Field Trip to Trillium Haven Farm

I've attached the permission slip for the class' field trip to Trillium Haven Farm. This trip is a favorite as we get the opportunity to explore this family-run, CSA farm. The students learn more about farming and animal husbandry, Community Supported Agriculture, the local food movement, and ecosystems. Students will learn about heritage foods as well. We will explore the farm as well as do a little project--working at the farm! Please have students dress appropriately for this hard and dirty work.

Permission Slip: Trillium Haven Farm field trip

Classroom Calendar: May 2010

I've attached the Classroom Calendar for the month of May 2010. I've also attached the Spring Classroom Volunteer Schedule--this is the volunteer schedule for spelling, classroom store, and math test checking for the remainder of the school year. Copies of these both went home with students!

I've also uploaded photos from Moms and Muffins to the Photobucket account.

-Thanks

Writing Workshop News

Dear Upper Montessori Families,

I'd like to tell you about our next unit of study in writing workshop. We are moving on to fiction! While we did write fiction in November and December (Your great gift books...The Secret Knowledge of Kids!), we are taking a second look at the topic.

Although we are just getting ready to begin writing fiction in class, your children have been poised to write in this genre from the time they were babies. The experiences they’ve had--from listening to family stories being told over and over to getting lost in the world of fairy tales and the pages of picture books to creating worlds for their dolls and stuffed animals--have prepared them to write fiction.

For the next several weeks, your child will be working to write a realistic fiction short story. Children will mine the stories of their lives for an idea on which to grow a short story. They’ll spend several days developing characters for their stories. They’ll study traditional story structure and then will map plot lines for their stories. In those stories, the main characters will move toward a goal while facing difficulty or resistance along the way. As children write short fiction, they’ll also read it. They’ll read as insiders, learning techniques for writing fiction from their favorite authors.

You’ll notice that even though the class will be writing fiction for the next several weeks, your child will be doing many of the same things that he or she did in the previous units of study. After all, many qualities of great writing and processes writers use work across genre. This unit especially highlights the importance of planning and of large-scale revisions.

As always, I am available if you have any questions or concerns.

Classroom Updates

Garage Sale Wish List

This is my favorite time of year to go check out Garage Sales! People are always getting rid of great "stuff!" If you go garage sale-ing please be on the lookout for items that would be of help in the classroom. Please be on the lookout for the following:

• Young adult novels and other books--multiple copes of novels (in good condition) are welcome.
• Storage containers
• Baskets--any size, really
• Other organizers

HELP!

PLEASE save and send in large applesauce, pickle, spaghetti, or other glass jar. Any large jar with a screwtop lid will do. We will need 25 total jars for a science activity at the end of May and we can only do this project if we have enough jars for everyone! Please remove labels and wash...thanks!

April is Poetry Month

Throughout the month students will be reading, writing, and listening to poetry! Watch for "locker poetry" about spring break. These will be up by the end of the month.

Students are also randomly assigned a day to find a great poem and have it ready to share with the class. After listening for several days we will try to emulate a style of poetry and write our own!

New Literature Groups are Forming

Students voted and are starting new novels this week. As we do so, we will continue to refine the reading and comprehension strategies we've learned throughout the year. Most recently students learned more about Point of View and Conflict. We've also been studying the comprehension strategies of synthesizing and inferring while reading. These strategies are what help to make students reflective readers. Thinking, contemplating, doubting...we want our children doing this as they prepare to enter middle school! A large amount of middle school reading is non-fiction. These strategies are useful as students read more and more of this type
of material. They also help with the typical English class novels and other reading that students will be reading in middle school.

Mr. Edwards and I really enjoy reading with the kids. They are often incredibly insightful and we find many of their comments to be surprising and occasionally downright funny!

Spelling

When spelling lists come home, please take time each week to review not only the spelling of the weekly word list with your child, but also the meaning of the individual words. Students may know how to spell a word, but not have a clue as to it's meaning, part of speech, or etymology. If the spelling is going well, focus study time on these other areas!

April Classroom Calendar

It's not ready yet..sorry! I will post it here and send home a hard copy by the end of the week.

Upcoming Field Trip

We are taking one more field trip this year. We will going to Trillium Haven, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm in Jenison. A date has not yet been set. When we have a firm date we will send home a permission slip and more trip details. Preference will be given to chaperones that have not yet had the opportunity to attend a field trip with us this year.

Have a wonderful week!

Moms and Muffins

Students are planning a very special treat for next week's Moms and Muffins! I hope that many of our moms will be able to attend. As always, if Mom is not able to attend consider inviting Grandma, a favorite aunt, or other special friend.

Moms and Muffins
April 22, 2010
9-10 a.m.