Tangrams

The grade math curriculum suggests using Tangrams and picture books when teaching 2-D shapes. (See below)

I've used these before, but this year I changed several of my resources and had a much more successful lesson.

Books

I used the books Grandfather Tang's Story and  Three Pigs, One Wolf, and Seven Magic Shapes

Pictures

I took close-up pictures of the templates used in each book, which I displayed on my SMART board.

Magnetic Tangrams

I have a set of large foam tangrams that I use to demonstrate with.  Before starting my lesson this time around, I hot-glued magnets to the back of each piece.  Now I can use them on my whiteboard as I demonstrate, which makes the demonstration visible for all students.













Both of these visuals added success to my lesson.  In the past, my students had to refer to tiny 3 cm square pictures, now the large image on the SMART board combined with my step-by-step demonstration on the whiteboard, enabled all of my students to build the shapes successfully!

Do you have other Tangram books or resources that you've found successful? 

Springtime Excusion

Last week my sisters happened upon a "chuck wagon" just west of our colony along the La Salle River where our dad used to keep his breeder geese during the summer months.
Today, my sister Sonia took our nephew Jakobi and me out to see this old time mode of transportation.  Along the way, we enjoyed various lovely springtime sights...

Dandelions - Ready for wishing upon

Puffy Cotton Clouds

 

A Pair of Canadian Honkers

Strolling through Fiddleheads

 

All of these spring wonders reminded me of  the beautiful spring song we sang at the Lehr on Sunday:

Schau', mein Geist die Frühlingszeiten,

alles will sich zubereiten,

Gott zu geben Preis und Ehr',

nimm es an zu einder Lehr',

da man alles neu sieht werden;

was für todt lag in der Erden,

das geht wiederum herfür,

grünt und wächst und blüht vor dir.

After trudging though tall grass, dried weeds and uneven terrain, we finally came upon the remains of the "chuck wagon".  Upon our arrival home, my Uncle Dave was there for a visit.  He looked at the picture and informed me that it was a "tupplepax", a double box wagon.  That seems much more reasonable, after all, our people moved to Elm River from Rosedale with trucks and panels and perhaps pick-ups, not Conestoga wagons as the early pineers did.  And... we've been involved in farming since we arrived, so a double box wagon, could have been a mode of transportation in Elm River's early days..

Remains of a Double Box Wagon

In its glory days in may have resembled this wagon. I found the image at Double Box Wagon

  

What did you do and see during your Victoria Day weekend?

Earth Day Projects

At the end of the year families in our community often send their old wall calendars to the school for us to reuse/repurpose.  I like to think that we celebrate Earth Day whenever we --

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle or Repurpose something.

Throughout the year, we then have a nice selection of pictures to use in social studies, art classes etc.  This year I did two variations of the same project with two different art classes.

Calendar Projects 

Two Picture Project

Palm Trees

With my grades 3 - 5 group, I had each student pick 2 pictures, preferably two with contrasting colours.  I then provided each with long sheet of paper (at least as long as both pictures when they are side-by-side).  I actually use continuous feed heart monitor paper that was given to me by an uncle who had to spend a lot of  time at Brandon General Hospital getting dialysis treatments.

Sunflower Field

I use a paper cutter to cut off vertical 1" strips from one end of the picture.  Students must make sure pictures are aligned properly so that the strips are always cut on the same end!  I get them to think patterns and name their pictures A and B and glue them to the white paper accordingly - a strip from picture A, then a strip from picture B...

Sunflowers in the Tropics

 Once all the strips are glued, they trim off the access paper and accordian fold the entire project.  It's interesting to walk past the bulletin board where they are displayed.  From one angle you see picture A and from the opposite angle you see picture B.  When you look at the project head on, you see both pictures.  You sort of see "the best of both worlds".

Three Picture Project

 This is similar to the two  picture project; however here you use three pictures and them A, B and C.  You glue them to your background paper using A, B and C as your pattern.  Rather than making accordian folds, you fold so that strap A will  lie flat, strip B comes up and strip C folds back down.  The folding pattern is across, up, down.  Once the entire project has been folded, all  strips B and C are folded back to back.
In this project, you get three views: one from each angle and one from the front.
.   

City Scape (left Angle)

Calendar Weaving

Snow in Summer

 For this project, we selected 2 calendars.  I feel it looks best when you choose pictures with contracting colours, for examlple, a sunset and a floral picture.  When you cut the vertical strips, you don't cut them apart totally, leave about 2 centimeters attached at one end.  For the horizontal strips cut only 3 or 4 at a time, weave them into the horizontal strips, then cut more.

The Earth

 I found this project on Pinterest at Proud to be Primary.  

The blogger does a good job with her description, so I won't reinvent the wheel. My pictures don't do the project justice.  I like hanging them in the window because the light and/or sun shining through them has a beautiful effect.

To complete the project, each students write a brief description on how he/she reduces, reuses and recycles.

Let's celebrate Earth Day, every day!