World Cultural Diversity Day

Today is World Cultural Diversity Day! First graders have been exploring cultural diversity for several weeks doing a project titled, "We Come From Everywhere" co-taught by Mrs. Gillis, our ELL teacher, and Mrs. MacDonald. Students researched their ancestry, found their countries' flags, and wrote about things they do differently in their culture to share with classmates. The flags show all of the countries represented in Mrs. MacDonald's first grade class.

Animal Research Slideshows Complete!

First graders have finished their animal research paper slide shows. They did a spectacular job gathering their information in pairs, creating illustrated paper slides, and recording their facts. Listen for their bibliographic citation at the end! View all of the slideshows on the student projects page.

Mock Caldecott

Second graders are taking part in a mock Caldecott award. We are reading the 2009 Caldecott medal winners, honor books, and one wild card that hasn't won an award. Medals are covered up so students don't know who the real winner is. Based on criteria that real Caldecott judges use, students must evaluate and vote on their favorite. After our class votes, I will reveal the actual Caldecott winner to see how students' votes compare. Books we are reading: How I Learned Geography, The House in the Night, A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, and Tough Boris.