The older students were part of an eight week book club where they read The Fledgling by Jane Langton.At the start of the book club we set up expectations. All book marks needed to exhibit responses that were Detailed Articulate Thoughtful and Exemplary (DATE).Each week children were responsible for bringing to class two examples of author’s Read More >>
Writing Prompts
Working with Jeff Simmons, a parent of one of our students who teaches creative writing at Syracuse University, the older students were given two writing prompts which launched them into many weeks of writing fiction. “Not all stories have good characters, but most good stories have vivid characters that the reader feels they know almost Read More >>
Poetry
Inspired by Kenneth Koch’s Rose, where did you get that red? book the older students spent a month studying the poems of Wallace Stevens: Thirteen Ways to Look at a Blackbird, John Ashbery: Into the Dusk-Charged Air, and Arthur Rimbaud: Voyelles. Kenneth Koch’s prompts for children are both motivating and creative. Our final poem was Read More >>
Ancient China
Third grade students created a China poster describing four aspects of Chinese culture. They were able to select their own topics from a list that included the Silk Road, Chinese religions, Architecture/Homes, Clothing, Silk, Dynasties, Food/agriculture, Art/Music, and Inventions. For each topic they needed to include an illustration and a short typed paragraph.
Money
1st graders were given a magnifying glass and asked to compare and contrast dimes, nickels, pennies and quarters. They played games such as “Race to a Quarter” and “The Matching Game” which gave them practice trading coins (5 pennies for 1 nickel, 2 nickels for 1 dime and so on.) In Matching Game they became Read More >>
The Periodic Table
The older students spent four weeks studying The Periodic Table and creating a Wanted Poster for an element of their choice. We introduced the project by listening to Tom Lehrer singing “Elements,” his well known song where he rattles off all the elements of the Periodic Table. Students had to research their element and creatively Read More >>
Cutting Book
The youngest students have been working on a cutting book during journalling time once or twice a week. This activity has focused on cutting out pictures from magazines and pasting them with the correct initial sound in the alphabet. Students then have to write neatly what the picture is, cut that name out of the Read More >>
Howard Gardner
This fall we wanted to generate a discussion based on Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences. We started off the discussion asking the question, “What do we mean by intelligence?” which led to an animated discussion about how everyone has strengths and weaknesses. We talked about how one goal of The New School is to Read More >>
Daily Journal Time
Everyday children have half an hour of writing time. Sometimes this is used for printing practice, phonemic instruction, spelling, and writing workshop. Every week children have time for free writing. Children can choose to write by hand, use an alphasmart or type on the computer. Younger children can dictate their stories.
Rooster Play
In early December the youngest children performed a play based on the Ancient Chinese story of how the rooster lost his horns. Ladies and Gentleman. We are glad you are here to watch our play. The play was a collaborative effort, with each child adding details until we told the story. The children spent weeks Read More >>