Cluster Corner (Specials)

May 2023

Music

  • Kindergarten and first grade will be learning about Cinco De Mayo. We will also be doing an instrument study using the music from Carnival Of The Animals.
  • Second grade will be playing the keyboards.
  • Third and fourth grade will be continuing their recorder studies. 
  • Fifth grade will be learning about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as studying the ukuleles.

Media Center

  • Kindergarten: Students will share what makes their family special, including who are the members of their family and their culture.
  • 1st Grade: Students will learn about community economics: wants/needs, good/ services, and spending choices.
  • 2nd Grade: Students will learn about the 3 different types of communities and their features such as transportation, advantages, and disadvantages  
  • 3rd grade: Students will work in small groups to design posters for the Ancient Chinese invention that they have researched
  • 4th Grade: Students will learn how New York was originally called New Amsterdam and how it impacted our modern day city.
  • 5th Grade: Students will continue to present their Soapbox speeches to one another and give each other feedback.
  • In addition, classes in grades 3 – 5 will borrow books from the Media Center Library on a bi-weekly schedule.

Computer Science

  • Grade K: Students will continue their computer science work using Course A on code.org, practicing writing and debugging sequences with partners.
  • Grade 1: Students will continue working with sequences and algorithms in code.org, pair programming with a partner to provide feedback and suggestions as they take turns coding.
  • Grade 2: Students will utilize specific code to create a story about a virtue, such as empathy, in the PlayLab on code.org.
    Grades 3 – 5: Students will be creating different projects to show their understanding of sprites, behaviors, algorithms, and loops- using code.org and Scratch.mit.edu.

Art

  • Kindergarten students will learn how to create puppets using paper bags and construction paper. 
  • First grade students will create fantasy animals by combining various animal parts to create one imaginative animal.
  • Second grade students will learn about different types of optical illusions by creating op art hand designs.
  • Third grade students will learn about the artist Vincent van Gogh, by creating “Starry Night” inspired resists.
  • Fourth grade students will explore the collage process by creating a flower collage using magazine pictures.
  • Fifth grade students will continue learning about the clay making process by completing their miniature dragon eye sculptures.
  • Students in Kindergarten through Grade 2 will also explore sculpture by using Model Magic clay.
  • Students in grades 3-5 will also have a special canvas painting session with Mr. Erber in the cafeteria.

Drama/Theater

  • Grades K to 5: Will use various ice breaker/team building activities ( Kids on Stage, Charades for kids, and The Storymatic), and facial expressions. Also, students will identify character traits, plots, beginning, middle, endings, problems, and solutions in a story.
  • Grades K to 2: Students will identify the time and place of written stories or scenes. Students will create a playbill and a costume for an event they created in their timeline of major life events, past, present and the future. Also, Demonstrating an understanding of the sequence of actions. The students will use their face, body language, voice, and props. Also, students will continue using the Reader’s Theater. These activities each week will help develop confidence, fluency and emerging reading skills.
  • Grades 3 to 4: Will learn different types of plays such as ten-minute, one act, full length and musical plays. Also, students will learn about staging and transformation. This will give students a deeper understanding of creative work when using their imagination and their voice.The students will use the different elements of playwriting including dialogues and stage directions. Also, We will continue to read scripts. All parts in the play are divided amongst the readers. Lines are not memorized, and the focus is on reading the text with expressive voices and gestures, making comprehension meaningful and fun for all students. As well as build confidence and fluency with reading. 
  • Grade 5: Will be rehearsing The Wizard of OZ play.