Vogelsang House Blog

Did you know that at one point in time, the Lower East Side was one of the most densely populated places on Earth?!? Over a century ago most of the immigrants in the Lower East Side came from Europe. Now the Lower East Side is home to immigrants from many places around the world. This past Monday, Vogelsang House had an amazing time on our field trip to the Tenement Museum and the Lower East Side!!! At the Tenement Museum, we took a tour of restored tenements and learned about the Gumpertz family who immigrated from Prussia in the 1880s and the Baldicci Family who immigrated from Italy in the 1920s. Thanks to our numerous Parent chaperones, we were also able to split into small groups and romp around the Lower East Side, looking for “signs” of today’s immigration. Because it is such a wonderfully diverse neighborhood, we were all able to experience flavored treats, vivid colors, and unique smells. Another great day!

Vogelsang House had a blast in Black Rock Forest! We didn’t just learn that leaves are beautiful during Fall foliage, we also learned how to use leaves to identify trees. The edges, inside veins and outer lobes of a leaf can help us decipher one tree from the next. We also showed our bravery as the fourth graders embarked on a solo hike! With a whistle and hand, and their eyes on the hiking “directions” marked on the trees, the fourth graders navigated their way through the forest! ‘Twas a beautiful day!

We have launched our oral history project! Earlier this week, Vogelsang House brainstormed a list of questions to use as a guideline when conducting our  interviews. Yesterday, we had a special guest come in who shared her immigration experience from Ecuador with us. We used the questions we created as a House and had a wonderful interview!! Below is a link to an electronic copy of the questions. You may begin your interviews now. Once your interview is done, please wait patiently for the next step: transcribing. We will learn how to transcribe in class.

Click here for an electronic copy of the questions (paper copy given in class as well).

This week, we began annotating Charlotte’s Web. Annotating allows us to take a deeper look into the text and all of the choices an amazing author like E.B. White made when writing, revising, and editing his classic story. As we annotate, we should be looking for the following items/literary devices: alliteration, lists, sensory details, changes (in season, character, etc.), repetition, the theme of love and friendship, “small but mighty” character traits, interesting vocabulary, and anything else that caught our attention. An example of how to annotate Chapter 1 is below.

Click here for a PDF of the full annotated version of Chapter 1.