Introduction Getting Ready
Learning Circles Teachers' Guide
Open Circle Plan Projects Share Work Publish
Close Circle Overview
   

Phase 6 Narrative:

Until next time...

As the Learning Circle closes and the year draws to an end, it is a time for reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future.

Looking back, Michelle was pleased with her students' work in their Learning Circle. Their project summary for the Circle publication was mailed to the other classrooms in time for her to end with the classic message:"It's in the mail." She admired the organizational skills of the Coordinator, Mary Merica from California; their project summary had arrived at the beginning of the last week and it looked terrific! Her students did a great job of pulling everything together. They had included three essays from Crestline. It also really helped Michelle's editing crew to see an example of a printed summary while they were still hard at work on their own project summary. Mary also sent the title page, a work of circle art, and a great letter explaining how things happened on the network. Michelle's students read the letter to the whole school during their last assembly. They really listened.

The last week on the Learning Circle was very hectic for everyone. Welda Hunt had said not to even look for her project until the first week in January. She was in charge of the school holiday program and it sounded wonderful. She was such a creative teacher that Michelle really enjoyed getting to know her. Michelle wondered how it had gone. Eric also said he would have his project in the mail before Christmas, but if not, it would be his first New Year Resolution. The Circle closed but Michelle hoped the friendships would continue.

During the next week Michelle stopped by school several times to check the mail. Two more project sections arrived. She was surprised to find that she was watching the mailbox with so much interest. She recalled how she used to laugh at the way her retired dad met the mailman each day. She knew he would chuckle at her now! Michelle glanced to the table where all the Christmas cards were displayed. There was a picture of Welda Hunt and her husband and three kids. What a friendly set of messages Welda had sent in the closing week of the circle! It meant so much to Michelle's students to read those messages. Maybe she should bring the card into school and show it to her students. She knew that some of her students would be bringing in the letters they received from their network friends.

Looking forward, Michelle thought about what she would do when the students finished assembling their Circle publication. She wondered if her students would like to make a formal presentation to the curriculum council next week. They were meeting at Crestline to discuss the state curriculum objectives. It would be a wonderful experience for her students to describe their work to the council and it would be good for the council to see what happened in this new environment for learning.

In just over a month, they would begin again with a new Learning Circle. Again she and her students would have a way to reach out to the mainland and beyond. Her students really enjoyed answering all of the questions about Hawaii. What a reaction they caused when they mentioned that they usually come to school barefoot! And with such interest they followed the stories about Susan Butcher as she prepared for the Iditarod, the famous dog sled race across Alaska.

Who, she wondered, would they meet this time? What places would they learn about? What new connections await them?

ReturnPhase 6: Closing the Circle...Detailed Description of Phase six
ending with "Closing the Circle" Checklist.

Overview

 

Copyright © 1997, 2002, Margaret Riel