St Pete Pier Design Competition

The designs are here.....which do you prefer and why?

"The Fate of a Nation Was Riding That Night"

Our class rehearsing one of their parts of "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Longfellow for the fourth grade finale of "Poetry in the Park" held yesterday.

Short Poems on a Single Theme

In writing we had a mini lesson about composing a series of short poems on a single theme. I shared my poems about things I observed while kayaking. Students went away from my mini lesson to make a list of subjects they might tackle in poetry. Next they chose one topic and put down a series of words or phrases that went with that subject. These were the nucleus of the series of poems. I was impressed with how quickly and eagerly they got on with the project. Later in the session we had poems being read to each other on subjects as diverse as paintball shoots; flutes; pitching; shark fishing; touring St Petersburg, Russia etc. These polished up were word processed and on display at "Poetry in the Park." Below are some of my poems that got us started. I'm slowly posting poems by each student on a separate page of this blog. The link is at the top.

Kingfisher Noticed, But Not By All

Sighted my first kingfisher.

Well, heard it first.

Flew from sailboat mast

Perched on bayside locust branch

Briefly, then

Flew back.

A blue heron nearby

Didn’t look up.

Connections

Two big powerboats

Roar past far off.

Many minutes later

Their wake in triple waves approaches

Just in time

I remember to turn into them.

Splashes over bow

Wet this notebook.

Dock Information (alt titles: Dock Signs or Reading Docks)

Caution: manatee zone

Key West boatworks

Johnson outboard motors, inc.

Pro-Lift 800-521 3118

The kingfisher

Following me

Can’t

Read

Discovery

Sighted small beach

between mangrove sprawl

I glide in

Step ashore

Claim “South Shore Park

City of St Petersburg”

Columbus didn’t get

A welcome sign or bench.

Perception

Lemon slice of a kayak

Sit in,

not on.

Yellow and black color coordinated

Paddles, life jacket

Fishing pole tube too.

Yard sale find

Paddle alone, retail

More than I spent.

Dive, Float, Walk-on Water, Fly

Orange beaked cormorant

Surfaced just off bow.

Didn’t notice him dive.

Saw his walk-on water take—off though.

What Do Pelicans Know?

Sleepy pelican

On “Idle Speed/No Wake Zone” piling

Flies off at my approach

As if I could really grab him

Or want to.

But what does a pelican

Know about how long kayak paddles

Can extend?

After I pass, he circles back, lands

And continues napping.

Zach Introduces Us to Phrogram

Lugging his PC laptop to school, Zach P. later projected and explained various projects he'd written with Phrogram (did I get that right?) for budding programmers.

Class Knows Their Herbs

We all sniffed and identified herbs growing in the school garden.

Fun with Pretzel Sticks

Guess who?

Happy Birthday Lauren

It was donuts all around.

11/11/11 Backgammon Tournament Won by #11

Lucas M. (number 11 on the class roster) won our 11/11/11--Poetry in the Park--Veteran's Day Backgammon Tournament. Kaden Q on the left was second and Jenna W. came in third. This was the first of our holiday themed tournaments. By the way, I don't recall ever winning any of the tournaments in the five years I've been teaching and playing the game with my students.

Potato Patch Starting to Bloom

Ever see a prettier potato flower? Ever see a potato flower period?

Our potato patch looks great. The other crops (wheat, corn and rice) planted later have yet to do much.

Book Fair & Poetry in the Park: Another Packed Week

Book Fair is here. This afternoon we enjoyed browsing, making wish lists and/or buying. You can accompany your child the rest of the week.

Friday is "Poetry in the Park." It runs from 8:30 to about 11? The fourth grade's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" is the finale. We'll have some of our short poems on a single theme on display as well.

We begin unit five in Everyday Math this week. Please read the Family Letter together.

Erin W: Citizen of the Month

Photo shows Erin playing her flute while making a brief presentation earlier this week about her instrument which included parts, mechanics, some scales, high and low notes and how it all fits into the case.

Today Erin W. was named the fourth grade citizen of the month. Here's what I wrote about her:

It is my privilege to designate Erin Wilson the Shorecrest fourth grade Citizen of the Month. Our school community is enriched by Erin’s character and effort.

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, once said, “It’s not always the same thing to be a good person and a good citizen.” But I believe that Erin’s values, hard work, humor, sense of fairness, and dependability combine to create both.

What’s more, Erin is a self-starter. She sees something that needs to be done and she hops to it. Erin befriends someone who needs a buddy, delivers effectively a presentation on an author/artist she finds inspiring, and takes seriously her class job.

Recently Erin was selected to share her thoughts with the visiting accreditation committee evaluating our school. She willingly gave up her time.

Finally, Erin is a creative person, a dedicated and talented musician and artist, and our world needs more such people. With a lively, informed, yet caring intelligence, Erin is a citizen-student of fine

character.

Visualizing How We Got To 7 Billion

Check this out from NPR.