Photo Gallery

1. Language Arts, and Mathematics - I use tangrams and the story, Grandfather

Tang’s Story, by Ann Tompert and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Afterwards, we read the story and work with Chinese Tans. My students solve mathematical puzzles using their tangrams. They design animal configurations and write original stories based upon the magical transformations described in the book.

2. Language Arts , Social Studies and Science - I use the Engage New York Modules and the book, One Well, The Story of Water on Earth, by Rochelle Strauss and illustrated by Rosemary Woods. The close reading method is explored and I stress the importance of underlining skills. This is an activity mainly focused on questioning and analyzing the text by,  “Reading between the lines”. Topics included are geography, global conservation, economics, politics, and customs. The children present their final work in the form of poster-size, banners shaped as the outline of the country they chose to research.

3. Science and Mathematics - I engage students in a theme unit on Bridge Building. My approach is a hands-on method of kinesthetically understanding physics and mathematics through in-depth collaboration techniques and experimentation. Children research and construct beam, arch, suspension and truss bridges. The culminating project is a presentation of our life-size bridges. Lastly, there is a contest presided upon by their peers. My students score one another using a rubric that has categories which include: research, teamwork, presentation, and design.

4. Art from Spain - This project combines art history and language arts. We study Pablo Picasso, Joan Míro, and Salvador Dali. I display the masterpieces and children paint their interpretations. This is accompanied by a creative writing lesson about imagery and visions of the feeling that each painting elicits from the individual's psyche. It is a multi-sensory experience which exposes children to aspects of geometry that include: symmetry, asymmetry and perspective.