This week the 5th grade started blogging with the Lincoln School in preparation for the Rooster Games in February. Right now the kids are discussing the books on the list and once they find out which teams they are on, they will begin to talk strategy. One of the questions asked "If you could cook a meal for Chef Roi Choy, what would you cook and why?" Answers ranged from "I would cook (or microwave) chocolate chip cookies because they taste so good and I know he'll like my family's spin on the cookie" to "I would probably make something that is savory and flavorful because he cooks that way."
November is the time year that reminds us all to give thanks and be thankful. I often encourage my students to be thankful for their family, friends, teachers, home and all the many resources they are fortunate to have. As the librarian for our youngest learners I made it a goal to find small and simple ways my students could give thanks.
I interact with my students daily through picture books. I recently found a calendar that included picture books in a list of things to celebrate in November. I immediately said to myself "that is perfect!" This month my kindergarten students will join me in celebrating Picture Month. Over the next few weeks I will be exposing them to various authors, illustrators and genres. Our guiding question will be why are picture books so important?
My hope is that my students will appreciate the hard work and dedication each author and/or illustrator puts in to creating picture books. By them understanding the process they will be thankful for picture books that expose them to different worlds and ideas. Here is a link to keep up with all the books we will be thankful for this month, along with information about the authors and illustrators.
This is the essential question Ms. O'Hara and I ask 4th graders to consider during our Aerie Unit on Primary Sources. During our first class, the children examine 3 photographs and a ship's manifest to see what they can learn about immigration, at the turn of the century, from these documents. After looking at the various pictures and manifest, we gather together to discuss what surprised them and what they learned from the primary sources.
IMMIGRANTS ON SHIP, c1900. - Steerage passengers on the 'S.S. Pennland' in New York Harbor, c1900.. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/140_1634535/1/140_1634535/cite. Accessed 28 Oct 2018.
In our second class, the kids listen to recorded recollections of immigrants who entered the US through Ellis Island. They also read remembrances from those who immigrated through Angel Island. We wrap up the rotation by creating a list of all the things we learned about immigration from looking at pictures and reading or listening to people's memories of immigrating. The 4th graders will use the ideas they generate when they take on the persona of an immigrant and write journal entries as that immigrant.
Here are just some of the things they learned:
At Angel Island people were locked in their dorms after dinner like prison.
People were asked lots of questions when they immigrated through Angel Island including things like how many windows in your neighbor's house.
This year the Wheeler Community was so fortunate to welcome authors and illustrators Kazu Kibuishi and Rosemary Wells. Students in Nursery through Grades Seven enjoyed presentations last Friday, October 12th in order to celebrate Wheeler and the amazing reading community we have built. Rosemary Wells presented to students in the lower school in Grades Nursery through Three, and Kazu Kibuishi presented to a grand crowd of students in Grades Four through Seven as well as faculty, staff and administration.
Each author highlighted the hard work that is required to create books for children and shared their journey to becoming writers and illustrators. Rosemary Wells, who has been writing and illustrating picture books for the past forty years, shared unique art techniques and the story of how the beloved Max and Ruby characters came to be. I am sure Kazu Kibuishi had a few cringing teachers in his presentation as he shared his secret to holding a pencil when he draws. Students asked amazing questions. Many students wanted the inside scoop on the final book in the Amulet Series, Amulet 9.
The Celebration of Reading could not have been as amazing as it was without the help of the Parents Association and our two amazing volunteers, Wendy D'Amico and Magda Kryzstolik. Ms Strachan and I were also grateful to see many Wheeler students come to the Book Festival at Lincoln School to meet other authors and illustrators who were a part of the amazing celebration of children and books.
We have two phenomenal authors and illustrators visiting us on Friday, October 12:
Rosemary Wells author of Max and Ruby series. 9:15-10 Meet with Grades 1-3 Hale 10:45-11:15 Early Childhood LS Library
(video from Reading Rockets)
Kazu Kibuishi,author of the Amulet Series
1:45-2:45 in Hale with Grades 4-7
(video posted by Kazu Kibuishi)
Thanks to Ms. Williams for these profiles of the authors:
Rosemary Wells grew up on the New Jersey Shore. It was on the shore where she would hunt for rats with bows and arrows. She started her artistic career at the young age of 2. She loved to draw, copy and then start drawing again. Those experiences led her to create the well-known characters of Max and Ruby. Over the past 40 years she has written and illustrated over 120 children's books. Many of her picture books use animal characters to tell stories that are fun and relatable for children. In addition to Max and Ruby, readers may be familiar with Mr. McDuff, Nora, Timothy and Otto. For more information visit her website.
Kazu Kibuishi is the creator of the graphic novel series Amulet. He has also created the graphic novel series Flight. Born in Tokyo, he moved to the US with his mother and brother in 1981. He attended the University of California, where he pursued studies in film. He found a connection to comics through the school's newspaper. In addition to his graphic novels, he also has a webcomic series called Copper. Kazu recently released the 8th book in the Amulet series. For more information about Kazu Kibuishi and his work visit his website.
Kindergarten is one of my favorite grades to teach. I still have student buy in when I ask them to make silly faces, growl like a bear or move like snake. Students are also at a stage where fear rarely plays a factor. As a parent you might still have to tell your five or six year "don't do that, it is so dangerous!" They may look at you like they have no idea what you are talking about.
This is my second year reading The Not So Quiet Library by Zachariah Ohora to my kindergarten students when they come to library class for the first time. This story helps debunk the idea that the library is a quiet place, but it is more of a place to have fun, to be creative and explore new subjects. This book is also a start of our author study of Zachariah Ohora, who writes and illustrates so many funny books. We use his work to help us understand what an illustrator does and how the work they do is not easy. My goal is to get my kindergarten students to appreciate the illustrations in a book because often times the illustrations are more important than the words.
Over the first few weeks of school students in kindergarten drew one of their favorite characters Wolfie, from the story Wolfie the Bunny. They watched a video tutorial of Zachariah drawing the character and follow along. We talked about our experience drawing the character. They used words like hard, fun, tricky, exciting. I think these emotions more than likely parallel the feelings of actual illustrators when they create their first book or first draft of a book. Take a look at their final product, they are all really impressive.
Click the link for more about the author, his art and upcoming projects http://www.zohora.com/.
Ms. Strachan and I are so excited to begin another school year with all the amazing students here in our Lower School. We have done a lot of reading over the summer and you can find our recommendations posted in the library for grades third through fifth. There have been many new titles added to the story room collection as well for our primary grades.
In addition to welcoming students back we would love everyone to join us in welcoming our new Library Aide, Ms.Kathy. Many students have already been introduced and we encourage parents to drop by and say hello. Kathy will mainly be in the Lower School Library on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
The Lower School Library is open Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm; please feel free to drop in to check out books, introduce yourself or simply say hi. Happy New School Year!
Inspired by the 2018 Kids Read Across Rhode Island book The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez, the 5th Graders in Ms. Stevenson's class are creating Zines about their experience in Lower School at Hamilton. A Zine is a creative, handmade publication about ANYTHING. Yes, anything.
In preparation for creating their Zines, the kids spent the last several weeks developing questions they had about how Hamilton started and why. They interviewed Mr. Green about Hamilton and his experiences both at Hamilton and prior to working here. The students also brainstormed ideas to include in their Zines about their school experiences both before and during their time at Hamilton.
They just created their booklets. Next week, they will decide which experiences to include in their Zines and design them using magazines, markers, colored paper, etc.
Interested in making your own Zines? Check out these great step-by-step directions from Celia C. Perez.
Here are a couple of videos to inspire your own creations. The top video is from the Oregonian newspaper and the other is from creative DIY vlogger Jordan Clark.
There is always so much excitement on Grandparent's Day. There is mutual excitement between students, grandparents and special friends. Faculty and staff are also excited and a little nervous because we all want it to be an amazing day. Pre K, and two of my second grade classes spent time in the Story Room on Grandparents Day. It was great to see and hear the adults reflect on their school experiences and compare their experience to the amazing opportunities presented to students here at Wheeler. My Pre K group shared a story and craft with their grandparents. It was great to see the grandparents jump right into the fun of listening and creating.
My second grade classes have been working on writing and illustrating their own fables. They shared their fables with their grandparents and or special friend.
On Thursday evening, April 28, 2018, 4th graders from Wheeler and Hamilton, Lincoln, Gordon, and St. Michael's all gathered to participate in the 29th Battle of the Books. The students have been reading since Winter Break from the 2018 Battle of the Books List. The list consists of a wide variety of 30 books and each child must read at least 10. The night of the Battle the 4th graders answer questions about the books with their teammates which include kids from each of the other schools. Each school also presents a cheer. As always, Wheeler and Hamilton kids created this fun and dynamic cheer from scratch. For those of you who have never attended a Battle you would not believe the energy and excitement that fills the auditorium. This year, one of the questions asked the kids to identify the song which explains why a character named Jeremiah was nicknamed Frog. The answer prompted to the audience to spontaneously sing out, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine..." What a fun night! (video credit: Jon Green)
If you are like me you have seen the cool and creative love rocks all over campus. Lower School students are always excited to find a love rock and often times they want to keep it. They are easily persuaded to plant the love rock somewhere else so that another student may find it. Recently Nursery students came into the library via the elevator. They stepped out of the elevator so excited because someone had placed a love rock in the elevator. It was not long before the love rocks found their way into the corners and shelves of the story room. During a book checkout a Pre K student was excited to find a love rick near the book she wanted. The entire class admired it and then made the decision to plant it on a different shelf. There is only one love rock remaining in the library. I am sure the rest have found other homes!
This week the 3rd grade is finishing their state top ten lists. They spent weeks finding interesting facts and turned those details into convincing reasons to visit their states. In the past, the kids presented their speeches at a podium in front of the class. This year, we used an online video software called FlipGrid to film their state lists. At first, some of the students felt a little nervous about recording themselves, but after a couple of practice runs, they turned into master film-makers! The software allows them to easily record, pause filming and delete mistakes. They have created amazing final presentations. Not only are these students having fun recording themselves, but it seems that using FlipGrid motivates them to take ownership of their projects. I have seen greater engagement and investment in the presentation of their speeches than in previous years. After they finish their videos, the students will record video reflections about their research process, how they organized their facts, and how they felt about their final products.
The story room is a space on our campus designed for our youngest members of the community. If you have ever been in the story room you know that the chairs are small and comfy. The tables are small and round. The story time area is beautifully designed with bright colors and a cozy rug. Since our return from spring break we have created Open Hours in the Story Room specifically for students in early childhood. During open hours students are given opportunities to explore materials and objects and ultimately create their own structures, crafts and designs. In effort to boost early literacy, students are introduced to new books in the library and various collections in the library. The goal is for students to bring these books home to share and read with their families.
This week the 5th grade started blogging with the Lincoln School in preparation for the Rooster Games in February. Right now the kids are discussing the books on the list and once they find out which teams they are on, they will begin to talk strategy. One of the questions asked "If you could cook a meal for Chef Roi Choy, what would you cook and why?" Answers ranged from "I would cook (or microwave) chocolate chip cookies because they taste so good and I know he'll like my family's spin on the cookie" to "I would probably make something that is savory and flavorful because he cooks that way."
