Since March was a shorter month this mashup has been combined with April. We have been very hard at work!! Here are some of the highlights 🙂
Fine Arts – Nature Fairies / 3D Paper Butterflies
Fairies – We decided to bring some of the outdoors, inside. Each student explored the school grounds and found two leaves that had fallen. We wanted to incorporate nature into our art again. The leaves were the anchor for the fairies and acted as their wings. Students then viewed some samples to look at features and sketching techniques. Their creations turned out great.
Butterflies – We used paper strips to bring colour and texture to a butterfly design. See some pictures of the students during the process and the final products below.
Math
We made the jump to multi-digit multiplication. Just before the break the students were practicing multiplication of three-digit by one digit numbers (i.e 347 x 5). They learned how to solve these equations using expanded notation as well as the standard method. Students should be able to estimate products as well (347 x 5 rounds to 300 x 5 = 1500).
We also started to work on division in April. Students learned about sharing and grouping, and how to use long division to solve problems.
Science
We were able to complete a Spring themed Science experiment before the break. The kids were super engaged! We looked at why flowers “move” and how they bloom in Spring. Each student should have brought home a nice card with a blooming flower attached. The students also took turns being amateur inventors. They had to save our friend “bobby” (a bobby pin) from a crash landing by inventing a paper device to slow the fall. They worked like inventors and the creative process was fun to see.
In April we began a unit about energy. During the activities students were encouraged “to think about the energy that things need to move. Students will explore how energy makes things go, from powering vehicles to moving one’s body. Students will experiment with rubber bands to discover the relationship between how much energy is stored in a material and how much is released. They will investigate the role that hills play in making roller coasters move and the energy transfer that happens when two objects collide. Students will realize that thinking about the world in terms of energy helps them make sense of how and why things speed up and slow down. Hands-on activities focus on engineering, testing hypotheses and using results to develop their ideas.” – mysteryscience.com
Reading
We focused on the “infer” strategy in our workshops. These lessons were guided using some recommended books for teaching this strategy. We have many strong readers who make great inferences. We make inferences by using text clues and connecting them to our background knowledge. This is often referred to as “reading between the lines”. We are now moving on to Literature Circles. Students will be placed in small novel groups.
Literature Circles has begun! We have four groups for this round. The novels are The One and Only Ivan, Thomas and the Dragon Queen, Because of Winn Dixie and The Lemonade War. The books have been divided into 5 sections. Each week we read (Tuesday), respond (Wednesday) and meet for discussion (Thursday). Each student selects a “role” and completes this in school. It is very important that every student finishes their role to support the group for discussion and sharing on Thursday.
The literature circles roles are:
a. Discussion Director
b. Summarizer
c. Artful Illustrator
d. Friends of the Character
e. Word Wizard
f. Literary Luminary
g. Connector
Social Studies
We have been reading about early exploration in our Social Studies text this term. Students are learning about what influenced explorers such as Christopher Columbus and John Cabot to head out on the sea. We have also began reading about the early relationship between Aboriginal cultures and the European explorers. I have also loaded the class with non-fiction books related to our topic for students to choose from if they wish to learn even more.
Fine Arts – Optical Illusion
We discussed illusions in this art class and learned a technique using lines where we can create a 3D image. Each student traced their hand and then used lines and gentle shading to create the effect. Some samples are below.
Health and Physical Education
I introduced the class to the sport of Handball! They picked up the game very quickly and have played well. The students have displayed great teamwork, effort and determination.
Applied Design, Skills and Technology
In our last session the kids were challenged to build a tower. They were asked to try and make the tallest tower possible. The criteria:
- It must be free standing
- you only get 3 pieces of 81/2 x 11 paper
- you get 30 cm of tape
We discussed different techniques that could be used. Students could roll, cut or fold the paper in any way possible. The groups were asked to communicate and work together cooperatively. Each group was given a chance to plan, build and redesign. Here are some highlights of the process and their results. The kids showed a lot of excellent communication skills and creative thinking. Those two core competencies were definitely on display!
Library time 🙂
Each Wednesday we visit Mrs. Booth in the library. She introduces new literature to the students and shares important information. This month she supported our learning about the Infer reading strategy and guided the students through a great read aloud: “The Magpie Song”, by Lawrence Anholt.
After work options
Sometimes students finish their assignments and there is extra time left in the period. I always want the kids engaged in learning, so I have several options they can choose from to enrich their experience. Chess is a great game and popular amongst some of the kids. They quietly have matches with each other on the carpet at times. Some other examples students can choose from are: Typing practice, coding, reading, sudoku puzzles, and logic games (Rush Hour).
So cool Mr English! Thank you so much for posting and sharing. I love seeing the kiddos in their element 🙂
Thank you!!