The French digraph we focussed on was "il" - usually an L preceded by an I makes the sound "ye." Kids found many examples in books which we put on the board. We reviewed all the French digraphs we've learned, and then played a game in 2 teams where 2 kids at a time race to correctly read an invented word. The use of invented words means that the kids must rely on their knowledge of decoding rules rather than any knowledge of sight words.
In math we focussed on fractions, specifically the meaning of a whole, a half and a quarter. Many kids are still learning the idea that "half" can only be understood in relation to the whole it refers to, and that the 2 parts must be equal. As luck would have it, we had an authentic problem of leftover granola bars that we wanted to split fairly among the students. I gave it to them as a story problem, which they are used to solving using pictures and equations. We looked at the kids' different solutions, and then I cut up the bars before their eyes, asking where I should place the knife and making obvious mistakes that needed correcting. Then each kid got their piece!
We followed this introduction to the importance of fractions with a task for getting used to the vocabulary, with the kids cutting up and labelling whole, half and quarter from 2 different shapes of paper.
On another day, I laid out 3 areas with the labels whole, half and quarter in French. I asked different kids to select 3 items from a table that seemed to go together. Then the student had to place one of each item in the whole, half and quarter categories. I asked kids to explain their choices, and even to prove to us that something was indeed a whole, half or quarter.
We had a terrific workshop, Lost and Found, with members of Theatre Direct. They first visited our classroom and told stories with puppets made from random objects like tuques and socks. The kids were captivated and each had the opportunity to try animating a scarf themselves. Then the 3 participating classes were treated to a puppet show in the library which showcased the puppeteers amazing ability to bring objects from a lost and found box come to life and tell a story.
I brought some sprouting potatoes to the class and the kids put them into water to see if they would grow. We identified the needs we think plants have, and we have plans to test our theories using the potato plants as our subjects.
We also prepared gifts for Mother's Day. I showed the students an example of the cloth frame with scene elements suspended inside. I asked the students to think of an activity that they like to do with their mom. Then they drew themselves doing that activity together with their mom, on cardstock, in pencil, with different elements that could be put together. When they had some drawings they liked they traced over them in permanent marker and coloured them with oil pastels. They cut the parts out and glued them onto wooden cubes into the cloth frames. Then they copied the sentence they had said onto sticks and attached these with glue. I managed to display the finished works in the hall for a couple of days before the kids wrapped them up to take home, because they were so darling they needed showing off!
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