End of January

Here’s what we’ve been up to:

 

Math

We are now starting our fractions unit.  Students are discovering how to read and represent fractions larger than 1 (drawings, improper fractions and mixed numbers).  Once students are comfortable with these fractions, we will start finding equivalent fractions (one half is equal to two-quarters) and simplifying fractions.

 

ELA

We are well into Red Wolf, the novel.  Students have been listening to the read aloud while we discuss the themes in the novel.  Critical thinking and writing while justifying an opinion are two skills that students are using to explore the history of residential schools in Canada.

 

We have completed the Fairytale Newspaper assignment.  Great work everyone in working through the creative writing and editing process to create a final product.  Once the articles are marked, I will bind them together as a class publication that students will be able to take out of our library to read. 

 

FLA

We have started a Literary Circle in French.  Students are working in groups to read a French novel.  While reading, students are engaging in discussion and reflecting on different aspects of the novel.  By reading in groups, students are able to tackle a sophisticated text by helping each other with understanding.

Science

We are exploring the world of electrical circuits.  Students now know how to build and draw series and parallel circuits.  They are now discovering, through exploration and experimentation, how the different types of circuits affect the resistors (or lights) within them.  

 

Social Studies

We have finished our overview of trench warfare in World War One.  Today, students had the opportunity to live a day in the life of a soldier in the trenches through a “choose your own adventure” online story.  Here is the link to the story.  Feel free to try the adventure yourself and see whether you can survive or will perish in the trench.

http://www.warmuseum.ca/overthetop/game/

 

Art

Students are looking at Propaganda.  WWI and WWII both used propaganda to entice soldiers to join the war or convince people support the war effort.  Students have had the opportunity to look through propaganda from both wars and reflect on what made propaganda so successful. 

They have already created their own WWI propaganda and are now looking at modern “propaganda”.  How are we swayed today?  How are we influenced by the media?   Students found the importance of “thinking” and “questioning” before “believing” what the media says.  We watched a wonderful “closet hippo” video. 

Here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TijcoS8qHIE

Now we are looking at how we can use modern “propaganda” to make a positive change.