Our Winter Break Reading Plans

We're readers, and Winter Break is a great time to read. Before we left on Friday, we stopped to think about what we were going to read over the Holiday Break. Students set a variety of goals - finishing books, reading new books, going to the library, and reading for set periods of time. It will be fun to revisit these goals when we return to school in January and see how we did. In order to make the videos a little more manageable, I split them into two. Students 1-12 are in the first one, and students 13-24 are in the second (it's alphabetical).

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Holiday Stars

During the last week of school before the winter break, Mrs. Selby taught the class how to create beautiful stars out of paper. This is a craft that is popular in Germany, where Mrs. Selby is originally from. Each student selected 8 rectangular pieces of paper, then Mrs. Selby demonstrated to the class how to make the appropriate folds. The next day, we glued our stars together and had them laminated. For the remainder of the week, we admired our beautiful stars in our classroom windows. We loved discovering the various shapes made by the stars and all the colors that were created. Thanks, Mrs. Selby!

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Social Studies Chapter 7 Studycast

Click here to listen to the studycast for Chapter 7. You can also download the audio file by right clicking on the link and by choosing "Save Target As." The studyguide came home on Monday, December 15 and the test is on Friday, December 19. If you need to download an extra copy of the studyguide, visit the homework page on our class website. Feel free to leave me questions or comments - I'll get back to you soon! Thanks and good luck!

The Doors of Poetry

Poems are hiding everywhere. We just have to know where to find them. As we began our poetry unit, our first lesson was on the Doors of Poetry, the doors we can open to find poetry in our lives. We learned how to open the Memory Door, Heart Door, Wondering Door, Observation Door, and Concerns About the World Door. After this first lesson, our kids were already creating some incredible poems. Below are a few written by our students. Be sure to leave them some comments - they would love to hear your feedback.

I Wonder

Andrea opened up her Wondering Door to find this poem. We've been talking a lot about perspective in class recently - how we can put ourselves in other people's shoes. Andrea uses this idea in her own poem.

I Wonder
by Andrea

I wonder
why.
Why do they live like this?
Alone
Cold
I think
How?
How did this become?
I'm glad I'm not like them
but still
I wish I could fit in their shoes.

Corrections

I was blown away by Alex's poem. He told the class he got the idea from a picture book we studied together, Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg. In this book, the main character goes through a major change as he realizes how his actions (littering) affect the world.

Corrections
by Alex

In the light of a
candle,
I can see who I am.
In the light of a
candle,
I can see what I will be.
In the light of a
candle,
I can see what I was.
Make better.

Snakes

I love how Anne uses alliteration throughout this poem. I also love how she uses some repeating words (just like some of the poems we've featured already in class).

Snakes
by Anne

Snakes
all around me
slithering
hissing
snakes

Snakes
around the
small
small
small room
striking
snakes

Hip Hop

Nakia was greatly influenced by Eloise Greenfield's "Honey I Love." If you know this poem, you can see how Nakia used the same beautiful rhythm in her own writing.

Hip Hop
by Nakia

I love...
Hip Hop.
It is
Where I belong.
It is in
my soul.
It is
my life and
I will make
the music.
And I sure will tell you...
I can be hip
and I can be hop
but nothing is better
than
Hip Hop.

Roper Mountain Science Center

Today we went on a field study to Roper Mountain Science Center. Our theme was "Universe in a Day," and we participated in multiple activities based on our solar system. Our first activity centered around telescopes (it was pouring rain, so we couldn't see out of the big one). We then used some incredibly cool models to understand the phases of the moon and how the angle of the sun's rays affect the earth. Our third activity was my favorite. After comparing the temperatures of black and white surfaces (do you know which one absorbs more energy?), we tested solar power cars to see how light's intensity would affect the energy the car receives. Very, very cool. The last half of our day was spent in the planetarium seeing a presentation about the planets. Even though I didn't have to teach, I was worn out at the end of the day. The Roper Mountain staff did a wonderful job engaging and teaching our kids. Enjoy the pictures below!

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Current Events Journal

Our class had begun to discuss some current events, so I created a Current Events Journal for our classroom. It's just a big, blank book that hangs up in the back of the classroom. During the morning, kids can glue in current events they've brought from home or comment on articles other students have posted. We share these during class meeting once or twice a week. We've discussed a lot of interesting articles: the government bailout of the auto industry, Obama and McCain vowing to work together, the urine recycler on the international space station (yes, I'm serious), New York's big snowfall, Somalia pirates, and the war in Iraq. Rebekah, Coco, and Porter have all contributed articles to our journal. Here's a picture of Coco sharing with the class one morning.

Enjoying Poetry

To begin our poetry unit, we've been reading lots and lots and lots of poetry. We've tried to get the language of poetry in our minds - we want to think, breathe, listen, and observe like poets. Today we put ourselves in small groups and came up with motions for some of our favorite poems. It was fun to work in small groups, enjoy poetry, and laugh. I thought the kids did an excellent job. We hope you enjoy the videos posted below.

Pick Up Your Room

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Pick Up Your Room
by Mary Ann Hoberman

Pick up your room, my mother says
(She says it every day);
My room's too heavy to pick up
(That's what I always say).

Drink up your milk, she says to me,
Don't bubble like a clown;
Of course she knows I'll answer that
I'd rather drink it down.

And when she says at eight o'clock
You must go right to bed,
We both repeat my answer:
Why not go left instead?

Rules

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Rules
by Karla Kuskin

Do not jump on ancient uncles.
Do not yell at average mice.
Do not wear a broom to breakfast.
Do not ask a snake's advice.
Do not bathe in chocolate pudding.
Do not talk to bearded bears.
Do not smoke cigars on sofas.
Do not dance on velvet chairs.
Do not take a whale to visit
Russell's mother's cousin's yacht.
And whatever else you do
It is better you
Do not.

The Question

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The Question
by Karla Kuskin

People always say to me
"What do you think you'd like to be
When you grow up?"
And I say, "Why,
I think I'd like to be the sky
Or be a plane or train or mouse
Or maybe be a haunted house
Or something furry, rough and wild...
Or maybe I will stay a child."

Kick a Little Stone

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Kick a Little Stone
Dorothy Aldis

When you are walking by yourself
Here's something nice to do:
Kick a little stone and watch it
Hop ahead of you.

The little stone is round and white,
Its shadow round and blue.
Along the sidewalk over the cracks
The shadow bounces too.

Science Studycast - Light

Click here to listen to the studycast on light. You can download the studycast by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." The test is on Friday, December 12, and studyguide came home on Monday, December 8.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below! Good luck!