Evergreen Theatre Production, Designing my Thermos and Rising Sea Ice...

Literacy
One of the most important Reading Strategies is CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING. As our reading accuracy improves and the books we are reading become more sophisticated it is especially importatn that we are continually checking for understanding as we read. Good readers do this in their heads but this process takes time and is learned from years of reading practice! 

Good Readers are THINKING while they read:

This is a modeled process. Student's need to be stopping as they read and thinking about these questions, talking about what they read which can be by making predictions, retelling, learning new vocabulary, summarizing, and discussing connections. If we are not THINKING about what we are reading we are NOT reading!


Evergreen Theatre Production
This morning we were so lucky to welcome Evergreen Theatre into our school and take part in an interactive theatre production about Rising Sea Levels and the changing Oceans around us. 

The Sinking Island - Touring Spring 2018

Katie Swells is one of the best young sailors on Storm Island Nova Scotia. After years of hard work and getting to know a sailboat, she’s finally ready to be a part of Storm Island’s biggest sailing race; The Big Circle. But things take a turn when Katie returns home from vacation and discovers that The Big Circle has been cancelled. Her best friend Sam the Seal tells her the water is rising off the island, making the race unsafe for young sailors. Determined to prove herself, Katie sets sail to try the race on her own, followed by a worried Sam. The Sinking Island is a funny and thoughtful nautical adventure that shows how our changing oceans affect the world around us.

Ask me what I learned and what my favorite part was. What problems were facing Katie and the Animals in the play?

Designing My Thermos:

Yesterday and today we created plans for our thermos. The challenge is to see how long it will keep an ice cube cold and in it's frozen state. We drew our designs with labels and diagrams and lists of the materials that we want to use. Today we wrote a hypothesis for the question: How can I design a device that will insulate an ice cube and prevent heat transfer from making it melt?

Tomorrow we will be building our first prototype. Mrs. Lagrana is able to provide:

-plastic cups of varying sizes

-cotton balls

-fabric

-tinfoil

-plastic

-rubber bands

-clear tape

-paper towels

Please discuss with your child their design intentions and what materials they would like to use or that they feel would make the best insulators. If your child has other ideas and your are able to send in these other materials by TOMORROW Friday February 23rd then they will be able to use these alternatives to building. 

Some other materials we brainstormed but that Mrs. Lagrana does not have access to for 25 kids are:

-duct tape

-styrofoam chips

-wood chips

-leaves

-sand

-rubber material

-larger bottles such as 2 L bottles 

-glass bottles (mini coke bottles)

-Foam material

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Thermos

We will build tomorrow and test on Monday. Then we will reflect and re-design as needed and make our 2nd insulator prototype! Please email Mrs. Lagrana at imlagrana@cbe.ab.ca if you have any questions about this process.



Today we read "My Wounded Island" by Jacques Pasquet and Marion Arbona. Ask me what this book was about? Why is her Island Wounded?