This fall, students in grades 4-8 participated in a cursive class that reviewed (and sometimes retaught) all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. There was much discussion and practice with our lowercase letters: clock climbers, kite strings, the loop group, and hills & valleys. There was some difficulty and triumph over the “bridge Read More >>
Archives for November 2019
Read-Aloud at Reading Time
Once a week our youngest students gather together for their own read-aloud during the school-wide reading time. Some of them are just beginning to learn to read. Others have developed some reading skills and are just beginning to read independently. They all enjoy listening to a good story together, sharing their thoughts and questions about Read More >>
Declaration of Independence
In the fall of 2019, students in grades 4 and 5 were part of a social studies unit studying the Declaration of Independence. First they reviewed the 13 colonies and read books about the Boston Tea Party, Lexington and Concord and the ride of Paul Revere. They considered what made the people living in the Read More >>
Mystery Powders
Starting in September 2019, all the fourth and fifth grade students were part of a “Mystery Powder” unit. The unit started with the shocking news of a “robbery” at the Temple up the road! Left at the scene of the “crime” was a white powder as the only evidence. All the students were engaged in Read More >>
Bees
Last year our Student Teacher began a study of bees with some of our students. They used a multi-disciplinary approach using some reading, making a 3D model of the external parts of the bee, and writing a Haiku about bees. This year we did a short unit to finish up our look at bees Read More >>
Animal Classification
This year we were very fortunate to get a donation of a program called ZOO TO YOU which brings the zoo animals and personnel to our school every other month for the year. As a team we began to think about how to make the most of these experiences. We decided to build off of Read More >>
Secret Soldier
Students participated in a weekly book club to discuss the book Secret Soldier. This book took place during the revolutionary war and was about Deborah Sampson, a woman who pretended to be man so she could fight in the war and find adventure. Students completed comprehension questions each week, practiced creating inferences about the book, Read More >>
Explorers- Social Studies
The explorer’s unit required students to first examine the difference between nomadic and settled homes. Students also examined nomadic lifestyles and how they are similar/different to an explorer. Students discussed why explorers choose to explore (to find new places, see new things, learn new things, etc.). Students were assigned a specific explorer and completed book Read More >>
Small Moments- Language Arts
Small Moments was a lesson that met once a week for four weeks. Each week we would read a small moment from a children’s book to notice the details used by the author. The students would then have time to journal their own small moments and focused on enhancing their own detail writing. Students worked Read More >>