"Lights, Camera, Action!" Students Celebrate Earth Week and David Wiesner

Last week Calvert School celebrated Earth Week. The students learned about recycling and saving energy.

Additionally, the 6D students have been reading many books by the author and illustrator David Wiesner.  One of my favorites is

It is a fictional story about a boy who finds an old camera washed up on the beach.  Wiesner illustrates the story from a camera's point of view- the pictures inside are truly amazing.

To conclude our author study of Wiesner the class made cameras.  We used recycled materials for this craft in honor of Earth Week.

Recycled Supplies Used:

-toilet paper tubes

-kleenex boxes

-milk caps

 

Below is a completed camera from the front

and side

 

Lights, Camera...

 

Action!

 



Thank you, Calvert Teachers!

The readers recently read a story called Try Your Best.  It is about a coach who inspires his students to believe in themselves.  The students decided to celebrate this story by thanking a Calvert teacher who has helped them to believe in themselves or has made them feel better when sad.

The readers utilized inventive spelling when sounding out words which were unfamiliar to them; all other written words were spotted on our classroom sight word wall.

Last Friday we traveled to each teacher and delivered our thank yous. It was very special!

Robots and Mr. Bergles

Mr. Bergles visited 6D as a Mystery Visitor last week.  After a brief introduction,

he read a story about robots to the class.  Mr. Bergles is a scientist who knows a lot about robots.

Lastly, the students created simple robots of their own!  Mr. Bergles brought in plenty of materials the students used when decorating.

At the end of class the students' robots came to life!

PLAY

 

Mrs. DeLorbe posted this on Facebook and I had to share.

 

Happy Easter!

The 6D students welcomed spring with an egg hunt on the Castalia lawn last Thursday!

The class stenciled rabbits onto their "baskets" (hopefully they can be recycled into beach buckets this summer) and posed wearing ears the Easter bunny dropped off.

Students were challenged to find eggs numbered 1 through 6.  Small toy, candies, and stickers filled each egg.

Thank you to all of the parents for their support; the Sixth Age students enjoyed this time together!

Calvert Bear

What fun Calvert Bear is having!

First, did you know this boy and Calvert Bear celebrate the same birthday?!  Second, this girl figured out that Calvert Bear loves yogurt!  I'm sure this will come in handy when he visits friends in the future (wink, wink).  For now I am extremely pleased with the effort my readers are placing into writing journal entries in C.S.'s special book.  Keep up the great work, readers!

Sight Word Wallets

The readers made "sight word wallets" last week in class- this was such a fun and easy way to review words from our current story!

First, I photocopied our current list of sight words onto green paper; students then cut out the words and placed them in their "wallets".  They were allowed to decorate their wallet to their heart's desire.  For the next few days students will earn sight word money if they can read the words.  A student had a great idea that the dollar value of each word would correlate with how many letters comprise that word.  A four letter word, therefore, would be worth four dollars.

You can do this activity at home each night; as an incentive your child could earn an extra story (a longer read would be worth more money!) if they were able to read their words.

Frog Life Cycle

The readers have been learning a lot about frogs.  They recently acted out each stage in a frog's life cycle- take a peak!

Roll a Sight Word

Yesterday the readers played the game "Roll a Sight Word" and they had a ton of fun!  The object of the partner game was, upon rolling a dice, to write as many corresponding sight words as possible within a certain time frame.

Students began by spreading out around the room.

Next, they reviewed the sight words on their paper and chose an additional two words to add to the list.

Last, the students rolled a dice and filled in the sight word which corresponded to the number displayed. 

This was a great way for the class to review words from our current story, Where Do Frogs Come From?

Calvert Bear on Spring Break!

Calvert Bear had a lovely time with this young lady over spring break.  He even played the piano!

Calvert Bear

Calvert Bear spent time at Charlotte's house last week!  He had a wonderful time!  He was caught jumping on the bed, though.  We reminded him to stay out of trouble.  Thank you to Charlotte for her thoughtful writing in his special journal.  He will spend time with a new friend this week and we look forward to hearing about their adventures!

Sight Word Review

Are you a visual learner? An auditory learner? Or a kinesthetic learner?  Chances are, you are a variety of all three!  In different learning environments it may be more suitable for you to grasp a concept by listening to a teacher, watching a demonstration, or performing a task.  

The kinesthetic approach to learning encourages students to carry out a physical activity.  In this fashion, the readers reviewed their sight word knowledge last week by writing many of the words in sand.  The student began by stating the word, followed by spelling it, one letter at a time.  The sand was colorful and reminded the class of being at the beach!

Shaving cream, finger paint, food (such as M&Ms or goldfish), or small coins are additional ways to incorporate a kinesthetic approach into your sight word review at home.

The Sixth Age had a wonderful trip to the Aquarium!!

 

 

Enjoying the dolphins!

 

 Taking a break to eat snack!

 

 

 

 

 

The dolphin splashed us and some of us got really wet!

 Wow! Look at those tricks.

 

We loved our time at the Aquarium!!

 

In Math this week, we learned how to estimate. We practiced estimating with a measurement activitiy. We read a story called, Inch by Inch, and then we estimated the measurements of different objects. After we made our estimations, the students actually measured the objects with an inch worm. The students enjoyed this activity!