Group Teacher: Diane Webber
Assistant Teacher: Jeri Bond Whatley
There are no sacred and unsacred places; there are only sacred and desecrated places. My belief is that the
world and our life in it are conditional gifts.
Wendell Berry
The Group
This group of seventeen young people, six girls and eleven boys, fell together so smoothly this fall it was as if
they had spent the last month of their summer together as well. The veteran sixth graders in the group generously
assisted the new sixths and entire fifth grade contingency in imagining how the routines of the classroom could work,
making changes in routines and in systems based on their experiences and on the suggestions of the majority of the
class, who were new to the group. In the first days of school, time was spent in preparation of our space, developing
ownership as well as building community. We sorted the extensive fiction collection in the room alphabetically and
did some painting of shelves and of the hallway space in the middle of the building. We set up the calendar, and
stocked the sewing, makeandplay area, and the prop and costume collection. The routines of checkin, assignment
books, job schedule, pizza sale teamwork, 5th/6th weekly sing, and birthday celebrations were established.
As always, we spent a great deal of time and energy getting to know one another, and Jeri and I use all of
this introduction time to get to know the children as well. For example, early in the year children made handbound
books, reusing old book covers to hold new journals. The project involved lots of attention to detail, reading
directions, and peer support and collaboration. It’s just the kind of thing that affords a close look at work style,
relationships with peers, and perseverance through challenges.
The important work of building a prosocial community is at the top of our agenda in the beginning and
throughout the year. This winter, at the prompting of the children, we established periodic Good of the Building
(GoB)meetings, an addition to the Good of the School meetings facilitated by sixth graders. At the GoB meetings, the
combined 5th/6th groups hashed out the conflicts and unhelpful patterns of behavior that were on their minds and
getting in their way. I appreciate the fact that the children themselves set the agenda the fact that the adults in the
building found that the agenda reflects our concerns as well is not coincidental. We live in a tight community up here
on the hill, and what is problematic for one group of people is likely difficult for others.
We were delighted to return to a buddy relationship with the nursery group this year, though it was well into
the fall before that decision was reached. We have spent time with them at play, creating stories, reading, exploring
the campus, and in many an assembly. Some members of our group visit the nursery during their choice times as well.
We continue to be responsible for collecting materials for recycling from the office once a week and for picking up
litter and lost toys from around the wood chip field and playbarn as well. This October we once again organized a
schoolwide TrickorTreatforUnicef campaign, through which we raised over $1500. We ran the famous Lemon
Stick booth again at the spring fair, with every child taking a shift. And last but far from least we alternate with
Lynn and Mark’s group in running lunch sales. Our group sells pizza, brownies, snacks, and drinks roughly every other
Friday from September until the very end of the year. While everyone in the group has a weekly classroom job, this
work extends beyond our own borders and involves a lot of practical skills. It is a team effort to accomplish the
baking, tallying, money counting, room setup, delivery, and tending to customer service that “pizza sales” entail. Our
group used the profits from the sales (all but the sale donated to Unicef) to fund our ambitious travel plans this
spring.
Social Studies: Integrating Curriculum
A central principle of Progressive Education, and of my philosophy as a teacher, is that life and learning are
inseparable. Following from that ideal, curriculum in a school context is best designed as an integrated whole, rather
than as chunks broken into distinct pieces as “subjects.” With that in mind, the thread that we sought to weave into
our learning this year, tying elements together and making connections that we returned to in discussion over and
over, was the idea of “place.”
Home
Our work started with the idea of the place we know best home. Even our first read aloud, The Hobbit,
described below under “Storytime,” followed a classic theme of the pull away from home toward adventure, as well
as the yearning to return home.
We jumped in with geography our place in the universe, using the Eames’s famous video “Power of Ten”
to zoom out and consider the earth’s place in the universe. We even touched briefly on the idea of a multiverse. We
then engaged in some map study more generally. We looked closely at an actual stick chart of the Marshall Islands,
and using the power of observation, surprised ourselves with how much we could understand about the map’s
construction and purpose. Some history of mapmaking was in order, and through it we considered how “north”
came to be at the top of most maps, the nature of compasses and Portolan charts, latitude and longitude, and
finally the specifics of our address at Miquon. Galaxy, planet, continent, country, region, state/commonwealth,
region (again), county, township/borough, zip code, street and address. We also did an individual activity that
involved a close look at maps of the United States over many days. We did not spend the time I had anticipated on
more geological features watersheds, etc. as it seemed time to move on to what we knew would be a huge
undertaking the BAE.
Details of the BAE process are described in “Writing.” In addition to research skills, the key piece for the
social studies lens was our model collaborative BAE about the Amish of Lancaster County. This society, so close by,
was an almost absolute mystery to nearly every child in the room. There were a number of books and items from the
Amish in Lancaster County on display and available as resources, including the most recently published family
directory, school readers, and books written and published by people in a position to know and relay accurate
information. We watched a documentary I obtained after a conversation about reliable sources of information during
a summer visit to the area. I had studied this culture in the past with Miquon children, my own children, and for my
own intellectual interest. So I was very concerned to distinguish between the truth and the tourist image that can be
so readily found, and chose materials and experiences accordingly. The children researched and together recorded,
revised, and edited their findings. Our study culminated in a visit to Lancaster County, hosted by the Mennonite
Information Center. Guides from the center climbed aboard our vans with us, and narrated a driving tour of the
region, describing life in detail as we saw schoolhouses, farms, cemeteries, and homes, and as we stopped at local
Amish businesses. If you ever find yourself looking to show this part of our area to visitors, I can’t recommend the
Mennonite Information Center highly enough. Afterward, we enjoyed a delicious, enormous, familystyle lunch at
Good N’ Plenty.
Once everyone in the group finished their personal BAE, each one exploring some aspect of the metropolitan
Philadelphia area, the class agreed upon a curated public presentation. Stations were organized by topic, and parents,
staff, and older Miquon students were invited to visit our interactive booths, reading and hearing about our research
and celebrating our huge accomplishment.
Sacred Places
Over the winter months, we shifted our attention more toward visual literacy as it connects to social studies,
or understanding the world around us. There are physical places and spaces that people or communities of people
consider sacred, meaning set apart, or regarded with reverence. These spaces typically reflect the values and beliefs
of their communities. In the traditional sense, this means religious spaces (churches, mosques, shrines, synagogues,
etc.), However, sacred spaces may be memorial in nature, or civic, sacred ground or landscape. And many of these
categories overlap. We had fun exploring the meaning of these words, finding examples, and then looking at sacred
spaces and trying to categorize them. Afterward, each child chose a sacred place for brief individual research. A list of
possibilities was provided, and many children chose spaces not included on the list as well. In order to push the
children a bit beyond their comfort zones, some of the “usual suspects” the Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon, Notre Dame
de Paris were eliminated as possibilities when we used them to explore the categories. Having researched some
basic information, modeled by a slideshow Jeri created for the group, the children then set out to combine many facts
into brief, informationpacked paragraphs a writing challenge. Those paragraphs and related illustrations were
combined into a single slide by each child, which was then printed and hung in the classroom. The children found the
location of their sites on world, U.S., or local maps on the wall, and marked both in coordination with one another.
Reading Tuck Everlasting simultaneously gave us context for discussion, but our richest conversation came
from the multiple trips we took to traditional, religious sacred sites in the area: Bharatiya Temple in Chalfont,
Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and the Race Street
Meetinghouse in Center City, and Masjidullah, a Sunni Mosque in West Oak Lane. The children’s observations, which
were often profound, are described in some detail on our blog. Just how much they retained became clear when we
visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York and the discussions started anew. They compared the styles of the two
cathedrals, and also were much more informed observers of the people, architecture, and even some rituals they saw
going on around us.
Migration
As winter turned (slowly) toward spring, we turned our focus toward the third aspect of our study of place,
which is the experience of people and communities when they leave one home for another sometimes by choice,
sometimes not and as we discovered over and over again, never lightly.
Having experienced reading Shaun Tan’s masterful graphic novel, The Arrival, with children in the past, I can
not imagine starting this study in any better way. The children grouped into pairs and did a slow, close, read aloud
telling of the story communicated in this wordless book to one another. It is the story of every migration/immigration
and of none in particular. All of the struggles language, culture, fear, isolation, mourning are brought to life. As
are the victories adjustment, friendships, reuniting. After the several days needed to complete these close readings,
we discussed the various push and pull factors that define migration.
In order to build more common vocabulary for the upcoming work, we created pictorial definition posters,
which were displayed along the windows for the length of our study. Children, individually and in pairs, created
images to demonstrate key terms such as: chain migration, emigration, forced migration, and seasonal migration.
Throughout our study we returned to these terms, trying to tease apart the sometimes subtle differences and
realizing that most real life examples fall into multiple categories.
Then, to demonstrate the constant role of migration in the human experience and dispute the notion that
it is really just a “current event” or modern problem, an idea that young people might take from the news we began
with prehistoric migration patterns. A couple of wonderful video resources allowed us to “cut to the chase” about this
very complex topic. We had conversation about the role of DNA in helping us to know more in recent years, about the
coexistence of Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, about our common East African ancestry. This clearly stirred lots of
interest in the group and opened windows into many possible avenues for exploration.
The book we had begun reading in storytime as our study got underway was A Long Walk to Water. The
novel, based on a true story, is actually two stories, told in alternating sections, about two elevenyearolds in Sudan,
a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. Migration due to war and due to the need for water, as well as the often tragic
nature of the story really pulled the group into this book. Observing that, upon finishing the book we watched God
Grew Tired of Us, a documentary film about a group of “Lost Boys” and their adjustment to their lives as immigrants
outside of Sudan.
We took a hard look at the idea of forced migration in the United States through the lens of the Native
American experience, specifically the “Trail of Tears.” Episode three of PBS’s The American Experience series, We
Shall Remain, explains the Cherokee experience of this time and these events quite powerfully. There was one
particular section that children asked to stop and talk about several times in quick succession. They were incredulous.
“Wait, didn’t they win the decision in The Supreme Court?” “Wait, isn’t that the final decision, so what’s happening to
them is completely illegal?” And finally, “Wait, what is that man’s face (Andrew Jackson) doing on our money?” It
provided an opportunity to distinguish between law and law enforcement, and to talk about ongoing controversy.
When the decision was made to remove Andrew Jackson’s face from the front of the ten dollar bill recently, replacing
it with Harriet Tubman, the news felt entirely relevant to this group.
We tied an inschool literature study to our work, and met every week in small groups for shared reading of
short novels which were related to the theme, but from different perspectives. We took the time we needed to read
these novels, allowing for the natural ebbing and flowing of conversation whenever possible. Three of the four novels
were written in poetry as verse novels. One group read Inside Out and Back Again, a Newbery Honor Book and a
winner of the National Book Award, which is inspired by the author's childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after
the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama. Another group read The Weight of Water, a comingofage story that
handles social alienation and first love as well as immigration, in this case from Poland to England. A third group read
Drita, the story of a ten year old girl and her family fleeing wartorn Kosovo as refugees and trying to fit into American
life in Brooklyn. The fourth group hewed closer to the story of Sudan and read Home of the Brave, the story of a
young Sudanese boy who joins his extended family in Minnesota but is racked by “survivor’s guilt” while making
countless adjustments to his new life.
Embracing our study of immigration as learning about many stories, the children were also asked to do
independent reading on the theme. There was a selection of nonfiction, historical fiction, picture books, and
magazines from a variety of time periods and cultural perspectives. Some read many; others focused on one or two.
The goal was for each child to have read and reported back on at least one of the resources; their reviews hung across
the classroom for others to peruse. Jen Curyto also came to visit us, sharing the story of her great uncle, Simon
Konover, who fled Europe during the second World War under harrowing circumstances, then built his life in the
United States around supporting others through his business and through reaching out to others in need, personally
and through philanthropic work.
Our attention in class turned to the response (welcome or not so much) given to immigrants. We watched
another documentary film, Welcome to Shelbyville, about a small town in Tennessee and its struggles, failures, and
successes in welcoming and adapting to life through various waves of immigrants from various parts of the world.
This segued well into a look at some iconic images of American immigration the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island,
sites we planned to visit. We read Doreen Rappaport’s Lady Liberty: A Biography, after seeing a brief slideshow on the
subject put together by two of the children. We then focused closely on Emma Lazarus’s famous poem, “The New
Colossus” and how it (and she) altered the meaning of this famous landmark forever. Turning our attention to Ellis
Island, the group did some quick research. First, I read aloud Ellis Island: A History in Many Voices. Like Doreen
Rappaport’s book, this tells the story through a variety of perspectives. The group was then given time to read
through a variety of other resources, taking notes on what was “new information” for them personally. Compiling
their notes, we came away with a wonderfully rich introduction to the place and to its history and meaning.
As will be described in more detail in a subsequent section, we finished our study with a writing project and
a trip to key sites in New York City. Migration has been an important part of the human experience for longer than
human memory can say and this shows no signs of changing. As much as our study was able to include, we were
Life Skills and Personal Projects
Increasing independence and developing tangible problemsolving skills is a core goal in fifth and sixth grade.
Twice a year, this time in the fall and again in the spring, we ask students to take three or four weeks to explore a
topic, develop a skill, or pursue an interest of their choosing outside of school, and then to present and celebrate
their learning with the group as a whole. In the fall, we call this “Life Skills 101.” We ask that the project be practical in
nature, and that it be of help or fill a need for someone aside from the child themselves. Each child keeps a journal
that includes the project plan and a written reflection on the project as it develops, as well as a calendar of time spent
on the project. Afterward, projects are shared with classmates. This year’s projects included: car and bike repair,
cooking, grocery shopping, fundraising, cleaning, organizing, painting, and babysitting.
In the spring, we lengthened the project to four weeks (vs. three) and the “practical and helpful” boundary
was removed, broadening the possibilities even further. This time, while there was some cooking going on, we also
saw: mountain biking, music composition, cartooning, sports records, history, movie and video production,
physiology, gardening, cardistry, and photography.
Personal Development
Once a week, most weeks this spring, we took time often in half groups while the other half was with
buddies to do some thinking, work, and talking about issues of personal development. We did not go far into
physical and sexual development this year (that will be a focus in fifth and sixth grade next year), but attended
explicitly to issues and concerns about decisionmaking, personal relationships, and choices. Of course, this is our
work on a daily basis and something we attend to on asneeded all the time, even setting aside scheduled pieces of
our day when necessary. Doing more predictably scheduled, general work is what this weekly time is used for.
We began with a consideration of the “multiple intelligences” work of developmental psychologist Howard
Gardner. Each child completed two different surveys, each a way of thinking about various aspects of intelligence.
These were for their personal use, not for purposes of comparison or even specific discussion. We talked about the
fact that each of us is more and less developed in a variety of areas and that each of us is also capable of growth in
every area. We have the power to affect our own development by the ways in which we spend our time and the
activities in which we decide to engage.
The group then spent time considering the fact that while we do not choose our feelings, we can choose our
reactions and responses to the idea of choices more generally. The children noted a number of areas around which
we make choices (smoking, drinking alcohol, drug use, exercise, sleep, how we treat people) that was central to our
work. They also noted more physical attributes, such as height. In that context, we got into great conversation about
body types (and related myths). Especially interesting to the group, for example, was the understanding that
ectomorph does not mean "in shape" and that endomorph does not mean "out of shape."
The nature of addiction was of huge interest to this group, as was extending the term to include video and
electronic entertainment as well as smoking, drugs, and alcohol. Activities and discussion raised our awareness and
understanding of the nature of smoking (and its newest variations) as well as alcohol. A number of students pointed
out the ads for ecigarettes, for example, that were plastered and driving by us all over New York City. Specific,
detailed description of drugs and their particulars seems beyond the grasp and interest of these particular children at
this particular time.
On a more social level, we talked at some length about what they describe as “snitching” and compared it to
seeking help, a behavior which we have strongly encouraged here from the beginning. As these children approach
adolescence, the peer pressure against what they perceive to be tattletaling grows ever stronger. Happily, so does
their ability to grapple with the more subtle distinctions and questions of taking care of people even when doing so
risks their anger or the loss of their friendship. In the same conversation, we noted how the solution to rumors and
gossip, or the way to combat it, is also seeking help.
Mathematical Thinking
The basis for our mathematical curriculum comes from two places. One is the NCTM publication, Focal
Points. It is this document, rather than any particular published program, that informs our goals for each level. The
goals put forward lend cohesion across the years and emphasize the importance of not “covering” a lot in very little
depth, but of carefully building deeper understanding. The second source is the closely observed developmental
readiness of the children themselves. We work very hard to teach them where they are when they come to us in fifth
and sixth grade. Ideally, each young person is working with us in math close to (and not too far over or under) the
edge of what he or she understands. Assumptions are being challenged, and new skills or new approaches to
developed skills are being learned. That is a challenge to maintain, but we do so by being flexible in our use of
materials, by using varied grouping structures, and by offering a high degree of individual attention.
Most of our explicit math work is done through small groups which meet every afternoon. The groups are
mixed across the building, including all four teachers as group leaders and allowing for groups of learning peers and
for smaller groups where helpful. “Learning peer” is defined as a person whose understanding and skill level is similar.
It is also defined as someone whose style and pace is similar. Most often, it’s a bit of both. In these groups, Jeri, Lynn,
Mark, and I worked with students using “Primary Mathematics,” other Singapore Math based materials, “Key To…”
books by Key Curriculum Press, “Handson Equations,” the “Investigations in Number, Data, and Space” curriculum,
and a variety of games and activities online, teacher created, and in response to the specific questions or struggles
of children. After spring break, groups were reconfigured, often giving students access to other peers and teachers.
The year also includes intervals during which each classroom works separately on math related projects. Our
group used that time this year for work on geometry, specifically. In September we focused on tessellations, and
worked with slide (translation), flip (reflection) and rotational symmetry. In January, we explored the idea of
similarity and of scale, enlarging and reducing designs and observing ratio as we did so. We also studied triangles,
arriving at the formula for the area of a triangle through their relationship to rectangles.
What follows are the key points of the goals described for 5th and 6th grade programs by Focal Points. In
reading individual reports, you will find that aspects of the 6th grade list are studied by 5th graders, and that some
things on the fifth grade list were not fully explored by all fifth graders. For example, it was clear to all of the teachers
that most of the fifth graders needed more time and attention given to fractional concepts this year, before moving
to computation using fractions. Again, we teach the children where they are. Having better secured that foundation,
we anticipate that in sixth grade they will be able to accomplish everything we would hope for them through next
year. Likewise, children who are in a position to move beyond the topics addressed below do so as well, often
exploring connections between ideas and the history of mathematical concepts as well as material more commonly
taught in later grades.
Number and Operations, Algebra
> Develop understanding and fluency with division, using understanding of place value and the relationship of
multiplication to division
> Use the context of the problem to determine the most appropriate form for the quotient (including the
remainder)
> Develop understanding and fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions and decimals, including problems
involving measurement
Geometry, Measurement, and Algebra
>Develop understanding of 2dimensional shapes, including formulae for perimeter and area
>Develop understanding of 3dimensional shapes, including concepts of volume and surface area
Number and Operations, Algebra
> Develop fluency with multiplication and division of decimals, multiplication and division of mixed numbers and
fractions, and addition and subtraction of mixed numbers and fractions with unlike denominators
> Understand the proportional nature of ratio and rate
> Write, understand, and use mathematical expressions and equations
Geometry and Measurement
Language and Literature Storytime
Sharing literature aloud together is a high priority in our classroom and a central component of curriculum.
At least three mornings a week we have storytime (readaloud) from 8:30 9:00, sometimes sneaking it into other
cracks in the day that become available. The books we choose often, but not necessarily, tie into our thematic studies,
at least to the big questions or ideas involved, if not to a particular period of time or place. Storytime is when
unfamiliar words and expressions are met most meaningfully, when we focus on the intent and technique of an
author, when we are quite naturally taken deeply into conversations about important questions in life. They are,
quite possibly, my favorite time of the teaching day.
This year we began with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Having read this story to myself on several occasions,
seen the movies, engaged in countless conversations about it, I thought I appreciated the wonders of this book. Yet
we met it anew even those children who also felt familiar and stopped time after time to marvel at it. The story is
beautifully articulated by an author who had developed a backstory so fully in his imagination that it makes the
characters and their adventures nearly tangible. All the while, Tolkien never forgets his role as “storyteller” and we
were charmed to recognize the many points at which he turns his attention directly to us, the readers. Those children
who knew the story nearly all from the movie version were delighted to find that the book was “even better,” and
they debated why particular scenes and sections were not included or were collapsed on film. No one creates a sense
of place better than Tolkien, and while the group never became as fascinated by the place maps from The Hobbit as I
thought they might, they did see them as we went along. After finishing the book, we tried a read through of a script
written for middle and high school performance. While many of us enjoyed reliving some of our favorite scenes, in
the end the group was not behind the idea and was ready to move on. So we did.
That was a lengthy story, of course, so it was quite a while before we got to our second, Tuck Everlasting by
Natalie Babbitt. While this story is much shorter, it portrays a place and develops character and theme in rich,
concise, metaphorically abundant prose. We had to listen closely and observe the unstated and the inferred in order
to develop an understanding of setting and time frame. The characters are so well drawn and their dilemma so
compelling that predictions never had to be solicited they were offered left and right. We were excited to see a
flyer advertising a brand new musical of the book opening on Broadway this spring!
Having read a classic fantasy novel, then another piece of fiction, I was hoping to move to another genre for
our third book. In a bookstore over the winter break, I stumbled across A Long Walk to Water, the true story of one of
the Lost Boys of Sudan told by the wonderful children’s book writer, Linda Sue Park. The story expands from the true
account of Salva Dut to include a fictionalized but realistic tale of a young girl in South Sudan a couple of decades
later. Their paths eventually cross, as the group predicted they might early on. The children were riveted by this story
and it opened their eyes to the extreme plight of so many refugees, historically and currently. They were so intrigued
that we followed the book with a viewing of the film, God Grew Tired of Us (2006), which follows several Sudanese
young men in their journeys from refugee camp to various points in the United States, painting a vivid picture of their
adjustment and struggle.
Bookgroups
Book groups are a muchanticipated piece of our literature program. Several times a year, we present a
number of books to the group by “book talking” them, introducing the plot, setting, genre, and theme, and inviting
the children to choose between them, typically ranking their first three or four choices. Sometimes the books offered
are suggested to us by children, sometimes chosen by teachers, and sometimes selected for connections to our
theme. We try to give children their first choices, while being sure that each group has at least three members, but
not too many. The groups then meet weekly, first to be introduced to the book more fully, then for conversation,
further exploration of ideas or questions, and to negotiate the next week’s reading assignment.
This year featured three different book group sessions, two that involved our group only and one that
included fifth and sixth graders and teachers from across the building. We were lucky to be joined by both Amy and
Jen as facilitators for two of the three sessions as well. The first session, which began early in the school year, focused
on classics in children’s literature that do an especially fine job of developing a sense of place. Children read Little
House on the Prairie, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Wendy, and Wonderful Wizard of Oz. These stories also included
the advantage of being somewhat familiar to children at least in some form, be it movie or television. Many
children were surprised (usually happily) to meet the original literature. While I do not myself subscribe to the theory
that if it’s a classic, it must be good, I love these books and felt confident that the children would enjoy them as well.
After groups finish reading, they prepare presentations for the whole group so that everybody gets at least a flavor
for all that was read, perhaps even inspiring them to read the books independently.
Our second session was joined by Lynn and Mark’s group, so there were more choices and facilitators
available. We read: The Gods and Their Machines (Oisin McCann), Hatchet (Gary Paulsen), A Monster Calls (Patrick
Ness, from an idea by Siobhan Dowd), Tangerine (Edward Bloor), Mockingbird (Kathryn Erskine), The Wee Free Men
(Terry Pratchett), and The Ghost Map (Steven Johnson). These books were very different from one another, as they
included fantasy, adventure, realistic fiction, and nonfiction. The insights, knowledge, and pure enjoyment of
literature expressed through the groups’ presentations was a joy to behold.
After taking a break from book groups to do some independent theme reading (described in the “Migration”
section), we returned for one last session. This included our group alone, and Jeri and I were facilitators. By Popular
demand, Jeri led two sections for Neal Shusterman’s The Schwa Was Here. Having wanted to for years, I led a group in
reading So B. It, a wonderful yet lessknown book by Sarah Weeks. I also enjoyed getting to know Sharon M. Draper’s
Out of My Mind, the story of a young girl’s battle to communicate and be valued despite her physical disabilities. All
three novels tackle the theme of identity and acceptance.
Word Study
Word study, or “word work” as we generally called it, was a part of our learning together most of the year.
Early on, we used jokes and riddles a vehicle for a study of homonyms, homophones, and homographs. Jokes and
riddles that the children wrote (or found) were posted around the room for months, and they delighted to “get” jokes
they might have missed initially. This evolved into more formal word study groups, which were led by me and by Jen
Curyto. One group worked primarily with Greek and Latin roots, and much of our time together was spent in word
conversation the kind of talk that often takes one down the roads of history, culture, science, etc. Another group
tackled roots as well, but at a different pace and attending more to word and spelling patterns, and playing more
vocabulary games. A third group was very interested to study word and spelling patterns, identifying roots and
appreciating explicit explanations about how prefixes and suffixes affect the spelling of words. When we turned our
Writing
Writing is a strand of the language and literature curriculum that crosses disciplines readily and includes
practical as well as creative tasks. Children explain their mathematical thinking they write balanced responses about
events and work in the classroom blog entries were written for publication.
We also found opportunities for students to work in peer partnerships around writing. Looking at one’s own
writing with a critical eye is difficult it remains challenging even after years of experience. With the help of
checklists, the children worked with each other to offer suggestions for extending writing, revising internal order in a
piece, and editing for technical details like spelling and punctuation. Sometimes the partnerships were so successful
that the pair worked on each person’s piece for more than an hour. Together, they completely transformed the work
into a stronger and more interesting piece. In other cases, simpler suggestions were offered, but more careful revision
and editing required a teacher’s direct input. Anything that was going to be “published” received a teacher/child edit
as well. Even these pieces were not necessarily 100% error free or reflective of the most sophisticated sentence
structure. Writing is not an exact science, and there are stylistic differences as well as age appropriate features that
need to be allowed. Sometimes a piece has been heavily edited with the help of a teacher, and the student catches
most, but not all, of the errors when making corrections. Two or three returns to a piece seems like the humane
limit then we call it done for everyone’s sake especially the young person’s. Seeing growth over the course of the
school year is so exciting, and that growth can be in any combination of handwriting, risktaking, sentence structure,
spelling, word choice, independent punctuation, sophistication, and ability to think and speak in abstract terms.
Learning to write clearly means learning to think clearly.
The biggest piece of writing in the first half of the year was a research project (BAE “Become and Expert”)
through which the children expressed what they had learned about the topic of their choosing. All of the topics had a
connection of some sort to Southeastern Pennsylvania, but the subject matter varied widely from Fish in
Southeastern Pennsylvania to Reading Terminal Market to Grace Kelly. The process and structure of the project were
first learned through a collaborative model BAE project we did about the Amish of Lancaster County. The group
learned to generate topics and subtopics and to take and organize notes accordingly, coding by topic as well as by
resource used. We spent a great deal of time on notetaking in the context of listening, incorporating written notes,
taking notes from nonfiction text, films, and on field trips. All of these pieces were included in the resources we used
for our BAE on the Amish. Small groups then took responsibility for one of the main topics (and the subtopics
contained within), and compiling notes on that topic, then organizing and fleshing them out, wrote one component of
the final report. In half groups, the class revised and edited those pieces, working on those written by peers as well as
by the students themselves. This model became the framework for individual BAEs, and the final products were
celebrated through exhibits created by the students, collated by them into a walkthrough experience for families,
staff and older classes.
Midyear, looking to build a closer connection to our nursery buddies and to do more creative fiction writing,
we launched a buddy writing project. Thinking about sacred spaces, and about home as the first place most of us
experience as sacred, we decided to ask our buddies about their homes or other “sacred” places and what makes
those places special. The plan was to spin their responses into fiction stories that connected to our buddies and
through which they could recognize something of themselves. The execution of these stories took a while, partly due
to the many other projects underway and partly due to the complexities of scheduling buddy time, particularly during
the time that Marisa Campbell was preparing for her maternity leave from nursery. When the children had a first
draft, we returned to the buddies to share those and receive feedback. Their responses ranged from saying very little
to asking for entire new chapters or sections or significant plot twists. After those responses were taken into account,
and self, peer, and teacher editing was complete, we returned with the finished products for joint illustration with our
buddies. Finally, the stories were presented, read aloud by the fifth/sixth authors to a halfgroup of nursery kids, and
turned over as gifts to eager recipients. Our children have a personal copy as well.
A bigger, more developed piece of fiction writing historical fiction was the “Migration Story” each child
created this spring. Having learned much of the key vocabulary, followed stories of prehistoric migration, the “Lost
Boys” of Sudan, the Trail of Tears, and some more modern stories of immigration, and read a wide variety of stories
of other experiences in independent theme reading, each child was now asked to imagine such a story. They needed
to imagine a protagonist. The next step was to decide on the type of migration experience (i.e. internal, return,
forced). Where did they begin and to where did they go? Were there intermediate stops? When did the migration
occur? And what was happening in the world at that time that might have affected your story? Will all of these
questions answered, each child designed a story arc, creating tensions and conflicts, a climax and steps toward a
resolution. All of this scaffolding meant that when the children began the writing itself and they were asked to find
an “alternative” storytelling voice (many chse a journal or diary) the plan they had created was handy for reference,
or even for changes along the way as their research, and our continuing study, took them in new directions. The
writing and revision of these pieces took, and deserved, a lot of inclass time. Consequently, we jumped over the peer
editing process and went straight into teacher editing for publication.
Of course, for the sixth graders, speech writing in preparation for graduation also looms large. This process,
also, is heavily scaffolded, as each child chooses a quotation and then develops what amounts to a three paragraph
essay. The speeches are planned to speak directly to particular segments of the audience and from a specific time
focus. I never fail to be impressed by the selfknowledge on full display. These pieces are generally minimally edited
with a teacher; the children speak powerfully from their hearts, and with just a little structure, the rest takes care of
itself.
Speaking
Speeches also present a major speaking opportunity for sixth graders. We see it as a culmination of years of
work in this important, yet sometimes less considered, strand of language and literature education. Early in the year,
we play games likes “Extemporaneous Speaking” during which children addressed the group for one minute on a
nearly nonsensical topic, focusing on eliminating “fillers” and maintaining eye contact all while trying to think of
something reasonable to say after less than a minute of preparation. We extended this with minor speaking
opportunities, such as weekly whole group checkins, and impromptu presentations of one’s thinking or
problemsolving ideas. Book groups prepare and present to the class. Research projects are presented. Children are
encouraged to answer the class phone and to make phone calls to businesses and organizations as needed. Feedback
(positive and suggestions) is offered by adults and by peers so that the larger experiences presenting the Life Skills
Conference Weeks
Jeri and Mark work together to create meaningful and memorable conference week experiences for all of
fifth and sixth graders, joined by a specialist and/or beloved substitute teachers. Below is Jeri’s description of this
year’s programs:
Conference Week in the 5/6 last fall was an exciting journey delving into mindfulness. We use the term often
but what does it really mean and how can we make more a part of our everyday lives now and in the future?
Each day began with mindfulness exercises, led by Shayna Flynn, creating safe space for students to collaborate and
develop a community of peace. Our learners had the opportunity to hone their leadership skills, engage in critical
thinking, and practice communicating in a respectful, honest, and democratic way to enlighten the classroom
environment. Interactive team/community building activities designed to nurture our children’s positive selfimage
and support all children's racial development.
Leigh Ashbrook led us in unpacking the roots of family. Our families today are as diverse as we are and the
basis of all other relationships in our lives. We created a time capsule containing stories about our families today to
be shared proudly with our families in the future. Students interviewed each other and family members to create
minimemoirs.
We attempted a Collective Imagining: when diverse groups of artists, organizers, and community members
convene to imagine what their neighborhoods (and the world) might look like in the year 2035, when art’s
transformative power has been fully integrated into all aspects of public life. We learned and adapted this from the
U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, not a federally recognized agency, but an act of collective imagination fueled by
all who believe that art and culture are among our most powerful and undertapped resources for creating a more
just, equitable, and vibrant world.
We dove into Digital Citizenship in hopes of empowering our students to think critically, behave safely, and
participate responsibly in our digital world. Navigating cyberbullying, privacy, safety, and other digital dilemmas are a
real challenge for schools and parents. But technology also provides incredible opportunities for students to learn,
connect, create, and collaborate in ways never before imagined.
Finally, we investigated Central American history and culture focusing on Garifuna culture in the country of
Belize from a native’s point of view. Who were the native peoples in Belize and where did they come from? To answer
that we explored Belizean literature and art. We read folktales and poetry, listened to music, and poured over
artifacts. We enjoyed a culminating celebration which included an authentic Belizean meal, prepared by the students,
at the end of the week.
For our spring conference week, we again combined the two 5th/6th classes to work together on a theme. Jeri and
Mark were joined by music teacher Diego and Leigh Ashbrook, who is a former Miquon teacher and one of our most
frequent subs.
Our theme for this week was multilayered, combining exploration of character traits, being an Upstander
(standing up for what you think is right), taking action for a cause you believe in (being an activist), and performing
acts of service (volunteering to make a difference). Quite a long list, but really interconnected ideas. We learned
about virtues such as integrity, courage, kindness, and empathy. We read books and watched short videos, acted out
upstander, bystander and whistleblower scenarios, examined activist poems and stories, identified ways to build
community, and looked again at how to be a good digital citizen. Among the many topics we explored were:
Kids as Heroes other kids around the world who have been activists for a cause and stood up for their
rights, like Iqbal Masih and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan.
School children living in poverty in the United States
Flint Water Crisis how it happened, and the many people, including youth organizations, who are taking
action to try to correct it
How our voluminous use of plastics is affecting the environment, especially our oceans
Giving back to the community
Working collaboratively in teams to build paper houses In a Habitat for Humanity activity
We also took a trip to S.H.A.R.E., a local food program dedicated to expanding community access to
wholesome, affordable food and reducing regional hunger. Their program