One focus this week in Humanities was on beginning our First Nations research projects. Earlier students learned online about designated First Nations in Alberta like the Kainai, Nakoda or Dene. The information was recorded on Google docs. In forthcoming classes, students will work together collaboratively to extend this understanding. They will discuss with others how best to present their research and will identify various ways that information can be recorded and presented visually. This will culminate in a presentation. Students watched a presentation done for a T.V. show in class. The presentation was made by two brothers who are around the same age as the students in 4E and 4F. These children made a product pitch to a panel of adults. 4E and 4F students were surprised that children so young could do such a competent job. They commented on how confident the two boys were and how well they understood their topic (hot chocolate). We all agreed that the ingredients to a good presentation are that the presenter should:
Our second area of focus this week was on writing. Students learned that writing a paragraph is like a hamburger. A good paragraph should have a topic sentence (top bun), supporting sentences (condiments and fillings) and a concluding sentence (bottom bun): We all agreed that a hamburger that is lacking in one or more of these things wouldn't be a delicious hamburger regardless of the type of hamburger (could be a veggie burger or a chicken burger too!). The supporting sentences must have information relating to the subject sentence. The conclusion sentence re-states the topic, but doesn't offer new information. For practice, students wrote a 100 word paragraph about the long weekend. Learners in 4E and 4F are being encouraged to use paragraphs when writing their legendary stories. Building on previous lessons, we know stories can use red flag words or phrases, word referents, and this week we talked about how good stories have a beginning, middle and end. A climax in a story is when all the action in the story builds up to a certain point. This is also known popularly as a cliffhanger. It's the point in the story where the tension or action reaches its highest part. Sometimes, the climax is a "crisis" point in the plot. Students read a sample story about finding a treasure. In this story they identified the beginning, climax, solution and use of a red flag word. Students used the strategy of visualization when listening to this story too. The author was very descriptive about the setting. He/she talked about a tropical island with swaying palm trees, warm water and beautiful, lush tropical greenery. When we write our legendary stories we will try to include details about the setting that will make it seem real by including lots of good adjectives: Amazing how a story could transport us to a time and place that is very different from February in Calgary! Mr. Brewer is looking forward to reading stories that are imaginative and fascinating. Weekly spelling words: Feb. 26 - Suffixes
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