Here’s an article that Prentiss wrote.

6th Graders Visit the West Paris Cemetery in Search of Soldiers

A Grave Rubbing

It’s quite interesting watching about 30 ten, eleven, and twelve year
old’s running around in graveyard. It’s not  everyday that we are
so into what we are doing in school. But that day it was exciting. We were
learning about dead people from years and years ago….
In class the 6th graders are studying the Civil War. Since Veterans’ Day was coming up on Wednesday, Mr. Light thought it would be cool if we
went and looked for people from West Paris that were in the Civil War, or
World War 1. We could also find any other interesting people and write
them down on our paper with their location so that we could find them
again.

Lieutenant Ezra Stephens of the War of 1812

So off we went. We were all split up in out own separate groups, looking in different areas of the cemetery. One group was in the back, one group in the front and so on. Another group thought that they had found the grave of Agnes Gray! I thought that it would be cool to take a picture of
some kids around that grave.  (ed. note: Turns out it was another Agnes.)

Some of the graves that my group found were quite interesting. We found
a lot from the Civil War era, but not so many from World War 1. Also my
group found someone that was a lieutenant from the War of 1812! They were very old.

Veterans of the Civil War - Father and Son?

On Friday the 13th, what was left of our class went to the cemetery again. We did rubbings of some of the stones. We used crayons and we taped large pieces of paper on to the stones and colored them. We could then see the writing clearly
and we could bring back look-alikes to the classroom!

This was a very fun field trip and I would like to go back again. And if you want
to find people from West Paris that lived long ago, check this place out!

Honoring a recent veteran

We got a lot of positive feedback about the possibility of going to A Christmas Carol at the Public Theater in Lewiston, but unfortunately it looks like we won’t have enough money to make it happen.  They haven’t sold out of tickets yet, so if you want to try to pull off a fundraiser in the next few days, let me know.

Here’s a link to their website.

http://www.thepublictheatre.org/education/shows/?showid=151

The class is creating a wiki.  This is a collaborative writing exercise.  For our purposes, it is a place for students to share their work.  They are invited to add book reviews, poetry, and other pieces.  We have had just a couple of lessons on using the wiki at this point, but kids have started to publish their work.

The address is listed on the links page.  It is http://agnesgraysix.pbworks.com/.  Visit us!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!  I don’t think that I have ever had every single student and parent/grandparent/guardian show up for conferences before.  Imagine my delight at the end of the day Sunday when I had met with all 30 families!  I knew this was a special class from the get-go, but now you have all shined a light on one of the reason’s it is such a great group of kids!

Every child worked hard with the support of an adult and myself to develop a goal and a series of steps to meet that goal.  Now we have to keep focused on these goals and action steps to be sure that each of us moves toward our goals.

I have also had the opportunity to sit with a mentor and work on my goals.  Having worked with you and heard your reflections on class, I have made some new goals.  I want to share some of them with you, so here are some of mine and the ways I will work toward them.

• Always treat each and every one of you with respect.  When I make a mistake, find a way to fix it.
  • Pay attention to the signals you give me.  Listen carefully to what you say.
  • Ask for your help by respectfully letting me know when you notice I make a mistake that bothered you or someone else.
  • When I become aware of a mistake, apologize and find a way to put it to rights.
• Improve my teaching of literacy skills.
  • As my students know, I am taking a class about effective literacy teaching.  I will work hard to apply what I learn to my classes.  The main focus of this is to use the workshop model when I teach.
  • Have Mrs. Liimatta and Mrs. Ellsworth observe my teaching and conference with me about what they see.  (Just as you share your work and conference with Mrs. Toita, a peer, a parent, and me!)
  • Visit other classrooms so I can apply what I see to my teaching.  (Just as you read mentor texts to apply what you read to your writing!)

Thanks for being such a great community of learners!!

Mr. Light

10/23/09 Update

Students have completed most of their research, but some still have some loose ends to tie up.

We have had mini-lessons and practice thinking about different aspects of the story.  We started by learning about the importance of having a problem to drive the plot.  In the story, “The Three Little Pigs” the problem was how to keep safe from the wolf.  In our sea stories, the problem should relate to what was found out about the animal.  For example, a barnacle may be afraid of its predator, the dog whelk.  Students brainstormed ideas for problems that could be central to their stories and were encouraged to choose one.

We discussed setting and how to choose words and phrases that help the reader visualize the setting.  In this phase we found out that some students find out more about their animal’s habitat.

Over the last couple of days we have discussed characters.  What chtaracters will be important in your story?  What will be their characteristics be?  Students identified some important characteristics to think about including physical characteristics, relationships between characters, and personality.

Next week, students will plan out their plot so they will be ready to start writing their first drafts.

Student-led conferences will happen next week!  This is an important opportunity for me to meet with each of my students and their parent(s).  Your child will describe how they are doing on their academic work and how they behaviors contribute to this.  They will then share samples of their work and perhaps data about what they have done.  Finally, we will work collaboratively to develop a goal for your child and steps we can take to help him/her achieve that goal.

Conferences are officially scheduled to start Thursday at noon, but the sixth grade is special and we will be starting Wednesday afternoon!  It is a challenge to schedule all 30 conferences, but all except 3 are now set up.  Please be aware that we need to stay with the 20 minute time scheduled so I can keep on track.  You are invited to sit spend another ten minutes at your childs desk or looking at some of the displays in the classroom.  The time of your conference will be sent home Monday on a “goldenrod”-color sheet. Please complete the sheet and bring it to the conference.

I am looking forward to meeting with all of you next week.

Students are starting a research project on an ocean animal.  Here’s the project description and guidelines.

My Life on the Sea Shore

Project Description:  You will be assigned an animal that lives on the coast of Maine.  You will do research to answer questions about the animal and then you will imagine you are the animal and write a story about your life that incorporates the information that you gathered.

Things to Find Out.  (Answer as many questions as you can.)
o What is the name of your animal species
o How is it classified?  What other animals is it related to?
o What does it look like?
o How big or small is it?
o Where does it live?
o How does it move?
o What does your animal eat?
o How does it capture and eat its food?
o What eats your animal? (What are its predators?)
o Fun facts

Research Question:
You need to choose a question which you will be able to answer using the information you collect.  Some examples of possible questions are:
o Is it difficult for your animal to survive in its habitat?
o How well adapted are you to survive in your environment?
o Is your animal important to the ecosystem?
o Is your animal a powerful predator?
After you have completed your research, you will come up with an answer (your thesis) which is supported by your data.  Your character might start the story by asking itself the question and go back to that question throughout the story.  For example, Charlie the Chiton might start by saying, “I look around me and there are all these animals that have special talents.  Peter the Prawn can flip his tail and scoot away fast.  Stephanie the Starfish has hundreds of tube feet that help her move and pry open clams.  What do I have?”

Sources of Information:
Use the books I have available in the classroom, encyclopedias, and web sites which I have bookmarked at www.portaportal.com (guest name: westparis).  You should use at least three sources of information including one book and one internet site.  Keep track of the sources of your information on the note-taking guides.  Use “Citation Maker” to help you make your bibliography.  You can find it by going to www.portaportal.com and entering the guest name “westparis”

Final Product:

Your final product will be a picture book describing  “a day in the life” of your animal.  It should be a first-person narrative.  Your story must include all the information you researched and pictures which go along with your story.  We will look at picture books in class which show what to aim for.

The book needs:
o A cover page with title, author, and an illustration.
o 8 pages with at least 3 original illustrations or photographs.
o Back cover with author information.
o Bibliographic information (using the MLA format) on the inside back cover.

Use the rubric to help guide you in preparing your book.

Please come to our open house Monday, September 21.  (Almost the autumnal equinox!  This year it’s the 22nd.)  Highlights of the event include:

• Saying “Hi!” to Mr. Light, Mrs. Toita, other sixth graders and their families.
• A tour of the classroom, including the new creatures, the pillow stick, our class library, a couple of lovely plants, and 30 student desks!  (Hosted by your child.)
• Learn about our schedule and look at your child’s work.
• Donate your bottles and cans to the sixth grade retreat!
• Find out how you can volunteer in the classroom.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Mr. Light

It’s been a wonderful start to the school year.  We have been learning our classroom routines and are already getting ready to finish our first math unit, “What Does the Data Say?”  Students conducted surveys and will be analyzing the results next week.

Ocean Field Trip

Our science unit focuses on adaptations and classification of living things with a focus on the ocean environment.  We will be taking our first field trip Tuesday, 9/15!!  The class will start with a visit and scavenger hunt on the Portland Waterfront where students will find out about transportation and some of the businesses on the coast.  We will spend the afternoon exploring the rocks, sand, and tidepools at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth.  We need several parents to come along to help chaperone, so please join us if you can.

Camp Trip

We will be heading to the Bryant Pond 4-H camp early in October.  We still need to raise some money.  You can help by bringing in your bottles and cans.  Kate’s Dad, Clay, will bring them to a spot where we can get 6 cents a can.  He also helped us out by putting backs on a couple of our bookshelves so our books won’t disappear behind them.  Thank you!

The donation page was just updated.  Please take a look!

Today was the first day of school, and what a wonderful day it was!  Parents, you send some awesome students to school!  Kids, you are really stepping up to the plate to make this class of 30 work!  We also have a teacher’s aid in the class, Mrs. Toita.  She did a super job working with the students today, and also helping keep me organized and on track.

Thanks to Colin’s Mom for bringing in a plant for the classroom!  I’m hoping to get more, but we need to make sure they aren’t poisonous.  For example, philodendrons are beautiful and help clean the air, but are poisonous.   A watering can for these plants would also be welcome.  Thanks also to the families that sent in classroom supplies.  We got a bunch, including staples, stickies, and paper clips.

Each student brought home a collection of papers for you to fill out and return.  A school handbook was also included.  Please go over it with your child and both of you should sign and return the sheet on the front of the handbook.  Parents have homework, too!  Students should also be interviewing you tonight about their “reading history”.  I sent home a sheet with questions to help them do this.

Thank you for sending such wonderful children to school!  I look forward to getting to know all of you.