Mariposa Monarca en primer (1º) grado (Monarch Butterfly in first (1st) grade)

¡Bienvenidos familia, amigas, y amigos! Greetings! To integrate with their social studies unit on México and the journey of the monarch butterflies, the first graders have been learning the Spanish vocabulary for the metamorphosis stages of a butterfly and its characteristics. We first began by learning the words for the life-cycle and playing many games to help reinforce the vocabulary.

metamorfosis – metamorphosis

huevo – egg

oruga – caterpillar

crisálida – chrysalis

adulta – adult

mariposa monarca – monarch butterfly

algondoncillo - milkweed

We then learned the terms for the characteristics of the mariposa.

cabeza – head

tórax – thorax

abdomen - abdomen

ojos compuestos – compound eyes

probóscides – proboscis

antenas - antennae

patas – legs

alas – wings

The first graders had a fabulous time playing many rounds of matamoscas (fly swatters), Bingo, and ¿Qué falta? (What’s missing?). These games were just a few of the fun ways that got everyone practicing their memory skills as well as using their hands, improving fine motor skills… and vocabulary! The first graders were having fun and learning at the same time! 

And, to provide the opportunity for gross-motor movement the students were introduced to a song and invited to dance as they watched the video in English and in Spanish. The song is titled, “Going Down to Mexico” by Lucas Miller and the Spanish version is sung by Sue Young, Rumbo a México.

ENGLISH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_1xC_nTDCY 

Monarch Butterfly Song: migration to Mexico & life cycle [3:07]

SPANISH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqa8-kVwO4M

Canción de la mariposa monarca: Sue Young sings Spanish version of Lucas Miller’s monarch song [3:09]

To integrate reading and writing of the newly introduced vocabulary, the students played with los matamoscas using the flashcards with the written word versus the illustration. Additionally, each learner got the change to complete a worksheet that required him or her to label the parts of the butterfly.

Kindergarten Goes Apple Picking

To wrap up our kindergarten study of the five senses and to celebrate the beauty of autumn, we took a trip to Solebury Orchard in Bucks County. The students reviewed the life cycle of an apple tree with a presentation by an educator at the orchard before we boarded a wagon for a trek out to the orchards. We traveled through numerous rows of a variety of apple trees until we reached the apples ready and ripe for us to pick.

The students remembered how to tell if an apple was ready to pick- if you hold an apple and lift it upside down, it should come off the branch easily. If you need to tug at it, it is not yet ripe and ready for picking.

                                                                                              

Both groups of kindergartners and many family chaperones, set to work finding just the right apples to select, pick and fill up bags to take home. After our picking adventure, everyone had a chance to taste a fuji apple. Delicious! We could not wait to eat our apples when we got home!

                                  

Before lunch, our lesson about apples continued as we all got to walk into the largest refrigerator we had ever seen, filled with apples. It was very cold inside but it did smell so good as the apple aroma filled the air! 

Our five senses were put to good use on this trip as we: tasted, touched, smelled, saw and heard apples being picked and eaten. After lunch, our five senses were on full alert again as we all enjoyed apple cider donuts to culminate our time together on this beautiful fall day.

Bill Peet Second Grade Author / Illustrator Study

During read aloud, we have embarked on an author/illustrator study. The students are enjoying the stories of author/illustrator Bill Peet, who wrote many picture books for children during the 1960s and 1970s.  His writing and drawing styles are quite distinctive and the students are beginning to notice themes in his work. 

After reading each book, we discuss the setting, characters, story message and the language Bill Peet uses.  These conversations have given us the opportunity to introduce literary devices such as personification and alliteration, and to make connections to other books and to our own lives. This has been especially exciting as the students discover how his story messages relate to our leadership work!  

The students have also noticed that often Bill Peet makes up his own unusual words like “whingdingdilly.” (Ask your second grader what that is!). To keep track of these wonderful books and our conversations, and as a way to share what we are doing, we are creating a chart in the hallway to record details of each book.  

First Grade Strategic Readers

First grade students are employing reading strategies while listening to books at the beginning of reading workshop. These strategies are then applied to their independent and partner reading. While listening to the mystery book, Key Hunters: The Mysterious Moonstone by Eric Luper, read aloud, students have been envisioning aspects of the story in their mind. A new strategy was added using a "Post -it parking lot" to jot notes and sketches to clarify their thinking about important and often tricky parts in the book. 

At four different intervals during the chapter, the students had the opportunity to hear a specific section repeated and to listen very closely and then jot down pictures and/or words to show their thinking. They were totally engaged and motivated to utilize this strategy. This will be a strategy that students will use periodically during the course of this novel. Other strategies include, making and sharing connections about the book and their own lives or other books they have read, thinking and sharing ideas with a partner about the character and envisioning the setting and plot in their minds. When the author Eric Luper visits on November 16, first graders will be able to share their "Post -it parking lots"with him and also use their responses to think of questions that they would like to ask him based on their understanding of his book.

3rd Grade Visits The Terracotta Warriors

Third Graders had the opportunity to learn about one of the most renowned parts of Chinese history on Friday by visiting a special exhibition on the Terracotta Warriors at The Franklin Institute.  The Terracotta Warriors are a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the army of the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuangdi.  Students made strong connections to their second grade study of Egyptian pyramids as they learned about the elaborate and incredible tomb made for the first emperor of China.   Before our visit, our classes asked questions and hypothesized about the grand creation of these life-size clay warriors and our visit to the museum led to our exploration of the motivation and process of how they were built. 

Students discovered that more than 700,000 workers were involved in the grueling process of creating this secret tomb. Thousands of laborers undertook the task of making 8,000 terracotta warriors, each with unique facial expressions and characteristics, to protect the emperor in the afterlife.

Students learned about the different battle formations that the soldiers were found in which included chariots, foot soldiers, archers, and horses.  We were amazed by the craftsmanship of each piece, including the stone armor that took over 400 hours to piece together. 

We also learned that Qin Shihuangdi's actual tomb has not yet been excavated because archaeologists to not want to disturb the contents.  When they excavated the other terracotta warriors, starting in 1974, they found that when the paint hit the air, it disintegrated.  Hopefully one day scientists will find a way to excavate the site without this happening.  Then we may get to see the full contents of Qin Shihuangdi's tomb! After our 3 hour visit to The Franklin, we came away with a greater sense of the magnitude and scope of this marvelous project, and we can't wait to find out more in our studies back at school!

Crater Creators

This week in science, third grade is exploring the surface of the moon. We are discussing how craters are formed, the differences between the Earth's and moon's atmosphere and how they affect the size and rate of impact of the meteors that could possibly strike the surfaces of both. We are practicing using the metric system of measurement to measure the weight of the meteors and diameter of the craters that the students create, and also to measure the height from which the meteors are dropped.

The students had fun making the measurements and dropping the objects of different sizes and weights. I believe the favorite part of the lesson was seeing how messy everyone was at the end. Most students were almost covered in powder. Accidentally...??????????

Lenape Research - Truly Wrapped Up

The fourth grade has finished their research into what the daily life, customs, and traditions were in the 1400’s for the indigenous people of Philadelphia known as the Lenape. One of the things they quickly discovered was that they were inventive recyclers and with a penchant for repurposing. Everything they used and needed came from nature.  So in the spirit of their studies, the students have been tasked with finding discarded plant and tree detritus such as berries, seed pods, stems and turning them into objects representing the tools, weapons, and homes that the Lenape would have used and lived in. In addition to working on their fine motor skills, the students are accessing all of their knowledge of their research topic, as well as other information gleaned from their field trip to Churchville Nature Centers Living History Lenape Village, lectures and read aloud stories. They are slowly creating a village that will be on display with their research in the coming weeks. Their imaginations are tremendous and the objects being created are inspired. 

research topic- tools and weapons-making a bow for hunting

research topic- trapping and hunting wild animals

research topic-Lenape family

Research topic- medicine