Wednesday, 6 March

 Fire Logs

Joanna doing her thing

Today we began by examining some film shorts by a young Canadian named Sean Quigley.  See the post below to find the links and read the class' comment.  Next we had a lesson on film production with Joanna.  It was neat to see her planning maps because they incorporate many of the visual elements we've been examining in our other coursework.  I find that those kind of visual maps really make organizing and digesting and recalling information much easier.  We watched a short that she produced and Bjorn shot called "Fire Logs."  I learned something about how west coast loggers keep themselves warm when in the bush.  Click the link under the photo to view the video.

After recess we read for ten minutes and then did math.  The 7s reviewed yesterday's homework and then blasted ahead with more practice subtracting fractions.  They finished #9-12 on page 194, then dashed on to complete page 197.  I said that if people found they were really understanding the process, they had only to do every second question - I trust the students to gauge their learning.  Please try to complete that for homework if you didn't finish in class, but don't spend more than about 15 minutes on it.  Please ensure that you show the n/n fractions if you multiply to change a denominator - you can use mental math, but record your thinking.

After lunch we read for ten minutes and then worked on our science inquiry projects.  I was able to help many students navigate PowerPoint (I wish I was that proficient with iMovie).  I was much more satisfied with the way everyone worked this afternoon.  Folks got to work quickly and there was no wasted time like yesterday.  Way to go you guys!  We stopped at 2:00 to discuss our art project film teams and discussed a variety of points: the need for flexibility, having enough people to have a variety of actors available, ensuring that everyone is included FROM THE START and allowing people to still have fun so that the whole experience in enjoyable.  We will make our decisions first thing tomorrow, before band.  During our discussion we had a short visit from Mrs. Rive and our school superintendent, Mr. Bocking.  It was nice that they were able to see the class engaged in a mature discussion that showcased all of the collaboration skills that students have developed so far this year.  I'm sure our guests were impressed with the respectful, orderly conduct and thoughtful ideas displayed our students.  I was certainly proud and it wasn't staged, honestly.

We ended the day with an introduction to volleyball.  Thanks to Amber and Goldney who, on a moment's notice,  demonstrated sound volleying technique to the class.  I thought that the pointers they gave helped to make it easy for those students who are inexperienced in the game, move forward.  I know others who also are experienced helped as well - thanks.  Tomorrow we'll try to be more successful getting the nets up quickly so we can play some mini-games at the end of the lesson.

Remember that you will need your instruments for band tomorrow.

Thanks for a great day!