To prepare for the holidays there were clay projects galore in the art room, especially in the lower grades. First graders made thumb pots with lids and celebrated their completion with a tea party. Second graders made hot chocolate mugs; third graders made ornaments, and fourth graders made Christmas trees. Seventh graders worked very hard on a carving project using blocks of sandstone. They watched their ideas come and go as the nature of the material came into play. The results were very pleasing. They then researched and gave presentations on this sculpture technique.
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In 2nd grade we have been mastering our doubles facts in math. Miss G. taught the students a song called the "Doubles Rap" and then the students made a miniature iPod to store their doubles flash cards and song inside. We got crafty and cut apart an envelope to create our iPods. The students loved making the little iPods and had fun learning the Doubles Rap song.
Check it out! Students in Grades 1-4 learned about the virtue for the month of December--Kindness. After watching a video on kindness and discussing ways to show this virtue, students made kindness flowers for a buddy in a different grade. On the flower's petals, students wrote things that they liked about their buddy. Then, at the end of the day, students exchanged their flowers.
The third and fourth graders have been working on reading fluency, which means being able to read smoothly and with expression. To practice, students were each given a Christmas picture book. They practiced reading their books for three days. Then, on the fourth day, they read their books to the first and second graders. Everyone did a great job!
Last week we did a Synonym Turkey project. Students were each given a word and had to look up synonyms of their word. We then put together our synonym turkey. Each feather of the turkeys have synonyms or "fancier" words that students can use when they are writing.
On Halloween, grades 1-4 took place in a pumpkin math day. During this all-day activity students worked with pumpkins to figure out their weight, circumference, diameter, number of seeds, number of lines, and finally they painted them. It was a great learning experience for our students!
Is it magic? No its magnetism! 2nd graders have been working with magnets for the past couple weeks. We wrapped up our unit by taking everything we have learned about magnets and turned it into a magic show for 1st graders! A lot of things with magnets can look like magic but 2nd graders were able to explain exactly why certain things happen to the 1st graders.
Each year, young students at Traver enjoy a field trip to the Apple Barn. Before the trip, we learn about how seeds make new plants. Plants grow flowers, which turn into fruit. Some fruit is good to eat like...apples! At the Apple Barn we get to pick apples from the trees and choose a pumpkin from the field. It's a great day full of learning, tasting and fun!
Each year, the first through fifth graders participate in forensics. They create presentations of various types to present to the other students and families of Traver. Mr. Collins reported that everyone did a great job and he was proud of their efforts. Students are scored and those with high enough scores qualify to go to the district competition at the end of April. The kids in the pictures will be participating in the district competition. Good luck! _Well, not exactly...sometimes Oreos ARE the moon! In second grade we learned about the four basic moon phases - New Moon, First Quarter Moon, Full Moon, and Last Quarter Moon. Students practiced the moon phases by drawing each phase, playing games with moon phase flashcards, and finally created a model of the moon phases using Oreo cookies. Students had a lot of fun twisting the Oreo cookies apart and scraping off the white filling to create each moon phase. And the best part was that we got to eat the leftover Oreo cookies! |
Traver School
We are a small 4K-8 public school in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. We have great kids, great teachers, and great ideas! We'd love for you to be a part of our family. Thanks for visiting our site! Archives
September 2014
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