Week of April 21

We have been writing some great poetry this month.  The students all entered one of their poems in the Library of Poetry Contest.  Because it was the week of Earth Day, I asked the students to think about Earth Day as a possible topic to write about.  Some students decided to write about other this, while others wanted to write about something else. Here are the poems that they entered: 

Smoky Air

 

Most cars are deadly

And factories are deathly.

Planes are usefully fast,

But make bad air to breathe.

When you pollute,

Bad things will happen.

And humans will die.

Please keep the earth clean,

And maybe we will grow some beans.

So get out of that airplane.

And grow a brain.
 

 

Growing

If you plant it, it will grow.

If you water it, it will sprout.

So get out the rake, get out the hoe.

Then you will help things grow, grow, grow.

Come on, let’s not quit,

Because we’re going to help the planet.

Look everybody, we’re all done,

It feels like we just begun.   
  

My Story

 

I have a story that’s waiting to be written,

And that story is my life.

Failures and accomplishments all wait ahead,

I can dream of them in my bed.

You can be amazing.

All of us can too.

So go write your story,

Try, try, try, try.

Never give up,

And your achievements will be sky high.
 

 IF YOU LITTER

 

If you litter day by day,

Then you will kill a blue jay.

If you litter week by week

Then you will be a pip-squeak.

If you litter month by month,

Then will do bad stunts.

If you litter year by year,

Then you will kill a reindeer.
 

Trash   

 

Don’t throw trash,

Because maybe a car will crash.

Earth day helps picking up,

Don’t throw trash or a dog will throw up.

Help clean the world,

If you do you can go to Disney World.

At Disney World you can clean,

You might even get green.

Green is everywhere,

You can even meet the mayor.

Throw litter in the trash.

PLEASE!!!!!!!
 

 

Smoke is bad!

You can see that smoke is not okay,

People think it’s a stinky day.

Then the air starts to smell,

It’s like being in a big eggshell.

When the bad air starts to fly,

Now the fresh air will start to dry.

For the bad air to go bye-bye,

Co² is not to rely!

If you have a car, it should stay home,

Walk or bike, so the world is not a big pollution dome.
 

Good News

 

Good news, all you birds and bees!

 

Good news, all you squirrels and trees!

 

I want everybody to shout hooray,

 

‘Cause tomorrow just happens to be… Earth Day!

 

More good news, all you birds and bees!

 

More good news all you squirrels and trees!

 

There’s a reason why everyone’s still happy today…

 

You can clean up this earth any day!

 

Don’t

Don’t drop your scarf,

Or a squirrel will barf.

Don’t throw trash,

Or a car will crash.

Don’t litter,

Or a carrot will taste bitter.

Don’t waste gas,

Or you will kill some grass.

Don’t destroy a habitat,

Or you will kill a cat.

 

The Earth

The grass is brown, because  

My aunt owns a garden spray company.  

The sky is gray, because   

My uncle owns an oil refinery.  

The sea is black, because 

My father owns a sewage company.   

It turns out that everybody’s my family.

So I guess we’re one big dirty

Cloud, sea, and field of grass.

The world is our home, 

So don’t be a dirty

Cloud, sea, and field of grass. 

 

A Couple ways to stop Pollution

Did you know that

The earth is being polluted?

You can help by doing

 Some of these things.

Don’t litter,

Don’t pollute,

Don’t throw trash down the recycle chute.

Please don’t do these things,

For they will bring very bad things

For I have told you

How to stop pollution.

 

Up so High in the Sky

 

I see a diamond in the sky

It was up so high

Don’t think I lie,

I want to fly.

 

I want to fly up so high.

I want to soar through the sky.

Oh, I forgot to say goodbye.

Then I let out a big sigh.

I am so sorry I am shy.
 

 

EARTH

Earth day is here,

I’m ready for cleanup.

But earth is covered with trash!

One day of cleanup done.

Now two days gone.

A while later we finish! [whew]

Oh no, it’s the 21^st of April!

And we just finished!

Let’s go again!
 

 

Litter

Don’t litter because

The air is fresh.

The trees are green.

Oh, why would anyone be so mean to litter?

The grass becomes gray.

The trees will die.

And the water will taste bitter.

When the world stops littering,

The butterflies would go fluttering.

And the bees would go buzzing.

The cows would go mooing.

Please help the Earth.

Yes, it has the worth.

Please don’t litter.

Week of April 14

We have been writing a variety of poems this month for National Poetry Month.  So far, the students have written an acrostic poem, a rhyming poem, a tanka poem, and a haiku. 

A tanka poem has 5 lines, with a pattern of 2 words, 3 words, 2 words, 3 words, 3 words.  The students wrote tanka poems on a paper bag kite that they made.  They were asked to write their poem about what it would be like to be a kite. Here are the students' tanka poems.

Flying
Up high,
In the sky.
Very fast,
Blowing very hard
In the clouds.

Flying High
Flying high,
In the sky.
Fun, scary,
All those feelings.
Flying is amazing.

Kite High
Really high,
Couldn't be stopped.
Really scared,
In the air,
Fast and high.

Kite
Way up,
In the clouds.
I fly
With the birds.
I feel content.

Ducks
Ducks fly,
Soaring up high.
Higher up,
Up they go.
Flying very high.

To Fly
So fast,
Up to high,
Incredibly fun
In the sky.
That's to fly.

Soaring
Soaring high
In the sky.
Flying peacefully
Like graceful swans.
The wind blusters.

Kite Park
Many kites
Flying so high.
The wind
Blows much
Until nobody's there.

No Thanks
No, nuh-uh.
Don't make me.
Please no.
Flying isn't my
Cup of tea.

In the Sky
Kites fly,
In the sky
So high,
Everything is small.
Very very small.

Howling Tornado
Cold sky,
Air is fast.
Howling wind.
Kite, a kite,
A beautiful kite.

In flight
Very high
In the clouds
Soaring up.
In blasting wind
Scary, but fun.

Flying High
In air
High in sky
Sky high
Aloft in sky.
Fly so high. 

We also had a great time building our found object sculptures.  The students were asked to make a sculpture of an actual item using objects.  Students could decide if they want to paint the sculptures with a bronze paint or leave them ask they were.  Here are the sculptures. 

 

 

We also had a wonderful time cooking and eating Greek food.  The students made Greek cookies and spanakopita today.  The kids loved getting their hands all dirty with dough and butter as they created the delicious food. 

Week of April 7

It was easy to get back into the routine after Spring Break with all of the fun things we did this week.  The week started with a guest speaker, Kelle Stratton from Scrap That.  Your child might have brought home a scrapbook packet from her.  She brought many pairs of scrapbooking scissors for us, as well as many great ideas.  She was so generous with her time on Monday, so if you are interested in scrapbooking, please visit her store.  Her card should have been on the scrapbook packet, but let me know if you need her information. 

The students are using the information and materials she brought to create a scrapbook on the famous person they read about in their biography.  They have found some pictures on the Internet, and are using the information from their book to tell the story of the person's life.  The kids are so excited about this project.  In fact, a number of students have said, "This is the BEST book report we have ever done!"  That is what I want to hear!  We will show off our scrapbooks at the end of the year when we have a Publishers' Party on the last day of school.

Here are some pictures from her visit and the kids working.

 

 

We also started learning about Ancient Rome this week.  The kids learned and experienced how the Romans tried to be peaceful, but in truth, they enlarged their empire by taking other's land.  The students also learned about the different classes of people in Ancient Rome.  They quickly found out that being a slave was not fun and that they would much rather be a patrician, although plebians and provincials were okay too.  Our week ended with our toga party!  We paraded around the school and peacefully, of course, took over other classrooms, making our Roman Empire huge!  Here are some good looking Romans!