April 11-April 21
It seems like every week is packed so full that it is hard to get the students to complete the blog - so once again this is being updated by Ms. Rutland. The year seems to be flying by so quickly - it will be June before we know it!
In Language Arts we've been working on colour poems, focusing on similes, metaphors, and descriptive writing. Using the book "Hailstones and Halibut Bones" as a model, students selected their favourite colour, then identified how that colour would sound, smell, taste, be experienced etc. They wrote and edited their poems, then mounted them on painted backgrounds. A couple are below - but the rest will be on display on our bulletin board. Stop by when you get a chance!
In Math, we continue working on number operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) through daily math and problem solving. We have also begun working on the concept of measurement, focusing on "time" initially. We made pendulum timers and will be working on clock skills.
The students were very excited to learn about the new Science topics we are beginning. Building structures and testing designs will take us to the end of the year. We introduced the topic with a building challenge to build the tallest structure they could in 5 minutes. Students quickly saw the importance of a stable base for their structure and explored a variety of materials to see which would work best.
In Social Studies we finished our tactile maps of India and Ukraine and have been discussing what public services are and the importance they play on people's quality of life. We also began identifying the difference between "quick questions" and "thinking questions" when we examine different photographs. Ask your child what types of questions they came up with for the photo below!
Finally, we were able to take advantage of some truly amazing weather the last couple of weeks! We've taken gym outside for soccer almost every day, done some watercolour sketching, and enjoyed reading and writing outdoors. Hopefully we can continue this over the next couple of months!
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| Pendulum timer! |
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| For Earth Day, we looked at this picture and asked questions about it. Student questions included "why is there so much junk?" and "did they have a flood, tornado, or tsunami?" and "how many fish die everyday?" and "does the government care about what the people are doing in and putting in the water?"" |
