understand what they’re trying to help you improve? (What could you do if you don’t understand?)
- Can you point to the place in your work where they’re trying to help you? (What could you do if you can’t point to the place?)
Did they give you examples of how you can improve this part of your work? (What could you do if they didn’t give you examples?)
These questions help to scaffold both the thinking that goes into giving feedback, and the thinking that goes into receiving feedback; two opposite but important pieces of the feedback loop that colleagues need to be aware of to effectively collaborate.
The 2nd graders’ final products - the published
chapters - will provide some concrete evidence of the Learning Targets
that they’ve aimed for as Writers. We should all look forward to seeing
and celebrating those published pieces, but we should also remember to
reflect on the process these learners have experienced. They have been
busy as Readers, Writers and Scientists these past few months, but
perhaps the most lasting Learning Targets they’ve aimed for have been
imbedded in the collaboration that has helped them get to this point.