The plan was to have them read/take notes for a short time and then rotate to another table. However, they were so into it, that we didn't even switch! I will change the tables next time and give them new paper/books, and see what happens.
And the rules are: your paper cannot be blank at the end of the period. Other than that, there are no rules! I did this with gifted 1st and 2nd graders, and they blew me away!
In 1st group, we looked at maps, magnets, compasses, and navigation books, and they had blank white paper (they are not really ready for ruled paper yet).
This made it easier for the kids to write/draw/highlight/post it however they wanted, rather than being restricted by lines/margins, etc. (which really doesn't make sense to them, yet).
I had checked out specific books for what was going to be a major collaboration over the classroom, library, computer lab, and the makerspace about compasses.
The first week, we read The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller.
Then we looked at map books.
The 2nd week, before the students looked at the books again, I asked the students why they think books on magnets and books on maps go together...guiding them toward compasses. Then I explained that the books included maps, magnets, compasses, and navigation books. Then we looked at all of the books!
The 3rd week, we read Bob and Joss Get Lost! by Peter McCleery, illustrated by Vin Vogel. Then we looked at real maps, along with all the books!
Next year we are planning on making our own compasses in our makerspace, after 3d printing pieces in computer lab, and of course, researching what we need in the library and their classroom.
We were going to try this this year, but couldn't get certain parts in time. Since I'd already checked out all the books, I still wanted them to look over them and get a better sense of maps.
In 2nd group, we only looked at map books, and they had ruled paper.
We had a quick discussion of what side is "right side up" on ruled paper:
The dots are to the left and the larger blank space is at the top.
The larger blank space is usually for a header, with your name, title, and date of your work. We started with name and titles.
The dots are so you can easily add it to a 3 ring binder (I showed them my very messy lesson planning binder).
A girl after my own heart: bullet points and maps and colors!
This student wrote how he "detested" that some of the books were wrong!
We have been working on reading and questioning our sources!
Yes, they are, buddy!
Then this student drew maps!
Underlined "shapes, colors, lines"...the teacher has been working on highlighting IMPORTANT words, and not ALL the words..so great to see!
"A map is like your looking down from the sky. "
I showed them a note I had taken where I drew a flower to remind me to go back, think more, and try something out - or "grow" my learning. She drew a flower!
Love this color and post it work!
Overall, we learned MANY things, at our own pace. I even sat down with my book and the notes I had showed them; and I read and took notes too! We have modeled all these ideas before, and it was amazing to see them put together their own thoughts and understandings. They even pointed out that some books had older copyrights or simply wrong information - we also talked about writing to the publisher to change information! I learned that the love of highlighters and post-its is universal, and we will do this again!
