“Shock and Awe!” One MILLION word goal update…

One final post for the 5B FISH! Class of 2020… You may be too young to remember the saying “Shock and Awe” but this saying is so fitting and relevant in this case! The school year began with my announcement of a team goal in reading. We will be challenging ourselves to read ONE MILLION WORDS each! Mouths hung open in disbelief, fixed mindsets were banging on a stone wall, & no, meta was NOT bettah…YET! Students and Ohana were in “shock!”

The year continued…as students learned about different genres (more than fiction & non-fiction), adopted new favorites genres and books, shared their reading with teammates, learned new grade-appropriate words, learned about metacognitive awareness, began thinking about their thinking…and “boom”-huge mindset evolution! Students were determined, exhibited grit, & hoʻomauʻd (persevered). As the year progressed, ”teamwork” gained momentum! Itʻs always better with a friend(s)…students discussed, summarized, predicted, inferred, compared, & critiqued books! Iʻd hear book discussions happening, see sharing of books from class & home, and notice the newly discovered vocabulary being spoken (and written)!

Here comes the “Awe!” 21 out of 24 students met the ONE MILLION WORD reading goal for this year!! I totally believe if we were together, it would have been a historical year (in a positive way) as all 24 would have met the team goal! A few were thisclose! With the “swim strong with me, hiki no mindset”…Collectively as a team, the 5B FISH! read a total of 826 books = 29, 500,000 words TOGETHER! I am so proud of all of our 24 students who “swam strong,”…Together, we displayed that we CAN challenge ourselves, we CAN jump out of our comfort zones w/a positive mindset, we CAN climb out of the box to inspire others, and we DID amaze ourselves! Kīpaipai… you are an inspiration! I am in ʻAWE!” Continue the “swim” with a growth mindset, being meta, and always sharing your aloha! A hui hou kaʻu iʻa! Happy Summer to you all!