Shapes vs. Posters: Missing Madness

In Shape Town:

Dear police,
Shapes have gone missing! Our source tells us that they are stuck inside Shutesbury Elementary School. Rumors say the students made jackets for them. "These shapes will be great for math," said Ms. L.

In math we are making Missing posters and Wanted posters for 3D solids. Our posters include rewards and phone numbers to go with them. Some even include the shape's criminal record! We also made jackets (out of paper) that you can match to the blocks.

TIME FOR CRIME: We have seen Wanted posters all over Shutesbury Elementary School. We need you, the students and parents, to stop these criminals!

(Posted by Brody)

New Year's Resolutions

Our class reflected on their learning strengths and needs. Then students worked independently to draft some tentative New Year's resolutions. We'll revise and refine them soon. Here is a sample:

Get good at being a team.
Get better at working as a group.
Cooperate and work together.

Don't do anything mean.
Stop the fighting and the exclusive clubs.
Don't get mad at each other. Just let go.
No talking (or whispering) about others.
Think before saying anything hurtful and stop it before it comes out.

Listen to the teacher and don't play with things on your desk.
Listen better. Pay attention.
Be quiet so others can concentrate more.
Work quietly. Don't talk to friends during work times.

A River Ran Wild

We read and admired Lynne Cherry's beautiful environmental history, A River Ran Wild. It tells of the natural and human history of the Nashua River, but most of the story applies to our Connecticut River as well. Our students summarized the story in this voicethread:

Class Mascot

We were going on our class field trip to M.N. Spear Library when a dog named Bella followed us all the way there. We went inside, and sadly, we couldn't let her in. A little while after we left, we saw Bella again. She followed us all the way back to school! (Well, actually, she led the way!)

After that we called the owner, and the lady didn't seem surprised. But the last time we saw Bella, Brody said, "She should be our class mascot!"

Post by Brody

M.N. Spear Library Field Trip

Our class went on a field trip to the M.N. Spear Library on Tuesday. Mrs. Antonellis gave us a tour of the different sections of the library: young adult, graphic novels, picture books, Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, etc. We each got to check out one book or CD. Mrs. Antonellis showed us the passes and coupons to MassMOCA, Mystic Aquarium, and other museums. She showed us the chemistry kits for grades 3-6 and K-2. If you complete 5 kits, you may go to a chemistry event at Mt. Holyoke College. (For more information, contact the M.N. Spear Library.)

Post by Emma Jane Wilburn

New bloggers: Emma Jane and Brody

I decided to ask students for help with a few roles in the classroom, including blogging and taking photos. Here is Brody and Emma Jane's first post:

In our classroom, we have started the next level in our essays. We have been studying thesis sentences. Here are a few examples:

Dancing makes me feel like my own person. (Emma Jane)

Being a little brother is important to me. (Brody)

Hockey is a really rough sport. (Martin)

[Coming soon: photographs by Katie and Evelyn]

50 HOURS!

I challenged students to read as much as they could over the long weekend. Our class used logs to keep track of where they read, what they read, and how many minutes they read at a time. Ms. Darby and I did, too. The total? Just over 50 hours!! : ) We impressed ourselves and started our new unit (on characters) with fresh energy!