Friday 10 March 2017

What Makes a Good Story?

In Language Arts we have been looking at what makes a good story.  We are working on improving our writing by adding descriptive details so that it makes it interesting for the reader to read.  We have been reading and listening to great stories that model good practices for our writing.  Have you read a good story lately?

Thursday 9 March 2017

International Women's Day - Wednesday March 8, 2017

In honor of International Women's Day a bronze statue was set in front of the 'Wall Street Bull' this week to symbolize and celebrate the power of women across our planet. Yesterday students in Room 17/18 were shown this photograph featuring the bull and its new addition and asked to independently write a response.   Picture prompts are a powerful way for students to generate ideas, reflect and fuel their curiosity. Many insightful and thoughtful conversations arose!  Here is a sample of some of the students' responses:                                                                                                                              

“It looks like the women inspires others by showing bravery”

“The girl is brave and a hero to face the bull”

“She’s facing her own fears and she’s sending a message that you shouldn’t be afraid of things.”

“I think the girl is standing up for herself”

“The bull is a bully.  I think that the bully was scaring someone so that girl had the courage to stand up to the bully”

“That girl isn’t scared of that bull.  The bull is her fears or problems and what I see is a girl not scared of boundaries or limits to what she is or what the world labels her to be. She is overcoming stereotypes, sexism or racism and showing the world she is not just a girl”

“I think the bull is trying to show off with it’s great size, power and speed to that girl…The girl says stop bullying and stands up for herself.

“This picture looks like a girl who isn’t afraid of anything who can be appreciated and loved for who she is”

We also watched several videos highlighting women's issues in the world today and discovered that many very important inventions were drawn from powerful women throughout history.

Students watched a short biography of Amelia Earhart's life.  Please feel feel to watch these again with your children and ask them to share their incredible and insightful thoughts!

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=cr-xzDv6Ijo