This summer, share your favorite place to read by clicking on the map below and adding a photo, the name of what you're reading, and where you're reading! Click here to watch a short video tutorial. Feel free to share this link with others... let's see how many photos we can add before the end of summer... click here to edit our map
Yesterday was my first time attending the DCF Awards Ceremony and boy was it a treat! Joined by ten student-readers from our school, we couldn't have asked for a better day. We shared a bus with Moretown Elementary School and arrived at Vermont Technical College early enough to snag front row seats. Rather than sitting and waiting, we went for a stroll through the apple orchards before returning to a packed room. The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award was created to honor high-quality literature for children. Authors Linda Urban and Tanya Lee Stone were at the event, and both spoke to their inspirations and writing processes, as well as the importance of relentlessly pursuing your dreams. Each year, thirty books are nominated by a committee. Students across Vermont decide the winner via vote. Come to find out, the DCF Book Award is the second-longest running children's choice award in the country! Go Vermont!
Beginning in October 2013 and culminating in May 2014, third and fourth grade students at Fayston Elementary School wrote and illustrated the stories of their lives. Many students went on to animate their illustrations and add voice to these moving pictures to make them come alive. The work began in Language Arts and Library, continued in Language Arts, moved into Art class, and culminated in an after school Movie Making club. While that sounds pretty streamlined, the truth is that the project found its' way into every available nook and cranny of the day, whether it be a journal modification, a quick stop-action scene, or an audio clip, students worked tirelessly see their videos to completion.
Mrs. Lewis and I were offered the opportunity to share this project at Dynamic Landscapes, a conference well-attended by teachers, librarians, and techies from around the state. This is our session description and the presentation we prepared for it:
This year marked Fayston School's first ever student-led Red Clover Day! Wow, everyone was busy, all hands were on deck, and the variety of activities offered something for all the senses. We had... a jungle collage created in the Art room, kindness rippling through the Kindergarden classroom, charades in the first and second grade classrooms, bow tie making in Mrs. Koch's classroom, fractal triangles being built in the Library, origami lions coming to life in Mrs. Lewis's classroom, a real live game of baseball in Mr. Bergstein's classroom, lemonade, limeade, and lemon-limeade making (from scratch) in Mrs. Vasseur's room, and a jungle picnic complete with three dinosaurs in the Cafeteria! Whew, I'm tired just summarizing. A big thanks to everyone who supported this day, especially to the students who came up with such a variety of offerings, families who donated and loaned the supplies, and Mr. Berthiaume who said he would come to the rescue if we needed additional lemons and limes! We often reminisce about our own childhoods, comparing the past with the present. I for one can vouch that when I was a kid, we did not learn about Digital Citizenship. We learned research skills when we were in Middle and High School, we may have even touched upon website evaluation, but we were not taught how to act in a web-based environment. Today, students need to know what acceptable online etiquette looks like and sounds like. These conversations can seem daunting, we often wonder where to begin. Common Sense Media offers so many resources for families and teachers and I just love their Digital Citizenship scope and sequence. The video below is a great introduction to such a myriad of topics and conversations. Additionally, their list of age-appropriate Family Tip Sheets will help structure a conversation at home. Ask your kids how they are being safe and responsible Digital Citizens.First and Second graders in Mrs. Boyden and Mrs. Goldhammer's classes have been studying REPRESENTATIONS in Math class. To go along with this study, we decided to introduce them to Google Forms. Within Google Forms, each student was able to ask a question. The guidelines were: write a multiple choice question; one question, four options. Below are just some examples of what students thought worthy of asking: Next, it was time to spread the word and crunch the numbers. Mrs. Boyden and Mrs. Goldhammer asked families to fill out the surveys via classroom blog. Ms. Schlageter tweeted the link, and Mr. Berthiaume shared the project at the School Board meeting. Most students had 30+ responses! When a Google Form is created, answers are collected in a spreadsheet. Each row holds someone's answer. First and second graders learned to tell the difference between their survey and spreadsheet. They "viewed the summary of results" which looked like a pie (or pizza) chart. They copied the data down onto their recording sheet so they could make yet another representation. The final step was to insert a chart. This time, students could choose between the different representations Google Spreadsheets offers; bar chart, column chart, line chart or scatter chart. Each student was also able to name their chart.
It was really exciting seeing which option got the most votes and which got the fewest. It was also interesting to discuss why this might be and what variables may have influenced the audience's answers! Who knew data could be this much fun?! This week, students in grades K-6 began their study of this year's Red Clover nominees. Activities vary across grade level to provide age-appropriate extensions of each nominated book. In the primary grades, students explore one book each week in Library. After reading the book, students are provided an extension activity focused on the book's content, author, or illustrations. This week we read Brothers at Bat written by Audrey Vernick and illustrated by Steven Salerno. This true story about an amazing all-brother baseball team tells about the Acerra family of sixteen children; twelve of them boys who formed their own baseball team. They not only played ball together, they stuck together through thick and thin no matter what life threw their way. After reading and discussing, students were able to create their own baseball cards... Third and Fourth grade students are becoming experts on a Red Clover nominee of their choice. After reading their chosen book, they are working with a partner to identify which aspects of the book interest them the most and what questions they have. Next, they are researching their questions using our school's databases and will present their book, along with what they learned to their classmates. They will also use this information to write a book review which will be published on their classroom blog. Fifth and Sixth graders are working together to map out Fayston School's annual Red Clover Day activities. After extending their understanding of their book of choice (ie: learning more about the author, illustrator, artwork, and subject matter) they will create a proposal outlining what activity they suggest their schoolmates participate in to celebrate the nominee. See photos of last year's Red Clover Day here. (PW:FES2013)
First of all, a BIG thank you to the flexibility afforded by everyone to allow for the Hour of Code to take place this week. We made the time. All students in grades 1-6 spent time coding throughout the week. Right alongside of the kids were their excited teachers.
TodayToday Mrs. Boyden's first and second graders began coding. We used the "Puppy Adventure" puzzles and began together with puzzle #1. Students went through the challenges, some making it all the way to puzzle #9!
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