Johnson Jungle
Art, Library, Music, P.E., and Spanish
Art with Mrs. Flynn
We’ve started off the year warming up our art skills using a variety of materials and sources of inspiration.
In Kindergarten, we’re talking about the building blocks of art – using lines and shapes! We recently explored drawing creative shapes in different sizes using oil pastels, and also learned how to build a person with shapes (instead of stick people!)
In First grade, we practiced art discussion with our peers while looking at collages made by Romare Bearden. Students are currently working on a mixed media collage that incorporates their recent skill of mixing tempera paint.
In Second grade, students practiced observation of details by researching John James Audubon’s Birds of America, and are now designing an animal of their choice – thinking both about the animal and its environment. We will soon be discussing the differences between landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, and students will plan and design an artwork of their own.
Third grade has begun discussing how we represent our surroundings in art, as the stepping stone for some artworks they will design in connection with the concept of place in the Global Read Aloud, in collaboration with the regular classroom and unified arts team. They also just completed a collage which will be inspiring a composition in music.
Fourth grade had a strong emphasis on folk art and textiles, with its connection to regional history. They are currently exploring and playing with sewing materials to build up this skill set as an option for future artworks. We will soon be creating a sewing piece that will travel the world, in collaboration with Spanish.
After a study of artist Wayne Thiebaud, Fifth grade is expanding their drawing skills by working on making their artwork more three-dimensional with shading, shadows, and textures. We are getting ready to begin a collaboration with music to plan our Veterans Day celebrations.
It’s an exciting time in the artroom! We’re just beginning to post our first artworks to Artsonia, our online art gallery. It’s a wonderful way to share students’ masterpieces with family, as it digitally preserves their art from kindergarten through fifth grade. If you have any other questions about Artsonia, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Library with Mrs. Zimmerman
Kindergarten - We are beginning to learn about Digital Citizenship. Recently we discussed how to best manage screen time and internet safety tips.
First grade students learned how to find copyright free images on Britannica Image Quest! Next we’ll create videos using the Clips App to show how we manage screen time.
Second grade students are learning how to log books for the 40 Book Challenge on Biblionasium. Next students will learn how to write and publish a book review using Biblionasium.
Third grade are learning all about text features in the 3rd grade! Students will be able to identify and explain the purpose of print and digital text features.
Fourth grade students are learning how to create citations for a bibliography page.
Fifth grade students are researching J.A. White. In order to prepare for his visit, students are writing their very own scary stories.
The 40 Book Challenge- All students in 2nd-5th grade have created a personal reading goal for this year. They will log the books as they are read on Biblionasium. Once a student reaches his or her goal, then he or she will receive a small prize from me. The homeroom that logs the most books will win a donut breakfast party! Ask your child about his or her goal!
Global Read Aloud begins September 30!
From September 30 through November- The Global Read Aloud begins! All classes at Johnson will be reading a selected book(s) and connecting with another class around the world! Students in kindergarten are completing an author study of books by Yuyi Morales. 2nd and 3rd grade students are reading Stella Diaz Has Something To Say by Angela Dominguez. 4th grade students are reading Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Fifth grade is mixing it up by having some classes read Front Desk and some read The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman. We have classes connected with students in North Carolina all the way to Saudi Arabia! I can’t wait to see what our #GlobalCommunicators learn!
Important Library Dates
October 2nd- J.A. White will be here visiting our 5th grade students!
November 12th- David Biedrzycki will be here visiting our 1st and 2nd grade students!
December 4-13- Joseph-Beth Book Fair at HMS
January 23rd- Tamara Bundy will be here visiting our 4th grade students!
March 23-27- Blue Marble Book Fair at Blue Marble!
Music with Ms. Vanderpool
Kindergarten has been focused on keeping a steady beat through exploration of movement, instruments and music games.
Fourth Grade has been exploring music from Africa. We have been working hard to create ensemble playing and embracing how different cultures sing, dance and play.
Fifth Grade divided up into "mini" bands and have been learning a pop song of choice on their recorders and adding percussion instruments.
World Language with Señora Dashley
What's going on in Spanish class?
In 4th and 5th, we signed up for Sr. Wooly, which is a site of funny videos in Spanish. Students listen to clips and answer questions based on what they watched and heard. Ask your child(ren) to show it to you! Soon, students will begin our first chapter book in Spanish!
In 3rd grade, we just finished a unit on likes and dislikes. We played a games based on "3 truths and a lie" about our classmates! It was a fun get-to-know you activity!
In 2nd grade, we are starting our symbolic monarch migration! We make paper butterflies in collaboration with Art and send them to students living around the monarch sanctuaries in Mexico. They keep our butterflies over Winter and in Spring, we receive butterflies from other schools that participated in the symbolic migration! I love this unit because we talk about migration, life cycle of a butterfly, and the interconnectedness of our world.
In Kindergarten and 1st grade, we have been reviewing names, likes and dislikes, and have just begun emotions. In kindergarten we learn "bien," "mal," "feliz," and "triste" (well, bad, happy and sad). In 1st we add, "enojado/a" and "cansado/a" (mad and tired), which is neat to see how quickly they pick up on noun/adjective agreement.
P.E. with Mr. Behymer
All grades have been doing a Cooperative Games Unit.
Cooperative activities are an integral component of quality physical education. Physical education is a unique discipline, where young people are expected to move rigorously, work often in pairs and groups, and improve their physical skills and fitness levels. To accomplish these goals, students must learn to trust one another, communicate effectively, develop positive relationships, and work together to solve problems and achieve common goals.
Connect to ClassDojo to see what goes on in all classes!
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