Today we read the book, “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen.
This sentence was chosen from the book to examine:
Our Feet crunched over the crisp snow and little gray footprints followed.
Students: You are invited to “imitate” this sentence. Respond to this post with your own descriptive sentence that is similar to this one.
This project began with a presentation by the Ontario Parks, “Species At Risk”. Then we continued our inquiry with a poster project.
This is the task the students were given:
As students began working we engaged in small group guided reading of the information slides and had some lively discussion about the information presented. Students worked on determining important information, making connections, and inferring.
Some students chose to work individually and some chose a partner. They had the choice to use Google Slides or create a paper poster.
As a class we walked to Little Lake Park with ipads and clipboards in hand. Our task was to look for signs of a variety of plants, animals, and anything that may harm the habitats. As we moved through the various habitats within the park, students found many interesting signs and rich discussions were had using vocabulary we’ve been learning about in the classroom such as habitat, consumer, producer, affect, and species.
Students examined their written and photo data and created a slide to highlight their findings. They presented their slides to the class adding more explanation.
In preparation for our Remembrance Day Assembly on Friday our class was charged with creating a wreath to present.
We started out with a plain, red circle.
Then all of the students created poppies and leaves to add.
The students added their poppies and leaves to the circle as one student took on the leadership role, guiding the placement.
The result is BEAUTIFUL!
We started our discussion about Remembrance Day with a shared reading of, “A Poppy Is To Remember”
Then, it was time to use our creativity to complete an art project using mixed media.
First, students used water-colour paint for the background. Then they used construction paper and tissue to make a collection of poppies. They thought about shape and texture as they created their poppies. Next, they used black paint to create stems and some leaves and glued the poppies to the background. Finally, they added a title. Students thought about the use of space as everything was added to their backgrounds.
We started this art project with a discussion about foreground and background. We talked about what our body parts would look like if we were falling backwards. Where would our hands be? What about our feet? What would it look like to someone watching us fall?
Then students used their own hands and feet as templates, working together to trace around each. They added in the rest of their bodies, thinking about size and shape. The last step was to consider what they could be falling back into. Students brainstormed a large variety of places/things.
Students used permanent markers and tempura paint pucks to add the colour and details. Students realized that painting with water-colour paints is something they are going to need to practise as they discover techniques to create texture and shades.
