Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Engage with the Page

If you're new to Structured Word Inquiry (SWI), I can't recommend Fiona Hamilton's work highly enough! I love her Engage with the Page series, which ties a word study activity in with a beloved picture book.

I have a lot of training in SWI but still often find myself inspired by her simple and fun activity ideas.

Here are some of my favorite books and activities she has shared. Each book title below is a link to the lesson video and free downloadable PDF.

Have fun!!!


Introduction to SWI

Watercress by Andrea Wang

Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder (follow up activity - human)

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds (another follow up option - monster)


Starting a Wonder Wall

The Wonder of Winsome by Kath Murdoch

The Wild Guide to Starting School by Laura Bunting (another version)


Introduction to Word Sums

This Plus That: Life's Little Equations by Amy Krouse Rosenthal


Word Bag Game

We All Play by Julie Flett (play)

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales (tell)

Drawn Together by Minh Le (draw)

The Thankful Book by Todd Parr (thank)

All Kinds of Families by Sophy Henn (love)

Family Tree by Josh Pike (grow)

The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi (try)

A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin (eat)

Hummingbird by Nicola Davies (cycle)

Mrs. Wishy-Washy by Joy Cowley (jump)

What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins (do)

Funnybones by Janet & Allan Ahlberg (fright)

Leap Frog by Jane Clarke (leap)

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires (sign)

Koala Lou by Mem Fox (sport)


Making Word Sums

The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds (collect)

Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne (spect, a bound base)

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (word family word find)

Stanley and the Wild Words by Mona Voelkel (norm)

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero (move)

Never, Not Ever! by Beatrice Alemagna (-ing)

The Artivist by Nikkolas Smith (act)

A Sweet New Year for Ren by Michelle Sterling (new)

You Matter by Christian Robinson (box the base)


Compound Words

A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott

Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Plague by Jackie French (compound word + two suffixes)


Prefixes

Stack the Cats by Susie Ghahremani (un-)


Suffixes

Actual Size by Steve Jenkins (-er and -est, comparative and superlative)

Cannonball by Sacha Cotter (final consonant doubling)

Change Sings:  A Children's Anthem by Amanda Gorman (-ing)

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin (another option for -ing)

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen (-ling)

The World's Most Pointless Animals: Or are they? by Philip Bunting (-less)

The Good Egg by Jory John (another option for -less)

Spring Stinks by Ryan Higgins (like, replaceable e)

My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes by Eve Sutton (-s or -es)

Ambitious Girl by Meena Harris (-ous)

Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan
(-er, agent suffix or comparative)

I'm From by Gary R. Gray Jr (-s, Venn diagram, nouns & verbs)


Digraphs & Trigraphs

The Little Refugee by Anh Do (ph)

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers (ck)

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (qu)

Look! by Fiona Woodcock (oo)

Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry (st, consonant cluster)

The Blur by Minh Lê (r-influenced vowel digraphs)

It's a Sign! by Jarrett Humphrey (igh)


Finding Evidence

Timeless by Kelly Canby (introduction to proving/disproving hypothesis)

The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (-er agent suffix)

Aaron Slater, Illustrator by Andrea Beaty (-er, -or follow up activity)

Little Leaders: Visionary Women Around the World by Vashti Harrison
(another follow up option with two more agent suffixes, -ist, -ian)

Our Favorite Day of the Year by A. E. Ali (word web for friend)

How to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay (-dom, -ure, -ion, -ness suffixes)

Kipper's Little Friends by Mick Inkpen (hypothesis/evidence graphic organizer)

Pigs Make Me Sneeze! by Mo Willems (is the suffix -s or -es)

Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes by Hena Khan (do all < tri > words mean 3?)

365:  How to Count a Year by Miranda Paul (count)

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall (plural cancelling e)

Jasper's Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth (grow family)


Phoneme/Grapheme Charts

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox (-ed suffix pronunciation)

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd (-s suffix pronunciation)

Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld (long < e > spellings)

This Is a School by John Schu (/k/ spellings)

Busting! by Aaron Blabey (/oo/ spellings)


Matrices

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen (go)

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel (matrix for friend)

The Eyebrows of Doom by Steve Smallman (kind)

Imagine by Alison Lester (howl)

Here We Are:  Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers (universe)

Luna Loves Dance by Joseph Coelho (dance)

How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham (heal)

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (smart)

The Lost Words:  A Spell Book by Robert Macfarlane (nate, a bound base)

Naturopolis by Deborah Frenkel (a more challenging option for nate)

The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard (stude, a bound base)

Salat in Secret by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (cret, a bound base)

Happy All Over by Emma Quay (hap, a bound base)

How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers (star)

Collaboration Station by Shannon Olsen (labor)


Word Clips

Infographics: Human Body by Peter Grundy


Etymology

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley (strong vs. weak verbs)

Mog the Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr (another option for strong verbs)

Ask Me by Bernard Waber (wh- question words)

Elmer by David McKee (color words in different languages)

The Light Within You by Namita Moolani Mehra (more than one < light > family)


International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran


Monday, October 14, 2024

Tales from Russia

As part of our Art History study of Marc Chagall this month, we will be reading Russian folktales at lunchtime. First step: go through my picture and chapter book collection and look for Russia-related books I already own!

Firebird
retold by Saviour Pirotta

Russian Tales and Legends
retold by Charles Downing

Heroes, Monsters and Other Worlds from Russian Mythology
retold by Elizabeth Warner

The Frog Princess
retold by J. Patrick Lewis

Seven Simeons: A Russian Tale
by Boris Artzybasheff

Ten Small Tales
retold by Celia Barker Lottridge

"The Fox and the Walking Stick"
"The One-Turnip Garden"

Fairy Tales from Near and Far
retold by Felix Salten

"Sevenyears"
"By Command of the Fish"

Favorite Folktales from Around the World
edited by Jane Yolen

"The Wise Little Girl"
"Clever Answers"
"The Merchant's Daughter and the Slanderer"
"Dividing the Goose"
"Sister Alionushka, Brother Ivanushka"
"Vasilisa the Beautiful"
"The Bad Wife"
"Death of a Miser"

The Book of Little Folk:
Faery Stories and Poems from Around the World

edited by Lauren Mills

"Vasilisa the Beautiful"

In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World
retold by Virginia Hamilton

"First Man Becomes the Devil"

The Magic Butterfly and Other Fairy Tales of Central Europe
translated by George Obligado

"The Talisman"

Tell Me Another Story
edited by Louise deForest

"The Snow Maiden"

The Snow Child: A Russian Folktale
retold by Freya Littledale

How a Shirt Grew in the Field
adapted from the Russian by Marguerita Rudoph

Mushroom in the Rain
adapted from the Russian by Mirra Ginsburg

Luba and the Wren
by Patricia Polacco

The Keeping Quilt
by Patricia Polacco

Here Comes the Cat!
by Frank Asch & Vladimir Vagin


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Friday, October 11, 2024

Plato & Co.

Thanks to the Philosopher professor parent in our homeschool co-op who turned me on to this great series: Plato & Co.!


Note: these titles (and even more) are also available in French.

I have a student reading this series right now for SSR, and he's really enjoying it! We do Philosophy as a weekly Special on Tuesdays. In the Waldorf scope & sequence, Philosophy works beautifully in grade 6 and up, or can even be introduced as a bridge over the summer between grade 5 (Ancient Greece) and grade 6.


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Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Booktacular Pumpkin Contest!

We love entering this annual contest at the Carbondale Public Library!

Pumpkins are decorated like favorite book characters, and will be on view for library patron voting from Oct 16 to Oct 23 (winners in each category are announced Oct 25). Then the pumpkins will carefully be transported to the Pumpkin Glow at Oakland Nature Preserve for all to enjoy Oct 24, 25, 26!

Our 12 entries this year will be


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Friday, October 4, 2024

Famous Spies in History

As a Waldorf persion, I always love to add stories into my lessons wherever possible, so I appreciate that Jim Wiese included some real-life spies throughout history in his book of science experiments, Spy Science: 40 Secret-Sleuthing, Code-Cracking, Spy-Catching Activities for Kids.

I'm going to make note here of the real-life connections, so that I can have appropriate history/biography information on hand for different activities.

All My Notes from Teaching
Spy Science in Science Club!


Okay, here goes:
Chapter One

    Project 1: Covers


    Project 2: Legends

      Lafayette Baker
      (Civil War)

      James Rivington & Robert Townsend
      (Rev War)


Chapter Two

    Project 1: Quick Thinking

      Giovanni Giacomo Casanova
      (1750s, spying on England for France)


    Project 3: Trash Treasures

      Mikhail Gorin
      (1930s, spying on Japan for Soviet Union)


    Project 6: Mapping


    Project 7: Mock Compass


    Project 9: Watch the Birdie


    Project 10: Hiding Places


    Project 11: Gotcha!


    Project 12: Hairy Situation


Chapter Three

    Project 1: Seeing Around Corners


    Project 3: Seeing It All


    Project 4: Seeing It Bigger


    Project 5: Listening In

      Lydia Darragh
      (Rev War)


    Project 9: Tricycle Tracker


Chapter Four

    Project 1: Torn Dollars


    Project 2: Passive Contacts


    Project 3: Rubber Bands


    Project 4: Small Secrets

      Civil War


    Project 9: Scytale

      Spartan generals, 400 BCE


    Project 10: Page Grills

      Kryptos, copper sculpture at CIA headquarters


Chapter 5


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

More Resources!


Rev War


Civil War


WWI

    Robert Baden-Powell wrote a book for children called "My Adventures as a Spy." It's important to look for a vintage edition, which includes the original illustrations, or read it free online at Project Gutenberg.


WWII


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Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Art History - Marc Chagall

Our Specials schedule this year is

    Mon - Art History

    Tue - Philosophy

    Wed - Structured Word Inquiry

    Thu - Letter Writing


In my Art History 2024-2025 blog post, I decided October would be Marc Chagall. Here are some resources and my planning notes:

Marc Chagall
1887 - 1985


Marc Chagall (Art for Children)

by Ernest Raboff



Tell Us a Story, Papa Chagall

by Laurence Anholt



Dreamer from the Village: The Story of Marc Chagall

by Michelle Markel



I Am Marc Chagall

by Bimba Landmann



Journey on a Cloud: A Children's Book Inspired by Marc Chagall

by Veronique Massenot


also
Art History Kids - The Studio - August 2019

    "The fiddler on the roof was a recurring theme in Chagall's art. These paintings were the inspiration for the title and the look and feel of the famous Broadway musical, 'The Fiddler on the Roof,'" Lotus writes.


Marc Chagall - part 3
blog post with wonderful images!

Marc Chagall, Paris Through The Window

America Windows (Panel 1)

Stained Glass Window assignment from Art History Kids, p.37
use translucent polypropylene Yupo paper


I recommend joining Lotus Stewart's Art History Kids website (The Studio) and getting access to her past lesson plans. I like her work, and find it's really helpful to have so many ideas that I can use as a jumping off point.



week of Sep 30:

Tue


week of Oct 7:

Mon

    AM - describe the art movements that influenced Chagall:
    Cubism, Symbolism, Fauvism, Surrealism (Art History Kids, p.21)

    look at Art History Kids, pp.5-13

      Green Violinist (1923-24)

      Birthday (1915)

      Paris Through the Window (1913)

      The Hen with the Golden Eggs (1927)

      Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers (1913)

      Over the Town (1918)

      The Blue Circus (1950)

      Midsummer Night's Dream (1939)

      I and the Village (1911)


    read Marc Chagall (Art for Children) by Ernest Raboff

      Green Violinist (1923-24)

      Midsummer Night's Dream (1939)

      Three Candles (1938)

      I and the Village (1911)

      The Poet (1911)

      Three Acrobats (1926)

      Vase of Flowers, By Moonlight (1943)

      Paris Through the Window (1913)

      The Acrobat (1914)

      Peasant Life (1925)

      Birthday (1915)

      Time Is a River Without Banks (1928)

      Violinist (1912-13)


    decorate the cover of a small book and start keeping a dream journal
    (scissors, glue stick, pictures cut out from old books and magazines)


    PM - read Tell Us a Story, Papa Chagall

    look at I and the Village (1911)

    set out a display of our wooden animals

    paint an animal of your choice... but in the wrong color!
    (painting boards, watercolor paper / brushes / paint, rinse water jars)


week of Oct 14:

Mon


Thu


week of Oct 21:

Mon


later in the week:
explain references to Judaism that children may not understand
(Passover: Haggadah, opening the door for the prophet Elijah)


week of Oct 28:

Mon

    AM - read I Am Marc Chagall by Bimba Landmann

    from book review:
    "Bimba Landmann illustrated this book with found-object collages that DO NOT duplicate Chagall's work, but still manage to evoke that Chagall quality."

    create a dream collage

    look back at your dream journal for a source of inspiration

    creative options: use gouache, paint on old sheets


    PM - look at The Blue Circus (1950)

    create and perform circus acts

    do a collaborative circus collage using cut pictures from old magazines and books


Note: There were two picture books I purchased but returned. I do not recommend Marc Chagall: Life is a Dream by Britta Hoepler or Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall's Life and Art by Barb Rosenstock.


In addition to the Art History lesson for my regular school group (age 7-13), I'll have a Monday afternoon Art History class for early childhood (age 5-7). I think the "littles" will love Marc Chagall!


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Monday, September 30, 2024

Encyclopedia of Artists

A local library donated a 6 volume Encyclopedia of Artists to our school, and I love it! It's an excellent reading level for my middle school students. Each artist entry is presented as a two page spread, so it's a perfect backdrop to my Art History display of books about the artist of the month.

The one downside is that every single month, when I switch out the display to a new artist, I have to stop and look through an entire volume to see if our featured artist is included!

(The artist list inside the front cover has only the last name... and I thought there was an entry for Sonia Delaunay but it was her husband Robert.)

list of artists for 2022-2023
Alexander Calder, Barbara Hepworth, Mary Blair, Jackson Pollock, Ruth Asawa, John Chamberlain, Helen Frankenthaler, Dale Chihuly

list of artists for 2023-2024
Piet Mondrian, Louise Bourgeois, Corita Kent, Yves Klein, Faith Ringgold, Zaha Hadid, Andy Goldsworthy, Marianthe Loucataris

list of artists for 2024-2025
Sonia Delaunay, Marc Chagall, Joseph Cornell, Arshile Gorky, Romare Bearden, Tove Jansson, Leonora Carrington, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Banksy


I'm finalizing my lesson plans for October's study of Marc Chagall, and I decided this was the last time I'd spend forever looking through the pages. So, to help myself out in the future, here is the complete list of artists!

Volume 1

    ANDREA DEL SARTO

    ANGELICO Fra

    ANTONELLO DA MESSINA

    ARCHIMBOLDO Giuseppe

    AUDUBON John James

    BACON Francis

    BALLA Giacomo

    BARTOLOMMEO Fra

    BEARDEN Romare (Jan 2025)

    BECCAFUMI Domenico

    BECKMANN Max

    BELLINI Gentile

    BELLINI Giovanni

    BELLOWS George

    BENTON Thomas Hart

    BERNINI Gianlorenzo

    BLAKE William

    BONNARD Pierre

    BOSCH Hieronymus

    BOTTICELLI Sandro

    BOUCHER François

    BOURGEOIS Louise (Oct 2023)

    BRANCUSI Constantin

    BRAQUE Georges

    BRONZINO Agnolo

    BRUEGEL Pieter

    BURNE-JONES Edward

    CALDER Alexander (Sep 2022)

    CAMPIN Robert

    CANALETTO

    CANOVA Antonio

    CARAVAGGIO

    CARPACCIO Vittore

    CARRACCI Annibale

    CASSATT Mary

    CATLIN George

    CÉZANNE Paul

    CHAGALL Marc (Oct 2024)

    CHARDIN Jean-Baptiste-Siméon

    CHIRICO Giorgio de

    CIMABUE


Volume 2

    COLE Thomas

    CONSTABLE John

    COPLEY John Singleton

    COROT Camille

    CORREGGIO Antonio

    COSSA Francesco del

    COURBET Gustave

    CRIVELLI Carlo

    DALÍ Salvador

    DAUMIER Honoré

    DAVID Jacques-Louis

    DAVIS Stuart

    DEGAS Edgar

    DE KOONING Willem

    DELACROIX Eugène

    DELAUNAY Robert

    DEMUTH Charles

    DERAIN André

    DINE Jim

    DONATELLO

    DOVE Arthur

    DUCCIO di Buoninsegna

    DUCHAMP Marcel

    DUFY Raoul

    DÜRER Albrecht

    EAKINS Thomas

    ELSHEIMER Adam

    ENSOR James

    ERNST Max

    FOUQUET Jean

    FRAGONARD Jean-Honoré

    FRANKENTHALER Helen (Mar 2023)

    FREUD Lucian

    FRIEDRICH Caspar David

    GAINSBOROUGH Thomas

    GAUGUIN Paul

    GEERTGEN tot Sint Jans

    GENTILE da Fabriano

    GENTILESCHI Artemisia

    GÉRICAULT Théodore

    GHIBERTI Lorenzo

    GHIRLANDAIO Domenico

    GIACOMETTI Alberto

    GIAMBOLOGNA

    GIORGIONE


Volume 3

    GIOTTO di Bondone

    GIOVANNI di Paolo

    GONCHAROVA Natalia

    GORKY Arshile (Dec 2024)

    GOYA Francisco

    GOZZOLI Benozzo

    GRECO El

    GRIS Juan

    GROSZ George

    GRÜNEWALD Mathis

    HALS Frans

    HASSAM Childe Frederick

    HENRI Robert

    HESSE Eva

    HICKS Edward

    HILLIARD Nicholas

    HOCKNEY David

    HOGARTH William

    HOLBEIN Hans

    HOMER Winslow

    HOPPER Edward

    INGRES Jean Auguste Dominique

    INNESS George

    JOHNS Jasper

    KAHLO Frida

    KANDINSKY Wassily

    KAUFFMANN Angelica

    KIRCHNER Ernst Ludwig

    KLEE Paul

    KLIMT Gustav

    KOKOSCHKA Oskar

    KRASNER Lee

    LA TOUR Georges de

    LAWRENCE Thomas

    LÉGER Fernand

    LEONARDO da Vinci

    LICHTENSTEIN Roy

    LIMBOURG BROTHERS

    LIPPI Fra Filippo

    LORRAINE Claude

    LOTTO Lorenzo

    LOWRY L. S.

    MACKE August

    MAGRITTE René

    MALEVICH Kasimir


Volume 4

    MANET Edouard

    MANTEGNA Andrea

    MARC Franz

    MARIN John

    MARTINI Simone

    MASACCIO

    MATISSE Henri

    MEMLING Hans

    MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI

    MILLET Jean-François

    MIRÓ Joan

    MODERSOHN-BECKER Paula

    MODIGLIANI Amedeo

    MONDRIAN Piet (Sep 2023)

    MONET Claude

    MOORE Henry

    MOREAU Gustave

    MORISOT Berthe

    MORRIS William

    MOTHERWELL Robert

    MUNCH Edvard

    MURILLO Bartolomé

    NEWMAN Barnett

    NOLAN Sidney

    NOLDE Emil

    O'KEEFFE Georgia

    OLDENBURG Claes

    OROZCO José

    PERUGINO Pietro

    PICASSO Pablo

    PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA

    PIPPIN Horace

    PISANO Andrea

    PISSARRO Camille

    POLLOCK Jackson (Dec 2022)

    PONTORMO

    POUSSIN Nicolas

    RAPHAEL

    RAUSCHENBERG Robert

    REDON Odilon

    REGO Paula

    REMBRANDT

    RENOIR Pierre Auguste

    REYNOLDS Joshua

    RIVERA Diego


Volume 5

    ROBBIA Luca della

    ROCKWELL Norman

    RODIN Auguste

    ROSSETTI Dante Gabriel

    ROTHKO Mark

    ROUAULT Georges

    ROUSSEAU Henri

    RUBENS Peter Paul

    RUBLEV Andrei

    RYDER Albert Pinkham

    SARGENT John Singer

    SASSETTA Stefano

    SCHIELE Egon

    SEGAL George

    SEURAT Georges

    SHAHN Ben

    SISLEY Alfred

    SLUTER Claus

    SOUTINE Chaïm

    SPENCER Stanley

    STUBBS George

    TIEPOLO Giambattista

    TINTORETTO

    TITIAN

    TOULOUSE-LAUTREC Henri de

    TURNER J. M. W.

    UCCELLO Paolo

    UTRILLO Maurice

    VAN DER WEYDEN Rogier

    VAN DYCK Anthony

    VAN EYCK Jan

    VAN GOGH Vincent

    VAN HONTHORST Gerrit

    VAN RUISDAEL Jacob

    VELÁZQUEZ Diego

    VERMEER Jan

    VERONESE Paolo

    VUILLARD Edouard

    WARHOL Andy

    WATTEAU Antoine

    WEST Benjamin

    WHISTLER James Abbott McNeill

    WOOD Grant

    WYETH Andrew

    ZURBARÁN Francisco de


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