Mrs. Orr's Classroom News
April 8, 2010
Dear Moms and Dads,
On April Fools Day, one of the items on our daily schedule read:
Science-lift your teacher. Many kids thought this was an April Fools joke.
However, they did find out that I was quite serious about trying this. Most
kids thought they wanted to try to lift me by wrapping their arms around my
legs. Some worked hard and did get me onto my tiptoes! At that point, they
agreed that they couldn't lift me. Then I brought out a long board, a
lever, to begin our first simple machine exploration. We tried placing the
fulcrum(pivot point)in several places along the lever: middle, close to the
load(me), and far from the load. They had a wonderful smile on their face
when they lifted me with very little effort. One child said I was light as a
feather. I loved that comment. But did feel it necessary to explain that my
actual weight was not changing(too bad). The work was just easier with the
lever. The next experiment allowed them to build levers with rulers. They
used a block as the fulcrum and an eraser as the load. Again, they found
that when the fulcrum is closest to the load, it is easier to lift. Our
next simple machine exploration will be about common everyday levers such as
hammers and shovels. Investigating ramps or inclined planes will follow.
Perhaps you could point out levers you use in your home such as manual can
openers.
After a discussion with Mrs. Brown about nutrition and food groups, we have
been recording what we have eaten for breakfast and snack into the food
groups. A presentation by Slim Goodbody also emphasized eating healthy foods
and exercising. Another main point was that calories going in should
balance calories going out.
We continue to read, paint, and write poems about types of weather.
Wednesday we wrote poems about the cloud pictures we painted last week. We
will be using similes in these poems. For example: Puffy clouds gallop like
horses across the brilliant blue sky.
After vacation we will begin developing a collage story based upon a program
by Beth Olshansky. This is such an engaging process for the children that I
'd like to take the time to tell you a bit about it. Children will be
creating special textured paint papers such as splatter paint, plastic wrap
paint, and salt painting. As children dive into this irresistible
invitation to explore with the paint, ideas about images are ignited by the
color and texture. As soon as the first dabs of paint make their way onto
the paper, their imaginations are set free. If ideas don't come during the
paint papermaking, the children do not experience inadequacy or pressure for
they are completely engaged in the process of making the textured paint
papers. Anxiety about artistic skill is also not an issue for the only
requirement is that kids fill their papers with color and texture. They are
free to delight in the pure exploration of color and texture. The images
they discover in their textured paint papers come from what they know along
with their rich imaginations. For example, the plastic wrap textured paint
paper might remind students of frost on a window or ice crystals forming on
a pond. Children are invited to practice free association when I hold up a
textured paint paper and ask: "What does this paper remind you of?" Or
"What do you see in this paper?" This allows the children to come up with a
lot of interesting ideas to write about in a non-threatening engaging way.
This is known as discovering images. Once they have the images in their
mind, they are asked to weave a story about the images they have found in
their paint papers. Children select paint papers with images and line them
up in a row to talk through and develop their story lines. This visual
story map gives children a concrete visual tool for "roughing out" a story
line. As children place the textured paint papers in a row across the
floor, they engage in a lengthy oral rehearsal process of their story. They
are moving from visual thinking to verbal thinking. While these initial
story lines are often sparse at first, they do provide a basic concrete
visual framework from which to launch a story. With continued opportunities
to rehearse and develop a story line, it is likely that a story will
continue to evolve and gain details and elaboration. Once children
rehearse their story orally while looking at the line of their paint papers,
they will make a collage picture for each page of their story. They'll cut
these images out and make pictures to tell a story about the character.
Almost everything in their picture will be made with their cut out paint
papers. This is a process that author Eric Carle uses. For example, he uses
paper to make the ground line, trees, mountains, birds, flowers, and other
objects in his pictures. Selecting textured paint papers to use in building
a collage picture requires the student to answer certain basic questions
such as: What picture do I want the reader to see in this collage? What
will the setting for this picture be? What time of day is it? If the
picture depicts the outdoors, what is the weather like? What season is it?
Within the image making process, the story actually takes shape through the
act of cutting and pasting. Because pictures tell a story, the simplest
choice of a piece of paper or minute adjustment of a shape on a page can
stimulate a whole new train of thought. For example, gluing a ship onto the
ocean so that it is horizontal gives the impression of smooth sailing. If
by chance, the ship is accidentally tipped on the diagonal by the casual
brushing of a hand, it suggests a very different story. Now the ship appears
to be rocking out at sea, tossed by rough waves. At this point, the child
has a choice as to whether to return the ship to its original position or go
forward with this new vision of rough seas. This process is so dynamic that
even so called mistakes in cutting tearing, or pasting shapes on the page
can generate new ideas for the story. Each and every visual detail, whether
planned or accidental, offers important information and presents the
opportunity for expanded thinking. Once all collage pictures are made for
the pages of the story, the child rehearses the story verbally again.
The next step in the image writing process is to match pictures with written
words. Children write silver dollar describing words for elements in each
collage picture. For example, children might write describing words for the
weather, time of day, character, or place in the collage picture. Once
describing words have been written, they are incorporated into written
sentences that tell the story the child has been rehearsing since the
beginning of this process. Then, the story is typed, bound, and possibly
laminated into a treasured book. It is a long process, but well worth
every step! The children and I will be very proud of their collage stories.
Here are some questions to ask your child this week:
1) What are some healthy foods you can eat?
2) What does a lever help you do?
3) Can you tell me about a character in one of the Red Clover Books?
Dates to Remember:
April 12th: We will walk to the Moretown Memorial Library at 8:50 and
return at 9:20.
April 12th: PTN Meeting, 7:00.
April 13th, 14th, 15th: Gates McGinitie Reading Test, 8:15-9:15. Please
make sure your child has a hearty breakfast and gets rest during this time.
Also, please remind him/her that all we ask is that they try his/her best.
This is also a timed test, which the kids are not used to. Therefore, it is
important to tell them that if they don't finish something, it is okay. They
should also realize that some questions may be easy and some may be hard.
In addition, they should be reminded to go back and check their work if they
finish the test ahead of time. We will do our part to make sure this
testing does not produce anxiety and is a positive experience as well.
April 13th: Raptors visit at 1:45.
April 16th: Jean Haverstick returns with her friend Katie to share how a
blind person can adapt to life without seeing.
April 19th: School Vacation begins.
April 26th: School resumes.
April 28th: Chicken eggs are placed in the incubator
May 17th: Fieldtrip to ECCO.
May 18th: (approximately) chickens hatch
I think that is it for now. Enjoy the wonderful spring weather and sharing
time with your child.
Sincerely,
Kathi
Mrs. Bentley reading one of the new Red Clover Books.