Animals in Art, Stories and Inquiry: November 8, 2007

Visiting Artist from Honolulu Academy of Arts
As a follow up to our excursion to the Honolulu Academy of Arts, Ms. Marcia Kemble, an artist from the Honolulu Academy of Arts Education program, returned to our classroom with some of the pieces of artwork that she shared with us two weeks ago.  The students discussed and reflected on the stories they learned about why people made pieces of art.  Ms. Kemble was amazed at all the stories the children remembered!  A student in our class also said, "I liked the Art Academy so much that I went there again with my family last weekend."  Needless to say, Ms. Kemble was quite pleased with that comment.  Ms. Kemble led the students through an art lesson in which each student used oil pastels to experiment with color.  The students started with the 3 primary colors (blue, red, yellow) and then blended these colors to create new shades.  After the free exploration time, the students applied the artistic techniques introduced by Ms. Kemble to create their own animal art.













"Diary" Stories
Let the illustrating begin!  After typing the final drafts of their "Diary of an (animal)" stories, the students are busy illustrating their published pieces.  The children can't wait to share their stories with you!

Animal Inquiry - Putting Together Powerpoint Presentation
Our Animal Explorers began working on their group presentations this week.  Each group decided to present their research using a slide show on the computer.  The students are typing the questions they had about the animal group they researched (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates) and the answers to their questions.   The students are also finding pictures and graphics to support the information in their presentation.  We have a class full of computer-literate children...they type and click away with ease!  (If you click on over to our classroom photo gallery, you will see more photographs of the students in action.)



First Grade Math
We continue to love solving addition story problems!  The first grade mathematicians are using a variety of strategies to solve addition story problems: counting all, counting on and using number combinations.  The students are recording their solutions to math problems clearly so that someone else who looks at their work can understand how they were thinking about the problem.  Next week, our class will begin developing strategies for subtraction story problems.  

Reflecting on Learning
As the students finish illustrating their "Diary" stories, they are reflecting on their story, the process they used to reach the final draft and setting goals for their next cycle of writing.  Reflection is ongoing in our classroom and the students are continually using the mindmaps "What Good Readers Do," "What Good Writers Do," "What Good Mathematicians Do," "What Good Researchers Do," and "What Good Team Members Do" to think about what they do well and what they want to get better at doing.  The students are selecting work samples for reading, writing, inquiry and math that represent how they are growing over time as a learner. 

Book Orders
If you would like to order books this month, please complete and return form(s) with a check by Thursday, November 15.  Thank you to Laura Adams who continues to help our class with the book orders!

Posted on November 8, 2007 10:07 AM | Permalink