Stanton, Nebraska

On July 9 and July 10 I worked with the teachers in Stanton, Nebraska. The City of Stanton is a rural community located 12 miles southeast of Norfolk along Nebraska Highway 24. Stanton has a community base of 1,627 residents. I had done a one day Imagine It! training with them a year ago. Over the year I had been in constant communication with them via email and phone calls. I could tell that the teachers and Mary, the elementary principal, were really trying hard to implement the program with fidelity. Their commitment was impressive and I was delighted when they purchased two days of follow-up professional development this summer.

I worked with the 4-6 grade teachers on Thursday and the K-3 grade teachers on Friday. Mary had invited the Newman Grove, NE teachers to join our training and five teachers showed up over the two days! I had done an initial one day training in Newman Grove, NE last summer.

Me and Mary, the elementary principal, outside the elementary school in Stanton.

Me and Mary, the elementary principal in Stanton, NE.

Concept/Question Boards- I was really impressed with the engaging Concept/Question Boards a second grade teacher had created with each of the Imagine It! units this year. She saved each of the boards and I had her share them with the group. I couldn't resist taking some photos.

The Concept/Question Board is an integral part of the learning environment in a classroom using Imagine It! Reading. It is a place where students can share their growing knowledge about a unit theme or concept by posting newspaper clippings, magazine articles, information taken from the Internet, photographs, and other items that might be of interest and that connect to the unit theme. As the class progresses through a unit, the Board serves as the place where common interests become evident. As these interests emerge, students can use them as the basis for forming collaborative groups to investigate ideas in greater depth.

The Board encourages students to ask questions that arise as they read on their own. The questions can be written and posted on the board. The Concept/Question Board shows students that questions are not problems but a way of learning. Questions become a springboard to further investigation.

Nadine, a 2nd grade teacher in Stanton, poses with a Concept/Question Board for the theme "Around the Town." This was my favorite board because the class researched the businesses housed in the buildings in downtown Stanton and created a map of downtown. They also interviewed a Stanton resident who wrote a book about the history of the town.