Apple Week

September 23 – September 27

Our theme for the fourth week of school was "Apple Week." It was Johnny Appleseed's birthday on the 26th and we celebrated all week long with apple cider, applesauce, apple pie, fresh apples, apple fritters, apple turnovers, apple pancakes and apple coffee cake.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Penmanship
Here are this week's apple quotes for handwriting practice.

Reading
We read "Mrs. Gorf" from Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar as an interactive read-aloud and our mini lesson focused on "recalling details." Mrs. Gorf turns her misbehaving students into apples and my favorite part of the lesson is hearing the reasons children think Mrs. Gorf might be tempted to turn THEM into apples.

Poetry and Literature
Each week, I reinforce our grammar lessons through poetry. This week we are studying adjectives and Haiku is the perfect medium. I encourage students to write their poem and then go back and edit out the insignificant words. Haiku relies on cramming as many relevant descriptive words into as a small space as possible. We review the style of Haiku, remind ourselves how to determine syllables, list descriptive words and brainstorm items, places or events in nature that we can write about in our Haiku.

Also, when possible, I like to record my kids reciting their own poetry. Here is a poem written about our field trip to the mountains last week.

Nature in the Mountain
Cold and chilly hike,
early in the morning light
running waterfall.



Composition
This week we focused on the 6+1 Writing Trait CONVENTIONS (which includes grammar). The main thing we worked on is how to use commas in a series of adjectives. [Personally, I subscribe to the "less punctuation is better" philosophy (which, incidentally, is my main complaint with the English Language Arts Common Core-- they over punctuate and that makes for difficult reading material). Hence, I teach my students to omit the final comma in a general series when using the word "and."]


MATHEMATICS
This week we continue our study of the Real number system. We played an equivalent numbers matching game. Admittedly, it's quite difficult and I wouldn't recommend it for any students who haven't had significant experience with the corresponding Montessori math materials (golden bead material, fraction/decimal boards, fraction circles, etc.)

SCIENCE
Properties and States of Matter (Changing Apples into Juice, Applesauce, Slices, etc.)

HISTORY
In fourth grade we focus on several essential questions. Those that apply to this week are:

• What does “Manifest Destiny” mean?
• Why did the U.S. expand its territory during the 19th century and why did settlers move west?

This week we studied tall tale heroes and American legends: Johnny Appleseed, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Casey Jones, Paul Bunyan and John Henry. Each of these individuals tells a story about the types of people who settled the western United States. (We will revisit several of these stories in a few weeks as we practice distinguishing between facts and opinions.)

VISUAL ART
This week we got an introduction to the Printmaking Center of our art studio. As usual, after a five minute introduction, everyone chooses to work in one of the four centers now open: drawing, painting, printmaking or collage.

Read-Aloud: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

What we're reading together...Percy Jackson &The Olympians by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson & The Olympians is an easier fantasy series (Level S-- 4th grade) with five books focusing on Percy Jackson, a 6th grader with ADHD and dyslexia. He learns he is the demi-god son of Poseidon and is sent on the kind of adventures children love to daydream about. The first book has been made into a movie. (The second book has also been made into a movie and it is due to be released in August.)

Our Extension Activities

leather duster

• Once again, we have been collecting images off the internet of vocabulary words from the book: ambrosia, caduceus, chimera, Cupid, duster, furies, hell hound, laurel wreath, mausoleum, Medusa, minotaur, peacock, pomegranate, reed pipe, tunnel of love.
• We have abalone shells and coral in our science collection and a miniature figure of the Empire State Building in our world landmarks collection that made a fun hands-on way to visualize parts of the book.
• My son has a leather duster we found for his Halloween costume last year and our recent family pictures. I used it as a visual example of the one worn by Ares in the book. It's much more fun to touch and smell the leather than to simply read about it (or even see a picture of one).
• We also have a blowable conch shell (like the one used in the book to call the campers to dinner) which everyone took turns trying to play. Of course, B. plays the trumpet and was a natural at the conch shell. He did noted that it is actually more like playing the French horn, which made for a brief but fun tie-in to our musical instruments nomenclature set. In the book, Grover also plays the pan flute (or reed pipes) and they mention a lyre several times.
• We are studying Greek mythology simultaneously, which is perfect for increasing background schema. We put together a pedigree chart for the various Greek gods to help us visualize their lineage and we have paid special attention to the Greek mythological characters, stories and elements from this book (Procrustes, Athena, Pan, the three fates, Persephone, Rive Styx, Chiron, Charon, Kronos, Cerberus, Olympus, Medusa, Hades, Ares, Dionysus, Zeus, Poseidon, Echidna, Chimera, Minotaur, the three furies, Tartarus, Erebus, Hermes, satyrs, Perseus, the Underworld and Thalia).
• We also checked out the map for the various geographic locations mentioned in the book (New York City, Manhattan, Empire State Building, Long Island, Denver, New Jersey turnpike, Los Angeles, St. Louis Arch, Las Vegas, Mississippi River, Santa Monica Pier).
• The movie for book one has provided us with the opportunity to compare the similarities and differences between the two.
• We used my Cricut machine to screen print "Camp Half-Blood" T-shirts.
• After we read a few more chapters, we are planning a meal of blue foods as homage to Percy's mother.

The Montessori Difference

If you have spent time looking through my weekly outlines, you will notice that my lesson plans are very short. In fact, they are just mini-lessons of 15 minutes or less designed to be used with 6 or fewer students at a time. You might also notice that instead of direct instruction type lessons, they are generally simple introductions to concepts or follow-up reviews of specific topics. This is because in a Montessori classroom, the learning takes place as the child works independently with the Montessori materials.

I am going to spend the next couple of weeks highlighting some of my favorite materials and conducting a virtual tour of the classroom but first I figured I should answer the question: Why Montessori?

THE MONTESSORI WAY	TRADITIONAL MODELS
Child who is intrinsically motivated to learn because he is allowed to follow his passion and choose activities that complement his learning style	Teacher who chooses when and what the child will study and attempts to motivate high performance by punishing or rewarding the child
Extended work periods where children select multi-sensory materials and hands-on activities that foster their individual interests and needs	Teacher who schedules when and for how long a child will study each concept
Inquiry based experiments and research projects that provide practical applications to real-life with cross-curricular activities that reinforce student-led discovery of new ideas	Teacher driven, whole class lectures followed by drill and practice worksheets that bore students and waste paper with additional busywork sent as daily homework
Teacher who plays an unobtrusive role in the classroom and who stays with the same students for multiple years serving as a long-term , trusted learning guide	Teacher as ultimate controller of knowledge  in the classroom with white board and teacher desk as the focal point of the learning experience
Active education where students learn by doing, moving frequently to stretch both the body and the mind—choosing their own location for work	Rows of assigned desks facing the white board, filled with students sitting silently all day long
Mixed age classrooms where students mentor one another and learn to show compassion for those who are different	Students segregated by age and ability
Grace and courtesy lessons which teach children to respect adults and other students	Competition and bullying
Outside activities as central part of the educational experience developing a sense of respect and caring for the natural world	Limited recess, sometimes taken away as punishment for poor behavior
Beautiful, comfortable classrooms with attractive decorations that support learning by soothing the soul and enriching the mind	Cluttered walls and counters that distract from learning and create an atmosphere of disorder
Hands-on materials stored in reach of students with responsibility to repair broken items given to the children	Hands-on activities stored and controlled by the teacher and generally reserved as rewards for compliant behavior

It's simple. I love Montessori because the focus is the child.

Hello Autumn!

September 16 – September 20

Our theme for the third week of school was "Hello Autumn!" The leaves in the mountains are starting to turn to reds and golds.

FIELD TRIP
This week's field trip was a hike up the canyon. We hiked up the Battle Creek trail due to the rock slides in AF Canyon from earlier this month. We talked about the settling of the area by the Mormon pioneers and how it got its name. (I have two ancestors who reportedly participated in this particular battle and it is a solemn feeling to think about the tragedy that occurred.)

We also took our science journals to sketch the different plants and animals we found. The first animal anyone found was a black widow. How he saw it from fifteen feet away in all that underbrush is beyond me! I am so terrified of spiders that I ended up having nightmares that night that a little girl tried to pick it up and got bitten. I cropped the picture below so it looks like we are closer than we actually are :).

We topped it all off with a discussion about people not cleaning up after their dogs. It was chillier than I expected but still fun.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Penmanship
Here are this week’s copywork selections.We also had a discussion related to social studies on how important good handwriting is. Lewis (of the Lewis and Clark expedition) had a dog named Seaman. For over 100 years, the dog's name was reported to be Scannon because the two look similar when written and Lewis had such poor handwriting.

Reading
We read Old Henry by Joan W. Blos and our mini lesson focused on "analyzing characters." 

Spelling 
In addition to the word sorts from the Words Their Way spelling program, we work on occasional "Wacky Words." This week we learned to spell AUTUMN. I made up new words to Rita Mae Olsen's song "It's Autumntime" and we fingerspell A-U-T-U-M-N as we sing the chorus.

Poetry and Literature
I reinforce our grammar lessons through poetry. We are learning about nouns and this week's poem was "What I Found in My Desk" by Bruce Lansky. By replacing the various nouns in Lansky's poem with our own words, we made up fun poems. I wrote my own sample to give some inspiration:

What I Found in My Purse
An apple with an ugly bruise,
a shoelace for my tennis shoes,
a coupon for a pecan pie,
a lipstick that I meant to try,
a flashlight for when it’s dark,
the keys I thought I lost at the park,
a Ziplock bag with Cheerio crumbs,
a broken phone that barely hums,
a driver’s test I almost failed,
a past due bill I should have mailed,
and one more thing, I must confess,
a note from myself: Clean This Mess!!!!

Composition
This week we focused on the 6+1 Writing Trait CONVENTIONS (which includes grammar). Since we are learning about nouns, we did another sorting activity. The objective is to sort words into one of two categories: nouns or not nouns. It is going to take a while understand the abstract nouns like love, religion, etc.

MATHEMATICS
To learn about the different sets of numbers (Natural, Whole, Integer, Rational, Irrational, Real Algebraic, Transcendental, Real, Imaginary, Complex, etc.) we played a sorting game. I printed and cut out various number cards (you can download them here). I set out six nesting boxes with the simple directions to "sort the number cards". In the past I have used different sized baskets but this summer I found nesting containers at Walmart that work perfectly.

 

I use Ziplock bags taped inside the two largest boxes for Imaginary and Irrational Numbers.

Because this activity is so similar to the spelling and vocabulary word sorts, I don't label the containers. Students look for similarities and differences in the number. It amazes me how easy it is for some kids to sort the numbers into accurate groups. There are usually a few incorrect numbers-- generally money (it can be hard to understand the details of cents vs. dollars/euros/pounds)-- and I need to help put the nested boxes in the correct order but I have found that the second time the activity is repeated, there are few, if any mistakes.

SCIENCE
This week we studied endangered Utah plants and animals and practiced science journaling while on our hike in the canyon.

HISTORY
Still focusing on Manifest Destiny, we studied Lewis and Clark (and Sacagawea) along with the details of the Louisiana Purchase (connecting to Napoleon and last week).

One of the things I find most fascinating is that some people believed that this new territory contained unicorns, wooly mammoths and seven foot beavers. (Kids find this fact amusing as well.)

VISUAL ART
This week we got an introduction to the Painting Center of our art studio. After a five minute introduction, everyone chooses to work in one of the three centers now open: drawing, painting or collage.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
We went hiking this week.We also talked about types of walking- jogging, sprinting, hiking and race walking. (Race walking is an Olympic sport. Olympic racewalkers can "walk" a mile faster than I can run it. Pretty cool! Here is a video to check it out.)

This is my country!

September 9 – September 13

We just completed our second week of school and we are now starting to settle into a routine. The weekly theme was "This is my country!" (Remember that Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance is celebrated this week.) Here's a recap of our week of fun.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Penmanship
Fourth through sixth graders have the option to use whatever handwriting style they want so long as it is legible. Some will choose to print, others will work on cursive. We use Handwriting Without Tears as the instruction in the younger grades and then give children the opportunity to learn a second or third script or to study calligraphy. Each week, copywork selections (poems, sayings, jokes, etc.) that coincide with the theme are provided for children to use. Here are this week’s selections.

Reading
We read The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. It's always fun to see children's expressions when they realize that it is a true story about the author. Our mini lesson (check it out here) focused on "sequencing chronological events." The supporting skill is "determining meaning through text and picture clues."

Spelling 
We use the Words Their Way spelling program because it is an individualized spelling program that integrates beautifully into a Montessori classroom. This week students learned how to mark their own spelling tracking sheets and how to do word hunts and how to fingerspell/ type/ write each of their words from a word sort.

Poetry and Literature
This week's selection was “The Star Spangled Banner” by Frances Scott Key. It's a social studies tie-in for the War of 1812. I used it as an introduction to explain the major differences between poems, drama, and prose and we discussed the structural elements of poems and drama

Composition
This week we focused on the 6+1 Writing Trait IDEAS. We read The Memory String by Even Bunting and then created our own memory boxes.

MATHEMATICS
We are reviewing how to read and write all sorts of numbers: extra large whole numbers, fractions, decimals, negative reals, rational expressions, numbers written in scientific notation and even numbers with exponents. Students learn the patterns for reading large numbers starting in first grade but we review the concept at the beginning of each year. One popular independent activity this week was the "Really Big Number" name generator.

SCIENCE
This week we studied "sound." We watched Bill Nye and Magic School Bus clips from YouTube. We made connections to music (The Star Spangled Banner and the 1812 Overture) and artillery fire (the War of 1812) but by far the most fun was had with the iPad decibel meter app. Even with yelling, the loudest sound any single person could generate was 90 decibels. (We left the meter on during the lesson and someone dropped something on accident.) It was surprising that normal background classroom noise hovered around 45dB.

HISTORY
Following last week's introduction to the concept of Manifest Destiny and in celebration of Patriot's Day, we studied Francis Scott Key and the War of 1812. We discussed the burning of Washington D.C. and how the famous portrait of George Washington was saved by Dolley Madison. Everyone had the opportunity to share the items they wold save if their home caught on fire. We also listened to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (for a Napoleonic connection to War of 1812 which will be another connection to next week's lesson on the Louisiana Purchase). On the timeline, we added the following events: the War of 1812, the composition of the Star Spangled Banner and the burning of the White House.

MUSIC
Many Americans mistakenly believe that the Tchaikovsky wrote the 1812 Overture to celebrate the United State's victory in the War of 1812. Not only did the U.S. NOT win the war, but the 1812 Overture is about the Napoleonic retreat from Russia, Tchaikovsky's homeland. However, the Napoleonic Wars are an important factor in the U.S.'s decision to declare war so the song makes a fun tie-in. Besides, the cannons are just great fun! (Start watching at 4:54 for the "famous" bit.)


VISUAL ART
This week we got an introduction to the Collage Center of our art studio. After a five minute introduction, everyone chooses to work in one of the two centers already introduced: drawing or collage. (For a review of our art program, click the VISUAL ART link on the sidebar or the Art Studio tab at the top of the page.)

I love to integrate children's literature with every subject area and art is no exception. Ezra Jack Keats, Lois Ehlert, Leo Lionni, and Eric Carle are children's authors who are also fantastic collage artists. Other books I like include Boom Chicka Rock by John Archambault, The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall and This Little Pirate by Philemon Sturges. (BTW- these three authors did not illustrate their own books.)

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
As I mentioned last week, one of our goals for P.E. is to show children that there are many choices for physical activities and they don't have to be organized sports . In preparation for our hiking field trip, we are learning how to walk. We analyzed our gait by making foot impressions on construction paper with a wet foot. Then we studied proper posture (which we will review many times in dance class and music class.) We learned how different ways of walking affect our forward movement (heel-toe-pushoff versus landing on a flat foot or running on tip toes.)

THEATRE
We are learning the Pledge of Allegiance in American Sign Language. Here is the version that we use. There are many regional variations of the pledge but this version breaks it down into individual signs (some with explanations) and also has a video of the entire pledge.

Down on the Farm

September 2 – September 6

We made it through the first week of school! The weekly theme was "Down on the Farm"-- Here's a recap of our week of fun.

FIELD TRIP
For the first field trip of the year we visited the Utah State Fair. It was incredibly hot but lots of fun. We visited farm animals, discussed how genetic traits are passed from parents to their offspring, critiqued the visual art displays, watched the lumberjack show, browsed the craft booths, practiced spinning wool into yarn, touched a moon rock from the NASA exhibit, and judged quilting/baking/preserving entries.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Read-Aloud
Our first selection for the year is from the genre of realistic fiction: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. It makes a fun start to the year for fourth graders (and up) and because the reading level is appropriate for most students this age, many will be excited enough by this first book to read the others in the series.

Penmanship
Each week, students are provided with copywork quotes related to the weekly theme that they can use to practice their handwriting. They are a fun addition to our Montessori classroom. Here are this week’s selections.

Reading
We read Alexander and The Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Our mini lesson (check it out here) focuses on using prior schema to make connections. It's an introductory lesson that we will build on during guided reading all year long.


Spelling 
We use the Words Their Way spelling program because it is an individualized spelling program that integrates beautifully into a Montessori classroom. This week students learned how to use their spelling folders and how to do word sorts independently.

Poetry and Literature
This week's selection is “I Know All the Sounds the Animals Make” by Jack Prelutsky. We had lots of fun creating silly poems by substituting our own animal sounds for those Prelutsky chose.

MATHEMATICS
Measurement: Money, Time and Temperature Review-- As we start our first math unit of the year, I want to make sure that my students are familiar with the common forms in which we see and use numbers. When learning about time, students must understand what "quarter 'til" and "half past" mean. They should know that temperatures drop below zero so we use negative numbers to describe those temperatures.They need to be recognize that 75 cents is the same thing as three quarters (3/4). These basic concepts will help them as we delve deeply into the Real Number system.

SCIENCE
We are using several fun matching games from the University of Utah research division on genetics and heredity.

HISTORY
Introduction to Key Events and Ideas in Utah's History and the History of the Westward Expansion of the U.S. [i.e. Manifest Destiny]; Introduction to the  Montessori Timeline

VISUAL ART
This week we got an introduction to the Drawing Center of our art studio. On day one, we learned how to put away paper and pencils, how to use our personal drawing kits, and how to store our completed drawings in our art portfolios. On the second day of art class, we talked about preparing to work and how artists find inspiration.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
One of our goals for P.E. is to show children that there are many choices for physical activities. How about exploring traditional county fair games: Horseshoes, Three-Legged Race, Gunny Sack Race, Wheelbarrow Race, Basketball Shooting, Baseball Throwing at Bottles, Hoop Rolling?

DANCE
Line dancing anyone? It's a great way to teach spatial directions.