Writing in Verse

For the last few weeks, we have been writing poetry. When we began most students thought of poetry as something that rhymes. However, we've been reading lots of different types of poetry. In our writing, we focused on free-verse poetry. We examined lots of published poems as well as poems written by former first graders and thought about what makes them so great. Poetry is a great way to zoom in on writing skills overall:

We thought carefully about ending lines, because those are important in poetry.

We studied the difference between stories and poems, taking out extra words, and choosing our words carefully.

We experimented with comparison, or metaphor.

We tried out patterns, and repetition in our poems. 

Some students tried writing some very short poems, like some we read. 

We wrote about light topics and serious topics.  

We made choices about punctuation, depending on how we wanted our poems to sound.

Each student chose two poems to "publish" and shared why they thought they were their best. Published poems will be coming home soon. As a little celebration of this work, we plan to visit the kindergartners next week (who have themselves been reading poetry this spring) and each read a poem aloud in a little poetry reading.

Boston

As you know, we have our big field trip to the New England Aquarium in Boston this Friday. We've been learning a little bit about octopuses, African penguins, sea turtles, and rays, and we've read through the Aquarium's rules. The students seem really excited, and we've gone over the logistics a lot, but they keep thinking of new questions to ask ("How do the bathrooms on the bus even work?" I was asked today. The fancy bus alone is the cause of great excitement...) I thought I would try to summarize for families what the class and I have discussed:

• Come to school at the regular time, regular mode of transportation. (Don't be late!)
• Students will receive their WRS t-shirt that morning at school and have time to put it on so we will all match and be easy to spot that day. 
• Students should bring lunch, snack, water-- unless you have signed up for lunch and/or snack from school that day. 
• Pack lightly-- don't bring much of anything else. Please no toys or video games. Students will leave things zipped up on the bus while we are at the aquarium so they can explore empty-handed. 
• We will get to watch a kids' movie on the way down, and another on the way back. 
• Don't bring money; no gift shop that day.
• We will all see an Imax movie as part of our time there; I think it is about sea turtles.
• Students in our class will be in small groups of about 3 assigned to one staff member for the day. They will stick together as a group all day. 
• All students need to be picked up that evening at WRS (estimates are 5:30 - 6:00). Students need to check out with me upon return so I see they are with their parents. It will be a little chaotic when we return so please make sure they do this. 
• This trip is always fun. If you have concerns or questions this week, please don't hesitate to send me an email. 

Pumpkin Bread

Mrs. Adams made our class pumpkin bread for a treat recently and I think it helped us be super focused during independent reading time as we nibbled and read. :) What readers they've become! And thanks, Mrs. Adams!

Plant Parts

I apologize for being behind in posting. One of the things we've been busy doing is learning about the main parts of plants and the jobs each does. Here are some pictures from science time over the last couple of weeks. 

We observed seeds closely and noticed they are hard and dry and come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. 

 

 

We soaked seeds overnight and then were able to open them up and see the parts of a seed (ask your child about the parts of a seed and the job each does!). 

 

 

We made sprouting bags which you may have seen come home recently. The students found it simply amazing to really see their seeds germinate, or "wake up," and sprout roots and a shoot. (It was difficult to resist loitering near the bulletin board where they were displayed in order to check out their status multiple times per day!)

 

We also did an experiment (and had quite a variety of interesting predictions about it in the beginning) with white flowers in red water to help us learn the job of a stem.  

Concert this Week

This is a reminder that our school spring concert is THIS Thursday, May 16 at 6:30 P.M.