Smile for Similes!!

Last week we were learning about similes.  Have you ever heard of a simile?
Similes compare 2 things and use words and phrases like:
as big as a house or jumps like a kangaroo

We first listened to a book called "As Quick as a Cricket" to get some ideas about what similes sound like.
Then we watched a video called "My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks!"

We would like to make our writing more interesting by trying to use some similes. So then we starting practicing making up similes.
Some of the ones we made were:

as hot as the sun,
as wild as an elephant
as cold as the arctic

To further our practice of making similes we used adjectives (describing words) to tell about ourselves.
Then we turned those adjectives into similes.
Here are some examples:

I am as pretty as a princess
I am as mathematical as a calculator
I am as funny as a clown
I am as tall as a giraffe
 
After that, we all created a Simile Portrait of 'who we are' complete with a simile poem!

We used objects to make the parts of our faces using something that could represent the simile in the poem.  For example, if someone was as tall as a giraffe, they might draw a giraffe and use it as their nose.  Another example would be someone who is as sweet as candy might use pictures of candy to make their hair and someone who is as smart as a brain could draw 2 brains for their eyes.

Aren't they amazing??!!

Drop by to check out our Simile portraits and poems showing 'who' each of us are!!

ps. thanks to Ms. Betts (Mrs. Betts' daughter) for this wonderful idea!!!

Windy Weather

Have you ever wondered how artists make their paintings look like there is movement in them??
We have created some amazing art work doing just that!

First we talked about space on our paper, and then we showed a horizon line that separates the sky from the ground.  After that we took our paint brushes and used swirling motions to create a blue sky that appears to have movement in it. We thought about a windy Fall or Winter day.  Then we added hilly ground that has different heights to it by making curvy and wavy lines.  We left some areas white to add depth and could also look like a snowy field.

The last part was to add the bare Fall/Winter trees that we see around us in our neighborhood.  To do this we used watery dark brown paint and blew through straws to creat lots of branches.  We learned about foreground and background and showed this with a large tree in the foreground and several smaller ones in the background. 

It was so much fun to make our bare trees blowing in the windy weather!

Learning about Internet Safety with our Buddy Class

Recently we have been talking about internet safety.  We watched a video with our buddy class that showed us how important it is to be very careful when using the internet.  Garfield and his friends helped us remember by teaching us about YAPPY.  Can you guess what YAPPY means?
Well......we will tell you!
Never, ever share these things (never be yappy about your yappy!!)
Y - your full name
A - address
P - phone number
P - passwords
Y - your plans
If you never 'yap' about these things on the internet, then you will stay safe!

We made some posters with our buddies.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we have started to practice how to create our own blog.  We are doing this because after the Christmas holidays, we will each create a personal blog and we will need to know some very important information and understand good internet manners in order to share on our blog.

We are designing our blog on paper first with our buddies.  They are also designing a paper blog.
We will choose a title and a pattern, picture or design to be our background.  We will write our first post.  Our buddies will comment on our post and then we will reply to their comment.  It will be fun to 'post' on our blog and even more fun when we have our real blog in the new year. 

Keep checking back for our personal blogs in January!! 

Remembrance Day

Last Thursday, our school had a Remembrance Day Assembly. It was a special time to honor the men and women who have been involved in wars and who helped to bring about the peace that we are so lucky to have today.

We talked in class about what this special day means and if we knew anyone who had been involved in war or peacekeeping activities.  It was amazing to learn about all our personal connections.  For many of us, it is difficult to understand the true meaning of what the soldiers, marines, nurses and others lived through.

A piper playing the bagpipes began and ended the ceremonies.

Our choir sang some very meaningful songs, some of our students made presentations and we watched a video and song about war and peace. We were honored to have 2 veterans who were able to be at our ceremony.

Our gym was decorated with beautiful art that the students had made.

 

When we returned to our class, we read a book called Tusk, Tusk by David McKee.  It was a book that taught us about understanding others and accepting other people's differences. 

Thank you to everyone who made this ceremony so meaningful for all the students at our school.

Friends to Friends

Last week we had a Friend 2 Friend presentation and we learned some new ways to be a good friend to everyone.

First, we watched a video where we learned that there are some children who find certain kinds of communication easier than others.  For example, they may need fewer words and to have time to think about their responses to questions.  We learned that everyone has affinities (things we are good at and enjoy doing).

We also found out about some new ways to communicate that may be helpful for some of our friends.

Then we used some very cool puppets to practice these 7 Friendship tips:

1. Get your friend's attention
2. Use short sentences
3. Use gestures or visuals
4. Wait for your friend to think about their answers
5. Watch your friend to learn their affinities
6. Give your friend choices
7. Use friendly words

Do you  practice any of these tips when you talk to your friends?

Halloween Fun

Last week we had so much Halloween fun!!  Here are a few of the things we did:

Monday: We carved pumpkins with the Grade 10's (see separate post).

Tuesday: We learned a logic game with pumpkins and a bat.  It was interesting to see if we could figure out any strategies for winning (NOT ending up with the bat!) We tried using differents numbers of pumpkins, starting first or second and playing with 2 or 3 people to see if it made any difference.

Wednesday: With our Buddy class, we learned about silhouettes and how to make spooky silhouette pictures using only black and white.  We followed the steps to build the outline, then filled in specific areas in black and left others white.  They turned out great!!

Thursday:  On Halloween Day we enjoyed lots  of wonderful activities.
                  First, our Primary Integrated Day included 4 fun projects working with grades K-3.
                  Second, visiting the Halloween Disco Dance, where we danced and grooved to the music!
                  Last, our Halloween parade of costumes, the Magic Show and the Thriller Dance.

A Timeline View of our Lives!

As part of our study of  personal history in Social Studies and to learn about organizing information into a sequential, ordered format, all the grade 2's and 3's created timelines of their lives.

The first step was to decide on the most important events that had ocurred starting with their birth, up until the present time.  They had to choose between 6 and 10 important life events.

The second step was to record these events in the order that they happened.  Each student had to write a sentence to explain what had taken place, the date this ocurred, then include a photograph or draw a picture to show each of these events.

The last step was to take each of the recorded events and place them on a timeline in the proper order.

After completion, each student began to prepare for an oral presentation given to small groups of classmates.  They were able to present a total of 6 times to differents groups, answer questions about their timelines and provide more in-depth details as they shared their life events.

Students were also invited to bring in artifacts from home which would enhance their oral presentation and provide further interest for their project.

It was so much fun to learn about each other, to hear about some interesting details and to share special events and information that we may not have already known about our classmates and friends!

Thanks to everyone for doing an amazing job!