Simple Gifts

Yesterday's literature connection lesson for third through sixth grade students came together serendipitously. The week before, I found a PDF for making a hot-dog booklet of the words to Simple Gifts to commemorate the inauguration of Barack Obama. I showed it to Mrs. Tarelton, and she got excited about bringing out the xylophones to let the children play the melody. I did some research on the Shakers, the religious community from which the song emerged; she did some research on the song itself. This is how the lesson came together:

• First, students made their own hot-dog booklet. They practiced following step-by step directions using math vocabulary such as horizontal, vertical, and fractions. Even though this seems like a simple process, it is more difficult than it looks for some students. Students who had never made a hot-dog booklet before said, "This is tight!"

• Second, I explained who the Shakers were and are and put the song in context. If you want to learn more, visit the website for a documentary about the Shakers by Ken Burns.
  

• Third, we read the words of the song aloud from the booklet and discussed why this song might have been chosen for the inauguration. The students had some very good thoughts about the mention of freedom and simplicity in the song. One student thought that the words "turn" and "turning" signaled how President Obama would like to "turn" the country around through his leadership and through a rise in civic responsibility. We also asked what it means that the 160 year old words and song are still relevant to us today and shed a unique light on our society at this time.

• Fourth, Mrs. Tarleton presented a music lesson on the song. She discussed three composers: Joseph Brackett, the Shaker elder who originally wrote the song in 1848, Aaron Copland who set the melody in Appalachian Springs, and John Williams who recently used the theme in his Air and Simple Gifts (YouTube video) for the inauguration.
  

• Fifth, we listened to a five minute excerpt of Copland's Appalachian Springs. When the string basses come in, my eyes always fill up with tears (four times yesterday!) What a "simple gift" it was to listen to this familiar music with children and see signs on their faces that their souls are also moved. Some students were motivated to want to dance when the trumpets and trombones make their regal entrance. Some students took their xylophone mallets and conducted the entire piece from their chair.

• Sixth, Mrs. T. led a discussion about the musical elements in the Copland excerpt and how the composer changed the melody with different instruments, tempo, embellishments, and dynamics.

• Finally, the children learned to play a portion of the melody on the xylophones. Those who can read music, had the music to read. Those who could not read music were able to follow Mrs. Tarleton's wonderful instructions.

Many elements combined to make our 50 minute lesson on Simple Gifts "tight." We integrated history, current events, music theory, music appreciation, literature, book making, and creative thinking. Simple Gifts is such a memorable tune. I hope that when the students hear it in the future, they will remember some of what they learned about it at St. Therese.

To close this post out, the photo collage below is a collection of classroom work about the inauguration from Ms. Devenney's first graders and Ms. Bentley's fourth graders.

What simple gifts will we share with each other as we move forward in this country during these uncertain, yet hopeful, times?

Our Big Words

Words are so important. Whether we write them, hear them, read them, or sign them, they are central to our lives, our work, our play, and our dreams.

With the first and second grade students, I shared the book Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier. (This is my favorite book about MLK). We discussed how Dr. King loved learning and using language and how his "big words" changed the world. The students made their own books of Big Words by listening to the story and choosing words that seemed important to them. Finally, we sat together on the carpet and shared our word choices with each other. Some of the words the students chose were:

Peace
Love
War
Bible
Together
Equal
Freedom
Hate
Movement
Rights
Marching

I think they understood the lesson.

Pop-Up Christmas

Each Christmas, I give my children a new Robert Sabuda or Matthew Reinhart pop-up book. We are starting to build quite a collection. If you haven't seen these, this website will give you a taste of the artistry and fun of these books. The website also has directions for making simple and not-so-simple pop-ups of your own. On Thursday in literature connection, I shared some of the Christmas pop-ups with my classes. Mrs. T was so intrigued that she joined me! We read The Night Before Christmas, A Winter's Tale, and The Twelve Days of Christmas (well we actually sang that one)! We showed the children how to make simple pop-ups as time allowed.

(Shhhhhh. . . parents, if you are looking for a good Christmas gift for your child, the students loved these! They kept asking me, "Where can I get one of those?")

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Who Am I? Book Exhibition

This project was done by third through sixth graders at St. Therese Catholic School under the direction of Julie Owen, librarian, with assistance from Lynn Tarleton, music teacher. Through research about pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians, the students practiced note taking skills, and comparison/contrast analysis. Then, they used this research to create fictional characters for "Who Am I?" books. A large part of the project focused on using time wisely and the creative process. Older posts below describe different steps of the project in detail.

Materials Used: computers for research about pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians, notebook paper, recycled cereal boxes, recycled paper grocery bags, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue, tissue paper scraps, scrap paper, yarn, hole punch, brain power, and lots of creativity!

Curriculum Areas Integrated Through Book Making: social studies, language arts, reading, research skills, math, creative writing

Book Making Website: http://www.makingbooks.com/ by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

This slide-show represents some of their hard work and artistry!

Books, Pilgrims, and Indians

The books are finished! On Friday, Mrs. T. worked the the students to decoupage and collage their covers. When I walked into the library yesterday and saw all of the books drying on the tables, I was amazed at the creativity. They are awesome! I can't wait to look at each one in detail and choose some for the online book exhibition. One student said that she wished they could spend more time on the project. Sometimes, it felt rushed trying to get our goals accomplished in 30 to 50 minute segments. Another student thought it was "challenging." Another student asked if we could make another one for Christmas. Hmmmm.

The first and second graders made little books, too, about the First Thanksgiving. They will take these home to share with their parents and other relatives for the Thanksgiving holidays. Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Making

What can you make from an old cereal box and a brown, paper grocery bag? Can you believe that you can make a book? The third through sixth graders did just that today in literature connection. Using and applying math skills such as spatial recognition, measurement, division, and fractions, the students constructed the container or the "book" to hold the results of their research on the pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. Last Thursday, they researched and recorded comparison and contrast notes from this wonderful and informative website on Thanksgiving from Scholastic. On Monday, they reviewed their notes and chose to create a character for either a pilgrim or a Wampanoag Indian. They had to write four clues for their "Who Am I Book." Tomorrow, they will be decorating their book covers with Mrs. T. Finally, on Monday they will pull the entire book together as an artistic and informative creation!

And, from Reader's Theater Club today. . .

And,

Leaf Walk Book

Today, 1st and 2nd grades went on a leaf walk to gather a few leaves and look at their different shapes and colors. It was chilly, but at least the sun was shining! Yesterday, we made a little "Leaf Walk" book that describes different kinds of leaves and has a little pocket at the pack in which to collect some small leaves. Christopher L. found a leaf with a cocoon wrapped up inside of it. Now, we'll have to wait to see if it opens to release a butterfly or moth! Going outside and collecting bits of the natural world is a wonderful activity for naturalistic learners. During autumn, when the leaves are so beautiful and colorful, it is also a good time to reflect on the wonders of God's creation.

"Who Am I" Books

Today, we worked on our "Who Am I" books in 3rd through 6th grades. For instructions on how to make these, please look here on one of my favorite websites for learning how to make different book forms. The students used this activity to practice the techniques of making these books and to review the book characters that they had chosen for the election project.

This week, Mrs. Tarleton and I will be helping the students research about Native Americans and the first colonists in the computer lab. In the coming weeks, we will make another "Who Am I" book with more detail and planning out of recycled materials. This project will record some of the things we have been learning about Native Americans, colonists, Thanksgiving, and this special time of our American history. Please save cereal boxes (flatten them out) and paper grocery bags for this project.

Pre-K through second grade students reviewed the procedures for looking for books and checking out books. Pre-K and Kindergarten students will begin checking out books to take to their classrooms next week. This will give them good practice for taking them home later on.

Second Graders Make Books

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Originally uploaded by nolteowen

On Tuesday, August 12, second grade students made books from recycled library catalog cards (you know-- those cards that we used to have to look through to find books before computers were invented). Ms. Kizer's second graders are studying China and comparing American culture to Chinese culture as part of their August social studies unit. We read a book called "Count Your Way Through China" by Jim Haskins about Chinese culture that introduced different aspects of Chinese culture with each numeral.