Fourth Grade Builds a Longhouse

The fourth grade has been deeply immersed in their study of the Lenape, the local indigenous people inhabiting the Philadelphia area 500 years ago. Students are just finishing up their research into their way of life and belief systems.  When they visited Churchville Nature Center a few weeks back, they had the opportunity to sit inside a small replica longhouse and examine how it was made. 

This Friday they started their day learning how to lash together two perpendicular sticks. Once they demonstrated they could fasten two sticks together without much wiggle room they then put their ideas and knowledge to work on how they thought a longhouse should be built. Outside their classroom doors, they laid out the dimensions using stakes. They decided on the dimensions of 10 ft. long x 5 ft wide and 5 ft. high to a crossbar. They put a ten-foot-long ridge pole seven and 1/2  feet off the ground. We had an incredibly versatile ladder at our disposal which helped enormously with this part. They then bent green bamboo fronds that they bound together from one side of the crossbar over the ridge to the other sides' crossbar to create a round hoop-shaped roof. Over the next few weeks, they will have the opportunity to add to it and play in it as well.

Second Graders Learns About Bird Banding

Last week second grade took a field trip to Rushton Woods Preserve to learn about the bird banding they do during migration season. On the trip the second graders had much to explore as the preserve is the home to the bird banding station, organic farms and a vast woodlands. Once we arrived at the preserve, the second graders met Blake Goll, the Nature Education Coordinator and she introduced us to all they do at the Preserve.  Each class had time to take a guided walk in the woods and to see the bird banding in progress.  We also saw how the birds are carefully caught in the mist nets at the beginning of the banding process.  The students learned that each bird they catch is examined, weighed and its wings measured before they are released.  All of the information they collect is recorded in a log.  Ask any second grader to tell you more!

On the Move with Maps

Since tracking the migration of Monarch X on our big wall map, first graders have been learning about directions and about maps. We followed Monarch X from Canada to Mexico and discovered that he flew south and west and south again.  To gain a clearer understanding of these directions we read several books about maps and learned about the compass rose which we then made.

Several students began asking where different countries were so we took out a big floor map of the world and went exploring, almost literally.  We found the countries that were asked about and then named the continents.  Each student had a chance to 'drive' a car across the world following directions given by a classmate.  It was so much fun to see where everyone ended.  And, not only were they good at following directions, the direction givers did a great job as well!

What could be more fun than driving on a big world map?  Creating your own floor map!! And we did just that (and are still in process).  Using felt pieces the students put down roads and added all kinds of buildings, schools, houses, hotels, a restaurant, skating rinks, a corner store, Temple University, a basketball center and even a cupcake shop! One student asked if we could use little people, cars and dogs to travel on our map and that is exactly what we did this morning. Each student picked a place to begin and told the class where they wanted to end up and then had to follow their classmates' directions.  They absolutely loved this activity!  Four students chose to end at 'Phoebe's house' so they decided that there must be a party going on!  Many wanted to know when they were going to get to do this again. Hopefully soon!

During parent conferences, it was fun to hear that some of the students had begun giving directions in the car as they drove to school.  It is so rewarding to hear that classroom studies are carried over into the students' lives outside of the classroom.  They are really taking their learning to heart!

Writing About the Five Senses in Kindergarten

In kindergarten, kid writing is used to strengthen the ability to connect letters and sounds as budding authors stretch out words and print the letters they can hear and identify. This process helps to develop and strengthen phonemic awareness- the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words. Before a child can learn to read, they need to become aware of how sounds in words work. As we develop writers, we are also developing readers.

Throughout the year, kindergarten students engage in a variety of writing activities to reflect upon experiences, write letters and create classroom books. Already this year, the children have written in a variety of ways. Some of the inspirations have been: our hopes and dreams for kindergarten, how to be a bucket-filler, our first field trips, notes to classmates, and the beginning pages of our Picture Dictionaries. 

Drawing a rainbow with hearts that she would like to touch

This week the kindergarten students worked on individual "My Five Senses" books as we wrap up our look at the five senses. Using their imaginations, the writers came up with a variety of favorite items that they like to see, smell, taste, touch and hear.

Kid writing a favorite item to taste, lollipops

This writing experience helped students to practice letter formation, strengthened letter and sound connections, and gave them opportunities to practice reading beginning sight words in a text with a pattern.

Reading known kindergarten sight words

The children were excited to work on their books and were eager to share their ideas with friends. Laughs and nods of agreement were heard as the children wrote and shared about smelling "stinky feet" and wanting to taste favorites like "lollipops", "mac and cheese" and "pizza." As the children wrote, many began to help one another figure out tricky letter sounds like "g" in gum, "y" in the word my, and "w" in rainbow.

Helping a friend sound out letters while writing

When the "My Five Senses Books" are completed, the kindergarten authors and illustrators are enthusiastically waiting to take turns in the author chair to read their book to the class!

Thinking Deeply About Character in Second Grade

Students in second grade are delving deep into their thinking about character. While listening to the book Lola Levine is Not Mean by Angela Dominguez, our visiting author/illustrator,  students practice strategies that allow them to think deeply about the character. They are learning the difference between a character's feelings and a character's trait. 

In the book, Lola is a character who is usually excited to play soccer. In fact, she is a very competitive soccer player who is confident in her ability to be a great goalie. When she is accused of being too rough and mean to another child while playing soccer,  she feels embarrassed. Lola regains her confidence when she realizes she can write a note to this child and to her principal apologizing and also explaining her love of the sport. She is then able to show her friends her confidence and love of playing soccer and also her commitment to being a good friend. Second graders explored these issues during partner sharing and whole class conversations.

In small book groups students are having the opportunity to read and discuss Frog and Toad are Friends and Mouse and Mole Fine Feathered Friends. When finished with those two books they then can read from additional titles in our class collection. Discussion and writing have focused here too on understanding the character and choosing character traits that they can then share an example from the book that supports this trait.Second graders also bring this deep thinking about characters into the reading of their own independent reading as they write reflections about the characters in their books.

Art in the Community

The young artists at AFS have been busy preparing artwork that will go out and serve a role in the greater community.

Morris Arboretum Scarecrow Contest

The third graders worked collaboratively to create the fantastical scarecrow "Fall-icia Keys" for the annual Scarecrow Contest at the Morris Arboretum. The theme of the competition this year is famous musicians. The third graders worked hard to create a keyboard for "Fall-cia" and painted her face and helped her accessorize. You can visit and vote for her at the arboretum through October 31st.

Woodmere Art Museum "Kids Care" Exhibition

The Early Childhood, first and third grade classes recently completed artwork that will be exhibited at the "Kids Care" show at the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill.  "Kids Care", a collaboration between the museum and MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance), is an annual project where students give artworks as holiday gifts for people in need. Our students' artwork will be on display in the Helen Millard Children's Gallery before being wrapped and delivered with a holiday meal to individuals battling life-threatening illnesses. This year, the "Kids Care" exhibition will be from November 9-December 15. Students and families are invited to a closing reception for the show on Saturday December 14, from 2:00-4:00 PM.  

The young artists completed the following projects which will be exhibited in the show:

Early Childhood

The two-, three- and four-year-old artists of the Early Childhood program were invited to create colorful artworks about the world around them. The students used collaged paper shapes or oil pastels to add pictorial elements to their pieces. They completed their work using vibrant shimmery and sparkly paints. Their paintings include “a tree with apples,” “the rain falling down,” and “a rainbow.”

1^st Grade

The first grade artists looked at and discussed cityscape paintings created by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe. They noticed what colors and shapes O’Keeffe used to invoke the feel and look of a city. They then used different shapes cut out of colored paper to create their own scene of a town or city, creating images either based on something that they had observed or from their imagination.

3^rd Grade

The third grade artists looked at a variety of landscape paintings and noticed what types of brushmarks, colors and compositions the artists had employed and how that effected how the images were read visually. Using the theme of “inside and outside,” the students looked out the windows of the art room and observed the different elements of landscape on our campus. They created beautiful observational watercolor paintings, choosing the scale of their paintings. Some students masked some of their paper to evoke the feeling of looking out a window through a window-pane.