The Rookery

Many years ago now, one of the Elms came up with a Habit of Mind he felt was missing from the official list, "Going Above and Beyond."  We had some great discussions trying to determine if this idea fit in some of the others or if it indeed should be…

The Big Birds are working with geometry right now and seem to really be enjoying the concrete nature of the subject.  We've named, measured, and drawn angles.  We've looked at parallel and perpendicularlines.  We've differentiated rays, lines, and line segments.  Now we're tackling shapes. Naming shapes is something we begin working…

        Today the Herons were introduced to the computer language Logo.  It's the first language I learned when I was in grade school and, while it is capable of doing a lot, we'll be using a simplified version that is great for geometry (our current math theme).…

The Herons are in the midst of revising and editing their essays about their countries.  It’s a time consuming process and I have them use a Revision and Editing Checklist.  By the time they’re finished, they’ll have re-read their writing upwards of eight times.  Careful revision and editing is a…

The second and third graders are going to be collecting pennies to see how much 10,000 is.  They're working on place value and as the pennies come in, they'll bundle them in powers of 10 until they get to 10,000. It provided an authentic question for us to tackle in…

Yesterday, there was a buzz in the room after recess.  A few students came to be because they were concerned that part of the play at recess involved some kids spreading rumors about another kid “asking someone out”.  I did a little bit of digging and quickly found out that…

    Sometimes, when we're in the flow of a theme, it can be hard for students to do anything but theme.  The first thing they check for on the daily schedule right now is "maps" and, if I've scheduled anything else during the sacred afternoon theme time, I'm met with a…

The planetary axes have been tilted.  The days and years decided upon.  The latitudes are chosen.  It is time to start discovering our countries. To get us going, I read Weslandia, one of my favorite picture books.  In it, a seed sprouts in a boy's garden.  He cultivates the unusual…

The Herons have been considering the craft of writing in recent mini-lessons.  We read Ralph Fletcher's short piece about "Reading Like a Writer" which directs children to read (and re-read) in order to discover how an author "works her magic" in our head.  Together, we've considered the simile, metaphor, strong…