Intermediate
Setting the Table: Graphite
School is oftentimes a place where certainty reigns – but it can be a place where people develop comfort with uncertainty. New experiences with the…
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Math Congress: Space for everyone to get on and off the subway
Math Congress is a structure that we use often at Opal School in which children are invited to communicate their thinking, their strategies, their solutions,…
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Finding a Community to Turn To: Community-building, Revision, and Feedback
In the beginning of October, the Willow community embarked on a field trip. We headed to the Bybee-Howell Preserve on Sauvie Island, a beautiful refuge…
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What is a Teacher-Researcher, Anyway?
The teacher is the chief learner in the classroom. Donald Graves (quoted in Nonfiction Matters) When I was in my first (and second,…
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Nudging toward rhythm
As a teacher, I am continuously reflecting upon decisions to nudge students, whether nudging them to try something new, to take a deeper dive into…
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The Writing Kind of Life
“A writer’s notebook is like a ditch – an empty space you dig in your busy life, a space that will fill up with all…
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Intentions: Interdependence and perspective taking
Dear Intermediate Community families, At Opal School, we see all children as competent citizens with rights. We see them driven to connect, eager to empathize…
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What are the children teaching me?
As a student teacher in Opal 3 this year, I continually find moments where my own growth parallels, intersects, is inspired by, and connects with…
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What kind of community do you want to be in?
Many schools spend the first six weeks of school building community in order to establish a foundation that will support learning through the rest of…
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It’s not about the spelling…
Recently in Opal 3, we were sitting together in a circle with our writing notebooks, a not uncommon scene for our third grade community.…
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