Monday, June 27, 2016

Room 14's Advice to Younger Students

Garden City won't have any 6th graders next year, but we WILL have plenty of advice from this year's students for the kids coming up after them. I'll be preserving their wisdom in binders. Here's what Room 14 thinks you should know:















Tuesday, June 7, 2016

A Collection of Grade 5 Nouns

Last year, we ran out of time for 4th graders to create collective nouns for themselves. I think the lesson is so much fun, I wanted to give the kids a chance to do it in 5th grade. 

Ccollective nouns, which describe groups of people, places, or things. Some are general - a class of students or a team of players. But others can be quirky and actually work like adjectives - a splash of mermaids or a crash of rhinos. They might describe a noun's appearance, characteristics, habitat, actions, or sound.

First, the kids showed they understood the concept by creating collective nouns for celebrities:

  • slam dunk of Michael Jordans
  • home run of Big Papis
  • step back of Kobe Bryants
  • throw of Tom Bradys
  • game-saving win of Babe Ruths
  • kick of Gronks
  • voice of Beyonces
  • flip of Gabby Douglases
  • joke of Adam Sandlers
  • weirdness of Miley Cyruses
  • wig of Katy Perrys
  • kick of Messis
  • hoo-hoo! of Michael Jacksons

Next, the students came up with collective nouns to describe themselves. Here are some of their creations:












 







Monday, June 6, 2016

Grade 3 Autobiography poems

In third grade, the kids had finished their final assessment on how to use the online catalog to find books on the shelf; the rule of thumb I gave them was that nonfiction books have actual numbers in their call numbers. However, one section defies the rule: biographies (it's B plus the subject's last name ... e.g. B Moore for a book about me).

I decided to combine a lesson about biography call numbers with a poetry assignment. Here are some of the autobiography poems the kids wrote:


Megan Sepulveda
Friendly, generous, funny, and kind
Sister of my brother
Likes bears, candy, dogs, and games
Doesn't like bees, flies, or wild animals
Needs sleep, the outdoors, a house, and clothes
Dreams of millions of money, having a pet, and going to heaven
Wants to be a doctor
Would like to meet a famous piano person
Wants to go to Chile
Megan Sepulveda


Room 8 student
Curious
Son of Abdul
Likes BMX riders and cheetahs
Doesn't like chocolate or caramel
Dreams of getting a BMX bike
Wants to be a doctor
Would like the war in Syria to stop forever
Wants to go to Syria
Room 8 student


A.D.
Friendly, cool, funny, active
Great-grandson of Humphrey
Likes karate, football, school, my family, life, steak, and trying to flip
Doesn't like darkness
Needs a lot of activities
Dreams of being in the NFL
Wants to be the next Jerry Rice
Wants to meet great-grandfather, Humphrey
Wants to go to England
A.D.


Room 8 student
Active
Grandson of Caral and Steven, brother of Rebecca
Likes football, kickball, sports, and the game of LIFE
Doesn't like soccer
Needs water
Dreams of living in a mansion
Wants to be a chef
Would like to meet Abraham Lincoln
Wants to go to New York
Room 8 student


Nina Houle
Active, good nice, smart
Daughter of Mike and Barbara, sister of Ruby
Likes reading new Puppy Place stories, dancing, watching movies about dogs, and playing with friends
Doesn't like mean, sassy, rude, or bossy people
Needs a new dog and lots of sleep
Dreams of walking dogs to parks
Wants to be a hard worker
Would like to spend money for the pet store
Wants to go to Mexico
Nina Houle


Room 8 student
Friendly, funny, gets angry at times
Son of Jay
Likes reading
Dislikes waiting long times
Needs lots of I Survived books
Dreams of thousands of dollars
Wants to be a billionaire
Would like to meet Blackbeard
Wants to read a lot of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Room 8 student


Macie Jose
Nice, loveable, cool, and creative
Likes biking, cooking, and playing
Needs fresh air and the outside
Dreams of being a doctor
Wants to be a doctor
Wants to meet Miranda Sings
Wants to go to the blue playground
Macie Jose


Room 8 student
Nice, smart, kind
Son of Mike
Likes watching TV, playing videogames, reading, and music
Doesn't like school
Needs water and soda
Dreams of having an Iphone 6 in gold and a gold hoverboard and bike
Wants to be a computer tech
Would like to meet the Flash
Wants to go to Caine and use all of their stuff
Room 8 student


Room 9 student
Artistic, funny, caring, and smart
Sister of W.
Likes doing art, sewing, singing, and dancing
Doesn't like loudness, vandalism, boys (sometimes), or homework on the weekends
Needs nature, fresh air, sugar, and Taggert
Dreams of being a famous singer who can write sweet, meaningful songs that make sense
Wants to be an animal trainer
Would like to meet Mary Pope Osborne
Wants to go to the Amazon rainforest
Room 9 student


And here are Room 9 kids working on their book covers:






On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Summer Reading event on a rainy night. It was great to see so many Garden City kids! Miss Emily will be visiting classrooms on June 16 to give more details about the public library programs.