Fabulous February

 4th-graders in math class designed and built mini-golf courses.  They learned math concepts like angles, lines, area, and perimeter.  They applied this to their golf courses.  They also looked at golf clubs and predicted how the angle of the club affected the placement of the golf ball. 

5th grade ELA students wrote mini-sagas for Young Writers.  The challenge was writing a min-saga about an ancient adventure in 100 words.  The word choice was crucial in writing a creative and captivating mini-saga.   Some students submitted their work in a contest.   

4th grade ELA students became playwrights!   They learned about play elements and wrote their own plays.  The plays ranged from a daring rescue of animals from a shelter to an evil villain who steals a valuable gem from the White House.  There were so many creative ideas!  Here are some pictures of the characters and their props.  They did a great job!  

Our 4th Grade math students in the fall learned about the Saco Heath.   We went on a "virtual" field trip.  They calculated hiking trail problems and how a heath differs from a bog.  Some students decided their final project would be to redesign a sign for the trail.  The Saco Heath Conservation was so happy with the posters, they recently posted them on their site.   

Some 5th-grade students are isolating their sense of touch with a tactile box as they continue to learn about synesthesia in their A Magno-Shaped Space book group.  

Hello 2023!

ASPIRE Gorham connected 4th grade ELA students with Mr. LeBlanc, a playwright.  Mr. LeBlanc shared his talents and expertise in person and via video.  Mr. LaBlanc shared his knowledge with us about playwriting, play elements, and tips on how to avoid writer's block.  The students can apply what they learned in their playwriting or future careers.

4th graders are working diligently on their mini-golf courses in math class.  They are learning about various angles, areas/perimeters, and types of lines.  Who knew how much math you could learn with mini-golf?!

One 5th grade book group is reading A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.  In the story, protagonist Mia Winchell has a condition called synesthesia.  Students tried to integrate their senses by painting what music would look like in their minds if they had synesthesia.  Can you tell what painting was created during scary, relaxing, or upbeat music?

5th graders are designing and building their Food Trucks in math class.  They have learned how to create business plans.  

Dynamite December Work!

Students have been working hard on many activities.  Here are some highlights.

At Narragansett, a 5th Grader finished the book, One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.  Trees are an important metaphor throughout the story.  Examples from the text were written on the tree to cite examples from the story.   

4th Graders in literacy class created Sensory Poems inspired by the Wabanaki Native Americans.  Students built their own birch bark canoes as a final project after learning how the Wabanakis are gifted craftsmen and engineers in designing canoes from birch bark.  

5th graders learned to calculate simple interest rates on loans.  This tied into their OPEN A FOOD TRUCK unit.  They shopped "banks" to calculate their various interest rates on taking out a loan.

On early release days, I'm at Great Falls.  We have started a chess club.  Students learned how to play chess.  Playing chess builds strategic thinking skills.  I heard many "checkmates!"

4th graders are designing a mini-golf course in a project-based learning unit.  Students will dive into how angles play an important role in designing and playing a mini-golf course.  Here students are in the planning phases of their mini-golf courses and explaining math vocabulary.  Stay tuned for the building phase!

November is flying by!

 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.  

Special Story News Report

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!         

Village School & Mow's Munchies

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.