Epic Connection Making

We have been working on schema-theory for the past couple of weeks in our reading workshop. The crew has been learning about how we think, and the ways in which our brains process and store information. I positively love the "ah-hah!" moments when little guys come to understand the mind's capacity for storing and recalling information and experiences.

This week the kiddos were really eager to talk about September 11th. I only have two students that were actually alive on that tragic day 11 years ago, but it is somehow still stamped on their hearts regardless. It actually started that morning when Mr. 5th grade asked if we could lower our flag to half-staff before we said the Pledge. No joke--these are the children that I get to spend each and every day with. And his question brought me to change up our scheduled reading lessons for the week. This was important.

Luckily, we were making text-to-world connections this past week, so our read-alouds and conversations could easily transition to revolve around peace--and our world's desperate need for it.  Through a series of conversations we came to realize that good readers can make connections to historical events and situations. After reading a Time for Kids article about the September 11th memorial in NYC, we read a poem for peace. The crew made these connections after activating our schema:

-"This makes me think of a time of war. It is like when there is no peace, but people are fighting because they want it. They want peace."
-"It makes me really sad for the families hurt by the attacks on September 11th. All they want is peace and it must be so hard for them to find it."
-"This poem really makes me think of Dr. Martin Luther King. He worked so hard so there could be peace between white and black people." (From a 3rd grade cutie!)

In hopes to expose them to a vast array of genres, I also incorporate music into a lot of our work. And this past week seemed so perfect. So we listened to some John Williams (holy smokes, he is a brilliant dude).  I played his "Prayer for Peace" from the Munich score. The song isn't exactly the most joyful piece of music, but we were amazed how our mind could make connections simply from hearing a piece of music played by an orchestra (no lyrics even!).

We certainly didn't talk about the premise of Munich--but nonetheless they were inspired by the music. Here were some of the connections they made just after listening:

-"The low sounds in this song make me think of sacrifice--how people have to sacrifice in order to bring peace."
-"When we were listening it made me think of the book Smoky Night. It sounds like a scary time when people are unhappy."

My sweeter-than-sweet English learning lady even opened up about her experiences in Haiti. "I listen and it makes me think about people who were hurting in Haiti after the earthquake. I know that Jesus wants peace for people in all different countries." Whoa. I am still kind of digesting the conversations we had this week--but I am feeling so blessed to dive into deep topics with this crew. Holy smokes...God is good!