Enrichment with Ms. K - Week 4

Monday's focus was homework. Many students were prepping for exams. We went over a math, "check for understanding" page. The students were told to write their own definition for the commutative property.  Most of them paraphrased the glossary definition. I made a mental note to revisit this. We then reviewed vocab terms and major topics from the ancient civilizations segment in the Social Studies text. This part was a review of the first 3 chapters of the text to prep for exams.

Tuesday's focus was math.  I gave a mini lesson about the commutative property.  It is an easy concept to understand, when using the root word "commute".  Think about the analogy of commuting to school or work, and then commuting back home.  In math, the property applies to addition and multiplication in an equation where  a + b = b + a  or  xy = yx. Basically when adding or multiplying, the answer will remain the same even if the variables are reversed.  Try it out!  The property does NOT work with subtraction and division.  If asked to show an example of how it would not work, subtraction and/or division should be used. 

On this day I left the quote, "Be a voice, not an echo." on the whiteboard.

Wednesday's focus was engineering and design. We used TP rolls to design objects. Some of the objects that were designed were: a couple of cars, several minions, a mermaid, and a hula dancer. 

Thursday's focus was watercolor painting.  I gave a mini lesson about Vincent Van Gogh's interesting life.  The students learned about how he did not become a painter until late in his life.  They also learned about his letters to his brother Theo, and how the letters are one of the ways we know about his life. They learned about his work with dark colors, and his beginning to use brighter colors when studying Japaneese Art.  They learned about his use of thick application of paint, a little about his time in Arles with Paul Gauguin, and how his paintings were not well received until long after his passing.