Logos: Text + Thinking = Reading or Understanding
You may have seen your child coming home with her or his sketchbook from school this weekend. If so, they are probably hard at work designing their logos. As a part of our work in reading and writing, we are thinking about what it means to read and what it means to write. I like to talk with kids about reading as a process of putting their thinking together with an author's text in ways that result in understanding. Both the text and the thinking have to be present in balanced measure for reading to be happening. Specifically in regard to the Text part of the equation, we've been paying attention to the ways that authors put meaning into a piece of writing. We know that authors put meaning into the actual written words and we have discovered some of the ways that authors and illustrators include meaning in illustrations. We are also noticing how authors and illustrators include meaning in logos that represent a company. I invited everyone to try out creating their own logos.For us this serves a mini version of the genre and author studies we will do all year as writers. The process we use to create a logo involves inquiring into the genre of logos, trying out some possibilities, drafting, revising, drafting, revising, and drafting again, gathering feedback from our readers, and finally publishing. We studied several familiar and award winning logos for different companies. We developed a list of qualities of the ones that were most effective in carrying out their messages and worked to create a few different drafts and different concepts from that list. We will be meeting in small groups over the next week to really hone our messages and designs. Eventually we will be displaying these logos in our cubbies and on some of our other materials this year. There are some photos below of our work with these projects!
Weather Inquiry
With Hermine as a major news story in our community, we got the chance to begin inquiring into weather patterns and why they happen. Several questions came up as we watched CNN news and Weather Channel coverage of the storm, like: What causes the hurricane to move? What causes it to change direction? How do hurricanes compare with tornadoes in size and strength? We tracked the storm as it made landfall and approached us on Friday. It gave us the chance to see first hand the changes in color on a radar map! I can't wait to continue our study with some experiments that illustrate the water cycle and collecting data for further analysis that will contribute to our study of climate, region, and Native American groups.Subject Area Note Taking
On a more logistical note, as we begin to wrap up some of our studies especially in math, science, and social studies, you will see some subject area notebooks coming home to support your child in studying for assessments, preparing research for in-class projects, or using in-class research for at home projects. In order to make sure that we use these notebooks in effective and organized ways, I will be teaching a specific note-taking style (my adaptation of Cornell Notes). There are situations in which I will be expecting students to simply copy the notes that we develop together and I generate and organize. However, there are other times when what will matter most are the ways that we interpret or do personal research around a given topic. In those situations, I will be expecting that students always generate and organize their own notes. These two differing types of notes will be kept in the same notebook and used for review and studying.Enjoy the photos of the last few days of our time together! You'll see several of the Responsibility statements we have written, the accompanying posters, some time with Mrs. Waugh our literacy coach, and a read aloud with our Student Teacher, Ms. Wilson. Below the photos, I will close this week's blog post with an introduction from Ms. Wilson. She has already helped us learn more about our reading processes and perspectives through the books she's read us!
My name is Shanna C. Wilson and I am from Scranton, South Carolina. I have a degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Winthrop University. Currently, I am pursuing a Masters of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education from The University of South Carolina. To complete my degree program, I have to participate in two internships. My internships will be completed here at The Center For Inquiry. For the first half of the year, I will be in Ms. Emily Whitecotton’s class with your student. As the school year continues on, I hope to get to know each and every student and what’s special about him or her. Some of my favorite things include dolphins, the beach, listening to live bands, and making friends. I love all things pink and my favorite movies are Disney’s Beauty and The Beast and Pocahontas.
