We took on the challenge on learning about the art of making dreamcatchers! Students learned that dreamcatchers are meant as a gift to others with the purpose of expelling bad dreams. They had to think of a special individual and put those positive thoughts into their efforts of making the dreamcatcher. Students worked very hard to learn this skill and appreciate the meaning it has for Aboriginal culture.
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Students were then given the task of making some trades at a Trading Post, thinking like a settler and creating a kind of shopping list to get what they needed in the new territory.
We got a visit from the Wainwright RCMP school liaison worker, Devery. She helped us navigate scenarios related to social media. Our world has changed quite a bit and bullying and strangers don't just exist out in the community face-to-face. It creates a challenge for students and adults. What are the parameters of different apps? Why are their age limits for them? How do we keep our tech. time positive? Of course it may be easy to listen and make hypothetical choices...now we have to trust our students and children to make positive choices for themselves and others when online.
Thank you Devery for bringing this to light and pushing our students to think about how their actions online, or those of others online, can affect. William Morris was a designer in the 1800s, who moved in reverse - while the world was becoming more industrialized with factories and worrying about efficiency, he developed the term 'craft' to mean a skill in producing work that passion has been put into. Students were able to research and practice some of his interesting designs, all having to do with nature and animals. They were tasked with creating their own William Morris inspired piece of artwork and create a descriptive paragraph about William Morris and their own art project.
The fertilizer must be good stuff...the kid's sunflowers are really growing!
Students got to use the new science lab for the first time! What a great space! After months of tending to their vermicomposter, students were tasked with prepping their own plant. Students layered two plastic cups, one with drainage holes. They layered store bought soil and vermicompost soil then moistened it. According to package instructions, they set three soaked seeds in 1cm deep holes about 5cm apart from one another, covered and added more moisture. We set our plants up at the window to access natural light.
The Grade 3's completed their multiplication and division unit. Their final task was to create 2,3, or 4 identical critters out of playdoh and create division sentences to match. They look happy...better than a worksheet!
In the past, students have given short oral presentations but this year they were introduced to the BTPS Superintendent's Public Speaking Competition! They worked hard to build a speech based on what they learned about organization and voice. They listened to the Grade 5 and 6 local competition and were able to adjust their speeches with some great tips. Then they took to practicing their speeches in small groups and giving positive criticism. We invited parents to watch, some teachers for judging, and some of our students even dressed up. They had to be quite brave getting up in front of everyone but did so well!
The student from Grade 4-6 that moved on to the division competition, was Kennedy Campbell! We eagerly watched the Vermillion competition via a live stream on YouTube and the Edgerton Eagle community was very proud. Well done Kennedy! Students were challenged to create a flagpole design that was 30cm in height, and utilized a simple machine to raise and lower a flag. The challenge created many questions that needed to be solved such as how do I keep my tower from falling over, how do I make the string stay on my wheel or axle, how do I make my flag stand straight out. To add to the assessment process, students were asked to talk about their design process and their hiccups along the way, via a recorded interview.
In learning the writing skills required in fictional story writing, students are currently focusing on sensory language. First, they worked on ensuring their personal stories had the basic organizational parts needed for a well laid out beginning, middle and end. Once students could excel at this, looking at their work, I decided to move on to developing student's details. We have discussed and made accessible many tools for adding detail into our writing. Students have been taught to think of the 5W's+H and use decorations such as dialogue, thoughts, feelings and actions. To enhance this trait moreso, we move to sensory language and practiced adding what we may see, hear, taste, smell, or feel in a particular scene of writing. This can do wonders to create a mood for the writing and show our voice too.
I placed multiple scenes around the room and students walked around with their sticky notes to add examples of sensory language. Below, you see us analyzing our ideas and judging whether they are specific enough, make sense, and are accurate. The most important part is a safe discussion and adjustment of ideas that were not quite there yet. |
Home Reading
300 minutes a month (approx. 10 min. per night) Word Work (due Wed.)
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"Observe and reflect, and become a little wiser every day" |