Rivendell Older Kids

Exploring Nonfiction Books

This week we are spending some time delving into nonfiction books. As our students get older and become better readers they tend to focus most of their attention on reading fiction. This is fantastic, of course, but we also want to make sure they are getting exposure to the vast array of nonfiction resources available to them. We started this week with a discussion about what makes reading nonfiction different from reading fiction. We talked about the many features of nonfiction books that make them useful and easy to navigate, including the table of contents, the index, photographs and their captions, graphs and tables, labeled diagrams, text boxes, etc.

As a prereading activity, our students were given a nonfiction book and they were asked to look at the cover and flip through the pages. Without actually reading the text, we wanted them to first identify what they might learn from the book they were given. After this they were given some time to look through their book, selecting sections that they found interesting and eye-catching. They wrote down facts that they learned as they read.

It was interesting for them to realize that they were able to learn from and connect with almost any book placed before them. Many of them were given books that they would not normally choose, yet before long they were drawn into them and finding fascinating facts!

Medical Discoveries and Inventions

As part of our Human Body unit, the older kids researched medical discoveries and inventions. The students created a presentation to show what they had learned. We had such a great variety of formats: slideshows, books, posters, pamphlets and boards. They all worked so hard and and presented their work proudly and confidently. Here are a few photos.

Ancient Roman Inventions

The Older Kids did a fantastic job of researching ancient Roman inventions. They took the information they learned and wrote informative paragraphs. Then they worked with partners to create 3-dimensional models of their inventions. They really enjoyed tapping into their engineering and artistic minds! Collaborating with a partner to accomplish a goal is a skill we find extremely important, and one that will come in very useful in the future.

Fun Run

The Older Kids were able to go outside and run today before the air quality deteriorated. Thanks for sponsoring them! Here are some photos of Suzanne’s class.

Older Kids Olympics

Today the older kids took part in our very own Olympic Games! Here are the city-states from each class preparing for battle.

Let the games begin!

Rivendell Has Heart Food Drive

The Older Kids had the honor of delivering food and touring the to The Food Bank of Larimer County’s distribution center.

Desert Life Today

Our essential question for our study or deserts is How do organisms adapt to living in deserts? In Science class they have studied how plants and animals have adapted to life in the deserts. In class we have talked about the different types of deserts. On Friday, the kids watched videos of people living in different types of deserts in different parts of the world to see how humans have adapted to living in deserts. They then created mock interviews based on what they learned. To see the videos click on the links below.

Gobi Desert (Sarah’s Class)

Atacama Desert (Sarah’s Class)

Sahara Desert (Sarah’s Class)

Atacama Desert (Suzanne’s Class)
Sahara Desert (Suzanne’s Class)
Gobi Desert (Suzanne’s Class)