Poetry Month, Earth Day Project, and New Technology in Our Classroom

There was an old lady from Lynn

Who was so uncommonly thin

That when she essayed

To drink lemonade

She slipped through the straw and fell in.

            -author unknown

Rhyming patterns were examined in poetry, and the above limerick gave a light-hearted look at rhythm at rhyme.  The students took an opportunity to author a few rhyming poems, including limericks, as part of April as National Poetry Month, which celebrates its twentieth year in Canada in 2018.  

The students have also studied pop songs as a source of literary devices, and assessed songs for poetic meter (counting "feet" instead of "sheep" 😁) and rhyme patterns.  Examination of blank verse in the Book of Isaiah also served to provide poetic read-aloud opportunities and how to use punctuation to add emphasis and flow when meter and rhyme does not provide it.

As a tribute to both National Poetry Month and Earth Day (April 22nd) the students read and watched The Lorax and examined the interplay of economics and environmental issues.  They are also responsible to complete a short "sequel" to the story which will be shared next week.  Next up: learning the structure and doing an analysis of a Shakespearean sonnet.

With much enthusiasm, the students have been taking a few short lessons to practice cursive handwriting as a break and/or transition activity.  With stylus and interactive pen technology, handwriting is proving to be no less important than it was before the advent of laptops and handheld devices. The students are always asking for more cursive!  We will continue and display some of their work.

SCIENCE
Photos of the design projects for the Terrific Toy Company are in the hallway.  It has been tremendous to see the students growth in their understanding and use of The Design Process.  Vocabulary development for Water Systems of the world, and a brief experiment (due Monday) will further the students learning about the natural environment and interconnected nature of ecosystems.


TECHNOLOGY
We are excited to announce that our classroom will begin in-class daily use of a whole-class set of Samsung tablets in the weeks ahead.  These will primarily replace our use of the laptops in the Technology Lab.  They will be used for continued written work submissions, research, and skill development.