The Classroom in early March

 Hi, feel free to pop in and check out some of your son's/daughter's work.

The Snow Goose...the latest classroom novel

Our current class novel is the classic The Snow Goose, written by Paul Gallico. I have five different editions from my book collection in circulation in the classroom, including one from 1942 which was very dear to my mother's heart. I like to use books that students wouldn't normally pick up themselves to read in order to expose them to challenging texts and  genres of which they may not be aware. (For example, last year we read and studied a recent release graphic novel based on the Gallipoli campaign.) Our next major art and literacy assignment will centre around this short but complex novel set in World War II. Students will design a cover for a new edition of the book and write a blurb promoting the book. We have been collecting feathers so if students wish to add a printing aspect to their artworks they can. Otherwise, they can employ whatever medium they like. In the classroom we have a range of charcoals, oil pastels, Derwent pencils, water colours, marker pens, ink pens, and acrylic paints. These materials will be introduced to them to these this week.Two students are currently trialling some black acrylic printing techniques using feathers.

On Monday students also started their "Texts I Have Read in 2014" listing in their Literacy books. I have requested they update this list this Wednesday as their homework task. Students will be doing a comparison of this novel with Storm Boy by Colin Thiele.

Update: Tuesday 4th March
This morning the grade five students viewed the first three parts of The Snow Goose. I suggest that the grade six students try to watch these clips at home as they were pretty much out the whole day doing their daily phys.ed leadership training with Mr Smith.

Update
All students except one (who is on a family holiday for two weeks) has now viewed  three parts of the black and white movie..

Update: Tuesday 11th March

Today I brought my record player into the classroom and students listened to the record The Snow Goose. It follows the originally story fairly closely and was adapted by Nat Wolff. This afforded some students an opportunity they had not as yet experienced: to listen to a vinyl. We discussed terma like melodramatic and talked about dramatisations. This story was dramatised by Herbert Marshall and Joan Loring.

Update 17th March: Art works inspired by the novel

Artworks Inspired by Malevich

These last two weeks we have focused on works done by Kazimir Malevich, a well known Russin artist. Here are some of the students' finished pieces. There are more to come. Parents are quite welcome in the classroom any time they please, to browse, watch a lesson or to assist.

Works in progress, using acrylic paints and cartridge. Students prepare a plan/design before commencing.Wooden models scattered around the desks also assisted some artists with the proportion of limbs.

Not sure why Leeuwenhook found his way amongst Malevich's in progress...but the colours fit.

Finally, getting some student-driven displays up

UPDATE 6/03/14

Students shared these in the whole school assembly today.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

This week students will be doing a factual recount about Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the father of microbiology. A factual recount describes and reconstructs past experiences. Students will be taught the skill of note taking by identifying the keywords in texts, and how to write using the past tense. Students will read a short text and also watch the above video clip. They will synthesize the main ideas in the two text types to create their own recount. This work will be completed in their Marvellous Microorganisms workbook. We will  also be focusing on the word microscope and microorganism discussing the parts of each word and their meanings. Homework this Monday will be to complete the recount. It can be handed in on Tuesday or Wednesday.

This film clip is pretty interesting as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D5Gu_9hEus

Mass and Maths Online

In mathematics we have spent the last two weeks focusing on mass, looking specifically at milligrams, grams, kilograms and tonnes and the relationship between each of these. We have looked at gross mass, net mass and tare. Students estimated and weighed items from their lunch boxes. Students have had the opportunity to work in pairs in a small group and also by themselves. They all now have a login name and a passwords for the mathematics site below:

http://www.mathsonline.com.au/

Students can log on from home. I have just added a few tasks based on what they have been learning about mass and they have until next Wednesday to complete the set tasks. The next major topic will be on place value.

Bread Making and the Breadfest

Today in class we made some bread without the use of a machine and it turned out pretty well. We followed the recipe that one of the grade 5 boys brought to school. Tonight instead of homework students have been asked to make some kind of bread, but only if it is convenient for the family. Tomorrow we will share our breads and baking techniques. I will be bringing the butter and some homemade apricot jam freshly made in January after a bumper crop of apricots. Our main focus for the lesson  was on the role of the yeast in the bread and the way it feeds off sugar and flour. 

Proving

Bubbles

Into the tin

Nice and crusty

Great texture

On Thursday I asked the students if they would rather make some bread or do some written homework. The was an overwhelming "We'd like to make some bread."  And they did. Here are some of the budding chefs with their wares.

I brought some homemade apricot jam from our bumper crop we got in January this year and some butter. And so we were set for a feast. Well done everyone on your excellent manner too. Students all gave a talk on the ingredients and the method they used. Below are some of the styles of bread students made.

Beautifully plaited bread

These buns were a BIG hit

Toby's recipe

Poppy seed bread

Made with a honey and beer recipe

Unleavened bread

A damper

Braided bread

Multigrain loaf

A beautifully white and very fine textured bread

Tasty white loaf

Beautiful crusty bread

The Madagascan chef used vanilla in her bread

Made with gluten free flour, so fine