Acting our Ages by Showing not Telling

Trying to write with vivid verbs and descriptive nouns can be difficult. How can we visualize what we write? The fifth-graders took on this challenge recently by trying to modify the sentence, "The person walked and talked." Changing the bold-faced words in this sentence to more vivid synonyms and variations, the kids wrote new sentences, trying to think of words that their peers could picture and act out. Then, we paraded around the room using the verbs the kids substituted for the word "walked." We pranced, skipped, hopped, crawled, and even wormed. Following this warm-up, the students took turns acting out the sentences they had written, giving classmates a chance to guess the sentence. Check out this video of someone acting out "The hippie jigged and whistled."

Kicking it into Gear on A Day Advisories

Advisory kicked into gear during the first couple of weeks of school with our first intra-advisory kickball game. The Sutton Slightnings took on Mrs. Corrigan's group in the first match of the year, tying 3-3 after two complete innings. The Slightnings scored three additional runs in the top of the third but called the match a draw when the Corrigan crew ran out of time to take a turn at the plate. Other advisory groups played in a Balderdash tournament and in games in the gym. Stay tuned for continued updates on A-Day advisory activities and standings.

Inquiring Minds Want to Learn

Writers' Workshop in April saw students investigating topics of their choice. Students developed questions about the topic and then used these questions to conduct research, using note cards and a working bibliography. After compiling their notes and synthesizing them into meaningful paragraphs, the students completed a web on Inspiration and then wrote a three-paragraph essay incorporating their findings and documented their sources in a MLA-formatted bibliography. In the end, they presented their research to the class, sharing visual projects related to their topics. Look here at some of the interesting projects completed by classmates.

Sixth Graders Practice Description with Precision

When discussing the importance of word choice recently, the sixth graders tried a Describe It/Build It exercise. Students in half of the class drew aliens; the other half visited the hall and made models out of Playdoh, Legos, pipe cleaners, and other material. After drawing and building, each student tried to write a description of his/her creation so well that a partner could re-create it exactly, using the same materials. Each class then voted on the winners in the alien and model categories. See some of the creations above. How well did the writer do to describe his/her creation? Check out the pairs of drawings or models.

Advisory kids visit with kindergartners

During advisory, we are now traveling to the lower school on some "B" days to help out with Mrs. Korda's kindergarten class. In January and February, the sixth graders teamed up with their kindergarten buddies to welcome the winter with bead snowflakes and game playing.