Library, Marblehead Village School, 3 hours

My library observation on 2/14/13 really seemed to focus on the mission of the library.  From the initial review of effective Google searches to the upcoming unit of study on Canada, a yearly 4^th grade curriculum focal point relating to the study of North America, the goal seemed to address the various levels that Bloom presents.  The upper level of Bloom’s Taxonomy was apparent when the class was reviewing effective Google searching and then the lower levels of Bloom were seen for the upcoming unit on Canada.  Critical thinkers, skillful researchers and ethical users of information were woven into the lessons of both 4^th grade classes that I observed.

Mrs. Soghomonian asked, “What clues do information detectives need to remember when looking at a website?”  Both classes were quick to remember the “about” button on a website to find out more about the author.  The students even offered reasons as to its importance.  As one girl stated, “You don’t want any random person to post.”  Another child shared some information that she learned on Wikipedia.  She proudly shared, “Wikipedia said that bunnies sleep with their eyes open.  Since my bunny does not, I looked at a few other websites and they didn’t say that.  This shows that Wikipedia can have wrong information.”  

When an article was written or a website was updated brought up another important factor when selecting a site as well as the clue in the URL.  These children have learned to not be as trusting when on the net.  One child even said, “K12 is from a school and you can usually trust them.”  It seemed unanimous that the “.gov” sites from the USA were probably not written to mislead according to these students.  From their responses the major criteria for website selection were being utilized and remembered by both classes.  With those skills solid, Mrs. Soghomonian moved on to Canada.

Map of North America Courtesy of the Library of Congress

She gave students some background as to why they would be studying Canada and completing a project on it in library over the next few weeks.  Since the 4^th grade core curriculum standards in social studies focuses on North America and the classroom teachers spend so much time with the U.S.A. and Mexico, it left little time to learn about our neighbors to the north.  Mrs. Soghomonian had a large map of North America visible.  She first asked for observations about Canada from the students.  This allowed the students to share any connections to the geography in relationship to the USA.  I saw firsthand that visuals are very important to further understanding.  For one brave child, this visual offered clarification of the location of Alaska in the world.  The child inquired if that really was Alaska attached to Canada.  Once the teacher confirmed her question, the child said, “Any time I have seen Alaska on a map of the USA it was near Hawaii.”  Other students also shared their similar misconceptions as a result of this child’s geographical confession.  Both Mrs. Soghomonian and I never realized that the USA maps could distort the true location of this state for students when the 50 states are not shown in conjunction with North America.  This open discussion was a wonderful opportunity to clear up misconceptions and make connections for students.

Map of the 50 States Courtesy of ABCTeach

Mrs. Soghomonian then asked the class to raise their hands if the students had any personal connections to Canada.  She offered examples of connections such as a visit to Canada, participating in the Marblehead/St Lambert’s hockey tournament, ancestors from Canada or a parent went there on business.  Out of a class of 22 and 23 children, less than half of each class raised their hands to make a personal connection.  I actually saw the level of engagement rise over the course of their sharing by the connections and excitement that the children had.  I was reminded of the Michael Wesch YouTube video where he states, “You can tell if kids are engaged by paying attention to the questions they ask.”  By the end of the discussions I heard, “Why didn’t Canada want to buy Alaska?” and “What was Canada like before the U.S. bought it?”  

The conversation allowed all the children to make a connection.  The children identified some similarities and differences with Mrs. Soghomonian’s help over the course of each class’s discussion.  After many similar thoughtful questions and comments, Mrs. Soghomonian concluded this discussion by saying, “You have done a wonderful job of generating questions about Canada and we will later answer those same questions through our research projects.”