Initial Data - October

SEAN AND SETH

I purposely paired Seth and Sean because Sean has so much trouble working with different kids and really doesn't want to be buddies with Seth ever. When I first told them they would be partners, Sean resisted, but when enticed by the prospect of acting out his story, agreed to work with Seth. When they sat knee to knee, eye to eye, heart to heart to plan, they started off, as expected with two separate stories. Seth had an idea about a giraffe that ate a shoe. Sean had an idea about a bear walking with a baby bear. I encourage them to put those two stories together and connect them into one. They quickly modified their ideas and planned to have the bear eat the giraffe and then spit it out. Then they went off to draw. 

A few minutes into their work time:

Sean: I wish I could have that thing I was drawing 

Seth: I wish I could be a piece of a shoe (Sean looks at him, says nothing and goes back to drawing) Then I could not talk. I like not talking. (continues drawing) Well, then I could be silly.
Sean: This guy is sad.
Seth: Im making a rainbow tree.
Sean: You should make all the colors.
(lots of quiet drawing and silly songs)
Sean: He's invisible. No one can see him. Are you going to make that invisible? (pointing to Seths rainbow tree.)
Seth: And this is where the owls have to live.
Sean: And these are the coconuts.
Seth: And these are the pineapples.
(Five miuntes in, finished dranwg, hitting themselves in the head with the markers. Teacher comes to take dictation.)
Sean: We drawed these guys are invisible...

This is about a bear that is trying to eat the giraffe. If the bear eats a hole in the tree he will die. If he eats the top hole, he will get more power. There are invisible bad guys.

ARMANI AND CHARLOTTE

There was a pig and a barn and the pig was walking on a path. (C) The little guy was like, “Moo” and it was not a cow it was a pig. And he run to a person named Joe. (A) First, he turned backwards and the pig was jumping on him. Then he turned around and said, “How did you get to here? You’re supposed to be at the barn!” The pig jumped in a pile of mud. (C) And he jumped in the farm. (A) And he scratched the person and jumped to the barn. (A)

NOTES: 

My main focal student is Armani, who is paired with Charlotte during story plays. Together they plan and draw stories and then watch as they are acted out by the class. Charlotte’s informal language Is clear and specific, while Armani’s narratives can be confusing and unclear.

Armani ended the story by saying “He jumped in the farm.” After the story play, a classmate asked about the barn: Why was it introduced earlier in the story, but not used later in the story? Armani clarified that the pig jumped to the barn, and also added more specific language about the pig scratching the person on the way.

EVA AND EVELYN

We’re making a river. (Evelyn) There’s dolphins diving out. (Eva) There’s people and at first the dolphin is scared of the people but then they become friends. It was a magical dolphin and he didn’t want his magic to be damaged. His face is pink because it’s magical. He put magic on the grass. (Evelyn) The grass grows longer, to the clouds. There are a few rain clouds. (Eva)

LAWRENCE LUCY JALEN

It’s about a magical cow who drinks magical milk. Then the farmer gets the cow a lot of milk. After the cow drinks the magical milk, he goes all the way up to the moon. The more milk he drinks, the more he flies. The cow is a boy in the morning and a girl at night.

MIO AND KAIA

These hearts are falling from the sky (M)—Halloween candies (K)—and ghosts are inside of the building and heart candies are falling and the ghosts and cheetahs are eating it. (M) And the fairies are eating candies too. (K)