magnets inquiry

Divisions 8 and 9 have been doing a science study of magnets for the last few weeks. Near the beginning of their study, both classes spent some time in the library working through some magnet exploration stations.



The students were asked to focus on the inquiry question "What can you find out about magnets?" as they explored different materials with magnets. There were discovery bottles, paperclip races, making faces with iron filings and exploring the strength of different magnets. At the end of our time together, the students shared some of their findings.

 

In their classrooms, the students kept track of what they had been learning and also what they wondered about as they did several science investigations with their teachers. Today, both classes brought their "we're still wondering about" questions about magnets to the library. Many of these questions could not be answered by "doing" science but instead involved researching and reading for information. We went online to www.worldbookonline.com and used the Kids version of this site to search for an article on magnets.

As we read through it together, many of the students' inquiry questions were answered around concepts such as invisible forces and magnetic fields and how magnets attract or repel each other. The site did not give the specific information about what metals magnets attract so we then googled this question and read a few different sites which all confirmed that iron, nickel and cobalt were magnetic.

The students still had some questions about how magnets really work. We looked at the book, What Makes a Magnet? and found some diagrams that showed how the internal structure of a magnet looks.

A sense of wonder is such an important thing for students to have. It contributes to critical thinking, creativity, curiousity and a tendency to persevere with learning. Whether students are exploring with magnets and paperclips or reading information about scientific concepts, an inquiring mind will take them places!

~Ms Novakowski

a trip to egypt

On Monday, division 1 visited the pyramids of Egypt and the Giza plaza on the iPads. We placed ourselves at the base of a pyramid or the Sphinx and took a 360 degree look at our surroundings. Using several different 360 degree panoramic photos from www.360cities.net, the students were able to imagine what being amidst the pyramids might be like, either today or hundreds of years ago.

Some of the images showed camels carrying people in traditional attire while others showed parking lots of tourist buses as part of the scene. Using the touchscreen, students could zoom in to examine parts of the landscape in more detail, including the blocks used to create the pyramids. The photographs also helped to provide a sense of scale and give the students a perspective on how enormous the pyramids are.

The students were asked to write a descriptive paragraph focusing on using powerful words, sensory details and point of view.

For the following student, the panorama photos inspired his sense of wonder.

Although not the descriptive writing I had expected, my heart sang a little when I read this. A spirit of inquiry is what I hope to inspire when students visit the Blair library!
~Ms Novakowski

the power of words

Last week divisions 2 and 3 listened to me read the book The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter. It's a story about a boy (and then an adult) who is passionate about words...finding just the right word to describe something or finding joy in a word just because how it feels on the tongue when you say it.

As I read the book, the students each had a little post-it note to record powerful words either from the story or words inspired by the story. This little collection of words for each student was taken back to their classes to use in the students' writing pieces and to remind the students to use specific words in their writing that capture the details and feelings that they want to.

One of our favourite words, and one that was new to all of us was mellifluous which means pleasant to the ear. Oh, the power of words!

~Ms Novakowski

astronomy fact writing

For the past two weeks, divisions 6 and 7 have been reviewing nonfiction text features such as We looked at a variety of information books about space and astronomy and the students identified the features and explained their purposes. The next step was for the students to work in groups, choose a topic and read at least three books or selections on that topic. To practice note-taking and writing information "in your own words," the students were asked to read, then close the book, then just record key words or phrases so they could remember the important information.

This past week, division 6 began creating mini-posters with their information. They were asked to include at least three nonfiction text features and to write out their facts in complete sentences and "in their own words".

Division 7 had an opportunity to use the iPads and we used the app Writers Studio. Each student typed in a title and at least one informational sentence and then used the drawing feature of the app to draw a coloured picture that corresponded to the fact.

This class was the first to use the new wireless printer in the library that is designated solely for printing from the iPads. It was so easy for the students to go to AirPrint and print their pages. We now have a collection we can compile into a class book.

~Ms Novakowski

Library Mouse Team Writing

Last week I read the second book about Sam, the library mouse called Library Mouse: A Friend's Tale. In this story, one of the boys who visits the library discovers that Sam is a mouse. He leaves him a story by his mouse hole and then Sam creates the illustrations for a book based on the story. He signs it as story by Tom  (the boy) and pictures by Sam. I discussed the terms author and illustrator with the students and then told them they were going to work as teams to create a story. One student would write the story and the other one would draw the pictures. The students were so excited to be in "teams"!

The motivation to write was so high for these students. They chose their own teams and that all seemed to work out. They also loved that they could write any kind of story they wanted. Some wrote Sam the Library Mouse stories or Pete the Cat stories but we had all sorts of original ideas too!

It's so great seeing young authors and illustrators in the library!

~Ms Novakowski

speed booking

Last Monday, divisions 1 and 2 took part in "speed booking" where they were introduced to 4 or 5 books for about 2 minutes each. I put a collection of about 20 books on each table. Some of the books were new to the library, some were classics that the students might not be familiar with and some were from series really popular a few years ago when this group of students would have been too young to read them.

The idea was to "introduce yourself to a new book" and read the front and back covers and then start reading the first chapter. Then, time was up after a couple of minutes and each student put their book back and chose a new one. After 4 or 5 introductions, the students at each table discussed the books and decided on one or two to recommend to the whole class.

At the end of our "speed booking" event, I asked the students if they had met any new books that they would like to continue reading, and most raised their hands to say they had. Mission accomplished!
~Ms Novakowski

poppies

Over the past week, the students at Blair have been thinking about why we wear poppies for Remembrance Day. We read the book A Poppy Is to Remember and learned about the history of World War 1, the history of the poppy and the poem, In Flanders Fields.

Most of the students in the intermediate classes wrote Postcards for Peace to Canadian veterans that are living in care facilities here in Richmond.

 

The primary classes discussed the history of the poppy and what it represents. We looked at images of real poppies and fields of poppies and the students used the iPads to draw their own poppies.

 
 

 

 

As the students summarized:

Poppies are to remember.

Poppies say thank you.

Poppies are for peace.

~Ms Novakowski