David Shannon Author Study – The students in this class loved this author’s books so after reading many of them we discussed the components of his stories, similarities/differences, themes, etc. We used “David Goes to School” as a guideline to creating unique stories to each student over the course of a few weeks.
Alma Thomas – After discussing the colours of fall the students used watercolours and oil pastels to create these.
Pumpkins – The students learned the names for the parts of the pumpkin as they created their art work.
Students were introduced to images of Andy Golsworthy’s work and asked questions. After the discussion we went outside to a rock garden and the kids chose what they wanted to make. Students began to sort through rocks in different ways to create their sculpture. Some became interested in rocks with line, some wanted large or small rocks, and some looked for particular colours to create patterns.
During a nature camp in a garden, the children found and collected many sticks. I brought in some yarn so the children could weave with the sticks. The Evil Eye weave became popular. While many of the children found it difficult they kept on trying and practicing. Soon some children had become quite quick and began to teacher those struggling.
Math Provocation – Providing the students with various pebbles, confetti, buttons, beads, and a felt surface they were asked to create anything they wanted. We then went around looking to see if there were any patterns in any of the designs. We did one-to-one correspondence as we made sure length of beads were even and asked students to count how many of an item they used.
Wet Felting – The students explored yarn, felt, and pulled wool. They discussed what it felt like, where it came from, and what they own made out of the materials. The students first made marbles and then we moved on to making wet felted drawings.
Eagle Project – This was inspired by a visited from a parent who had carved a totem for the school featuring an eagle. After hearing stories, listening and dancing to songs, and asking questions the students made drawings as we played the image of an eagle flying in the sky on the Smartboard.