-

|

Writing Workshop with Paul

Three of our middle school students participated in a four-session workshop designed to enhance the skills of developing writers. In preparation, the students read “War Horse” by Michael Morpurgo — a story of World War I told through the eyes of a horse. Students discussed the the book and author’s writing style, and then wrote Read More >>

|

Clarence Randall, World War II veteran

History is about real people and the places they lived. It is about their stories. Too often in the study of history, our education misses this facet. Last week our older students were part of an extraordinary discussion. One of our students told us her grandfather was in World War II. He is now 99 Read More >>

|

The Great Depression Through the Eyes of Artists

The causes and effects of the Great Depression were studied through the eyes of artists Dorothea Lange, John Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, a political cartoonist of the era and Langston Hughes. Children created a one-page written and visual response based on one of Lange’s photographs making connections to its historical context by creating. They listened to excerpts Read More >>

|

World War 1

The oldest students spent three months studying the causes and effects of World War 1. The causes were complex. Students looked at world maps showing imperialism around the world prior to the war. Having identified the colonialists gave meaning to the complicated alliances that were formed prior to the war. This led to an examination Read More >>

|

Creation Myths

Since January, we began a class with the younger half of the school reading a wide variety of myths from Native American, South American, and African cultures that give voice to stories of how our world and elements of it have been created.  We read many versions of how there came to be Day and Read More >>

|

Cooking Class

Cooking is a favorite Investigations activity. Students work together to make a food that they share with the whole school. In the process, they see practical applications for math and science. In their read-aloud group, the younger students listened to some of the Little House On the Prairie books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. So, over Read More >>

|

Native American Tribes

In our westward expansion class, we moved from learning about Americans traveling west to find a new life and settle in uncharted (to them) territory, to who was already living in these western lands.  We started by reading aloud and discussing such books as The Warrior Maiden (A Hopi Legend) and Children of the Wind Read More >>

|

Animal Habitat 2

To finish up our Animal Habitat unit each child created a collage of an animal in its habitat. First they had to decide where the horizon line was going to be. Then what time of day they wanted to depict. Some picked night, some sunset, or mid-day. After finishing the sky they worked on the Read More >>

|

We Rise Above the Streets Field Trip

Through our Making the World a Better Place unit, students in grades 4 – 8 got to participate in a morning of service for the organization: We Rise Above the Streets.   At the organization’s office, students helped pack bags of personal hygiene items that would be handed out to homeless and food insecure individuals Read More >>

|

Enterprise America Field Trip

This fall students in grades 4-8 got a chance to participate in a WCNY program called Enterprise America.  Students got to run a simulated city for a day. Each student was assigned a job and given tasks on how to complete that job.  Students also had to manage their paychecks, pay health insurance and figure Read More >>