As banning books became much more common throughout the country we began a discussion with older students based on reading aloud a book called The Day the Book Was Arrested by Nat Hentoff. In the book, a parent objected to the reading of Huckleberry Finn due to both the racist language used to call Read More >>
Systemic Racism
Our children, our students, live in a world that has developed all kinds of media and ways to transmit information, disinformation, ideas, and images. They hear the media, adults, other peers talking about events and opinions as they move through their days. Some of these ideas are exciting and innovative, others are darker and disturbing. Read More >>
Civil War Class
The oldest group of students finished up their in depth study of the Civil War. After learning about the local abolitionist movement and underground railroad here in Syracuse at the Onondaga Historical Association, the students analyzed the causes of the war from both the north and souths perspective. They read and interpreted the inaugural address Read More >>
Writing Workshop – The Elements of a Good Story
A small group of older students have been discussing the important elements of a great story. First we considered setting and the children created a drawing or map of a place or setting that intrigued them. The following week we discussed character and the importance of considering the inner as well as outer traits of Read More >>
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece has been a theme discussed by all of the children recently. The oldest children started with comparing Greece to Mesopotamia. They quickly discovered, from the maps we compared, that the geography had a huge influence on each civilization. Next we looked at Greek gods and goddesses and how the Ancient Greeks’ beliefs shaped their daily lives. Each Read More >>
Poetry with Kenneth Koch
Inspired by Kenneth Koch’s book, Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? the older students spent 6 weeks studying the poems of Wallace Stevens’ Thirteen Ways to Look at a Blackbird; John Ashbery’s Into the Dusk-Charged Air: Arthur Rimbaud’s Voyelles; William Blake’s Tyger Tyger, Rivers, Kenneth Koch’s prompts for children are both motivating and creative Read More >>
Read Aloud
At the end of every day, we schedule time for Read Aloud. During this time a teacher reads to a small group of students. Students often choose to draw in their sketchbooks as they listen. The groups change according to the book we read. At the beginning of the year we split into two mixed Read More >>
Shakespeare Lives
During snack each week we have been listening to the plays of William Shakespeare as retold by Bruce Coville. We started with Romeo and Juliet and then moved on to the dark tragedy, MacBeth. In our discussions we have talked about the characteristics of a tragedy and spent much time getting to know Shakespeare’s characters. Read More >>