The Telling Room

This past week we had a most magical morning, (how's that for alliteration?) at The Telling Room in Portland. The Telling Room is a place where kids and young adults can go to write in a supportive and collaborative environment. All 4th grade classes in South Portland will have the opportunity to spend a morning immersed in the writing process. It is a bright and welcoming space, with comfy furniture, small tables, and oriental carpets warming the floors.

I was asked by John, who facilitated the session, to just sit back and be an observer, which for an elementary school teacher is an extremely rare luxury! It was such a treat to listen in on all the conversations about writing and jot down my thoughts as the morning progressed.

There were 5 adults in all, who each worked with 4 students, guiding them through lots of discussion, brainstorming, modeling, and pre-writing about a special person or animal that they loved.

By the time the students got to drafting, there was this incredibly focused hum of productivity in the room. They each wrote a "You Are" poem, modeled after a poem that they heard on an audio recording.

The expressive language used by students in their pieces was beautiful and they were so excited and proud to share their writing. Several have continued to add to their pieces in the days since our trip.

 

When I asked the students for feedback about our trip they were universally positive.

Below are some comments:

 "It was so easy to write there."

It's usually hard for me to write but today it was easier because it was quiet and there were lots of people helping."

I liked having so much time to write."

 "I wish we could write like that all the time."

and

"Can we go back there again?"

My sentiments exactly! Thanks John, Hakeem, Eliza, Rory, and Connor for an unforgettable experience!

Learning About the States

We are fortunate enough to have 6 iPads in our classroom this year. One of the students' favorite apps is Stack the States. It has all the fun of a game while helping kids, (and maybe even some adults), learn cool facts about the 50 states. The same developer  makes a version called Stack the Countries and another of my students' favorite apps: "Presidents vs. Aliens".

I recently came across an awesome video about the 50 states that we have enjoyed watching this week on the SmartBoard. We're wondering how long it really took the guy to do all the drawings!

And of course, we can't forget an oldy, but goody..."Fifty Nifty United States". Every year my class learns this song, and forever more, they know all 50 states in alphabetical order.


I promised my class that I would put these videos here so they can watch them from home.

Here you go guys...enjoy!

Winter Candy Scenes

Due to so many students with allergies, we have a new policy at our school that parents can no longer send in food treats. I was concerned about what this would mean for our annual Winter Candy Scene project. I have done this project for the past 5 years, ever since I moved up to 4th grade from 2nd grade, where we had a gingerbread house tradition, and it is always a special memory for my students. As I thought more about it, I realized that the project is about constructing the scenes, not about consuming them. After getting a solemn promise from all students, (raise your right hand and repeat after me...), that no one would actually eat any of the candy until they got home and checked with their family, we were able to proceed. Check out our slide show of all the fun!

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We Voted!

We have been learning about the 3 Branches of Government and what each branch does. We have also done some reading in our Scholastic News about some differences between the two candidates for president, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

Last week, Ms. Stanbro set up a mock election in the library through the Studies Weekly Every Kid Votes program. Computer voting "booths" were set up with privacy folders.

                                          

Once students voted, they got to have their pictures taken with the "candidates".

Check out our slide show!

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Augusta Trip!

Our main social studies topic all year is Maine. Normally, learning about Maine's government is a spring topic, which culminates with a trip to Augusta, our capital, to tour the state house and have a mock debate. While in Augusta, we also visit the Maine State Museum, which houses exhibits related to Maine industries, history, animals, and way of life.

This year, however, we switched it up a bit by going in October. We did this for a couple of reasons. First, since it's an election year, we wanted students to understand more about government and what the different branches do. The state government has executive, legislative, and judicial branches just like the national government, and there is a lot of overlap in the roles of each branch.

The second reason we wanted to go in the fall is because of Jane Eberle.

Jane is a state representative from South Portland. For many years she has graciously come in to talk with our students before their trip and teach them about the job of a legislator and the process of how laws are made. When we get to Augusta, she is our tour guide through the state house, facilitating a mock public hearing and debate on a topic of our choice. Because of term limits, Jane cannot run for representative again. By going to Augusta now, we got to have one last trip with her. She was amazing, as always! Thank-you Jane!

Thank-you also, to all the chaperones who so generously took the time to join us for the trip. It was a busy and tiring day, as evidenced by some drowsy dads on the ride home!

Here is a slideshow of our day. Enjoy!

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