In connection to the unit on How we Organise Ourselves, during music class we inquired into how music is organised by people producing sounds that work together using a variety of instruments.
Watch us spread some holiday cheer with an awesome performance of Jingle Bell Rock!
Currently, we are looking into the concept of 'perspective' in our unit on How we Organise Ourselves.
In order to further develop our understanding of this rather complex concept, we went on a field trip to the following exhibit in Osaka: The Miracle of M. C. Escher.
The exhibition took place on the 16th floor of the Abeno Harukas Building in Tennoji.
Here, we are enjoying a quick snack before entering the museum.
Escher is well known for creating architecture from different perspectives which would be impossible in reality, such as the artwork below.
He is also famous for his work with tessellations - the tiling of a flat plane with geometric shapes with no gaps or overlaps.
Below is an example of his work involving tessellations.
As artists, we observed the artwork carefully and sketched what we saw into our sketchbooks.
We will be applying our learning from our field trip when we create our own tessellations later on!
Towards the end of the exhibition, we got the chance to record an interesting video in a special booth.
In this video, our movements were superimposed with one of Escher's drawings.
Recently in math, we started inquiring into different types of patterns.
After all, if you were to ask mathematicians to define mathematics, many of them will say it is "the science of patterns".
We began our inquiry by exploring a famous pattern which can be seen through nature: the Fibonacci sequence.
The sequence goes like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, ...
Have you noticed the pattern?
The first and the second numbers add up to the third number, the second and the third numbers add up to the fourth number, the third and the fourth numbers add up to the fifth number, and so on.
Here is a video you could watch if you would like to learn more about the Fibonacci sequence.
In the video below, we used our social skills to work in teams to identify the Fibonacci pattern and extend it visually.
As mathematicians, we made sure to measure properly so that our work is accurate.
As communicators, we have started discussing how we can visually represent our thinking through illustrations and diagrams in math.
We will continue to work on this skill throughout the year.
The Grade 3 and 4 classes have been working together on a year-long unit with the following central idea: Drama is a universal art form that allows us to express ideas and feelings.
We have been improving our dramatic skills by considering our facial expressions, body movements, and space while on the stage.
In groups, we practiced expressing ourselves by presenting twisted fairy tales in front of our classmates.
The Grade 4 learners have been inquiring into the central idea:
Our bodies are composed of complex systems which are connected.
Throughout the unit, we have been developing our skills as artists to draw the human body in the correct proportions.
We started off drawing the human body using circles and lines to represent some of the joints and bones. Then, we practiced adding the rest of the body, clothes, and details to make our drawings more realistic.
As we worked on this project, we demonstrated commitment and a growth mindset as we made multiple attempts while giving and receiving feedback from others.
The drawings have been posted onto the walls just by the main stairs in the school.
We have been practicing the strategy of making connections while reading books.
When we make meaningful connections between our own life experiences or knowledge and what we read, we are able to deepen and extend our understanding about...
how a character feels
a particular setting
why something happened
what might happen next
We practiced this strategy by recording our connections on sticky notes.
We then used Seesaw to explain the connections and how they help us as readers.
