Gaja Stirbys Field Seminar

Rationale The notion of change over time is a central idea to the study of literature, science and social studies. It is woven into the fabric of character development, the relationships between living organisms and diverse histories of experience. Several decades ago, the work of Piaget was interpreted by developmental theorists and educators to suggest that students in the K-2 age range did not have the cognitive capacity to study topics such as history because of the chronological sequencing necessary. Theorists such as Egan pushed back on these ideas asserting that this conceptual poverty in young people was incompatible with his observations of their vivid mental lives (Alleman et al, pg. 107). Since then, research has supported his claim but with certain distinctions. Young students are able to study history when accessed through the channels of appropriate tasks that resonate with student interests (Alleman et al, pg. 107). The study of the physical and inner change over time through the lenses of the plant life cycle and characters in literature will afford students the unique opportunity to develop the necessary skills to study and observe chronological sequences apparent in science and in their own lives. The study of change over time through the framework of literature and life science provides students with the opportunity to view their roles in history as agents or active participants. As they write their I was, I am, I will be poems and tend to the observation of life cycles, they access core ideas about the world around them. Rather than history only taking place in the past or outside of their own experience, students can begin to build connections between one another and their communities of experience. Like Egan, who believed in the power of students vivid mental lives, I believe that students are not limited by their presumed maturity levels. Rather, they are only limited by the entry point or the way in which the concept is presented and scaffolded by their learning community.

Zach Webber, an educator working at Bartram's Gardens in Southwest Philadelphia, believes that studying the plant life cycle affords students the opportunity to access wider socio-historical and environmental science concepts. It introduces students to how plants propagate, an often understated but evermore pertinent topic across conversations about food justice and environment science. Discussing this aspect can help structure conversations about cloning versus growing from seeds, considering the positives and negatives of a subject while citing evidence as well as facilitating opportunities to apply this [plant life cycle] to our own living (Webber, interview). In order to access these sophisticated ideas when students are older Webber argues, a context about how change occurs, in our own lives or in the world, must first be constructed. By the end of the second grade, students are required to begin learning about the structure and function of living organisms. In studying the plant life cycle in this integrated unit, students will identify and describe the properties of seeds and have the opportunity to marvel at the diversity of their shapes. By watching seeds sprout and change over time, they fulfill their requirement to study the function and development of plant components such as stems. As plants develop, students will observe their predictable characteristics at different stages of development (Framework, 146). Students will continue to strengthen their sequencing skills in order to accurately describe these changes and reflect on what other transformations resonate with them when considering their personal life spans. While a plant and other living organisms may only express predictable change, feelings and character traits are individualized and relative. Furthermore, the elements necessary for the survival of plants can be extended in literature to consider the vital needs in students' lives. In order to accomplish this metacognitive understanding of small changes in their experience, students will develop ways of describing events and individuals with character traits. These will eventually be applied to describe their own dynamic lives. The study of life cycles is a topic that they will consider directly or indirectly, throughout their lives as students and adults. Whether it will be through the continued scientific study of organisms or

through the experiences of child rearing, this topic is universal and far reaching. In a society that arguably places a premium on ready made foods and materials, tracing the line of goods to their source has the potential to recenter focus on environmental science and raise issues of social justice and climate change. In order to create these areas of research in our classroom, a great variety of science and literacy materials will be utilized. Since students in my classroom love opportunities for responsibility and clamor for any chance to help, they will undertake the bulk of plant care. Requiring precision and consistency, this care-taking aspect of studying the plant life cycle will also engage them by encouraging buy in or a commitment to learning. This will be a pivotal change that I will manage through routines and scaffolding. Studying the plant life cycle is also an exciting enterprise because students have the opportunity to learn directly from the phenomena itself (N. Bergey, Science Methods). By using a daily plant log, they will actively engage in the topic through the use of scientific tools and observation. Through the use of magnifying lenses, measuring tapes and the study of plants, students will have the opportunity to begin relating the idea of change to themselves as round, dynamic characters. Developmentally, students at the first grade age level are avid fans of thinking and learning about themselves and the natural world. Perfectly suited as integrated topics of study, students will use their learned skills of observation with plants to think about how they've changed and will continue to change. Reading stories that reflect their experiences and feelings, students will turn their magnifying lenses inward to discover how their feelings change like the characters in their books when presented with diverse circumstances and conflicts. I have had many opportunities to work with young people of the first grade age range. In my experience, they have an uncanny ability to feel sincere excitement and wonder at the world around them. This contributes to their love of science and literature, especially when it reflects their own lives with an imaginative twist. Though my students have had limited exposure to using scientific materials

and growing plants, they have had a treasure chest of experiences even at their young age. I feel a vested interest in helping prepare them to use these tools of science as well give them an opportunity for project based learning that values their insights and their experiences. Their classroom has only recently, through my lessons objectives, come to reflect some of their personal work. This project, spanning several different types of plants that effectively belong to them, will help reinscribe the purpose and presence of objects in the room. Their poems about personal change will help encourage the belief that they too are sources of knowledge. I have attempted to structure lessons and activities to incorporate as much potential for conversation as possible. Talking about themselves, and talking about their plants will be especially helpful to my mostly English language learner student population. By front loading vocabulary and exposing them to authentic learning experiences, I hope to expand student opportunities for growth and familiarity with academic and conversational English. As seeds sprout into plants and dynamic characters respond and change through conflict, I hope that our classroom community will strengthen and mature as a result of this unit. I am especially enthusiastic about the plant life cycle aspect of our study. I was raised in my grandfather's garden. Learning the ways of planting, weeding and picking fruit were cherished opportunities to play in the sun and steal sweet peas as I picked them. As a young person growing up in Philadelphia, I had the unique experience of watching my food grow. Though young people who have grown up in cities have a wealth of rich experiences, they are also frequently the population most disconnected from the natural world that provides them with resources necessary for survival. Coincidentally, there have been growing urban farming movements in cities across the United States. They do not solely take place in neighborhoods with high socioeconomic backgrounds and many reckon ideas about food access and urban environmental issues to be the crux of their agenda. Symbolically, the Kirkbride catchment is in an interesting position between the labels of an under served and resourceful community. Though most students are from lower to working class socioeconomic backgrounds, many have complex support networks in their surrounding neighborhood. Whether through the Italian/Mexican Market or while

visiting an aunt's bodega, many students and their families are deeply invested in helping others access resources in their community. Within a short distance of our school, I hope to visit these spaces first hand with my students shortly following our unit of study. As spring begins in the middle of my unit and the neighborhood around students slowly shows evidence of budding trees, farmers will also begin their planting work for the new season. Though my unit is only two weeks in length, we will continue to access themes of change over time for the duration of the school year. I hope to take students on an afternoon walk that begins with observing how individuals without conventional gardens use large pots and planters on their front sidewalk. As we notice these accommodations we will be well on our way to the two community gardening plots between 9th and 10th by Wharton street. With permission and supervision from volunteering parents, I hope to take students on a walk through the Italian/Mexican market (during non-peak hours) to trace the plant life cycle all the way to how they are purchased and consumed by humans. Further into spring when plants begin to sprout in urban farms across Philadelphia, I hope to take students on a trip to the educational farm, Bartram's Gardens. There students will see native Philadelphia plants growing among a habitat of pollinators and other supporting organisms. Students will also have occasion to reflect on how much they've grown since the initial stages of our unit, both in height and awareness. In the integrated unit, students spend a great deal of time observing natural change. However, in a study of two dimensional shapes, students have the opportunity to manipulate change. The book This is Not a Box is in many ways a testament to the creative spirit of young people and their proclivity for experimentation. A rabbit figure asserts that what they hold in their hands is not a box but the base of a race car or the first ten floors of a tall building. Two squares can be made to build a rectangle or three sticks can be used to make a triangle. By exploring our own classroom and neighborhood, students have a chance to find shapes all around them. They have the chance to study the defining properties of these shapes and then even play with them to make new ones. In planning and creating the curriculum for this unit of study, I wanted to considered how the

idea of change could be conceptually linked to the notion of transformation and disguise. What was once a seed becomes an almost unrecognizable plant. A character who began her story angry and surly later happily sits at the table with her family enjoying dinner. Rather than limiting ourselves to beginning and end results, I wanted students to explore the journey of physical and inner change. Furthermore, I wanted students to consider how they affected that change through their choices and actions.

Bibliography Alleman, J., Brophy J. May/June 2003. History is Alive: Teaching Young Children About Changes Over time. The Social Studies. Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards. (2012). A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. The National Academies Press: Washington, D.C. Webber, Zach. Personal Communication, March 4, 2013. Bergey, NancyLee. Personal Communication, Fall Science Methods, 2012.