Creating Cubist Faces Reminds Students of Dodecahedron--3-5-07

Language Arts students used www.mrpicassohead.com to create Cubist faces today, in honor of the Dodecahedron from Phantom Tollbooth. They researched Picasso using the Web and learned a bit about his style; then they tried to create their own artistic works. Check out the Web site gallery to take a look at their efforts.

Welcome to the Word Market--3-2-07

Mrs. Sutton's and Mrs. Nockowitz's sixth graders combined for a visit to the Word Market today. Using their $4 credit, students chose words that they thought looked useful, taking care not to mix them up as Milo did in the Phantom Tollbooth. When finished buying nouns, verbs, and interesting adjectives, as well as other parts of speech, they learned the importance of choosing and using words correctly. They learned that "um" was not available and that "like" and "quite" had appropriate uses. Also, words that looked good, like "castle" weren't the most useful. The kids are now using their words to earn credit by making sentences while avoiding taxes on substitutions, additions, and alterations.

Fifth Graders Experience Sensory Overload--2-28-07

The fifth graders tried different sensory experiences today as a way to understand imagery better. They felt sandpaper, listened to music, ate sour candy, smelled perfume, and watched the disco ball illuminate the room. All in all, they tried 20 sensory experiences, reflecting on each one. By the end of the day, the room really smelled interesting! The kids will now use these experiences to write poems using terrific imagery.