Math:
Da Sprouts each worked at their own pace to finish 3 activities. First was a booklet that used their knowledge of finding area of rectangles to figure out how to find the area of triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids. Second and a solve and color practicing how to find the area of triangles. The third was a spin to win activity practicing how to find the area of quadrilaterals.
Evershrooms took a check in over surface area on Monday, then continued on to their new unit over volume. Tuesday they had lessons over finding the volume of rectangular and triangular prisms. Wednesday they completed a scavenger hunt practicing what they learned.
Polar Bears were busy making their robots and calculating the surface area of each.
Mountain Lizards had one more review day on Monday, and then took two days to complete their check in over quadratics.
ELA:
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” We started the week writing about and discussing this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: How does it apply to what we’ve read about Leonardo Da Vinci in our novel, The Second Mrs. Gioconda? Can we connect it to our modern lives? On Monday we also held our weekly book clubs, then later in the day during Flex Time we mixed plaster of Paris and poured it into molds for use in an art project.
Tuesday, with the help of grandparent volunteer, Ms. Peggy, students mimicked the Renaissance style of fresco painting–ala Da Vinci and Michaelangelo–by painting the subjects of their ode poems on those plaster tiles. Students discovered what a challenge this was for the masters because it’s a quick and permanent process with no do-overs.
Wednesday we watched a video about the difficulties Michaelangelo faced when painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and how he solved those problems to create this enduring masterpiece. Afterwards, students demonstrated their new appreciation for this artwork and the problem solving involved by completing a 3-2-1 Reflection: 3 takeaways, 2 fascinating facts and 1 lingering question.
The Evershrooms and Iceberg students followed that up with a scintillating conversation. One student asked how much Michelangelo was paid for that four-year project so we Googled it and found he was compensated 3000 ducats. That’s $600,000 in 2021 dollars. Each student stood on one side of the classroom to indicate their opinion–fair wage versus unfair wage–then made their arguments. They practiced their civil discussion skills by listening politely then adding on to what others said or disagreeing respectfully. Everyone made interesting points backed up by evidence from the video and in the end, all the Evershrooms maintained their positions, while some of the Icebergs changed theirs because of their peers’ strong arguments.
Theme:
The week started with a worldly celebration for Earth Day. Students contemplated several issues that are currently facing our planet, including water scarcity, pollution, deforestation, and ozone depletion. We analyzed these issues to determine how we could impact them on a local level.
We jumped into our second Theme subject for the quarter by examining the life and actions of Martin Luther. Starting with background information, students organized the facts of Luther’s life. We set them in a grid to use in a mini project. We made parchment paper using coffee, heat transfer, and open flame. Once the paper was ready, students used their ELA learning about Couplets. They created couplets focused on Luther’s contribution to the Protestant Reformation, also employing a calligraphy format of letters.
We finished the week by putting paint to canvas for our Theme projects. Mixing different shades, students began brush strokes on their paintings. Many students commented on the relaxing nature of the process, and the results were phenomenal. Students are excited to finish and present their painting project and background information at our Spoken Art Museum on May 14th. Look for details soon!
Delta students try to stay dry after visiting Quack’s bakery. The trip was a reward for working hard to follow our Organizational Fairy Ollie’s rules and expectations. Baked goods and hot coffee served as a nice start to our last visit to Shipe Park for the year.
Students illustrate their ode poems by mimicking fresco painting on plaster of Paris tiles.
Top left: Da Sprouts dry paint layers on fresco tiles. Top right: Evershrooms debate Michaelangelo’s salary. Bottom: Ms. Kandyce appreciates the Icebergs creativity.
Middle schoolers work quickly to mix and pour plaster of Paris before it hardens.
Theme students work to create parchment paper for Couplet writing focused on MartinLuther’s actions that led to the Protestant Reformation.
Renaissance art was on all student’s minds as they finally put paint to canvas for the Spoken Art project in Theme class. We will be opening our Spoken Art museum on May 14th.
