Fielding the one and only elementary Jewish day school ultimate frisbee team

That's right! For the past four years, LGA has proudly fielded a scrappy yet highly skilled ultimate frisbee team and I'll be the first one to say, they are GOOD! If you live in the Pioneer Valley, you know how big ultimate frisbee is here. It's everywhere. From a pretty young age, kids here are taught how to throw a frisbee but more importantly how to catch one.  It's just part of living in the valley. It's part of our culture.

I personally find it important that students take part in some sort of physical activity. It can and should be a choice, but every child should find an active outlet to that is inspiring to them. Teachers and parents know that I've talked about how recess is an important part of the day for our students -  sacrosanct, even. Punishing a child with missing recess is in no one's best interest, because that just leads to more of the behaviors that we don't want to see. At LGA, we encourage students to run around and get their blood pulsing. We all realize that there are days when children need a break, but those should be the exception, not the norm. 

Ultimate frisbee is the kind of sport that allows many different types of kids and athletes to succeed. No pun intended, but it is the "ultimate" team sport. I kvell when I see how the team pulls together to form one cohesive group. Yesterday, I had the privilege of watching a bit of a game at the Eaglebrook tournament. The kids were on fire. They were truly enjoying themselves and each other. Kids who don't profess to be the most athletic, but enjoy playing ultimate frisbee, were smiling. Students who are more comfortable don't boast -- they let keep their egos in check. Our mantra of "learning while learning to care" really was on display yesterday. The sense of good sportsmanship was apparent. 

Now back to that culture piece. How does it get there? Well, some is through osmosis, but a lot of it is handed down by the leader, or in this case, the coach. Morah aka Coach Hilary Gollis is passionate about her team. She teaches our students every day. But she teaches them more than the standard lessons in the classroom or on the field. She has a high moral compass and encourages students to use that compass to guide them as well. It is apparent that Coach Gollis has an effect on her students. Our team includes 7th and 8th grade alumni students. Our students want to play for Hilary and Team LGA because she cares so deeply about her students and players. Watching Hilary coach is magical in its own right -- she is encouraging, direct, compassionate,  a cheerleader, and she makes people feel REALLY good. Coach Gollis has taken a few Sundays away from her own family because she knows how important the team and the program are to the students. Teachers at LGA often go above and beyond; this is just another example of the dedication our faculty has to the school. 

Everyone else has a role as well. We need the rest of the LGA community to come out and support out team by showing up at games. They are truly fun to watch. There is a game this Thursday versus Pioneer Valley Performing Arts at PVPA (4:30) in South Hadley, and a game next Thursday here in Northampton (3:30) versus the Campus School. There is also an all-day tournament at Amherst Regional Middle School this Sunday, May 19. Stop by wearing your blue shirt and cheer our students on. You won't be disappointed. 

Lit circles...Not just book groups!

This blog post is part three (and final post) on different aspects of our language arts program. In this blog post, I will be focusing on literature circles. 

When I was a child, I loved to read. I could easily dive into a book and not surface for air until it was over. After I began to read the first few pages, I magically entered a new world that opened so many doors for me. Each new book allowed me to learn and look into different worlds that I never knew about. But it was a solo endeavor for me. Sadly, the one aspect of reading that was missing for me was the deep exploration that you get from learning with peers.  In my elementary school, the teachers didn't seem willing and/or we were never given the opportunity for interaction of exploring what classmates were thinking about or hearing the opinions of how the "stuff" that certain books made us feel. (My definition of "stuff" is the feelings that certain words or themes bring up when you are reading.) 

That was the 1980s. Maybe we weren't in touch with ourselves as much as we are now. In 2012, language arts programs are much more robust, fluid programs that are child centered by design yet structured to offer many different portals for students to connect to when it comes to language arts. Literature circles is one aspect of a comprehensive language arts program that I have truly come to appreciate for many reasons. 

As I was doing some research for this blog post, I came across a few different websites that talk about lit circles (as they are affectionally known). There was one website that I especially enjoyed reading about the practice of lit circles (www.litcircles.org). In its simplest form, lit circles are when groups of students get together to discuss a piece of shared literature. Students are directed by a teacher to look at a certain aspect of the book. 

The website that I perused broke literature circles into "are/are not" categories. I thought I'd investigate the "ares" below.

Literature circles are...reading response centered. Walk into a 4th or 5th grade classroom here and you see students engaged with different books of their choosing. Students respond to literature in many different ways, why not allow them to really delve deep with their own feelings and thoughts. Literature circles allow for this type of thinking. 

Literature circles are...part of a balanced literacy program. Lit circles are not meant to replace standard reading groups or grade-wide novels. At LGA, we often have two grades come together allowing for more choices for students and greater interaction between students.

Literature circles are...groups formed by book choice. Students choose from a list of three or four books and teachers divide students up according to interest. At times, I have seen books similar in topic being chosen so that whole class discussions can be generated. Students can also share different aspects of any one topic. This adds an interesting layer to discussions and often sparks interest in reading other books that are based on the same subject. 

Literature circles are...structured for student independence, responsibility and ownership. Now some of you may have deduced that if there are four different groups going on in any one classroom how can one or two teachers monitor and be a part of all of the groups all of the time. The answer is that the teachers aren't there all the time and this is really OK. I have walked into a 5th grade classroom where students were having a lively debate and there wasn't a teacher around them to monitor. There was respect and a lively discussion filled with different opinions. Students have to take ownership of their part. Since we assume that students picked the books because they are interested this usually leads to the type of student behaviors that are looked upon favorably.

Literature circles are...guided primarily by student insights and questions. Teachers at LGA often give conversation starters but then the students take it to the next level. Lit circles often spark an interest  in a student that no one could have anticipated. Students generate good questions about the books. Interesting conversation takes over. 

Literature circles are...intended as a context in which to apply reading and writing skills. So think of the opposite here. It is not intended to do skills work. A child isn't going to necessarily learn new skills because of lit circles. Students need to take what they have learned and apply it to this one specific aspect of our language arts program. We are asking students to articulate feelings, think deeply, and contextualize reasoning when it comes to reading. Not always an easy task especially for a 3rd grader but when we take away the pressure of skill building, we see great results. 

Literature circles are...flexible and fluid; never look the same twice. This speaks for itself. There are so many reasons for this. 

One of the most beneficial aspects of literature circles is that they require our students to go beyond the words in the book. This was a gift that I was never given as a young student. The opportunity to challenge ones thinking is a skill that has to be nurtured from a young age. As students approach middle and high school, they are expected to analyze a piece of text and form an opinion very quickly. Literature circles allow for this to happen. 

In the end, I have highlighted three aspects of our vibrant language arts curriculum that I believe speak to what a 21st century learner needs to succeed in school. When we see how our students respond to text, we know that we are going down the right path.