Younge House

On October 9th, the entire 4th grade headed to Ellis Island. After getting off the bus from Big Dalton right outside of Battery Park, we headed for the ferry that would take us to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. On the way over, the Statue of Liberty greeted us just as she might have welcomed immigrants 100 years ago. In the museum we saw exhibits that explained who came from where when, what they brought with them, and what inspection processes they went through. There were primary documents such as photographs, passports, ship manifests, tickets, postcards, and foreign money. We walked through the gigantic registry hall where new arrivals might have stood for hours before they were seen by an agents. We imagined what it would have sounded like with so many people speaking different languages. We even saw dormitories where those who were detained overnight would have slept. All in all it was very informational and a whole lot of fun!

More pics coming soon!

We were lucky to have some families with us whose parents and grandparents had come through Ellis Island and what they were able to share was invaluable. Do you know someone who came through Ellis Island? Search for a passenger here!

Here are some other cool links:

• A history of Ellis Island
• A timeline of Ellis Island
• Stories of people doing genealogy research
• A history of immigration in America

Yesterday we finished reading Charlotte’s Web – the first time around. Now in the spirit of true literary scholars we will return to the book, chapter by chapter, annotating this fine piece of writing. What are we looking for? Well, we know that life and death, friendship, and change are big themes, so we are looking for examples of those. We are also noticing where White uses foreshadowing and irony, or where there are detailed descriptions and comparisons. Click on the pictures below to see what we have found so far:

Last week we started our year-long foray into poetry. As a class we have brainstormed what we already know and think about poetry. We noticed that poetry can be rhyming or not, simple or complicated, short or long, use special patterns, evoke different emotions, and make us laugh.  It can be about pretty much anything and there really aren’t any rules (unless you are writing a diamante or haiku).

Together we wrote a class poem about poetry, which is harder than you think! Everyone contributed one line and then we practiced revising. Lots of different ideas and opinions were thrown out. You can tell we got a little silly – but hey sometimes that is what poetry is all about!

Get Serious

Big Dalton is amazing
Laughing and smiling
Friendships fill the halls

PE is beast – oh snap!
People wearing bow ties with purple bananas

Little Dalton is a memory
Hallways crowded with kids
We’re having a blast at Big Dalton

The food is great
You have to peel bananas to go go bananas
Teenagers hunt the halls like cats
Climbing the stairs
with a jungle of kids

Smiley face
Roasted!  Wikiwiki werd

Get Serious!
Laugh Out Loud!! (LOL)

It’s the final frontier
Raise the Roof!

Poof! There it is….

~ By Younge House

This week we will work on our own poems about poetry while continuing to read and share our favorites by lots of different authors. Do you have a favorite poem we should check out??

Hooray, hooray! Our immigration study is well under way! Lately, we have been reading lots of great picture books about people’s experiences coming to America. These stories are about people all over the world and throughout history who have struggled to settle here and make a better life. They are very inspiring!

This morning, Younge House got the chance to interview Dalton Spanish teacher Maria Nebres about her experience immigrating from Brazil to America when she was 19 years old. Yesterday we discussed what series of questions we would like to ask.

Click here for the list of questions we generated and will be using for our own interviews.

Learn more about Maria and her journey by listening to the interview below:

 

 Interview with Maria Nebres: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today Ms. Younge told us all about her grandfather, Dr. Fitzroy Egerton Younge, who immigrated to America from Guyana in the 1920’s.  He passed away when she was young and so she never got the chance to hear his immigration story.  Luckily he wrote it all down as his autobiographical notes and now it is preserved for all time.  Each year in Younge House, his story is passed down.  That is what makes our upcoming Oral History project so special.  We will be recording real people’s stories to preserve and add them to the history of our country.  To get a better sense of the actual process, check out this video Mr. Andre made (it’s about 4 minutes long).  This week’s assignment is choose someone to interview and schedule a time to talk to them.  All interviews should be completed no later than October 13th.

 

 Oral History Movie: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

To kick off the year, Younge House has begun its study of beloved author E.B. White. All of us are currently enjoying his children’s classic, Charlotte’s Web, and will soon delve into his other novels, Stuart Little and Trumpet of the Swan. Meanwhile in class, we are also reading other articles he has written, some on these works, as well as articles written about him, deepening our understanding of White’s life, motivations, and writing process. So what have we found out?

E.B. White was born in Mt. Vernon, NY on July 11, 1899. His father thought he was a lucky baby because he was born on the 11th day of the 7th month. He died on October 1, 1985 of Alzheimer’s disease.

His entire name was Elwyn Brooks White, but people called him “Andy” because the president of Cornell University was named Andrew White, and students with that last name earned the nickname.

He married Katharine White. They met while working at The New Yorker. They had one son named Joel.

E.B. White had a farm in Maine and raised animals, including pigs, on it.

He once found a spider, watched it form an egg sac, took both the spider and the egg sac home, and witnessed the birth of the baby spiders.

E.B. was the 6th child and youngest in his family. (Wilbur was also a “runt”.)

Our E.B. White fact board is certainly growing. Do you have any
facts for us to add?

Younge House will soon be on the move! Where are we going?

• Ellis Island: Friday, October 9th (parents welcome to meet us at the ferry and come along roughly 9a-2p)

• Black Rock Forest: Wednesday, October 21st (to volunteer, contact the science department.  Our teacher is Evie Langteau)

• Lower East Side and Tenement Museum: TUESDAY, October 27th (we will need many parent volunteers to be LES tour guides for this trip from about 11:30a-2p)

If you would like to attend any of these trips, please let Ms. Younge know.

BE PREPARED FOR EACH DAY WITH THE RIGHT CLOTHING, SUPPLIES, AND ATTITUDE!

“Dear students, the summer has ended.
The school year at last has begun.
But this year is totally different.
I promise we’ll only have fun.

“Sit back. Relax.
The school year is gonna be fun, so fun.
We’ll play all day.
The school year is gonna be fun.

“We won’t study any mathematics,
and recess will last all day long.
Instead of the Pledge of Allegiance,
we’ll belt out a rock ’n’ roll song.

“We’ll only play games in the classroom.
You’re welcome to bring in your toys.
It’s okay to run in the hallways.
It’s great if you make lots of noise.

“Your video games are your homework.
You’ll have to watch lots of TV.
For field trips we’ll go to the movies
and get lots of candy for free.

“The lunchroom will only serve chocolate
and Triple-Fudge Sundaes Supreme.”

Yes, that’s what I heard from my teacher

before I woke up from my dream.

Poem by Kenn Nesbitt