The painting below was painted by Paul Kane. He was a Canadian painter who was born in Ireland and lived from 1810 to 1871. Kane came to Canada as a child. His oil paintings are based on sketches he made while travelling in Canada.
Look at the painting and answer:
Today students were given a choice of problems to solve:
Although many students knew the answer to these problems, they were challenged to show their thinking on paper.
The first group did well with an answer, important information, a number sentence and a picture to show what they were visualizing.
The second group’s solution had a lot of good information, too! We looked at it as a class and suggestions were made as to how we can prove our answers in an organized way. One suggestion was to use a T-chart. We remembered that tool from our patterning unit! Another suggestion was to draw an array and write the corresponding multiplication sentences.
We have begun the Pedometer Project! Every morning we put on our pedometers and record our total steps for the day. At the end of the week we will add up all those steps and talk about just how active we have been here at school.
We know that this project is challenging us to use our math skills but it’s also trying to encourage us to get active!
The following Public Service Announcements are trying to give the same message. As you watch, think about the following:
We tried something new today. We have begun a literacy unit about Fables and during Writer’s Workshop we are beginning to write our own fables. The first step in the writing process is planning but instead of using the paper graphic organizer that students have always used in the past, we tried out Mindomo! Students were sent a template with descriptions noted for each piece of the story required. They then proceeded to write jotnotes for each piece of the mindmap. Essentially, they completed a graphic organizer to plan their stories, only in a digital format.
When asked about the task, India replied, “I like this (Mindomo) better because I can add and change more things. I can be more creative and make it my own.”
Other students found it more difficult to manage the technology and often deleted boxes or moved things they didn’t want.
So, we have concluded that both paper and digital are good, it all depends on your learning style and comfort with technology.
Below is an example of the MindMaps created today with Mindomo, written by India.
