News for March 24

News for March 24

This week the children learned about the seasons, fractions, weaving and much more!

In math, the class continues to practice multiplication facts and their application to solving word problems. For the next few weeks, we will be having quick daily quizzes to help the students retain their multiplication facts. On Thursday, the children began to learn about fractions, or how a whole of something or a whole set of something can be divided into EQUAL parts (fair shares). The students learned how to name these equal parts using words and how to write fractions using numbers.

The class created "Fraction Books". First they folded a large piece of paper into a book with eight pages, talking about the fractions and the shapes they created as they folded the paper. Then the children used squares of origami paper to show various fractions of a whole. By folding and cutting the paper squares they created two ways to show halves, one way to show thirds and three ways to show fourths (quarters) of a whole square. Finally they experimented with showing different fractions of a square (for example, eights, sixteenths). They also experienced first hand that it's easy to fold and cut fractions with an even number of equal parts but it's much more difficult to fold and cut fractions with an odd number of equal parts!

As part of our science unit on structures, the class began to create a city made out of Lego. First, they brainstormed the types of buildings found in a city (e.g., school, restaurant). Then each child chose a building to create. These lego models are now on the students' desks, but next week they'll be making a map with roads on which they can put their buildings. They also watched the "Under Construction - Structures" episode of The Magic School Bus.

In writing, the children wrote descriptions of their lego buildings and started to write fiction stories using their lego buildings as the settings for their writing.

The students talked about the four seasons and the science behind why they happen. Spring began this year on Monday, March 20 at 6:28 AM. This is also known as the "spring equinox". Each of the four seasons lasts for three months (12 divided by 4 equals 3). As an extension to this lesson, they learned about the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) who was inspired by paintings of fall, winter, spring and summer, to write music that "sounds" like the different seasons. The children listened to several excerpts of Vivaldi's Four Season violin concertos to "listen" to his interpretation of the seasons.

The class began the social studies unit about the history of Canada 1780-1850. The students started by learning how people lived their daily lives back then. Basically, anything humans had or used over 150 years ago had to be grown or made by them. We focused this week on one way that clothing was made. The class learned how wool from sheep is made into fabric. The process starts by shearing the wool off the sheep, carding the wool, spinning the wool, dyeing the wool, weaving the wool on a loom and cutting and sewing the fabric into clothing. The class watched how wool can be dyed from a natural white colour to pinkish-red using Kool Aid drink powder. They also looked at fabric to see the horizontal and vertical threads that make woven fabric. Each student also learned how to make a loom out of cardboard and put the vertical (warp) threads on the loom and how to weave the weft (horizontal) threads over and under the vertical threads to make a fabric bookmark.

The class also had a chance to learn about immigration to Canada over 150 years ago. At that time immigrants came mostly from Scotland, England, Ireland, Germany and the United States. 

There was no Room 204 Interview Show this week. The show will return next week.

Books read aloud this week:

Pelle's New Suit by Elsa Beskow

Four Seasons in One Day - Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Jessica Courtney-Tickle