So now we are creating artifacts for our Arrival Box (based on the reproductions in The Ellis Island Collection). I love what you have done so far! Today you will be writing about these artifacts. Then Ms. Kirsch and I will take photographs of all of your artifacts, combine them with your writing, and create a little booklet similar to the one in The Ellis Collection. Ours will also be a record of all we have done on The Arrival. After giving the box to Shaun Tan you will still have this booklet as a record of the experience.
Yesterday we began a new Language Arts unit on Cinderella. I have been teaching this unit for a long time and still love it. (I’ve written about it in a book, in articles, and last summer taught a graduate course on fairy tales featuring Cindy!).
We began by telling the story we knew as a class. It turned out that we all have slightly different ideas of what it is, understandable because there are so many different versions floating around out there.
I then read Ugh by Arthur Yorinks with illustrations by Richard Egielski. No one knew it, but everyone seemed to like it. ‘Woe was Ugh.” is my favorite line in the book. What is yours?
Now everyone has to read five tales in common. Three of them are in the Cindypack I gave you: Charles Perrault’s Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper, (here’s an online annotated version) The Grimm Brothers’ Aschenputtel, and Virginia Hamilton’s Catskinella (from Her Stories). The other two are Louie’s Yeh-Shen and Steptoe’s Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. If you finish these early, go ahead and read as many of the others in the classroom as you like. Just be sure to record every one that you read in the data sheets. (There are plenty of extra ones on the bookcase under the white board.)
Today we began our new House Community Service project. We are learning to knit so we can all make squares to put together baby blankets (afghans) for newborns in Afghanistan.
Right now most of us are learning to knit. Once we get comfortable doing so we will begin our squares. When these are completed we will plan the design of our baby afghan, sew the squares together, and donate the finished blanket to afghans for Afghans! (Check out their
website here.)
Ms. Ness is leading this initiative and Ms. Elish, Ms. Edelson, and Ms. Levithan are all helping (being great knitters!).
Directions for your Afghan Square
Cast on 32 stitches on a #9 or #10 needle.
Knit (or do another knitting pattern) until square
measures 8 inches.
Bind off loosely.
Here’s the podcast for yesterday’s Literary Salon:
After I showed you a book about Joseph Cornell, I suggested you try to make boxes inspired by your reading of E. B. White’s books. And so now you are making some wonderful boxes. Here are a few photos of you as you work and some of the unfinished boxes. They are already looking wonderful (and terrific and radiant too, of course)!
Wow. Your final presentations were as thoughtful as all previous ones. Here’s the podcast:
Here’s your podcast of Part IV. Great job!
Here’s the podcast for your presentations about the third part of the book. I’ve been SO impressed with your keen observations and thoughts about the book. Makes me rethink some of my ideas about it.
One of you wrote this little poem in response to Part II (particularly to the way the main character is literally dropped into his new country via a balloon).
Balloon Poem
Dropped here,
dropped where
dropped when
dropped where.
Dropped down,
dropped fast,
dropped scared.
Will he last?
And here is the podcast of today’s presentations:
