We are halfway through our gymnastics unit for Physical Education and the kids are loving the creative nature of these exercises. Students were first asked to master each pose, then were encouraged to make up their own in small groups. After, they were provided with a variety of props (balls, hoola hoops, etc) and made up their own routines.
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Students were given a special treat when Evergreen theatre visited our school today! "Katie Swells is one of the best young sailors on Storm Island Nova Scotia. After years of hard work and getting to know a sailboat, she’s finally ready to be a part of Storm Island’s biggest sailing race; The Big Circle. But things take a turn when Katie returns home from vacation and discovers that The Big Circle has been cancelled. Her best friend Sam the Seal tells her the water is rising off the island, making the race unsafe for young sailors. Determined to prove herself, Katie sets sail to try the race on her own, followed by a worried Sam. The Sinking Island is a funny and thoughtful nautical adventure that shows how our changing oceans affect the world around us." (Link) ASK ME ABOUT: What was the message of the play? What can we do to help take care of our oceans?
As part of a cross-curricular design project, students were asked to research the body design of a llama and attempt to re-create the animal using cardboard toilet paper rolls. After a number of failures prototypes (as opportunities for learning) they were shown one possible design they could use. Unfortunately this design did not take into account the robust nature of a llamas legs and stability became an issue. Through this process students formulated a design question: How might we alter our llamas to make them more stable? Additionally, a number of restrictions were put in place to help frame the design challenge. Through this experiential learning, students came to a number of conclusions regarding stability: Students then put the stability of their llamas to the test with a wind driven llama race. If the llama could remain upright it passed the stability test!
How much mass can a paper pillar hold? Our grade 3's know the answer! ASK ME ABOUT: What is a pillar and what is its purpose? What is the difference between a pillar and a beam? In our continued research of testing materials, student are discovering the importance of structural design. The students were given an important challenge to discover which could hold more mass - one large support pillar in the center of a base, or four smaller pillars located at the base's corners. Although some students hypothesized that the larger pillar would be stronger due to its size, they soon found out the importance of stability and weight dispersion given by four pillars! So how much can a few paper pillars hold? We were surprised to find out - A WHOLE LOT! (Up to 5kg in fact!) As students are learning about the three different regions in Peru, we are taking a closer look at a special animal that lives high in "la sierra" mountains. Llamas (and Alpacas) have played an important role in the economy of Peru through their agility to transport across steep terrain for long distances. They also provide food for families, wool for many products (such as ropes and fabrics), and their hides are used for leather. Even llama poop is put to use in some areas where it is burned for fuel! While learning about these Andean animals, students are drawing realistic portraits of our furry friends! Students chose a unique llama portrait to study and draw, they then used a grid system to divide the image and their page into smaller rectangles. These rectangles served as guidance for transferring the image onto their own paper. Students focused on using smaller strokes with their pencils to create a sketch of the animal. They kept ratios, as well as, shadow and light in mind during the drawing phase. Next the students created a good copy of their llama using pastels. They learned techniques to create texture and depth with the smudge-able medium. Finally, after the llamas came to life on their paper, they were contrasted against a colourful background representing the woven craftsmanship of many Peruvian textiles in la sierra region. The final products! Students have begun to develop and awareness and appreciation for a number of the diverse cultural groups that currently inhabit Peru, as well as the civilizations of its past. Included in this study is an inquiry into the Nazca line geoglyphs. Students first explored the figures themselves...What images do you see? Do you think these animals were important to these people? How were they made? Next we moved on to the role of symbols in storytelling and how these images can tell us a story... Why were these figures made? What story do you think they tell us about the ancient Inca civilization? Then we began to explore their cultural and historical importance...What could these lines have been used for when they were made over 2000 years ago? Why were these images declared a UNESCO world heritage site? Do the images continue to hold importance to modern Peruvians? Students then connected this inquiry to Alberta's own Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park and the cultural, spiritual, and historical significance of the rock art found there. Nazca Line DamageA few days after beginning to explore this important topic a tragedy struck the Nazca Lines when a truck driver ignored warning signage and drove into one of the areas, causing permanent damage to three of the geoglyphs. Students were asked to watch the following news clip and examine a variety of news articles in Spanish to determine what happened. Unfortunately, damage (both intentional and unintentional) is a common problem facing our world's historical sites. Students compared the recent events in Peru to other incidents of damage to historical sites around the world. Is part of history lost when a historical site or artifact is damaged/destroyed? Why is protecting these artifacts so important? ASK ME ABOUT: How are historical artifacts important to telling the story of an individual, group, or civilization? What can we do to protect them?
Thank you to everyone who helped make this special evening possible! The students were a combination of excited and nervous leading up to this performance and have made incredible growth in their oral story telling and public speaking skills. Even though 'storytelling night' has officially come and gone, our work is far from over. A very important piece to any performance is the reflection that takes place afterwards. Students were asked to silently sketch their experience and write an accompanying journal response answering the following questions: - What kind of emotions were you feeling before, during, and after your performance? - What was your favourite and least favourite part of the process? - If you could do it again, what would you change? - Which story from your group of presenters was the most memorable? Why? Please stay tuned for more projects and activities tied to our school-wide inquiry question: What is our story? ASK ME ABOUT: What did you learn in preparation for our storytelling night? How can you use those same skills outside of the school?
"El Traje Perdido"This year, the grade 3's have been given a leadership role with helping their Kindergarten buddies learn. As a treat, we were able to present our play, "El Traje Perdido" (the lost outfit), to our buddies and teach them some new Spanish vocabulary. The grade 3's practiced and improved the fluency of reading their parts in Spanish and worked on projecting their voices using volume and expression. Making Our Costumes...El InviernoAn important piece of learning language is functionality, so what better to talk about than winter! Students have been building vocabulary and sentence structure to express how they feel about winter, what they like to do in winter, how winter affects their daily lives, and what activities they are involved in during winter months. Students have also been using the book "El mitón" as a guide for learning how to sequence ideas in their Second Language ("primero... después....luego... al final" ) to tell stories, give instructions, and recall events from their daily lives.
Testing MaterialsAfter an exciting unit learning about rocks and minerals, students are shifting focus in science to "Testing Materials". I this unit, the students will be tasked with solving real-life physics problems through creating tastable questions, forming hypotheses, performing fair tests, and recording their conclusions. What is a fair test? It is important for an experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change one factor (or variable) at a time while keeping all other conditions the same. For example, students were asked who is faster at measuring the distance across the classroom - boys or girls? But in this case, the teacher set up an "unfair" test where the boys were given a 30 cm ruler, and the girls were able to use a meter stick. Can you guess who was fastest? This was not a fair test because we more than one factor was different. When both groups were given a ruler the teams tied within 5 seconds. What will we be testing?
The students are hired as contractors to determine the safest materials and designs to use. Some of these test include: -Determining if rectangular or arch structures are stronger and why -Constructing a model of a foot bridge with different beams (rectangular, accordion, and box girder) to see which is strongest AND uses the least materials -Testing the stability of various pillar lay-outs -And more! Stay tuned! We hope everyone had a restful break and got to spend some much needed time with their loved ones. Students hit the ground running here at school and are excited to start a number of new units of study in all subject areas. StorytellingStudents have been hard at work developing their oral storytelling skills for our storytelling night on February 1st. More information will be sent home in the newsletter and weekly update, but please mark that evening on your calendar. Tools For The Storyteller - (Click on rubric to see larger version) ASK ME ABOUT: What do you do when you get the 'whoosh'? MatemáticasIntroduction to multiplication and division. Students have begun to work with multiplication facts up to 5x5. Some students have started to apply this understanding of equal groupings to numbers past 25. Teachers have primarily taken a problem solving approach to introducing this topic and have focused on using multiplication as a more efficient strategy to skip counting and organizing numbers. Students understand the X symbol to mean 'groups of'/'grupos de'. Grupos iguales Repeated addition The Array Model ¿De cuántas formas diferentes se pueden agrupar 24?/How many different ways can you group 24? Multiplication City Students used windows in buildings to further explore multiplication as an array model. Social Studies - Peru
Through an age-appropriate lens, students will explore the complex issue of rainforest deforestation and the many perspectives and opinions involved. Most importantly, students will understand how this is connected to the quality of life of Peruvians and other groups of people who live in and around the rainforests of the world, as well as how geography in general affects quality of life through Peru's three regions in comparison and contrast to our lives in Southern Alberta. ASK ME ABOUT: Why do you think the rainforests are disappearing? What are some differences between living in la costa (the coast), la sierra (the Andes mountains), and la selva (the rainforest)? Mental Health/Self-Regulation StrategiesAn important part of our daily lives in school, at work, and while playing with friends is self-regulation of our emotions. We are a big fan of the Zones of Regulation here at Eugene Coste School, and students are familiar with vocabulary we use when talking about our actions and emotions. Students work to develop their own personal bank of self-regulation strategies. Some common strategies include: taking a deep breath, going for a walk, drawing a picture, or squeezing a stress ball. ASK ME ABOUT: If you notice you are moving out of the green zone, what can you do to bring yourself back? Mindfulness as a self-regulation strategy Zentangles Zentangle is a purposeful, structured form of drawing that is similar to doodling. A Zentangle consists of a series of repetitive strokes—straight lines, curves and dots. Compared to other forms of doodling, Zentangle is much more focused and deliberate, but still allows the “Zentangler” to be creative and free-form in using patterns, lines, shapes and shading. As a “meditative” art form, many note that zentangling induces relaxation and has an impact on self-control, mood, and stress reduction. Grade 3 students were introduced to this mindfulness activity and had the opportunity to discuss their feelings and emotions afterwards. Most students noted that their bodies felt more relaxed and they became more focused. If you are interested in learning more about the powerful potential of doodling in the workplace/learning environment please watch the following TEDtalk, or visit this article by Psychology today.
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