Language Arts

Grade 7 has a Plan.

What could it be?

Watch this space and you will see……

However, a little clue for you to think things through

We are prepared to give to you…..

Look at these photos.

Who do you see?

What idea could it possibly be?

Look out soon for flyers, forms and letters….

A mystery to solve, is there anything better?

Ms. Rhi 

Middle School Language Arts Teacher 

CREATING CHARACTERS IN GRADE 5

This week, Grade 5T would like to introduce you to the newest UIS student, a porcupine they have named “Ricci Junior”. Now, Ricci isn’t just any porcupine. Ricci reads, writes, solves Math problems and even participates in Guided Reading groups. Two students in particular, Stella and Giorgia, have supplied him with everything he needs to feel right at home: a UIS school cap, a personal diary, a computer, and writing supplies. They have even offered him help with challenging concepts. The students have been brainstorming how Ricci could become a character for a series of children’s books, imagining all the adventures their friendly rodent could experience. Stay tuned for Ricci’s future escapades! 

Mara Tramontin 

Grade 5 Teacher

Books, Books, Books.

Over the past week the Grade 7 classes have been presenting their independent reading books to their schoolmates.

It is always interesting to see the varied choices each student has made and this selection was no disappointment, ranging from historical fiction and reworked fairy tales to troubled teenagers and Harry Potter, paying tribute along the way to Michael Morpurgo and Louis Sachar.

We have heard about intrigue and humour, suspense and sadness, been caught up in plot overviews and shared such themes as friendship, jealousy, courage and empathy.

Most interesting of all is hearing the students’ response to their reading, especially when they have found something particularly moving or particularly entertaining. Now, hampered by masks and their facial expressions all but hidden, their spoken responses take on an increased relevance; the verve and enthusiasm which comes through when they are really absorbed or fascinated by a book is unmistakable.

Mrs Nevin 

Grade 7 Literature Teacher

GRADE 3’s ALONG THE BANKS OF THE NILE

Grade 3 has been exploring Ancient Egypt this term, learning about what an important feature the Nile river was to Ancient Egyptian society. Even in our read-aloud stories, we have encountered characters from that far away time. The latest story was “The Little Hippo”, by Anja Klauss. This enchanting story begins on the banks of the river Nile where the hippos bask in the sun, letting the beautiful designs of water plants decorate their bodies and ends, with little Hippo finding his family again centuries later and miles away, in the Louvre Museum. Here, his family can still be visited in the form of lovely little turquoise-colored statues, along with the incredible wealth of archaeological artifacts that still guide our learning through this ancient civilization. The children drew and painted their own blue hippos, paying close attention to faithfully adding the shapes and designs of reeds, lilies and flowers that grew along the Nile. 

Paola Gandrus 

Grade 3 teacher

Life in the Scriptorium

After writing letters to oblates from the point of view of medieval monks, the grade 5’s try to “age” their manuscripts to make them look like antique parchments.

The Refugee Crisis

“History will judge us for turning our backs while people drowned”

 This statement has provoked a desire for change among the Grade 7 students. They are no longer happy to sit back and ignore what is happening in Syria. We have been taking a close look at the refugee crisis and thinking about what we can do. We took part in a simulated Syrian journey to try and understand some of the decisions they are faced with: “I made it to  Europe, but I had to make  very difficult choices that maybe I wouldn’t have done if I was in that situation for real. I realise why refugees are trying to reach Europe and I really feel lucky.” Gianmarco. “I made it only after countless attempts but I had to sacrifice nearly everything I owned on the way. I also had to ignore people that were in need to avoid getting noticed by border security. Overall a very horrible experience which made me realise how hard it is for these refugees to reach safety.” Filippo R.   

This week we are holding a formal debate to discuss whether countries should limit the number of refugees they accept and what are the alternatives. We have also been in touch with the organisation Still I Rise and we hope to collaborate with some of their students. Watch this space for more developments!

Rhiannon Thomas Grade 7 LA Teacher

Swimming Together in Grade 3

The final lines of the book “You Be You” by Linda Kranz say, ” We all have something special we can share. We can learn so much from each other! That’s what makes this world so colorful and beautiful”. The students in Grade 3 listened to this story as part of their Read Aloud program, then they learned to write it using pictures, and tell the story themselves using images and gestures to help remember the words. Finally, the students reflected on this theme in connection to their wishes and hopes for this year at school. They then made paper hand-fish, decorated them and added a speech bubble describing the things they want to do, learn or improve this year. Their work created a bulletin board under the title “We are all different fish, but we swim together in this school”.

Paola Gandrus
Grade 3 Teacher

AUTUMN ITALICA ART

Autumn gives us so many beautiful scenes of vibrant colours and textures! So to bring the outside into our classrooms for Autumn week, Grade 4 decided to take a moment to capture the season by creating a landscape which was decorated using the italica handwriting that we’ve been working on so far this term. The children loved working closely together, snuggled up on the floor making their mark collectively, which resulted in a stunning piece of art work. We thought that hanging it outside the dining room would be a good place to show it off to the rest of the school. We were delighted to discover that it had inspired some Grade 1 children to have a go at making their own pictures with letters, who took a trip upstairs to Grade 4 to show us their work.

Alison Horrobin
Grade 4A teacher

Singing Hearts in Grade 5