Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Boston Monument Project in third grade.....

For weeks.... (8 weeks for 3GH and 9 weeks for 3W) third grade has been working on their Boston Monument Projects.  It is an ambitious research project that requires a lot of focus from our third graders.

What does it involve?  Every third grader is assigned a Boston monument or landmark.  Students research his or her monument and take notes.  Students are then assigned a partner who has a different monument.  They write a script in which they teach their partner all about their monument. After rehearsing, I film them in front of the green screen (their monument is plopped behind the student).  It is A LOT of work and this past week, right down to the wire, third graders finished up.  We celebrated in class with our "World Premier Boston Monument Film Festival".  Students snacked on popcorn and watched everyone's videos.





It's the end of the road for Axis 360....

This mostly affects students in grades 3-5.  I wanted to let you know the state has decided to end its pilot with Axis 360 for e-books and e-audiobooks.  Access will stop as of June 30. Wellesley Free Library does have Axis 360, so if your child wants to continue using it at home you can use your public library card.

We are hoping to have another option for e-book reading in the fall-- stay tuned!

Monday, June 4, 2018

Summer Reading Suggestions!

I am so excited about summer reading!  The Wellesley elementary librarians all worked together to come  up with some really great suggestions.  Our online version is here.  Students will also go home with hardcopy packets.

If you lose any of the summer reading paperwork, fear not-- you can reprint everything on the library website.

What's in the packet?  All kinds of great stuff in very bright colors (!!!)!


  • Upham reading log
  • For students entering grades 1-3, a reading Bingo sheet opposite the log
  • For students entering grades 4-5, a reading "Mission" sheet opposite the log
  • New this year- the optional "Book Buzz" sheet- if your student would prefer to write about favorite books instead of keeping a log, he or she can give this a try
  • All students receive a bookmark with summer reading links

Summer reading is meant to be fun and enjoyable- nothing is required.  I hope your student is excited to read this summer (I am!  I am!) and these are just suggestions.

And lastly, don't forget to help your student "get caught" reading.  Take a photo of your student reading somewhere unusual and fun-- I can't wait to see what Upham students come up with!  We'll hang these photos on our September back to school bulletin board.  I'll post my own photo later in the summer (here's mine from last year!).