Every year I examine books as mirrors and windows with my students. Every year I tweak the exploration and this year was no different. This year's additions included sticky notes and reflections.
Day 1: Mirror moments
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| Sticky notes I created with Tony Vincent's template (link below) |
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| After modeling mirror moments (and having students make "me too" signals), students identified a mirror moment from a stack of books at their table. |
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| "This is like my sister and I. We fight all the time." - 3rd grader |
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| "When my mom tells me to clean my room I just sit because I don't know where to start." - 3rd grader |
Day 2: Window moments
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| In the next class I modeled "window moments" and we drew windows in the air when we heard moments that were "not like us." |
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| Students identified "window moments" at their tables with sticky notes. |
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| Students shared their "window moments" through the window we passed around our sharing circle. |
Day 3: 3rd grade reflections
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We started class by voting with our bodies. Which kind of book do I read more?
 | Students moved to that side of the library and wrote/drew about why they made their choice.
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The vast majority of students said they preferred to read window books:
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| "I read window books because it's just boring to see me all day." |
Day 3: 1st and 2nd grade reflections
1st and 2nd graders wrapped up our unit by sharing a book they chose with the class and telling us whether it was a mirror or window book for them.
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| "This is a mirror book for me because my dog looks just like this." -2nd grader |
My takeaways
The use of sticky notes was a game changer. Having something physical to stick to the "moment" whether it be a "window" or a "mirror" made the choice both active and visual. I will absolutely use this tool again in a heartbeat.
Preparing the sticky notes is a pain, having to individually place the sticky notes on the template to print them, but the payoff was too big to make this a true barrier. This activity has my wheels spinning about how else I might be able to incorporate pre-printed sticky notes into our thinking and responses.
I put books on tables for 1st and 2nd graders to sort through. I thought 3rd graders would be able to do their browsing from the shelves, but the overwhelming number of books on the shelves slowed them down significantly. I only did this with one class. When I had my next 3rd grade come in, I gave them books at their table and they were much more successful. Lesson learned.
Resources
January 30, 2021
Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the
Classroom,6(3).
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