My instructions: Review, on the board, rounding numbers (to tens, hundreds, thousands)...

As the students were finishing up their silent, okay, silent-ish, reading, I approached each table and asked them if they had a favourite number.  Then I told each to put it up on the board, anywhere, in whatever colour.  A stir began to be created as the students noticed something happening... ooooh, I created a bit of a buzz, I did:)
Then I asked a series of questions to gather knowledge of what the students already knew and what some of them may need to review further:

• What's the smallest number?
• What's the biggest number?
• What's the longest number?

Next, I gave the instruction to group the numbers together...

• 1-digit, 2-digit, 3-digit, etc
• one with a decimal
• numbers ending in 0
• numbers already rounded
• numbers needing rounding

Then, I just randomly asked them to round certain numbers:

• What is _________ rounded to the nearest (ten/hundred/thousand)?
• How do you know?

We came up with the rules pictured in the top left of the picture:

• 5 or higer, round up
• 4 or lower, round down
• If rounding to the nearest ten, look at one's place
• If rounding to the nearest hundred, look at ten's place
• If rounding to the nearest thousand, look at hundred's place

I was able to ascertain that the students had a pretty firm understanding of the concept of rounding, which was further substantiated when I circulated around the room whilst the students were working on their task:

The Rounding Game (left by the classroom teacher):

• Roll 2 dice & round to the nearest 10; roll 3 dice & round to the nearest 100; roll 4 dice & round to the nearest 1000. 
• They were to do each 2 times, but I'm seeing how you could easily vary this, as some of the students told me they did (after having played in the last class).

Here's a brilliant website: ​http://studentvote.ca with lots of useful teacher resources!  We had a bit of a discussion about Canadian Political Parties... just let me say, that's interesting with a bunch of 4th graders!  Too bad we ran out of time before they had helped me who to decide who to vote for:(

WHAT IS STUDENT VOTE?
Student Vote is a parallel election for students under the voting age, coinciding with federal, provincial, territorial and municipal elections.

The purpose is to provide young Canadians with an opportunity to experience the voting process firsthand and build the habits of informed and engaged citizenship.

Since 2003, 26 Student Vote programs have been conducted across Canada. In the last federal election, 563,000 students cast ballots from 3,750 schools.
​

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Voter turnout in Canada has been declining for decades at all levels elections, particularly among young people.

Studies have also shown that habits of voting and non-voting persist over time, so if young people don’t vote now, there is good reason to believe that they won’t become voters later in life.

By practicing the habits of informed and engaged citizenship at an early age, students will be more inclined and prepared to participate in our democracy when they graduate high school.

​All the artists at the time were painting in the Impressionist style.  But not, Henri Matisse.  He used brilliant colours and made art like nobody else.  In fact, everybody made fun of Matisse and called him weird, and he said, "Thank you."  He did not want to be just like everyone else! What a brilliant way to draw a connection between a time in history to the students in today's classroom.

Seriously, (despite the purposeful blur) these kids were super into their artwork.  Each one of them did something different; and even the ones who were less sure of themselves, the ones who started copying one of the modelled ideas, ended up with something truly their own... creativity abound!

When the students bring me their finished, or in-progress piece, I ask:
What do you call your piece? - the answer tells so much (hitting communication and literacy curriculum expectations).  Students who love to tell stories have a chance to shine:)

A Fun Warm-Up Game for Gym Class found on the Internet…. If somebody knows where this originated, please post below… I simply saved the screen capture for future use… and now, I will use it when I am next a Gym Teacher!

In all of yesterday’s sorting and tossing and organizing and recycling and re-piling and filing, I came across my collection of Art Lessons.  They were shouting, “Share! SHARE!” and since 1 of my 327 incomplete projects is to actually scan and archive my Art…

ENJOY:)

Here’s one inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe, a maverick woman artist at a time when women were quite less than welcome in the World of Professional (male) artists…

This lesson was done with a class of third-graders.  First, we read a biography about Ms. Okeeffe so we could learn a little about the time she lived in and about the art she made, as well as a little bit about her philosophy as an artist.  Then, the students tried blending their pastels on a practice paper.  Next, they got to pick from a variety of close-up photos of flowers.  Their goal was to emulate Georgia O’Keeffe’s style.

VARIATION… CUT INTO ENOUGH PIECES FOR THE CLASS A LARGE PHOTO OF A CLOSE-UP FLOWER (OR, USE SEVERAL PHOTOS).  GIVE EACH CHILD A PIECE…  AT THE END, REASSEMBLE THE ARTWORK AND PHOTOS.The lesson (as I see it) of this lesson, besides the artistic curriculum expectations met (see Ontario Curriculum documents, if you so desire), is this:

Take time to notice and tend to the little things in life… Maybe they aren’t so little? And, more than likely, each little thing is part of a bigger thing and its importance is often overlooked until the little thing is gone or broken.  And, then, the big thing doesn’t work as it should.  I am intentionally speaking in such broad things because it can be applied in most situations.

And, once we accept this, then we may see the importance of every little thing we do, from completing our part of a group project to doing our part to ensure a happy classroom environment; from noticing flowers to friends…

“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”
- Georgia O’Keeffe from Goodreads

Take time to tend to a friend and chat to a flower,
or is it, chat to a friend and smell a flower.

I have absolutely no idea where this came from… somewhere in England, I think… I may have used it in my teaching there, or I may have just carried it around with me, who knows?.....

Sad students are full of promises and good intentions.  Their favourite expression is, “I’ll do it tomorrow.”  Each day is to be a new beginning but always seems to have the same ending.  For the sad student, “tomorrow” never comes!

Like the fly wandering into the spider’s web, the sad student falls into a pattern of time wasting and self-deception.

First of all, there is the “getting started” phase.  Having decided that tonight’s the night to revise that topic that was postponed from a couple of nights ago, the student gets himself ready to work.  This means making sure that everything is in exactly the right place before he starts.  A good idea in principle, but after five to ten minutes finding things and tidying his desk, he decides to sharpen all his pencils…

Just as he is about to sit down and begin, he remembers that he was going to telephone his girlfriend and knows that if he doesn’t ring her he won’t be able to concentrate during his revision.  The “quick call” takes 20 minutes, not the couple he intended (well, “it’s good to talk” as the adverts tell us!).

The student returns to his desk, opens his file of notes and is just about to start.  A glance at his watch to check the time makes him remember that “Glee” is on in ten minutes!  As it is obviously not worth starting yet, he goes downstairs again, switches on the television and relaxes for a few minutes “channel surfing” then watching the weather forecast until it’s the time that all Gleeks have been waiting all Summer for!

The programme ends and it featured a song that he loves and hadn’t heard in a while.  He feels the need to hear it once more – this time whilst following along with the lyrics.  Forty minutes and one playlist later, he is met with silence and the student is suddenly feeling guilty.  This makes him realize that he is a little hungry and needs a snack of some sort…

His snack attack lasts twenty minutes – ten minutes to prepare, ten to eat while reading the sports page of the newspaper (again) to avoid having to think about what he promised himself he should be studying tonight.

At ten o’clock he trudges back up to his bedroom to begin at last.  After a few minutes reading his notes he starts to feel the effects of his snack and becomes a little drowsy.  This causes him to move to a more comfortable spot where he can put his feet up – his bed…

A noise jolts him awake at quarter to twelve.  He finds the sad debris of his good intentions – his creased and crumpled notes.

A wave of guilt rises up inside.

At this point, the sad student can make a choice.  He can stay up all night or DEFINITELY get the revision done TOMORROW.  Yes, he’ll feel like studying tomorrow!

(Author Unknown)

You could use this in the classroom, for sure!

To think about…

• What do you suppose will happen tomorrow?
• Does this sound at all familiar?
• Suppose this student was your friend.  
• What is some advice you would give your friend in this situation?