April is Poetry month, so third and fourth graders read and wrote some Haiku. Although the traditional Japanese form has 17 syllables in three lines (5-7-5), we focused more on the spirit of the poem, using descriptive words that painted a picture of something in nature. If the syllables weren’t exact, we decided that was ok, if the words conveyed the intended meaning. Ms. Lewis’s class also chose poetry books to read to their kindergarten partners. Both classes have been catching up on news and current events, using Time for Kids (TFK) and working on comprehension strategies for nonfiction text.
Science and Social Studies
We finished our study of the Solar System, having incorporated reading and writing activities throughout the months of March and April. Students also selected topics to research, and created Google Presentations, sharing their learning with their classmates through text and pictures. Our next and final topic of the year will be Vermont History. We are planning a trip to the Shelburne Museum in June, and will provide you with further details as the date gets closer.
Students are also finishing up their artwork for their Nature Trail Sign. When it is complete, their research and artwork, along with parts of the old signs and a QR Code will be printed by Wood & Wood and (hopefully) installed on the Nature Trail at the end of the year. (Hint - we are looking for parent volunteers for this stage of the project.)
Students are also working on individual Web Pages, which will contain their research, their art work, a voice recording of their research, and links to additional information. We are also planning to use GPS to map the trail and connect those points to their individual signs. All of this information, along with the history of the trail, will be published on a new Website by the end of the year. A group of students leaders (Tim Wilson, Quinn Smith, Mae Murphy and Alex Krupka) will be presenting our project at the Vermont Rural Partnership Conference on Friday, May 13. This is the organization that provided the grant money that enabled us to complete this project.
Today both classes went for a wonderful walk along the Nature Trail with Rebecca Roy, the Conservation Education Coordinator for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Earlier in the year, she and Ms. Lewis walked the trail to note some of the most common trees. Based on this walk, she developed a dichotomous key to identify the conifers by their needles, and some of the deciduous trees by their bark. On the walk, students used this key to try to identify as many trees as they could. They also examined the buds on some of the trees, as well as early tree flowers. We are hoping to add to this key in the future. They also participated in an activity called “Get to Know a Tree”. Students were led to a tree blindfolded and had to feel the tree and try to describe it. They were then led away from the tree, and after removing their blindfold, had to try to pick out the tree that they had been touching. This was both fun and challenging.
Next week we will begin our SBAC assessments. There is a slight change in our schedule because of the number of computers that are needed. Fourth graders will still begin at 8:00, but the third graders will begin later in the morning. We will still be testing Monday - Thursday, both next week, and the following. During the third week of May, the fourth graders will be taking the NECAP Science Test on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.