WANTED: #OLDMANWINTER

David Kawapit's Journey of Nishiyuu

I (Dawn, the teacher) was at an in-service in Halifax when I saw the news clip speaking of David Kawapit and his journey from Northern Quebec to Ottawa. I was moved to tears as this quiet, shy, big-smiling Cree boy reminded me so much of a student in our class. I immediately knew that his story would resonate with my students.

We had talked about Idle No More before in class; it was a very abstract concept for many. David's journey seemed like a more tangible connection to the message of Idle No More. So, I had them look through newspaper articles covering David's journey. The questioned how fair his treatment was as he reached the Peace Tower in Ottawa. They spoke of his commitment, how he is an inspiration. They looked at his route on Google Earth and Google maps, marveling at the distance. Then they dug deeper into his story; each group being responsible for an aspect of the "underlying" story.

Here are their snippets of the background story.
Here is the work they are so proud of!

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Please share David's story through our eyes.
Please be inspired.
And if you can make this post reach David Kawapit, please share it with him.

-- Grade 5/6 class

Black History Month in Gr. 5/6

We've started reading through stories as part of Black history month.
Here's today's response about our book:
Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged
(Listen here for an audio clip about her  experience & words from her sister, Wanda Robson.)

Created with Padlet

The One and Only Ivan :: Global Read Aloud 2012

As in previous years, our class is taking part in the Global Read Aloud Project. This year's book is called The One and Only Ivan. From the trailer we watched on the book's site, to the cover, and first few pages of The One and Only Ivan we are all wondering and anticipating what may come next with each page turned.

To get in Ivan's mind, we listened to this music, while we coloured on a piece of paper with a crayon...



What did we create?

I wonder if any of these pictures resemble what Ivan would draw in his domain?!?!












Also, as part of our participation in the Global Read Aloud forum, we created this week 1 word cloud which describes Ivan, the main character in our book.

http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/5805585/IVAN_%3B%3B_The_One_and_Only_Ivan

Stay tuned to our blog and our twitter feed (@inmyclassroom or #Ivan5and6) as we explore this intriguing book!

Meeting Mrs. Fennemore's Class...

Mrs. Fennemore's class in Newfoundland posted questions for our class on their blog. Here are our answers:

Ellav asked: Where are we in NS?
Andy's reply: We are in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia... more specifically Iona. You can do a Google Street view of our school here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.947633,-60.816885&z=19&t=h&hl=en This is our new school which opened 2007. It is a P-12 school.

JasmineG (who was born in NS! Where? we wonder) asked: what do we like best about our school:

1. Camden -- the gym & that we can learn Gaelic
2. Emerson -- playing dodgeball!
3. Zach C -- Everything... it's hard to pick
4. Nathan -- our new swing set!
5. Ailig -- Our gym -- it's HUGE! 
6. Tyler -- doesn't know what he likes best
7. Rochelle -- field trips we take
8. Zach M -- the swing set
9. Breagha -- art & the walking trail at our school
10. Lily -- the classes
11. Logan -- loves the swing sets
12. Andy -- our new outdoor skating rink
13. Dayna -- Dawn & gym
14. Mikayla -- Dawn, gym, and swings
15. Riley -- our new triple hoop
16. John -- huge gym & our new teacher, Dawn & our swingset
17. Shazia -- art, drama, and Mr. MacKenzie, French class
18. Jon -- music class, Gaelic, math, gym and my awesome new teacher, Dawn

Maya asked: What are we doing in school and what do we like?

• Health, Math, Science
• playing dodgeball in the gym
• Gym
• love language arts and tweeting on twitter!
• having fun with education
• checking our blog

Ethan  asked if we had a class pet or not?

• We have a pet rock! And we've got a fishbowl that will hopefully be filled soon

Liam  wants to know what the most exciting thing is we've done this year?

• The biggest thing so far is the additions to our playground. We got new swings and a triple hoop! And, we're waiting to test out our new outdoor skating rink! We're pretty excited!

Questions for Mrs. Fennemore's Class:

1. Where are you located in Newfoundland?
2. Were you affected by Hurricane Igor?
3. Are you guys going to get a new fish? (Sorry about Ringo)
4. What is the name of your school?
1. Does your school have a website?
5. Have you guys ever heard of the Gaelic language?
6. Do you guys have French class?
7. Do you speak French or English?
8. What kind of playground do you have at your school?