Contest Queston

There was a special lunar event last week.  What was it, when did it happen and when was the last time this happened?  We will be posting questions all week, check back and bring the answers to school next week.

Canada's National Animal Mono Prints

Bald Eagle 

As part of our inquiry “Which Animal Should be Canada’s National Animal”, students researched animals from across Canada.  After studying the regions of Canada, students chose an animal to research that they thought should replace the beaver as Canada’s national symbol.  

  

We used a technique called mono printing to create our art.  The students were given a “sandwich” of three pieces of paper: white, wax paper and black card stock.

The first step was to sketch the animal on a white piece of paper.  The students then placed the wax paper on top of their drawing and began to paint in the background in small sections.  They then placed the black paper on top and rubbed the area where the paint was to transfer the paint.  This process continued until the entire picture was filled in.  They needed to go over some areas more than once to add more details to their picture. 

 

We discovered that the paint needed to be added in thin layers or it would spread too much on the print and become a big blob.  If we made a mistake during the process, we were able to let the paint dry and then go over it again to fix any mistakes that had been made.

                                         

Canada's Next Official Animal

For the Convention of Learning on December 16th students in room 16 will presenting their suggestions for Canada's next official animal.  The Beaver has been Canada's symbol since 1975, when a private member’s bill, which had been passed by the Senate  received Royal Assent, making the beaver the official national symbol of Canada.  More recently a Canadian senator has called for a national “emblem makeover” by replacing a vegetarian rodent with the world’s largest walking carnivore that thrives in the cold.  

Students will be presenting their work both orally and on a poster.   The following criteria needs to be included on the poster: 

•   Catchy title which includes the animals's name and Canada's Next National Animal.  It should be big and bold.  

•   Subtitles - Habitat, Food Chain (what does it eat, predator and prey), Physical Features (adaptations), Why should it be Canada's next animal?

•   Four paragraphs (one for each of the above topics)

•   Pictures - at least one well drawn, labelled picture of the animal, map showing where it lives and a picture of it's habitat.  

Students have been given a graphic organizer for their research.  The research should now be complete and they should be working on completing their paragraphs.  Good copies of all four paragraphs will be due on Thursdays.  If they would like to type their paragraphs they are encouraged to do so in a google doc so that it will be available for them to work on both at school and at home.