Haunted houses, Emily Carr, Show and Tell and an Earthquake drill

Notices:

Field trip Announcement (does not need to be signed)

Wednesday Express (also available on the school Web Site in digital form)

We began the day with a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon about monsters under the bed and how Calvin deals with them in a humorous way.  The students were then asked to think of images that make for a good description of a haunted house.  The students were given a sheet with illustrations of three haunted houses.  We had a discussion on what makes a house scary.  The students were asked to work by themselves, using double words (minimum) to come up with descriptive images for the haunted house.  The students then shared with their neighbors to come up with more ideas. They were challenged to use all the senses.   Some examples of descriptive double words from the students were; rotting wood; deathly smell; red glowing eyes; freaky trees; broken windows; red icky substance; bones littering the floor; moldy tapestries; howls in the wind...  The students then had to draw and write a one page report describing a haunted house without using words like scary or haunted or spooky etc.   I was delighted when one of the students said she had never written so many words.  It is great when children feel inspired to write.

... We ended the discussion prior to recess with a show of hands on who in the class like being scared and like watching scary movies.  All but two said they like being scared.   To end we watched a video of Mr. Bean at a horror movie. The short skit focuses on watching an audience watching a scary movie.  Very funny and very good for talking about the experience of being scared.  

After recess we continued with our Famous People project which is part Socials and part Language Arts.  Today it is also part Art.  Our Famous Person of the week is Emily Carr.  One of the students created a great atmosphere for our discussion by saying Emily Carr was her hero.  The students were given a fact sheet on Emily who was one of the first artists to attempt to capture the spirit of Canada in a modern style.  In keeping with our Haunted house theme I gave the students a fact sheet that showed a photo of Emily's house in Victoria, and we watched a National Film Board Video called "I can paint like Emily Carr."  The students had to create a one page report on Emily Carr and draw her house in her style as a haunted house.

sports memorabilia

Math game

Chinese Fan

This was followed by a game of Simon Says and A period of Show and Tell.  Students shared old fashioned  electronic learning tools, sports memorabilia and a Chinese Fan.

After lunch we had choir.  Those students not in choir listened to and did a report on the great Opera composer Rossini.  In Rossini's day, the opening of one of his new opera was as exciting as the opening of a new movie is for us.  

After choir we looked at the story of Pocahontas.  The First Nations in Virginia were among the very first to encounter Europeans.  The act or her standing up to her father and saving the life of John Smith led to the saving of the first settlers of Virginia.  On a bigger scale it eventually led to a wider peace among the Native Americans and the White settlers.  The students had to compare this story to the Aesop's Fable of the Lion and the Mouse, that  we had studied during our Friday story time.  The students goal was to  tell how the lesson in both stories is similar using information from both stories.  Learning how to compare historical information this way teaches the students how to write from a perspective while avoiding  being accused of plagiarism and copying.  

An excellent Earthquake drill

We had a drop and cover earthquake drill around 2:10 then we ended the hard working day with a work period to catch up on all the work they were given today with some working  to finish off their paper mache.   Great work everyone. Thanks Mr. W