April is National Poetry Month, and all the classes are celebrating poetry in one way or another. Poems can be rhyming or unrhymed, silly or somber; some are easily accessible, and some are more dense. We’ve been setting up for our poetry unit by reading Feathers by Jaqueline Woodson The first week of April, my…
Earth Day
Saturday is Earth Day. In connection with our Trash and Treasure theme, we discussed which of earth’s resources are valued, and how we can protect and conserve them. We read the book, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, and discussed what happened to the community as trees were cut down. We then discussed ways to help…
Angles and Lines
Last week and this, one group in my class is learning about lines, rays, and measuring angles in math. One of the interesting things about this unit is that it begins from ideas that students this age understand intuitively, on a level that was taught to them years ago — lines and corners and points…
The Dream Team
There are many reasons I am thankful that I work at Chicago Friends School. I love my students, and I enjoy being a teacher, but there is something I thank my lucky stars for everyday: our staff team. To write this blog, I am going to try and narrow down what it is that actually…
The Beautiful Oops
On Thursday, Meghan and I read two books to our combined classrooms. The Dot by Peter Reynolds is about a girl named Vashti who insists she “just CAN’T draw.” Her teacher encourages her to “make a mark and see where it takes you.” From there, Vashti realizes that the dots she draws are in fact…
Fair Does Not Necessarily Mean the Same
For the past few weeks, we have been talking about the Quaker value of equality in community meeting. One query that has come up is, “Does equality always mean that people are treated the same? Does everyone have to get the same thing for it to be fair?” At the elementary age, students have a…