SAIL has been busy. Here are some things we have been doing.
4th Grade literacy discussed what bravery meant to them. They compared/contrasted two short stories, Sir Thomas and the Dragon and Career Day at Pixie Academy. We found common themes and compared how the main characters reacted to conflicts. They designed Bravery Shields that displayed what bravery meant to them. Check out some of their shields.
4th Grade math completed a Saco Heath Preserve STEM unit. Students created their own final projects. Some decided to make a slideshow, redesign the Saco Heath Preserve sign, tape a News Special Report, or create an informational pamphlet. Here are some examples.
5th Grade math groups at Village and Great Falls had special Food Truck guests. ASPIRE Gorham helped us make connections with two food truck vendors. Cheese the Day visited Great Falls, and Mow's Munchies stopped by Village. 5th graders are "opening" their own food trucks in a STEM unit. Students will work on business plans, calculate loan interest rates, add/subtract decimals, and use fractions with their recipes. They asked questions and toured the trucks. It was a fantastic opportunity to witness math applied in the real world!
We made the News Center Maine's Community news report. Check it out!
Some 5th Grade literacy students wrote poems inspired by "Summer" by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. They anylazde his style of painting to create their own animals. They compared the physical features of his painting to the real world and created poems using similies/metaphors describing their animals. Here are some examples of their work.
My Dog, Ike
My dog, Ike, is cute,
His nose is as wet as a milk carton,
His ears are as floppy as a sock,
His fur is as soft as a blanket,
His legs are as long as ladders,
His tail is as fluffy as a blanket,
And he is my best bud
My cat has eyes as sharp as knives that can slice through metal with ease.
Sneaky as a ninja pouncing from the trees.
Orange as a carrot.
Striped tail like a zebra.
Sneaky like a robber dashing from the bank.
Tongue as rough as sandpaper.
Other 5th graders are in book groups for, A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Moss or One of the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.
It's important in writing to show character traits/feelings instead of telling about them. We did a drawing activity to show emotions vs. just telling what the emotion was. Check out their facial details to express specific feelings.
