Moving On

The 2008 - 2009 school year has come to a close and it's time to move on to next year. This blog will no longer be in use though it will still exist! I am very excited to begin looping next year beginning with an entirely new group of young learners. My new blog has been created with them in mind, Infinity and Beyond. Please feel free to visit and check out what we are creating and learning.
With fond memories,
Ms. Rogers

Summer Fun 2009

Hey Kids I have a new summer blog that is just for the kids from our classroom. Everyone is already listed on the new blog and I'm waiting to hear from you! Click below to check it out, comment to me and I'll be able to comment back to you. Summer Fun 2009

Summer Collections

Hello Collectors,
I hope your summer collections are well underway. Patrick has been reorganizing is crystal collection, counting and sorting. He even gave one to Erik so that he may begin his own crystal collection! Way to spread the love of collecting.
My cat Stella has been collecting chipmunks. She is up to 6 so far. Unfortunately she brings them home dead so I have to dispose of them quickly. No displaying that collection. I've been collecting rocks and skulls which I then put in my gardens as accessories. Alita found some old rocks she painted several years ago so we added those as well. I took some pictures last night so you could see what I have so far. I threw in one of Stella perched atop my raspberry patch, probably looking for chipmunks.
Let me know what you're up to this summer and don't forget to send me your postcard. Draw a picture on one side and jot down a note on the other. Patrick got the postcard ball rolling now it's up to the rest of you to keep it going!BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Collections

We have had so much fun corresponding with Valerie Biebuyck, author of Electra to the Rescue. Everyone was inspired to think more about their own collections. How to categorize, display, and store them. This got us thinking about how to share them with others which lead us to making own business cards using Microsoft Publisher. Now I'm going to start collecting business cards beginning with my 19 new favorite collectors!
It is very sad to end the year so suddenly and without our annual picnic or usual fanfare. I am planning on blogging all summer and would like to encourage the children to comment me and fill me in on their summer fun as well as send postcards or letters. Everyone will be going home with a summer reading and writing folder in hopes that they continue to keep the literacy embers burning.
Thanks for a year filled with wonder and excitement!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Everyone was absolutely fantastic in our annual musical production. We spent so much time preparing for the big production that it feels as if we should take it on the road and perform for more audiences!! What part of the musical was your favorite?
BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.">

Poetry

Here is a taste of the children's first attempts at poetry. Our lessons have centered around choosing topics from the heart and everyday things, poetic language, wonderous words, rhyming, repetition,and line breaks.
The Dream
Oh my oh my
it was so interesting.
I thought of stars being jewels.
I flew into the sky.
It feels good
that I still know it.
- Sam
The Bunny
I once saw a bunny
that was so cute
and so fluffy.
I wanted to take it home.
My mom said I could not
so I left it there
so I could watch it
the next morning.
- Adele
Honey Bees
In the world
there are different bees.
My grandmother and I are bee keepers.
Honey bees we love.
Bee keeping with my grandmother
makes me feel like I'm in heaven.
I am so happy
when bees are around.
-Evey
Pencil
Pencil oh pencil
what shall I do?
Oh, what shall I do to you?
Should I name you Mary Lou?
Should I make you a collar
and walk you around the block?
Should I feed you?
Should I give you a little house
and a place to sleep?
Nah, I'll just write with you.
-Trevor

Musical Rehearsal

Here's a snapshot of a song hearsal yesterday. Note Mary Jane Wirsing trying to teach the 3rd/4th graders how to rap! We have a lot of work in the coming days to be ready for the 28th.

Class Update

Our plant unit of study is cruising along quite nicely with several successful plantings. Our windowsills are full with a variety of small plants which sprouted from seeds planted before vacation. Everyone has a "grass head guy or gal" made from knee high stockings, potting soil, and grass seed. Many will be in need of a haircut soon and several have significant ear hair growing though deliberately placed holes in their cups! We have joined forces with the UVM Extension service and will be putting in a rain garden in the courtyard between Vista and the planning room. Andrew the gardener is also working with a few students each week in the garden right outside our door. You wouldn't believe what he gets them to eat!

Nonfiction books written by and about the children are finished, complete with covers that include individual head shots that were then Photoshoped using a variety of filters. Some funny, some creepy, some clever! How many of you know how to use Photoshop? We began our final unit of study in writers workshop this week, poetry. The children are very excited and I'm quite impressed with their initial attempts. Our first mini lessons have helped us look at everyday things in a new way as well as look into our hearts for what matters most to us. Next we'll be learning about how to make line breaks which help create a rhythm to our words and phrases.

Auditions were held this week in the classroom for parts in the house musical as well as daily song practice. Everyone has a speaking part, some longer than others. They all seem quite pleased with their parts and are psyched to practice. Just today several of the children in our class stood up in the kiva and sang part of a solo in front of the entire house in hopes of being chosen for that role. Surprise of the day . . . Beckett has terrific pitch and the sweetest voice. Future American Idol?!

After many, many trials and mishaps we finally have the World Wide Research slide shows published for all to view. Unfortunatley we won't be able to see the transitions or sound effects as the only website that could handle it also speeded up the show so fast that we weren't able to read the slides or hear many of the sounds. We all learned a great deal about technology!
Japan by Evey & Riley
Russia by Trevor & Ben
Cape Verde' by Sam & Patrick
Mexico by Beckett & Tommy
Germany by Lily B. & Adele
Russia by Noah & Zach
Columbia by Sophie & Lily M

Class Update

We are full on with a study of nonfiction reading and writing. Our mini lessons in reading are presently centered around how to read nonfiction differently than fiction, strategies for decoding, rereading and reading on, and generating conversations about what we are learning and turning those conversations into questions. As the month rolls on we'll take a close look at various text structures; table of contents, captions, index, diagrams, glossary, and headings. We are presently studying Jim Arnosky's collection of All About . . . books. Thank you Jim for painting such a clear picture for kids as to the features of a nonfiction book that they are able to create one themselves. Along with All About books we'll be writing our own How To and Question And Answer books. Right now everyone is feverishly creating lists of all the things they are good at.

Our World Wide Research has taken on a life of its own. I hadn't intended to dive into the animation part of PowerPoint, however, after someone stumbled upon that button the rest was history. Now our slides twirl, crackle, chime, drum roll and have colorful backgrounds. As Ben was quoted in our Blue & Gold article, "It's amazing what you can learn from just one website." I am truly amazed at what they are putting together and at the level of their excitement and enthusiasm. Everyone loves to share their slide show on the new projector and the audience always finds something they can change or enhance!

Hopefully we will begin posting slide shows next week. Stay tuned!

World Wide Research

Our study of cultures around the world has taken us to our final project . . . research. The children are working in partners and using CultureGrams to learn about a country and then put together a Power Point slide show. CultureGrams is a program that the school has purchased and is designed for easy navigation and is filled with great pictures, information, and videos. Each pair of children are required to present an 8 slide show with a picture and description on each slide from the following areas: people and places, history, lifestyle, society, culture facts, map, flag, and national image. CultureGrams has buttons for each of these categories. The children are extremely excited and totally engrossed in the project. I jump from group to group solving simple tech issues, they seem monumental to those involved at the time. Soooooo much learning is taking place. This type of engagement is just what we needed to pull us all through the end of the winter season. I have found an online storage site that can accommodate Power Point slide shows. As soon as we have some finished products I'll begin posting them. Make sure to ask your child about their World Wide Research!

Big Basket Raffle - Scrapbooking Fun
The Williston Families As Partners are gearing up for the annual Big Basket Raffle. Each classroom gathers items for a theme basket that will then be raffled off the evening of April 3rd.
Donation Suggestions:
Album, scrapbook paper, stamps and ink pad, acid free glue, glue dots, stickers, scissors, markers, scrapbook kit, organizer, gift certificate to Michaels or Creative Habitat, etc.
*Families with more than one child in a House may choose to donate one item per child or one item per family.
*Students are not limited to only one donation item
*Students may join together to donate larger items
*Donations will be collected from February 16 to March 18, 2009, and then be assembled into beautiful theme baskets to be raffled off at the
Big Basket Raffle on April 3rd

Happy 100th Day of School

After celebrating 100 in as many ways as we possibly could the children ended the day by making Fruit Loop necklaces . . . 10 groups of 10. Podcasts are coming along. The question of the day is "How many takes did you have before you actually had a keeper?"

Welcome Prince

I would like to welcome our new student, Prince, to our classroom blog. Prince has come to us via the Congo in Africa, speaks only french, and is already teaching us as much as we are teaching him. It is my good fortune to have Camille who speaks fluent french and Sophie who is right behind her with thousands of words and phrases, not to mention an incredible ability to pantomime just about anything, both acting as interpreters. Everyday has brought on new challenges in translation. We couldn't have asked for a better way to add spark to the mid winter doldrums. Who needs Phil the groundhog? We've got our very own Prince!

This week the children will be creating podcasts from a variety of sources; poetry, excerpts from stories, their own writing, etc. Check the new gadget on the sidebar and click on student names to hear them reading their latest selections.

We are beginning 2 new units of study in literacy. Writers Workshop will focus on "trouble stories". The children will focus on describing how their characters feel, go in to greater detail with setting, and build tension into their stories. Readers Workshop will delve deeper into story comprehension, building stamina, and fluency.

Wednesday marks the 100th day of school. We'll be attempting to read 100 poems all about the number 100 and creating 100's in hundreds of ways.

Happy Groundhog Day! Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow? I sure hope not!

Check it out for yourself - www.groundhog.com .

Art Pad

Hi Kids,
I am learning so much at the technology conference! I found a really fun tool for drawing. After you have made a picture you can replay the strokes you made and watch the picture create itself all over again. Check out what I made. http://artpad.art.com/?kdxzuj1fqthw
Fun, fun, fun! Try it yourself. http://artpad.art.com/artpad/painter/

Washington DC

Hello Vistonians,

Mrs. Bianchi and I changed plans in Washington DC yesterday and upon our departure the pilot was kind enough to circle the city for us before taking off for Florida. We had the most wonderful view of the White House and the Washington Monument. We also had a birds-eye-view of The Pentagon. Do you remember how many sides a pentagon has and who works there? Send me a comment and let me know your answer!!

Click on this link to find out more about The Pentagon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pentagon

Inauguration Day 2009

Inauguration day was one for the record books in Vista.  We spent the entire day celebrating, creating, and watching history in the making.  It is said that children need to learn 40 new vocabulary words a week at this point in their development . . . I believe we learned 40 on January 20th alone.  Check out this Flip video movie for a brief look at our day.    

Cream Cheese, Bagels, & Lox

How do you help 19 first graders distinguish between lox and locks? We had a cream cheese, bagels, and lox party! Everyone knew the difference between lox and locks after eating smoked salmon. I was most impressed with the number of children who were willing to try something they had never eaten before and how many really liked the strong flavor.

New Units of Study

Happy New Year

We are fast at work on many new units of study. In Writers Workshop the children have been introduced to COPS (capitalization, organization, punctuation, and spelling). This week we focused on two parts of punctuation; sentence enders (. ! ? . . . ) and middle of sentence (, - " "). Next week we will venture into the land of organization which primarily focuses on handwriting and spacing, both huge topics when you really break each one down.

In Readers Workshop we are beginning to read and discuss books in a series. This week we have discussed how to determine the main character and then get to know them by determining their strengths and weaknesses as a person. Next week we will begin to look at the secondary characters since they reappear in the series and using what we know about them and get a voice in our heads for these characters.

Our new theme unit of study is entitled World of Difference. Williston Schools has adopted the curriculum from the Anti Defamation League - World of Difference Institute (http://www.adl.org/education/edu_awod/default.asp) and our lessons seek to help participants: recognize bias and the harm it inflicts on individuals and society; explore the value of diversity; improve intergroup relations. Currently we are having a lot of fun with our names! Our 2nd grade mathematicians are focusing on whole-number operations. We are bumping up our strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems by using two 3 digit numbers and beginning regrouping for subtraction. We will begin multiplication, a right of passage for these folks, by introducing array models. Every day is packed full of fun and learning!