Ferry Writing

We passed a ferry going in the other direction
as we approached the Statue of Liberty

Last week we put our researching hats on again and went to Battery Park and on the Staten Island Ferry to explore the southern tip of Manhattan.  Our map of NYC is certainly changing and growing back in the classroom!

 We also saw some incredible New York City landmarks.  We are learning about the importance of landmarks in social studies and in writing.  On this trip we saw some great parks, many important bridges, and the Statue of Liberty!  (As always, a huge thanks to all of the parents who made this trip possible!)  We took lots of notes that helped us continue our map work in the classroom.

In writing we are exploring landmarks - and we have all selected one to research and write our own All-About Informational Books about.  From the Statue of Liberty to Barclay's Center to the Empire State Building to the Met, we have lots of landmarks to learn about!  We followed the writing process in a very guided way when writing our All About Parks book , so now we know the steps and are working independently to plan/gather, draft, revise, edit, and publish our own nonfiction books!

On our tables we have charts to remind us of the steps of the writing process - and to keep track of where we each are.  This way, if we need a friend to help us edit, we can see who else is editing at the same time!  We simply move our clothespins around the chart as we work.  Right now we are all planning and gathering ideas. These charts in our classroom use our own work from the All About Parks book to remind of what each step means with concrete examples.

Once our books are published, we'll have a great writing celebration!  We will also be creating models of our landmarks to show what we know.  Stay tuned!

- Liz