Chasing Vermeer

This weekend, my daughter and I attended the Reflecting Class in the Age of Rembrandt & Vermeer exhibit at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.  My goal was to see A Lady Writing, painted by Johannes Vermeer around 1665.  It was on loan from The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. for this special exhibit.

For those who have read Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, you know that Petra and Calder are searching for A Lady Writing on the campus of the University of Chicago.  Liz Szabla of Scholastic described Chasing Vermeer as "a puzzle, wrapped in mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art."  It is one of my favorite books to read with my sixth grade reading class, because we are able to work across curriculum areas.

Chasing Vermeer (affiliate link)

My favorite resource for Chasing Vermeer was previously hosted on a website titled "A Different Place".  However, I believe that teacher has retired, and the website is no longer active.  Some other websites have useful material as well:

Chasing Vermeer Teacher's Guide by Scholastic
Chasing Vermeer Sixth Grade Unit by ReadWorks.org

Great Supporting Websites:

Author Blue Balliett Website for Chasing Vermeer - It took Blue five years to write Chasing Vermeer, because she was still a classroom teacher.  The website includes a slideshow of the actual places that inspired the locations in the book.

Find A Lady Writing on Google Art Project
Visit Essential Vermeer for artist information
Writing lesson by Writing Fix: Writing Like an Artist Paints
Wikipedia article about Chasing Vermeer
University of Chicago Map
Powell's Books website
Art Institute of Chicago
Write a message in Secret Code or create your own
Go on an art adventure or play Vermeer games 
Learn more about the Camera Obscura which experts believe Vermeer used

PENTOMINOES

Calder always carries pentominoes in his pocket, and he uses them to work through some mysterious questions.  I give each student a set of pentominoes to "carry around" while they are reading Chasing Vermeer.  They will often have the pentominoes out, just as Calder does, trying to figure out answers to the mysteries in the book.  If you don't have pentominoes available, you can print some out, or you can use virtual pentominoes.

Enjoy the mystery!

Choice Boards for Early Finishers

Choice is a powerful tool for the classroom.

Students feel empowered when we offer choices for their learning.  Providing students who finish their work early with options that require higher order thinking is meaningful and motivating.  This year, I am giving my fourth and fifth grade students monthly Choice Boards.  The tasks utilize creative options from the top two levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (create and evaluate) and from the SCAMPER mnemonic, developed by Bob Eberle (substitute, combine, add something, magnify/minify, put to other uses, eliminate, and rearrange).

Simple pocket folders decorated by the students hold the choice boards and "projects in process."  Students choose activities from the board that reflect their strengths, interests, or new areas they would like to try.  

*We also talk about other options that are always great choices when they have free time ~ the perennial favorites of reading and writing stories, poetry, and research.

Free Download: 
August Choice Board for Early Finishers

TPT

The tasks for August focus on timely "back to school" topics!

Teachers: Click through the link of your choice above to find the free August Choice Board and try it with your students.  You will find a color version and a black line version. Enjoy!