Banjo of Destiny

I thought you might want to hear some pretty incredible banjo playing...this boy is only 8 years old! Make sure you tell me what you think!

**You are not to visit other You-Tube sites or leave comments! **

Banjo Playing

The Pandas are here!

Did you know that the newest residents at the Toronto Zoo are 2 Giant Panda bears? Watch the video and tell me the answers to the following questions:

- Why are Pandas so special?
- How many kg each of apples and bamboo are travelling with the Pandas?
- How long will the Pandas be here in Toronto?
- How much does it cost each year to keep the Pandas here at the zoo?
- Who is the famous Canadian who signed "The Panda Agreement" and welcomed them when they arrived at the airport in Toronto?
- What do they hope will happen while the Pandas are here at the zoo?

Our Toronto Pandas


Here is a little poem about Pandas...maybe it will inspire you to write a poem, too!

There once was a Panda names Lu,
who liked to eat crunchy bamboo!
He ate all day long,
'til he looked like King Kong
and the Zoo didn't know what to do!

 

Tchoukball? Who knew it could be so much fun!

Hello Everyone!
here is an interesting video of some advance Tchoukball in action! Notice how a throw to the goal must be started outside the key, but the player is then allowed to step once inside the key after the shot...pretty amazing Tchoukball playing! What do you think?

Tchoukball Video

Hello Earth!

"Hello Earth!"...That's how Commander Chris Hadfield begins each of his messages from the International Space Station. Check out where he lives and works....cool! :)

The ISS - a home away from home!

What do you think?

Welcome to Term 2, 2013!!

Well, Room 10, here we go...! It's been awhile, since we last checked out our blog. There has just been 'too much' going on, I guess! When I think to myself, "What in the world should I post?", it makes me think of OUR WORLD and the fact that, more and more, our world extends way out into outer space. Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who is the Commander of the International Space Station until May. He is a really cool guy and now, thanks to some very amazing technology, Chris can communicate with us from outer space...and he has some pretty neat things to say (and sing -- he brought his guitar!) Check out this link and learn a little more about life in SPACE! Your task?
You may 1) comment on one of the short videos you watch or 2) compose a short poem, that we will send to Chris Hadfield in space or 3) do both! Enjoy & have fun! ~ Mrs. Kutertan :)

Check out Chris Hadfield in Space!

 

Here Comes Summer!

Happy 'Last Day of School' Everyone! :)
Here is a perfect poem for our celebrating...it's by Shel Silverstein:

Here comes summer, Here comes summer,

Chirping robin, budding rose.

Here somes summer, Here comes summer,

Gentle showers, summer clothes.

Here comes summer, Here comes summer --

Whoosh -- shiver -- there it goes!

Comments anyone? Here's wishing you a fabulous summer holiday -- stay in touch! :)

- Ms. K :) 

Welcome Back (...it's been much too long!)

Hello Everyone!
It has been QUITE awhile since we last posted on our blog together...time to get going on it again! :)
First, since we are studying about animals and their habitats, I wanted to post this amazing video. It is a 'murmuration' - I had never heard of this strange event before, so check it out!
Murmuration - an amazing, HUGE flock of birds flying together...http://www.wimp.com/murmurationphenomena/

Now, here is a poem to consider (also about a bird, and one of my top 10 favourite poems...please tell me what y think!)


The Eagle
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Tell me if you like this poem...or not...and why!

I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas!

Ms. K :)

Wonderstruck!

Hello again, everyone!


It has been awhile since our last blog entry, so here is a new one. (I can't believe that it is already February! Wow, the school year is just flying by...!)


First, here is a great link to our latest novel study, "Wonderstruck" by Brian Selznick (thanks Ankita!) :


http://www.scholastic.com/wonderstruck/


While you are there, you can watch a video from Brian Selznick, and see how to 'fingerspell' your name or a few words! Then, follow the stars to review some of the main ideas.

Now, read the following poem about a wolf, and tell me what you think about it...'bye for now! ~ Mrs. Kutertan :)

A Night With a Wolf (excerpt)
By Bayard Taylor  
High on the lonely mountain
Where the wild men watched and waited;
Wolves in the forest, and bears in the bush,
And I on my path belated.

The rain and the night together
Came down, and the wind came after,
Bending the props of the pine tree roof
And snapping many a rafter…
 
There, from the blowing and raining,
Crouching I sought to hide me;
Something rustled, two green eyes shone,
And a wolf lay down beside me.
 
Little one, be not frightened;
I and the wolf together,
Side be side through the long, long night,
Hid from the awful weather.

His wet fur pressed against me;
Each of us warmed the other;
Each of us felt in the stormy dark
That beast and man was brother...  

So Many Stars!

Here are two new poems to read and consider. Which on do you like better? Tell me why!

Star Stories by Lynn Noel (excerpt)

 

Music was still ringing in my ears
As I stepped out under the stars.
Silence.
Sudden silence.
Black, and frost, and midnight.
Just the wheel of the world
Going round over my head.
Just space.
Black space, like rhythm.
The space between the notes.
The breath before the song.
Huge space, big as an indrawn breath.
The stars shape the space into stories.
Sword of Orion.
The dancing Bull.
Seven shining Sisters
Snowflakes clustered as a chord...
The stories hang there in the stars.
Draw breath at midnight
And feel them catch in midwinter's throat.

I Heard a Bird Sing

by Oliver Herford

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

Mystery Man

I like this poem so much, that I have posted it before! What do you think? Do you like it...or not so much? Who is this mysterious 'man'? Any ideas...(hint: Think about the title! :)?


Windy Nights
by Robert Louis Stevenson


Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
And ships are tossed at sea,
By, on the highway, low and loud,
By at the gallop goes he.
By at the gallop he goes, and then
By he comes back at the gallop again.

An Interesting Rock Poem

What do you think about this poem...? Why is Flint more important than all the beautiful gem stones?

Flint
by Christina Rosetti

An emerald is as green as grass,
A ruby red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;
A flint lies in the mud.


A diamond is a brilliant stone,
To catch the world's desire;
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds a fire.

A Poem for the Full November Moon

Please read this poem about the moon...it's a full moon this week, after all! Do you like this poem? Does it make you think of anything? Do you like it more than "The Red Wheelbarrow"? Or do you like is less...or about the same? (PS: What is a 'quay'? In the poem, you pronounce it "KEYS"...)

The Moon
by Robert Louis Stevenson

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.

Great First Comments!...and a Video

Thanks to everyone for the great comments! Let me be very clear, I am not writing the poems on our blog, I am simply posting them for you to read and consider...I thought it was quite interesting that so many of you were puzzled by the chickens...or found them so funny! :) I guess chickens ('chicons') ARE pretty funny!! :) I am wondering about Akash's poetry comment: rhyming would make it better and longer would make it more awesome. Hmmmm...I am going to challenge you on that one, Akash! I found Stephanie's comment about it being an "awkward" poem quite interesting. Good connections on Braden's part - this was definitely a 'rural' setting!! Nice ideas, everybody!

Now check this out: I found this video clip and thought it was a very creative way to communicate this poem....what do you think? Does it help make the poem easier to understand? Click on it and tell me what you think! - Ms. K.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PqRhDdeKDA

The Poem that Started Our Blog

The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

...hmmmm. This is a poem I would like you to read and consider. Here are some questions to get you started:
What do you think about it?
Why do you think the poet wrote it?

Is art poetry?

Try this out -- then write a poem about your new little friend!

http://www.drawastickman.com/gallery.htm?p=18

Have fun! :)

Mrs. Kutertan

Welcome Back!!

Hello and Welcome Back to Everyone!
I am really looking forward to teaching and learning with you this year! I hope you will all enjoy our BLOG!! :) So many of you were at the CNE this summer and I got to thinking: I wonder what THEME you would have chosen for our CNE chair? Here is a picture of the chair that last year's class designed and painted. The theme was "We all belong at the CNE"! What would you like to paint on the chair if we enter the competition next year?

Also, I would like you to read and respond to this poem:

"The milkweed pods are breaking,
And the bits of silken down
Float off upon the autumn breeze
Across the meadows brown."
- Cecil Cavendish, The Milkweed

I thought of it, because I saw a Monarch butterfly in my garden and learned that, the Monarch butterflies that we see at the end of August will fly all the way to MEXICO, in one trip, before they lay their eggs and rest. That seems incredible to me!

What do you think?
- Ms. Kutertan

Is Music "Poetry"?

Happy Poetry Month! Is music "poetry"? How are they the same? How are they different?

1. Try this out:
Click some squares and see what you can create:

(You will need to copy this link into the bar at the top of your screen. This will take you away from our blog, but you know the way back...just use the 'back arrow' at the top left of your screen!)

http://biancavirina.tumblr.com/post/2665295375/click-the-squares-the-whole-world-needs-to



2. Now, finish this with as many words as it takes to tell me what YOU think: "Poetry is..."

Finish This Poem Starter...

Hi Everyone!
Spring is finally feeling like it is here! Here is a little activity for you today. Please finish this poem and send me your ideas...Your poem should be at least 6 lines long. It can rhyme, but it doesn't have to! Looking forward to reading your poems!

"I looked outside the window
and saw to my surprise,
a ..."

The Amazing Full Moon

Tonight there is SUCH a beautiful full moon! In fact, I have discovered that tonight it is the closest that the moon has been to our Earth since 1993 (long before any of you were even born!!). So, in honour of tonight's moon, here are a few moon poems...Just a note: when I was in grade 5 (which was well before 1993 and the last, very close full moon - practically ancient history!), I had to memorize and recite the poem Silver by Walter de la Mare. I remember being quite nervous about this, but I also remember liking the poem quite a lot. I still do not know what the word "shoon" means...or "casements"...maybe we should look these up together? Anyway, here are the moon poems that I chose for us to consider. I will look forward to reading your ideas and connections that you write about! :) And by the way, I hope you are all having a fabulous March Break!

Silver
by Walter de la Mare

Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy coat the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.

This next one is a bit tricky, but I think that of all the moon poems I found, I like this one the very best, even though there are some complicated ideas and words...like "constancy" (which means to be stable, never changing, faithful, true, loyal, unwavering...does this help?), and even though it is a little sad...my favourite line is "wandering companionless": It sounds so lonely. I would not want to be wandering around like that, without a friend (companion). Now I am feeling a little sorry for tonight's lovely moon...Please write about your ideas and thoughts!

To the Moon
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless
Among the stars that have a different birth,
And ever changing, like a Joyless eye
That finds no object worth its constancy?

I also find that the poet's middle name is a very interesting one...!
Looking forward to hearing your ideas! - Ms. K.