Practical and Engaging efforts

Onthouboks Decorating

During the past couple of weeks the children have been engaged with numerous practical tasks. These play a vital role in their development with regard to their use of creativity and stretch them to solve problems and look for solutions. During the course of the last few weeks they had to create a dramatic presentation in a group which would portray the ‘Photosynthesis process’ to others. Good co-operation, self discipline and creative effort is of utmost importance with this task. The children did a good job and we had many a giggle in between all the serious jargon.

Maths was brought alive by beautiful, jade green three dimensional shapes which had to be explored and defined. The morning light captured the interesting shapes with green shadows on their faces. This was also a group activity and the children were left to solve problems in a collaborative fashion.

Glue, glitter, colorful photos, words galore, personal drawings, verses and lovely Afrikaans woordeskat was used to start their ‘Onthouboks’ project. It was lovely to hear the banter and sharing while they spent time decorating their memory boxes which will be used as a visual contribution during an Afrikaans Mondeling which is being developed. Various stages of Afrikaans discussion, written pieces and an interview with themselves will form the basis for this Mondeling. We look forward to seeing the final product. The children are certainly encouraged to let the creative juices flow during these wonderful tasks.

They also did a ‘Dustbin’ exploration where as part of their Social Science curriculum were instructed to decipher certain ‘sources’ which would help them fill in a table about certain people and households. This was once again a lovely hands on task. I can now just leave you with the unbelievable thought that we are halfway through the third term.

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Finding our way…

We put our map reading skills into practice by taking a walk around the neighbourhood with our street map in hand. The children were given the task to draw their route on the map, as we were walking to one of our local shops. They had to take note of certain landmarks and street names.

Back in the classroom, we used the map (and the experience, of course) to complete a map reading task. The children had to use written directions to draw a specified route on a map, and they also had to write down a route that was given to them into their own words. This is a very necessary and useful skill for them to develop.

Here are a few snapshots of our children in action.

Book week and more…

Book week was met with much enthusiasm as the Grade 5’s put their hands to work on their Book Dioramas.  I thoroughly enjoyed their interpretations and creative style.  I so enjoyed seeing our children reading to the younger children and we are so fortunate to have the junior campus next door.  The children also experienced a number of other activities such as making up a story and turning it into a play, making a digital book trailer, writing a short story and turning a known story into a cartoon.  A highlight of course was when the book fairy aka Mr Preston rang the bell and we would drop everything and read.  All in all it was a lovely short week focused on the world of imagination that books have to offer.

This week we introduced the NS topic of fossils and the class blew me away with their creative efforts at drawing pictures of fossils.  They certainly have made for an amazing display in our classroom.  The class found the topic quite fascinating and generated a lot to talk about from questions to personal stories.

In Social Science we focused on the build of South Africa.  In IT they used Google Earth to search for certain Capes and Bays and had to use the snipping tool to put the images onto a worksheet.  It was lovely to see the faster workers explore our coastline for other familiar Capes and Bays.  The children also had to show their understanding of the build of South Africa by building it out of playdough.  Who would have thought 10 year olds could get so excited about playing with playdough.  It ended with many of them asking for the recipe…so guess what they will be doing at home.

Please take a look at a few of our wonderful moments in class the last 2 weeks.

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Having fun, using the 5 C’s…

Creativity … Critical thinking … Collaboration … Cooperation … Communication …

These skills were the focus of our Integrated Learning Task this term, using Ancient Egypt as our theme. This ILT is one of our Grade 5 highlights. It involves research about Howard Carter and King Tut’s tomb, mummification, Ancient Egyptian farming and Ancient Egyptian family life. The children collaborate and share their findings with one another. They use the content of their research as a vehicle to implement these very important 21st century skills.

The children wrote Diary entries for English, built pyramids together, performed an archaeological dig in groups, used their pyramids to complete a measurement and shapes task for Mathematics, created an informative Powerpoint slide on pyramids and wrote a letter to their friends in Afrikaans, telling them about our recent Egypt Day activities.

 

 

 

Fabulous iPads and IT in action

Puppet Pals ‘Draak’ recording

IT lesson

Multitasking with my computer and iPad

Sources task

Weather report

Weather symbols

Keynote presentation

Our deeper learning tasks, using the iPad as a tool,are developing really well after having implemented them on a few occasions now. The children are embracing the iPads in order to bring these tasks to life. The latest task was an Afrikaans task based on ‘Ruby en die Draak’ which is a delightful story which we covered in Afrikaans. The children had numerous tasks to complete but a highlight was the Puppet Pals iPad task where they had to record their voices giving an oral presentation of a description of their ‘Draaks’ which they had written themselves. To add to that, they also designed their own hand- drawn dragons which were then photographed and included into their puppet pals presentations. The children were enthralled with this task and loved choosing backgrounds, experimenting with the APP and then enlightening each other about their discoveries. There were some challenging moments but they have managed to submit some lovely final recordings to Google Classroom. I am amazed at their use of creativity and willingness to experiment with new material.

We briefed the children on a Rainfall and Temperature task for Social Science which entails keeping track of the rainfall and temperature for the week. They constructed rainfall gauges out of a 2l cooldrink bottle during their technology lesson, so these were put to use this week. This is a two week task which includes numerous skills in order to create the final presentation for submission.

During IT this week the children also were presented with an element of exploration. They were briefly introduced to the topic of Primary and Secondary sources and then went on to watch a Powtoon based on an explanation of these concepts. They then had to use that information to design two slides using PowerPoint in order to show their understanding of the topic. Specific questions were put to the children to answer in their slides. The visual side was also catered for by offering numerous pictures to be included so that their understanding was enforced.

It is great to reflect on the skills that are encompassed during these sessions and it is only when one breaks it all down, how one realises what it takes in order for them to complete these tasks.

Rainbird “Rubbish bin dig”

In preparation of our exciting Ancient Egypt theme this term in Social Science, the children got to experience what it would be like to be archaeologists of a different sort. They were given a bag or “rubbish” items from someone’s bin. They had to collaborate and discuss what kind of family lived at each house and discover more about them by evaluating their rubbish. They had to find out where they were from, who was part of the family, what they did in their free time, did they have pets…

The children had fun trying to convince their team members what they had concluded from the different items. At least they got to see there is more to an archaeologist’s job than just digging in the ground.

 

The eve of a public holiday and long weekend!!!

 

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I would like to mention our Book Day from 2 weeks back. Although our campus did not carry one theme through for the day, it was most evident that the children were exposed to a rich array of books and characters and words and creative writing and wonderful input into the world of imagination that books have to offer. Our school foyer hosted a delightful reading chair and reading corner, our Grade 6’s ( and their spirit- filled teachers) dressed up as book characters and I thoroughly enjoyed their interpretations and creative style. I so enjoy seeing older children read to younger children and we are so fortunate to have our junior campus right next door. Our class set up a book display at the back of the class which featured all the children’s favourite books,
either from their home bookshelves, or from our school library. This table display was a centre of attention for the week and we had lovely conversations around characters, different scenes and general storytelling. Our pictures show some true bookworms in our class including the delightful ‘Mr B’.

Last week brought forth a most welcome public holiday….. Work, work, work, smile…….pause. The children delight in the mere thought of a public holiday, as do the teachers. There are always so many stories to share afterwards and our classroom mats during devotion time are scattered with flapping hands and arms wanting their turn to share their news. We have spent a considerable time in Grade 5 these past couple of weeks discussing ‘feelings and emotions’. We have brainstormed different feelings, we have shared stories personally and in diary format( this tied in nicely with our book week ‘diary’ focus) and we have explored different ways to deal with the various feelings and emotions that come our way. It is just amazing to see some children open up once the platform is there to share valid experiences and emotions.

We explored the fossilisation process in Natural Science during the week before last and we used our IT lesson so that the children could gain from a ‘flipped classroom’ experience by reading and learning from a superb website. This site is created by our local Fossil Park in Langebaan and allows children to investigate the fossil process by means of slides, which are animated. An informative paragraph follows before the animation is shown, so that they can capture the information in a cognitive and visual way.

We introduced the wonderful world of ‘Plants’ to the children this past week and our first lesson related the parts of a plant and the internal structure of a flower. The children were fascinated to learn that most flowers have both a male and female part to it. The flower lends itself to the essential practice of drawing a scientific diagram in their books.

One of our Social science lessons last week was also in the IT centre and we taught the children about capes and bays around our South African coastline. Google Earth was used to search for certain capes and bays and then they had to use the snipping tool to select a cape or bay in order to insert it into their worksheets. It was lovely to see the faster workers explore our coastline for other familiar capes and bays- each time a delightful story went with the finding.

I have also included some of my pictures which were taken at our museum outing and in the Company Gardens. Creativity is just everywhere where we look in Cape Town. What a privilege for us to teach in this environment and for the children to grow up here.

And now……. after another public holiday and a superb long weekend it is time to buckle down and prepare our Scallywags for the English cycle test this week.

The week that was……

 

Four weeks to go and we will be ‘downing tools’ and heading off on holiday again. It is worth mentioning that the true pace of Grade 5 has reared it’s head this week, and we have increased our pace and expected a little more from the children. It is interesting to see them accept the challenge and engage after a few short weeks back at school. I have included a pic of our Friendship day as I just love group shots, and I enjoy teaching the children and having discussions with them about being part of a group. I think it is a good time to explain how we are working together as a team to make this year a happy place in the Penguin class.

As far as the academics are concerned, Natural Science has kept the children busy over the past week. The children created beautiful mind maps during their soil erosion lesson and we highlighted pointers around making an effective mind map. This was after discussions and teaching during our Life Orientation lesson relating to our MEMORY and tips on how to improve your memory. It is most beneficial to interact and collaborate between various subjects in this way. The children have also been working in their allocated pairs in order to do research on African Soil Creatures in preparation for their ILT (Integrated learning task) next week. We look forward to some interesting presentations next week.

I popped in to the Penguin Tech lesson a week or so ago and found them battling away at trying to master the skill of joining wires together. Mr B has done a sterling job by standing in for Mrs Louw while she has been away on leave. I enjoyed the cheerful banter between the children while tackling their tricky, yet stimulating task.

It has been Mapwork all the way during our Social Science lessons, and we have been flitting between atlases and Google Earth/ Goole Maps in order to bring political and physical maps alive to the children. Exploring in an atlas,with no time constraints,is a child’s delight -especially when they manage to master the skills of reading the grids correctly. Finding Mount Kenya brings cries of joy and discovering 3D videos of Mount Kilamanjaro is enthralling for most- Sebabatso was the star of the day in this regard.

On a much lighter note….. We have been brought great joy at school, both students and teachers, by our tasty, delicious and healthy mobile tuck shop. Nicky and her team offer wonderful goodies to keep those hunger pains at bay. The children can certainly benefit from this wonderful introduction to our school.

I also managed to catch this positive glimpse of my girls, reading on our couch, in between lessons this week. It is superb to see them embrace books and be excited about filling in their book review slips in order to gain classroom merits. Long may this passion last!!!!

Our congratulations went out to Oliver Whitehead and Calum Marriott on Friday when they were presented with their U12 cricket caps in Assembly. There was much cheering among their peers to show their excitement for them. Here’s to an eventful and pleasurable last 4 weeks of the term.

 

 

 

 

ILT: Early African Societies

As part of our Integrated Learning Task this term, the children researched the San, Khoi and African Farmers’ lifestyles.  Each group researched one of the people groups and then they had to write a script, using their facts.  The information was then presented to the rest of the class in the form of a play.

The researchers…

… the actors …

… and the audience!

SS and NS at its best

The first two weeks have already been action packed with activities. In Social Science we have been looking at the build of South Africa. It became so much more fun when we could show our understanding by making play-dough models of South Africa. The next step is to design an Explain Everything slide to show our understanding of the different land forms in South Africa.

In Natural Science we have discovered the fascinating world of fossils. They certainly provoke many questions and endless discussions and we have learnt lots of interesting facts from each other. This week we tried our hand at drawing some fossil pictures. We are going to be creating our own trace fossils out of clay next week.

Our outing to the museum combined a bit of learning on the San/Khoi cultures in historical South Africa and some more fossils. The children could barely contain their excitement while looking around and the touch room was a firm favourite where they got to touch various skeletons, stuffed animals and even get a glimpse of many insects. We ended the day off with lunchtime in The Gardens, while taking the opportunity to feed the birds and squirrels.

All in all, a great start to term 2 and the atmosphere is abuzz at what lies ahead.