Seasons

Seasons through their eyes

In words so wise

Each one has the potential to write

If the topic is a delight

As I read about each season

I thought of a million reasons

Children don't like to write

Only when it's about wrong and right

If you let them express

Their work will help you destress:)

Everything that you learn is not taught

Eco warriors' hatched a plan

To spread as much greenery as we can

Every class made a terrarium

With plants and geranium

They learnt how to plan and prepare

Nurture and care

Work in a team

Stick to the theme

Create and innovate

The Poetic Students of a Lyrical Teacher

'He wouldn't like me' , said Mary in her stiff, cold little way.

 'No one does'

Martha looked reflective again

'How does tha' like thysel'? she inquired, really quite as if she were curious to know. 

Mary hesitated a moment and thought it over.'Not at all-really', she answered. 'But I never thought of that before.'

Perfect opportunity to get the students to reflect on what makes them unique and what they like about themselves:)

Assembly

Since the poetic piscean in me was feeling overly lyrical, I volunteered to write the assembly script for our annual assembly.

Guess the themes by reading the poems:)

Good Morning Everyone

Year 5 is here to share their learning and fun

In this school year, there is so much we have done

Teachers and students, everyone has been on the run.

Hope you enjoy what we have to share

Even if you don’t, please bear.

Sports Days are the highlight of each year

For the Secondary Sports day, Primary decided to cheer

We prepared a ribbon dance

Quite colourful at a glance

We would like to perform the same for you

So sit back and enjoy the view

(Students perform the ribbon dance)

Hope you enjoyed the show

Hold on! There’s more

We learnt about life cycles too

From cuckoo to kangaroo

Are plants and animals alike?

In some cases yes, some unlike

We compared the life cycles of the two

Just to make it simpler for you

(Students play the video where they have compared the lifecycles of plants and animals)

Plants and animals make us happy

But here’s a girl who is always snappy

In English, we are reading a book, which is fantastic

And it happens to be a classic

Mary Lennox, a 9 year old

Always disagreeable and cold

Travels from India to Yorkshire 

With none so near or dear

Little did Missie Sahib know

about the huge bungalow

She didn't limit herself to the rooms within

And tried to uncover the secrets hidden.

Read the book if you want to know more

Here’s a scene from the story of the girl who was uncared for 

(Scene from the secret garden is enacted by the students)

Some get the privilege of money, some don’t

Some spend it in excess, some just won’t

Money does not grow on trees

Before you spend, think! Please

Do you really need it or is it something you want?

Will you use it or is it just to flaunt?

Do you save enough?

For when times are rough

(Students talk about needs and wants)

We went to Hong Kong

To sing a song

We handled money all along

Important money lessons learnt

Pockets saved from being burnt

Choices were weighed

Money decisions made

Our FOBISIA choir put up a melodious show

It’s time for them to have another go

(Choir performs)

Secret Garden

Lonely girl

Waiting for the magic to unfurl

Travels from India to Yorkshire 

With none so near or dear

Little did Missie Sahib know

about the huge bungalow

She didn't limit herself to the rooms within

And tried to uncover the secrets hidden.

'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a classic and a must read for every 9 year old. They have read about magic and fairies, but this book ascertains that the real enchantment comes from nature. Nature nurtures you but if you care for it, the presents are beyond number.

When we start a novel, the focus is usually on the characters. However this time we decided to change it a little by creating the sets of the garden inside and outside our classrooms.

 Children converted their English jotters to the 'Secret Garden' jotters.

Chapter 1 

Whenever we read
There is a discussion to lead
But this time we had to sow seeds
Information or situations that we didn't understand
Even after the story was scanned
Comments about what we learned 
Inferences that we churned
Things that seemed interesting or surprising 
Points that got us analyzing
Vocabulary we wanted to know about 
Descriptive writing worth checking out
Things that reminded us of other things we knew
Phew! There was so much to do.

Students used these seeds of discussion to initiate discussions about Chapter 1 and got an opportunity to learn through conferencing.

'Why was I forgotten?' Mary said, stamping her foot. 

'Why does nobody come?'

At this point, I asked the students if they ever felt that they weren't cared for.
1. At  a water park, when I wanted to go on the slide and my sister wanted to go somewhere else, my parents decided to go with my sister.
2. My parents forgot my birthday
3. When my parents got divorced, I thought my dad left because of me

Chapter 2

This is the Chapter where we focussed on vocabulary

Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary

Chapter 3

After reading Chapter 3, we got Carla from 'There's a boy in the girls' bathroom' to time travel, meet Mary and explain to the world why Mary is the way she is. Carla was Bradley's counsellor and no one's as good as her at understanding children.

 Chapter 4 

This chapter got us talking about customs in different countries, discrimination, independence and loneliness.

Chapter 5

Cartoon scripts to summarise Chapter 5 

Roman Numerals

My teacher asked me

What is C?

I had no idea what she was planning to teach us

I hoped it was not the alphabets she was planning to discuss

The Romans left us a gift she said

Numbers in the form of alphabets she read

Using Roman Numerals, we had to design

Our life in a timeline.

'Meeting Someone' is not the same as 'Mating with them'

'Life cycle of birds' was our topic of discussion which began by understanding the parts of an egg:

Th egg hatched, and gave birth to an extensive discussion. Words like 'fertilisation', 'sperm' and 'embryo' led us to discuss the life cycle of birds and humans.

Miss are you telling us that we eat a baby which is about to be born ?

Misconception: All eggs are fertilised

The sperm is in the egg (in fertilised eggs). How does the transfer happen?

Misconception: The hen and the rooster kiss for the transfer to take place or maybe the hen eats the rooster...... (The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination. - Albert Einstein)

What do you mean by the adults mate and reproduce?

Mate (introduction of the word 'sex')

A few giggles.....I am mature enough to handle this conversation expression...... Miss, why are you using such  weird words?

Misconception: Meeting means mating. When you meet someone, you're mating with them

Questions

1. Can someone have babies without getting married?

2. Can you have babies on your own?

3. If someone decides to have their own babies, where will they arrange the sperm from?

4. Can you have more than one baby with the same person?

5. Can you have a baby with someone if you are divorced?

6. How do the people who collect eggs from the farm know which ones are fertilised and which ones are unfertilised?

While my students were learning about life cycles, I learnt how to crack open an egg as I did it for the first time in my life:) #newlearning  #thereissomethinginitforeveryone

Force and Machines

I wonder

They gave me Science textbooks to read
without understanding my need
Words never explained concepts to me
I wondered why they didn't let me experiment with what I see
I was made to feel I wasn't scientifically inclined
But I left all that behind
It's only now that I discovered
That my mind also wondered
My learning style was different
I preferred to do things instead of relying on print
Gardener says I am a bodily kinesthetic learner
I wish they realized this earlier, at least my Science lessons would have been funner:)
                                         - Vrinda Gupta

Friction on different surfaces

Water Resistance: Where does the Plasticine ball fall faster- in the glass jar with water or on the table? 

Measuring the force of Gravity

Simple Machines- Assemble your own to see how it works!

PULLEY

GEARS

PULLEY

EUREKA!

 HOW DOES A PULLEY WORK WITH AN INCLINED PLANE ?

Shaun Tan- The one of a kind author

Cultivating the love for reading in children is not as easy as it may seem, but with authors like Shaun Tan, the job of a teacher definitely becomes easier.

His stories not only transport the reader to another world, but leaves them to perceive the story the way they want. The thought provoking stories address relevant issues and bring in discussions about current affairs which is disappearing from the education system, especially in primary school.

This is how Eric was depicted in the story 'Eric'- Tales from Outer Suburbia

While some children called it a leaf, others visualised it as a nut stealer, peanut hoarder, ant man with a peanut sack, tiny man.

In our times, we would have probably compared it to 'Thumbelina'