URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Kindergarten through Second Grade

KINDERGARTEN BUILDINGS BECOME A CITY

I visited a Kindergarten block city last week. It contained the following: a bank, a fire station, police station, a clothing store, supermarket, apartment building, a hotel, a hospital and LREI. (baek, fir stashn, poles stasn, soopr morcat and litl red sool huos) The residents (made-to-scale wooden block people) were dressed in bright paper outfits designed by the children to identify their roles; wooden cars were similarly identified. Signs were posted to convey need-to-know information: clos 8AM, opn 8AM-6PM EVRE DAY, WACON TO LREI, ples do not open the door and, in the hospital, an INMR JINSEY room. I was told that one person lived in the apartment building, but worked in the bank. He drove his car to work. Other cars took people to the supermarket. When the super of the apartment building had some free time, he crossed the street to chat with his neighbors, the "fire people".

With paper and plasticene, children furnished their buildings, adding details to be used in the social interaction of dramatic play. There was clothing for women and babies in the clothing store, there were large beds (gemungous), round couches and plasma TVs in the furniture store, produce and packaged goods in the supermarket and beds and an "employees only" cafeteria in the hospital. These five and six year olds were representing what they had learned about ways that people work together and enrich each other’s lives.

FIRST GRADE BLOCK CITY CONVERSATIONS:

Harriet Cuffaro, our social studies coordinator, stood looking at the First Grade block buildings. She noticed children’s signs identifying: a fire stashin, police stachin, a bilding, a subwe, an a partment building and a no prking sign. Joining two girls over snack, she asked for an update on their buildings. As it turned out., one child was a "teacher" and had a school, the other, a "tailor", had a shop.
Tailor: Do you want to come see my building? I have a tailor shop.
Harriet: Yes, I'd like that.
Teacher: I have a school.
Harriet: Is it for children or grownups?
Teacher: Children. It's a First Grade.
Harriet asks the Tailor, Do you have children?
Tailor: Yes, but she doesn't go to school yet. (Pause) She needs school to learn how to read.
Teacher: I have a school.
Harriet: Maybe you can take your child to visit the school.
Tailor: How old are the children in the school?
Teacher: It's First Grade. How old is your child?
Tailor: 6-7.
They walk over to the school building.
Teacher: Here is the cafeteria. Here's where they work.
Harriet: I see you also have a school bus.
Moving to the tailor shop, the Tailor demonstrates how the shop works. The tailor makes quilts.
Teacher: (Looking at the shop.....) We can do a trip with the school to the tailor shop.
Tailor: Yes, that would be nice. You can come.
Teacher: First, we are going to the police station.

SECOND GRADE: URBAN PLANNING ASSOCIATES

At this point in the year, Second Graders, our division’s most experienced builders, leave blocks behind to construct a permanent city made exclusively of recycled materials. The first step in this project was to design bird’s-eye view maps of what their city would look like, addressing challenges of space and proximity first with paper and pencil. As they worked, Second Graders asked large questions: Will this city be an island? Will it have a river? Sidewalks? Where will people get their water? How will they get power? (In one room, students decided on a solar powered city.) They then discussed which buildings would be key in meeting residents’ needs. They chose: a privt school like LREI, a bookstore, a college, a kids muesme and a library; a jail, fire and police stashons; a hospital and pharmacy, doctor and dentist’s offfices; an art galory and museum and a house, apartment and condo. Situating these buildings was the work of students’ government agencies or committees: Education, Safety, Health, Arts and Entertainment, and Housing. The Transportation Committee decided to create cars, subways, muving truks and modursikules; Parks and Open Spaces - a water fountian, climing structure and basketball cort. (Committee members are featured on the bulletin boards outside the fourth floor classrooms with their maps.) Finally, combining their art, shop and social studies work times, students began the actual construction, creating buildings with detailed accessories that underscore a building’s usefulness to the community and weave a fabric of interdependencies.

The above are three examples of culminating social studies explorations. As they translate conceptual understanding into actuality, students can envision the integration of community lives, rewards and responsibilities. On a personal plane, they integrate their own skills and understanding in literacy, math and science. Process into product, and learning with a capital, make it upper case, L.

Elaine

This Week's Attachments:

Early Kindergarten

Kindergarten

Second Grade

Field Day

Language Survey

Language Survey Form

Afterschool's Piano/Voice Recital and Instrumental Concert

Afterschool Enrichment Share

This Week's Announcements:

Field Day and Early Dismissal:
Tomorrow is Field Day! Pick-up is at 1:00PM (12:45 for Early Childhood) and there is no Afterschool. It is going to be hot, so don't forget sunblock.

PA Ballot:
Please fill out the attatched PA ballot and return to the reception desk at the Sixth Ave. or Charlton St. buildings by Wednesday, May 30th. Hard copies are also available at the reception desks.
Click Here

Fourth Grade Moving Up Ceremony:
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE! The Fourth Grade Moving Up Ceremony will take place on Monday, June 11th at 9:00 AM in the auditorium.

Camping Trip:
The 14th annual LREI camping trip will be held on the weekend of June 1-3. All LREI families and their children -- pre-K through high school -- are invited to participate. As in past years, we expect that a good time will be had by all: hiking, swimming, sports, fishing, camping, cooking, eating, singing around the campfire, etc.The site, as in past years, will be near the Delaware Water Gap (somewhat north of where I-80 crosses the Delaware River). The cost will be $30 per adult, $20 per child. Also, we need volunteers to help with hauling food and supplies and equipment out to the camp site (and back) and providing extra space in their vehicles for those who need a ride out and back.
More details will be forthcoming for those who are interested. We will have a sign-up table for a few mornings at LREI in May, when we get closer to the camping trip weekend. Please see the attached flyer.Please save the date and let us know if you are interested in receiving more information -- and especially if you are interested in volunteering: Send an email to Larry White(Lwhite@stern.nyu.edu).

Organizers:
Neil Capobianco (CapobiancoN@gtlaw.com)
Seth Tapper (sethtapper@yahoo.com)
Dave Trumbull (dave.trouble@gmail.com)
Larry White (Lwhite@stern.nyu.edu)
Please Click Here

In the Upcoming Weeks...

5/25- Field Day and 1:00PM dismissal (12:45EC) for Memorial Day Weekend

5/28- School Closed for Memorial Day

5/29- What to Expect in Fifth Grade, 8:45AM, Cafeteria

5/30- Kindergarten Movement Assembly, 8:45AM, Big Room

5/30- Jamie and Bonnie's First Grade Picnic, 6:00PM

6/1- Library books due

6/4- Luise and Michelle's Kindergarten Picnic, 6:00PM

6/6- Fours and EK Movement Assembly, 8:45AM, Big Room

6/7- Diane and Lisa's Early Kindergarten Picnic, 6:00PM

6/11- Fourth Grade Moving Up Ceremony, 9:00AM, Auditorium

6/11- Suzanne and Caroline's Fourth Grade Picnic, 6:00PM