On Monday the grade two classes will be going to the 4Cats Art Studio in Edgemont. While we are there, each of us will create a splatter painting of one of the areas of Canada. These areas include Nunavut and the Arctic, Nova Scotia and the East Coast, Alberta and the Prairies Provinces, and Edgemont in Calgary.
We learned that we are not the only artists creating splatter art to represent the world around us. A famous artist named Jackson Pollock began creating Action Paintings in the 1950's as part of the abstract expressionist art movement. He would have large canvases and flick, drip, splatter, and plop paint all over the canvases as he listened to his favourite music. Today in class we created our own Action Paintings in the style of Jackson Pollock as we listened to George Gershiwin's song, Summertime. Pollock used to listen to this song while he painted. We created our first marker and pencil crayon Action Painting with our eyes closed and three colors. Then our second paintings with our eyes open or closed with many more colors. Students said they felt free to create as artists while they using their entire bodies to create the action art. Here is a great link to more information about Jackson Pollock and the art that has inspired around the world. Early this week, grade two students began the school week discussing the conversations they had heard and participated in about the current fire burning in and around the Fort McMurray area. As a class, we discussed the difficulties many people were having as they left their homes with very few possessions, often leaving all they owned behind, including their family pets. In continuing our conversation and work around how we are all connected, we decided to research, find, and share stories about people helping those individuals, families, and animals affected by this large fire. Over the past few days, room 5 students and their families have been researching 'good news' stories, true information about people helping people especially where there is tragedy. We shared these articles, videos, and stories in class this morning. We learned that when we read an article, whether it is digital or in print, or if we watch a video or listen to the radio, good information answers the 5 W's and the 1 H: who, what, where, when, why, and how. This morning we used these short questions to read and learn about Fort McMurray and the fire in Northern Alberta. After we read our articles and found the information that answered the 5W's and 1H, we compiled our information and created this chart to help us understand how people are helping. We talked about why people would help, and how it feels when we do things for each other, in particular when help is anonymous (a new big word for us). The documentation of our conversation is below: Thank you to our families for helping us research good articles and videos. We look forward to helping people in our Edgemont community and beyond as we continue to learn how we can positively contribute to the world around us. Dear Grade Two Families,
We are extremely proud as a Grade Two team to share the article that "hive lights" the work of the Grade 2 students with their See a Problem…Bee the Solution fundraiser back in December. The magazine is called Hivelights, The Official Magazine of the Canadian Honey Council! Thank you to all the students, parents, guardians, and families who supported and participated in our bee research, academic work, and fundraiser. We are so proud that we were able to reach beyond the classroom to help others! The link below will take you to the online version. We are "hive lighted" on page 8 & 9! On Monday, May 16 we will be having our second field trip of the year. We will be visiting and painting at the 4Cats Art Studio in Edgemont. Your child will be coming home today with the a letter to read for your information (the digital copy of this letter is below). Since this is a walking field trip, we do not need permission forms completed by parents. We do need you to read this form and ensure that your child is ready with the correct clothing, walking shoes, snacks, lunch, and water for the day to run smoothly. Thank you for reading this letter and preparing for the field trip on Monday. If you have any questions email Ms. Bates by Friday. We feel so sad for the people and animals of Fort McMurray and everyone else as they experience a fire. We know that when sad things happen to people, other people can offer help.
As a class we are looking for 'good news' stories of people helping people, or people helping animals, even in the middle of a tragic fire. Students will each find a story or article about helping the residents of Fort McMurray. Students can share their stories by sending a link in an email to Ms. Bates, writing a true story on a piece of paper, or printing or photocopying a story and bringing it to class. Stories can be text or a video. The story could even be about how a student's family helped the residents of Fort McMurray. Articles need to include answering the 5 W's and the 1 H. They are: who, where, when, what, why, & how. We are going to learn how to read articles using the 5 W's and the 1 H in class. These articles or video links need to be in class or in Ms. Bates' email box by Thursday morning, May 12, 2016. Thank you for helping us find great articles! - Awesome students of room 5 & the teacher |
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