News for May 4, 2018

News for May 4, 2018

This week the children created math/art tessellations, learned algebra basics and started a caterpillar/butterfly life cycle project!

Writing

The children continued their work on retelling their favourite fairy tales story with his/her own personal twist. The children have finished writing, editing and revising their work are now writing the good copies of their stories and accompanying illustrations.

The class wrote reflections on the tessellation art they created as well as some information about the artist M. C. Escher. 

Math 

The children reviewed how to measure temperature and the temperature benchmarks. (That is 0°C - water freezes, 20°C - room temperature, 37°C - human body temperature, 100°C - water boils.) 

The class learned how to do beginning algebra, where students learn how to determine the value of different parts of addition and subtraction equations. They also learned about the main property of the “=“ or equals sign, by figuring out if both the left and right sides of an equals signs are, in fact, equal (for example, 8 + 4 = ? + 6).

At the end of the week we began a review of two-digit subtraction without regrouping, the words that mean subtraction in word problems (for example, give away, eaten) and how to check if the answer to a subtraction question is correct (for example, 57 - 23 = 34 can be checked by 34 + 23 = 57).

Reading

The class continued our author study focussing on the work of Canadian author/illustrator Dayal Kaur Khalsa. We have read six of her books so far this year. One of the books we read, “I Want a Dog” was made into an animated short film by the National Film Board of Canada. Here is the link to the film:

https://www.nfb.ca/film/i_want_a_dog/

Science

The class learned about another type of simple machine: the inclined plane. Simple machines make doing work easier and inclined planes like playground slides and stairs makes it easier to go up and down.

However, the BIG news this week was the arrival of our caterpillars! As part of our study of animal life cycles, we are studying the life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa carduii).

The children have small science journals and are writing and drawing their observations and research in their journals each day. They measure the length of the caterpillars, look at them with magnifying glasses and write down the questions they have. Did you know that caterpillar poop is called “frass” or that the caterpillar’s job is to eat and grow (the black blobs in the cup are actually its cast off skin)!

Social Studies

Although we have talked about traditions and celebrations all through the school year, the class started to discuss this subject more formally. We began by starting to list common traditions and celebrations (e.g., birthdays, Valentine’s Day) and ones that are unique to families and other groups. For example, it is traditional in Room 204 to have an annual 100 Books Party and to learn how to weave, but other classrooms may choose to do different activities.

Art

The students learned about the Dutch mathematician/artist M. C. Escher (1898 - 1972). He was an artist who skillfully combined math and art by creating beautiful tessellations or uniquely shaped tiles that cover a flat surface with no gaps or overlaps. Here are two videos the class watched about his work:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ERAIqVfKF5o

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcc56fRtrKU

Each child used the tile they created last week (by cutting and putting back together a square piece of cardboard) to create his/her own tessellations like M.C. Escher. They traced the shape with pencil over and over to cover a piece of paper. Then they used Sharpie marker and watercolour pencils to create beautiful, colourful patterns. These are now on display in the hallway outside of our classroom.

Media Literacy

The children created posters of their tessellation art and reflections they wrote about the artist M.C. Escher and their creative process.

We compared the book and the short film, “I Want a Dog” by Dayal Kaur Khalsa.

Books read aloud this week:

Sleeping Beauty by Su Blackwell

The Golden Goose by Barbara Reid

M.C. Escher - The Graphic Work by Taschen

Get to Know Inclined Planes by Jennifer Christiansen

I Want a Dog by Dayal Kaur Khalsa

Customs and Traditions by Bobbie Kalman

Julian by Dayal Kaur Khalsa

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Sleepers by Dayal Kaur Khalsa