How to Paint a Watercolour Christmas Wreath

Our class tried to paint some watercolour Christmas wreaths using Tammy Northrup's instructions.

The paintings above, were done by Tammy Northrup. Complete instructions on how to paint a Christmas wreath are available on her blog:

Tammy Northrup's - Flower Journal

Question of the Week #8

Google SketchUp for Geometry

Google SketchUp is a great program for students to explore concepts in 3D geometry. We will be using it in class, but if students want to get their own program for use at home, it is free to download and use.

More information about Google SketchUp can be found here:
Google SketchUp for the Classroom

You can download Google Sketchup 8 directl from here:
http://www.sketchup.com/download

You can find tutorials to get familiar with the program here:
http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos?playlist=58

Question of the Week #7

Online Totem Pole Maker

Check out this cool Online Totem Pole Maker! You can select your favourite animals and print out the picture. The printed totem poles come with explanations of what each animal represented according to the aboriginal peoples of the North West Coastal region.

Click on the following link:
http://mrnussbaum.com/totem/

Virtual Math Manipulatives

Here are two great math manipulative resources for student's to use at home (when classroom ones aren't available). These resources can be used to support and aid students working at home. They are also fun for just exploring math concepts. Sometimes the java software needs to be updated for the apps to work properly. (Students, ask your parents to help you with updating).

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

or

Glencoe / McGraw Hill Virtual Manipulatives

Question of the Week #6

Math - Geometry

Our next unit in Math will be Geometry. It is unit 3 in the Math Makes Sense 5 text book.

Question of the Week #5

Rouge Valley Tepees (Part 2)

Here are the finished products of our class tepees:

Question of the Week #4

Tepee Dioramas (Part 1)

Combining the Science (Forces and Structures) and Social Studies (First Nations) units, the students began constructing some tepee dioramas. Students were provided with bamboo skewers for 'tepee poles', burlap fabric for 'animal skins', yarn for 'rope' and toothpicks for 'fasteners'.

The students were not given explicit instructions on how to construct their tepee. They were asked to figure it out on their own. We'd studied the tepee at Rouge Park up close, so the students had a good conception of how the tepee needed to be built. We've also studied a variety of photographs in class so they also knew how they were usually decorated as well as the environment that the tepees were usually found.

The task turned out to be more challenging than the students initially thought, but they demonstrated good collaborative skills while problem solving. The class quickly discovered that one of the biggest challenges was to keep the skewers from sliding around and staying in place on the 'ground'. Different groups tried a variety of different strategies on how to keep the skewers fixed. When one group found a solution, they would quickly share it with other groups, just like a First Nations community would have done.

Here are some initial photos of the tepee construction in progress.

Spaghetti and Marshmallow Structures

In Science, we've been learning about forces acting on structures. Students took some of the concepts they've explored and applied them to designing and building some spaghetti and marshmallow structures. Their task was to design a structure that would stand 20 cm tall. Each group had to plan and draw a design. Then they had to estimate the amount of materials they would need. The groups tracked the amount of building material they used and recorded any modifications they had to make to their original plans. This was quite a challenging task.

Question of the Week #3

Question of the Week #2

Descriptive Writing - Haida Village

We used this photo of Haida longhouses to inspire our descriptive writing. The Haida Nation are aboriginal people that are from the Western Coastal region. Here is the class brainstorm that we recorded:

Setting: parkland, forest, trees, peaceful, clear skies, welcoming, relaxing, calm, free, spacious, open space, appealing,

Background:

TREES – tall, thin, cedar, massive, green leaves, fresh, enormous, some are thick with leaves, some have bare branches

GRASS – all around, trimmed, neat

Middle Ground:

PATHWAY – long, gray, sandy, gravel, winding, curvy

3 LONGHOUSES – colourful (black, orange, brown) designs on front wall, pentagon shaped front wall, faces of animals, chimneys, wooden planks or boards, totem pole in middle of wall

2 TOURISTS one in red jacket one in pink shirt

Foreground:

TOTEM POLE – creative, tall, unpainted, natural wood colour, carved animals and people

LONGHOUSE – strong, sturdy, faces on front, tall board, triangular top

PEOPLE – 2 TOURISTS, #1: woman, brown hair, dark blue jacket, white pants, looking at her watch

#2: older woman, walking stick, wide brim hat, black strap (purse?), light blue jacket, black pants  

Walking RV: Aboriginal Studies

At Rouge Park last week, we came across a modern reconstruction of a tepee. This tied in with our Aboriginal Peoples unit in Social Studies and was a wonderful opportunity for us to practice our descriptive writing and observational skills. Students made dot jots about what they observed of the interior and exterior of the tepee. This information was brought back to class for a writing assignment.

A fascinating observation that some of the students made was that vapour was rising up from the sunny side of the tepee. We observed that the canvas was wet from the early morning dew (condensation). Now that the sun was getting brighter, much of the moisture was evaporating back into the atmosphere. What a powerful learning opportunity to see the water cycle in action. These are the experiences that make learning real!

Walking Rouge Valley... Place Based Education

"Walking Rouge Valley" for 2013, began the first week of October. We have been partnering with Mr Daffern's class and Ms. Vanderhoeden the school librarian. We hope to be able to make weekly trips out into our local community as part of our place-based education strategy. The majority of these walks will be to Rouge Park, which provides us with extremely rich opportunities to explore themes in Science, Social Studies, Language, Math, and Art.

For more information on what we have historically and affectionately called "Walking Wednesdays" (We don't go out exclusively on Wednesdays anymore) please visit: http://walkingrv.blogspot.ca/