May 24

Poems! (By Stephenie)

Hello!

In class, we’ve  started a new unit of poetry. We all have adapted quickly, and are discovering our inner poets. I’ve read a few, and our class is really doing well. I have a few poems of mine that I’d like to share:

Bad Poems

 Bad poems

are just words

tied into a knot

waiting to be untied.

People think they

become useless when they get a knot

Photo Credit: Asher Isbrucker via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: Asher Isbrucker via Compfight cc

So they throw them away.

But when you get a knot

in your shoelaces

do you just throw them away?

 

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This poem was inspired by one of my classmates (You know who you are) who was always telling me that his poems are bad and tears them apart. I thought that I’d give him some inspiration to keep writing. There are really no bad poems, sometimes they just get a loose knot.

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Photo Credit: Nathan Kleyn via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: Nathan Kleyn via Compfight cc

Puddle

A reflection

Splat

Straight on the cement floor.

Such a common thing

though not many people know

that it’s magic

can cause

a rainbow?

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This was my first poem, which I am actually quite proud of. When I wrote it, it was a drizzly day, and I had my topic. Then I thought; I can’t wait for the rainbow! Then the poem practically slapped me in the face and told me to write it down. So I did.

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Thank you for reading!

Your friend,

Stephenie.

How did you like them?

Feedback?

Leave me a comment down below!

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May 24

POEM: Picture On The Wall

Picture on the Wall

by Dante

 

Picture on the wall

I hope you don’t fall

You will shatter and break

You’ll hurt my ears and my face!

 

I know you won’t listen so

I will tape you up there so

You don’t fall

But you don’t care

You are just

A picture on the wall.

May 24

POEMS!

Hi,
In class, we’ve been learning about poems! We’ve been learning and reading about other poems.
Poems are sometimes short and sometimes long! For example this is a short poem I wrote:
PRAYER
Love,
Peace,
Prayer!
Judging not,
Loving and
Sweet
Today
Tomorrow
Yesterday

May 24

Two Poems Written by Tony & Matt

WHERE IS IT?

By: Tony

I’ve been looking for years

and I still can’t find it

I’ve climbed Mount Everest

and broke records

I’ve been the first one on Mars

but I still

I can’t find it

I can’t find it

what I’ve been looking for my whole my

I can’t find happiness

DREAM

By: Matthew

Dreams

in a glazing stare

Wonder

in a circle

Ideas

Rushing to the start

Dreams

of something that’s

graceful

beautiful

loving

generous

creativeness

all in

one eye

May 12

We are Poets

Our classroom is alive with poetry! I’ve been blown away by the ideas, creative thinking, and desire to share those ideas within the class these last 2 weeks in our poetry unit. Our focus this year is on free-verse poems. The best part about free-verse poems is that there are NO rules!

 Photo Credit: kaiser_t via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: kaiser_t via Compfight cc

Where does poetry hide? Poems hide in the most unexpected places, often they are right in front of us and in the people in our lives. Poetry hides in a grandmother’s wrinkles, in a clock’s hands, inside our shoes, in the shadows of a tree.

Someone once said that we should be like sponges, noticing everything around us, taking it all in. In class, we’ve learned about the importance of looking at the ordinary in extraordinary ways. Looking at things in different ways reveals poetry where we might not typically see it.

There are many sources of poetry. It’s endless! You might say there are several poetry “doors” we can enter to help us craft our ideas. Georgia Heard describes 5 doors that we can step through and gather inspiration for our poetry…

1.  The Heart Door–this is the most important door because it leads to our heart, our feelings, the truth about our beliefs. Write about what you feel is true.

2. The Observation Door–this is what we observe around us, what amazes us, what is beautiful.

3.  The Concerns About the World Door–this is what we worry about, the environment, what we see in the news, war, floods, disasters.

4.  The Wonder Door–these are questions we have about the world, life, school, what we are curious about.

5. The Memory Door–we often have vivid memories whether good or bad. Memories can often serve as inspiration for a poem.

The truth is, there are many doors from which to write–the doors are endless! I encourage each one of us to have the courage to step through at least one of the doors  and not be afraid to explore the inner poet within us and enter the world of poetry.

 

May 7

DanceFest 2015

Today was our performance day for DanceFest and we were as prepared as we were ever going to be. Nerves were rattling as we waited patiently for our turn. At last, our group was called and we quickly assembled on the dance floor with nervous smiles. As the music began, you all did your thing and did such an excellent job.

The colours of our groups looked great out there! I am so proud of your hard work–it certainly paid off.

It was great to see you having fun out there, which is what it’s all about!

April 26

The Traveling Teapot~Our Journey

International collaboration and project-based learning were keeping the students busy in our classroom over the last several weeks. If you were to walk into our classroom, you would have definitely seen teamwork, math thinking, revision, and decision-making in action as the students immersed themselves in what we called ‘The Teapot Project’.

box IMG_2337

 

 

 

 

Our project began with a special package arriving from Singapore International School. The students’ curiosity was high as they wondered what could be inside. Inside was a carefully wrapped white teapot in a specially made box with pictures on it from Singapore and Canada. We investigated about Singapore, where it was in the world, what languages they speak, etc. Part of the packaging in the box was some newspaper which got passed around so everyone could have a closer look at the language printed on the paper. We discovered it was Mandarin.

Next, we did some research on packaging. We investigated different designs of packages online and at home. Boy, was there a lot of unique designs out there! We discovered the most common package shape was the rectangular prism.IMG_2340  Click here for our blog post on this topic.IMG_2342 IMG_2344

IMG_2341Next, students were put into groups of 3 and needed to plan their own design so that we could send the teapot somewhere new. They needed to think about shape, design, colours, pictures, functionality, durability, and so on. We had been studying measurement and geometry and this was their chance to apply their understanding of perimeter, area, and volume.  Each group measured the dimensions of the teapot and sketched out their design. Next, they had to make a net of their design and make any necessary adjustments along the way. There were all sorts of shapes being brainstormed including trapezoids, triangles, and cylinders.

IMG_2521One of the criteria for the teapot box was that there had to be at least 1 Thai element included. Students gathered their research and learned about various elements of Thai culture. One group even wrote a message in Thai–not an easy feat! Elephants and temples were some of the images students included on their finished boxes.

IMG_2554The students had to present their finished boxes and then they were voted on based on the criteria. The winning teapot design went to Gavin, Stephenie, and Julia! Congratulations!

 

 

 

To celebrate all the hard work and bid adieu to the teapot, we decided to have a tea party and also watch a short video about how tea is made.

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If you drink tea, what is your preferred type?

What an excellent job all groups did. I’m so impressed of all the hard work and dedication to your project. Bravo!

 

 

 

April 19

Making a Model Arm

What an impressive level of creativity and cooperation displayed when students were asked to build a model arm for Science class. At the time, we were studying and learning about muscles and bones and how they work together so we can move our body!

Students had to understand and apply their knowledge of muscles, bones, tendons and build a working arm. They presented their project being sure to use proper science vocabulary such as bicep, tricep, joint, humerus, radius, ulna, etc. Look at the variety of designs and unique use of materials!

 

Here are also a few photos of some of the students experimenting with reaction time. They held a ruler and measured (in cm) how fast their partner could respond and catch the ruler with their fingers.

Which sports do you think require a fast reaction time?

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