Alligator News
May 29,
2012
It’s
been a busy month and there’s still a lot to do in the few weeks remaining in
this school year. Here’s a brief update
on a few of the things we’ve been doing and planning recently:
Cylinder Racers:
Students
have completed competitions in drag racing (speed), distance racing and uphill
racing. Still to come are a break
dancing competition and the ever-popular demolition derby.
Shakespeare:
Our
examination of Shakespeare and his times have included a look at London in the
late 16th century (great theater and interesting clothes, but a fairly
disgusting sanitary system and fairly harsh judicial system). Students also listened to Susan Cooper’s
historical time travel novel, King of
Shadows, in which a young man travels back to Elizabethan England and gets
to act on stage at the Globe Theater with William Shakespeare. Besides being a great read, this book held
added interest as the play being performed is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the same play we’ve been rehearsing in
class. Students are getting into their
roles, growing accustomed to the beautiful but unfamiliar language in this
abridged script, and working to learn their lines so they can focus on becoming
better actors.
Our
hope is to get to the point where we feel comfortable performing this version
of the play before a live audience. More
information about this will be sent home soon.
Keynote
Presentations:
As
part of our study of Vermont, each student chose and researched a topic of
interest with a Vermont connection.
Under the guidance of Kay Marcelle, students then used the Keynote
program to put together a slide show on the computer, then presented their
shows to the rest of the class. Topics
covered a wide range, from dairy farms and maple syrup to Abenakis and Vermont veterans. This was an excellent opportunity for
students to practice both research and presentation skills.
Roman Numerals:
As
students read through their scripts for A
Midsummer Night’s Dream and I began to hear questions such as, “Am I in Act
eye-eye-eye or Act eye-vee?” I realized most students had, at best, only a
passing familiarity with Roman numerals.
So we’ve played around with the basics, and by now most students can
figure out what act we’re in (and many will be able to look at the credits in a
movie and tell when it was produced).
Auction:
In
anticipation of an end of year auction, students have been earning “Auction
Points”—awarded for bringing in reading charts and home/school folders, completing
assignments in a timely manner, performing a.m. and p.m. classroom duties,
showing courtesy and kindness to peers and adults, scoring well on weekly
quizzes (math facts, spelling, geography) and attempting optional weekly math
problems.
During
the last week of school students will be asked to bring in donated items for
the auction. These may be gently used
toys, games, stuffed animals, books, CDs, etc. that are no longer used in your
home but might be of interest to another child.
Students may also bring in baked goods or other homemade items—or any
other items that might be attractive to 3rd and 4th grade
students. Please no live animals
(including siblings)! More information
about the exact date of this event will be sent home soon.
A
lot more has been happening, but hopefully your child is filling you in on some
of that.
So
it goes,
Thom
McAllister
