Monday and SNOW!
Hello again! Happy New Year!
We started today by checking in, sharing stories from the break, and writing a brief journal entry called N.E.W.S. This meant telling me:
- New things you learned or did over the break
- Everything you did over the break (a list)
- Wonderings you have (over the break or since last term)
- Something you want to do or plan to do in term two or the new year
Following this, Ms. D shared some new resources she found over the holidays and read the book The Perfect Square by Michael Hall. As a creative thinking activity, students were given a square of their own to cut up, manipulate, tear, poke, crumple, or divide in any way they wanted to make something new on another sheet of paper. Our simple squares became volcano scenes, flowers, skyscrapers, monsters, and more.
After play time outside in the snow for recess, we continued talking about our debate. Our debate resolution is: Video games are a benefit to children. We defined our terms, such that video games can be any interactive game played on a console, mobile device, television or computer; benefit means a help or making what was existing before better; and children means anyone under the age of 19.
Some students need to do some adjustment to their evidence collection for the debate, as they did not include a source, they don’t have long enough quotes, or they only have evidence to help one side of the debate. Everyone should have evidence that will help them on either side, as they do not know which side they will debate in class. I will ask everyone to turn this in tomorrow at end of day. Tonight, they have been asked to prepare a debate speech outline for the positive and negative sides. For the positive side, this means writing, “I believe in the resolution that video games are a benefit to children because….” and then writing 4-5 point-form, main arguments they would make that support the resolution. For the negative side, they will write, “I disagree with the resolution that video games are a benefit to children because….” and then writing 4-5 point-form, main arguments that would support that statement. In class, we will begin to write the speeches to go with those outlines.
Tomorrow, we will have time to work on our PPT presentations. Please bring any USB that may have work on it done at home, if anyone was working on it over the break.
We began an art project today that will involve the elements of shape and form, watercolour, zentangle, drawing/sketching, and geometry. Students sketched the outlines of bare trees surrounding the school, and I have asked them to do another sketch of a tree they can find near their home. We also practiced doing some zentangle designs, and they should look up zentangle on google to try one more pattern independently before tomorrow. This project will take some time, but the end result will be some beautiful trees incorporating multiple art skills (and science skills, as we will be using the power of observation to enhance our drawing.)
Hip Hop starts tomorrow and runs Tuesday – Friday at 8:55 AM – 9:45 AM. Please be on time to school. If you haven’t brought the yellow notice, please bring it in ASAP tomorrow. If anyone has chosen not to participate or does not have their notice tomorrow, then I will provide an alternate activity at that time, as we have to go to the gym as a whole class.
Thank you, and have a great evening! Welcome back!