Third Bimester Unit: The Artists and the Authors Who Move Us

In this series of lessons, we will read Vincent van Gogh’s biography and his works, and also specifically we will:

  1. Explore the details of Vincent van Gogh’s life (RI.8.1, RI.8.2, SL.8.1, SL.8.4
  2. Investigate influences on van Gogh’s style of painting (RI.8.2, RI.8.7, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
  3. Study select paintings by van Gogh (W.8.7, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
  4. Examine the content of select letters by van Gogh (RL.8.2, RL.8.4, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
  5. Exhibit independent study results (SL.8.5, SL.8.6)

Lesson I: A HAIKU FOR VAN GOGH

Learning Targets:  

  1. Write our own haikus, short poems of 17 syllables at most, inspired by Vincent van Gogh paintings.  (W.8.5, W.8.6)
  2. Identify van Gogh’s birthplace on a world map (RI.8.1, SL.6.6)
  3. Investigate biographical details about young van Gogh’s life (RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.7, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
  4. Note the members of van Gogh’s family (RI.8.1, SL.8.1)

Reading Plan:  Close Reading :  Their Reading Plan Book  10 minutes reading.  Students will be using visible thinking routine  using padlet.

Colour, Symbol, Image

As students are reading, make note of things that they find interesting, important, or insightful.  When they finish, they will choose 3 of these items that most stand out for you.

  • For one of these, choose a color that you feel best represents or captures the essence of  what you read.
  • For another one, choose a symbol that you feel best represents or captures the essence of what you read.
  • For the other one, choose an image that you feel best represents or captures the essence of what you read.

With a partner first share your color and then share the item from your reading that it represents.  Tell why you choose that color as a representation of that idea.

Teacher Instructions

Preparing for Teaching

  1. Students are asked to give 5 facts about Van Gogh.  They should mentioned about his biography and exchange these information to the class.  They are given 10 minutes to search for the facts.

Big Ideas and Key Understandings

Individuals have the power to be successful despite of his or her struggles and difficulties.

During Teaching (Instructions and Procedures)

1. The painting by Vincent van Gogh, can be described by telling what  students see in this painting, or what is going on in the painting, students could use a whole lot of words. Or  could keep it very short. The students will be shown some painting of Vincent Van Gogh and describe them with short details.

2. Now read this poem aloud. Ask the class: –  What is this type of poem called? (Answer: It’s a haiku, a poetic form that originally comes from Japan. – Does anyone know how a haiku works? – Is it a good poem about this painting?  Why or why not? Or is it really about the person who wrote the poem? Or about both?

3. Now discuss the structure of the poem. It has three lines, in the pattern 5-7-5: five syllables, seven syllables, and five syllables. Explain that  you count syllables, not words. If you wish, you can discuss how to hyphenate words: ‘co-lour’ or ‘col-our’? ‘brush-es’ or ‘bru-shes’? [‘col-our’, ‘brush-es’, and ‘can-vas’ are correct]

4. Briefly the teacher will show the class the summary before  going on to the next example. If the group already knows about haikus, they could discuss other possible variations .

5. Continue: Vincent made this painting (The  Harvest, 1888) in the south of France. It shows  a landscape with farmers bringing in the harvest.  

6. On a hot day. Vincent later wrote in a letter that his job of drawing and painting was just as tiring as working on a farm. Ask the class: What  would it be like if you were in the middle of that landscape, like Vincent? What would you see, hear, feel and smell?  

Read the haiku with the group Ask the class: Is  it a good poem about this painting? Why or why not? Explain that haikus are sometimes about the feeling you have when you look at a painting. Ask a student to divide the words into syllables on the whiteboard. (If you’ve talked about using fewer syllables, you could ask how to make this haiku shorter. For example, ‘The scent of earth – on a hot summer day – tickles my nose’, 4-6-4.)

Tell the class: These are examples of first lines for a haiku about this painting. Each one has five syllables. You can each choose a first line (individually or in pairs), and then you’ll have  five to ten minutes to write the rest of the haiku. Make sure to use the right numbers of syllables.

Pair Activity:  

Briefly go over this list of the main things to remember when writing a haiku, pointing out that there’s no need to answer all the questions.  The questions are meant to help the students find words and sentences.

Now, students write another haiku  (in pairs) based on a different painting by Vincent. They can choose among the paintings on the whiteboard or below. Then show the individual works, spending about ten seconds on each slide, and ask the students to look closely. Each slide includes a sample haiku in the notes, which you can use as you see fit .

Assessment or Homework:  Reading aloud and  Writing Haiku in Groups.

ICT Integration:  Personal Blogging, commenting, and posting.

Vincent Van Gogh Paintings

The Potato Eaters (April-May 1885)

The Yellow House (The Street) (September 1888)

The Bedroom (October 1888)

Field with Irises near Arles (May 1888)

The Courtesan (October-November 1887)

Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette (January-February 1886)

Garden with Courting Couples:  Square Saint-Pierre (May 1887)

 

Sources:  Google Images

Grade 7 Students Explore Barranquilla

On Friday, November 23, all Grade 7 students took part in a trip to Barranquilla. Barranquilla is a city and municipality located in the northern part of Colombia. It is the largest city in the northern Caribbean Coast Region of Colombia.  The students visited some historic and important places in the city.

San Nicolas Church

Museo del Carribe

Biblioteca Piloto del Caribe

The trip is an interdisciplinary activity of English, Spanish, Art, ICT and Social Studies. It aims to explore the different historical landmarks of the city and students are all required to create their own travel site with all the information that they collected during the trip as their final product.

Field trips are important to help students understand the concepts of the topics they learn in school. It also expose them to doing hands-on experiences. It is considered to be a vital requirement in the curriculum. That is why all students are encouraged to join and experience these field trips.

What about you?  Did you learn a lot from this field trip?  Which of the places mentioned do you like the most and why?  Write your comments at the bottom.  Please follow the guidelines for commenting.

The Key to Becoming a Successful Student

Autonomy means the ability to take control of your own learning, independently or in collaboration with others. An autonomous student will take more responsibility for learning and is likely to be more effective than a student who is dependent on the teacher.

Example
Autonomous students will set their own goals, reflect on their progress, and seek opportunities to practice outside the classroom.

In the classroom
Keeping diaries to reflect on the way you learn best, and learning how to use tools such as dictionaries can help you become autonomous.  Asking the question to yourself, How can I understand this better?  How will I learn best?  will help you achieve and develop your own autonomy.

Source: Google Image

Source:

Autonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2018, from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/autonomy

A reflection on my writing growth

Source: Google Images

       Write a reflection on your writing growth that answer the following questions.

  1. Was there an aspect in the planning stage of the writing process that was difficult for you? If so, explain what that was and why.
  2. Do you believe your essay is convincing? Explain why or why not.
  3. Describe one element of your writing that you feel you were able to improve.
  4. Was the peer revision exercise beneficial to you? Explain why or why not.
  5. Argumentation is a skill, whether it is in a written format or a verbal format. Explain why you believe it is important for individuals to support their claims.

 

Rural or Urban: What makes this setting unique?

Learning Targets:
1. I can give examples of key pieces in a text that support my thoughts and inferences about a piece of informational text.
2. I can find more than one central idea of a text and explain how the ideas develop throughout the text.
Activities:
Part 1: Students will be creating a comparison chart about Rural and Urban Life. They would be creating a comparison table and post it on their personal blog.
Part 2: Speaking and Listening, Multimedia Presentation
A. Students will read the e-book preview of ” P Is for Piñata: A Mexico Alphabet” by Tony Johnston. The link is provided below.
link of the preview: P is for Piñata (Preview)
Then, you will answer the following questions:
1. What was the author’s purpose in creating this text (P is for Pinata)?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using picture books to examine setting of a story or text?
3. Did the author present urban or rural life? How did the author present this in his book?
4. How is their portrayal similar to or different from information you find online when you search about rural life?
Important: You have to present your answer in a paragraph form. Insert your answer at the bottom of your post, “Urban versus Rural” in your personal blog.

Resources:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/alphabet_organizer/

My Love and Friendship Quote

Everyone loves a good quote. They challenge and change us. They make us think and laugh. Quotes are compressed and powerful ideas.  Today, we select a good quote about love and friendship and we would explain and analyze that quote.

How to analyze a quote?
Remember: WPAE!!!

1. Write the quote
2. Paraphrase
3. Analyze
4. Evaluate

For Example:

  1.  Writing the quote: Restate and introduce the quote and do not forget to mention the author’s name, if none, use “Anonymous”.

When William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, he states, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.

2.  Paraphrase:  Directly look at the quote and replace the text with your words.  It is important to maintain the same meaning.

In other words, Shakespeare compares life to the condition of being a ghost. He goes on to compare people to actors who worry about their brief moment in the spotlight only to cease to exist before he realizes his life is over.

3.  Analyze: Look at the tone, diction, mood, figurative language (metaphors, similes, imagery, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc).

The metaphors Shakespeare uses, comparing life to a “walking shadow” and man to “a poor player” emphasize the fleeting nature of life. Shadows are gone as soon as they appear, and actors only assume their character: the people they represent have no true meaning.

4.  Evaluate: write the importance of your quote and explain the significance of it.

Here, Shakespeare realizes that his lonely existence, from the moment he decided the his life has been consumed by his reckless ambition. This directly shows the damaging power of ambition.

Model Text:

When William Shakespeare stated in Macbeth, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more”. In other words, Shakespeare compares his life to the condition of being a ghost. He goes on to compare people to actors who worry about their brief moment in the spotlight only to cease to exist before they realize it is over. The metaphors Shakespeare uses, comparing life to a “walking shadow” and man to “a poor player” emphasize the fleeting nature of life. Shadows are gone as soon as they appear, and actors only assume their character: the people they represent have no true meaning. Here, he realizes that his pitiful existence, his life has been destroyed by his reckless ambition. This directly shows the damaging power of ambition which is the major theme of the play Macbeth.

Source:

Quote Analysis — The Easy Way! (n.d.). Retrieved from https://slc.berkeley.edu/quote-analysis-easy-way

I can evaluate my own work.

Self-assessment or evaluation is a process that we do for us to reflect and check our own work.  This will also help you identify  those skills and knowledge that you are strong and weak .

In order to self-assess your work you have to use the set of guidelines below.

Classroom Blog Rubric

Source:  https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/22686-blog-rubric-middle-school

The 5 B’s

To train you to become more independent and responsible students, who seek answers to your questions and problems, we use this 5 Bs in our classroom (or outside). This is designed to prevent you from always depending on your teachers for answers or solutions.

Follow the path in the face of difficulty at school or outside.

Brain – If you are not sure, think about it first. Do your best to think about the answer on your own.

Board – If you are still stuck, check the board. Usually, there is a clue or the answer on the board.

Book or Your Resources – If you are still stuck, look it up either in your books, textbooks, or online resources, if internet is available.

Buddy – If you are still not sure, ask a friend or classmate or your buddy. They might know the answer.

Boss – If they do not know either, chances are lots of people are confused, this is now the time to ask for help.

See? There is always a solution to your problems. We just have to keep searching. They say that answers will not find you, instead, we will find them.

The Marginal World by Rachel Carson

What “power of nature” does Carson find in “The Marginal World”? How does the structure contribute to the meaning? Talk about your ideas with your group. Then, in your journal or on the classroom blog, discuss the phrase “the shore has a dual nature” in your explanation and cite additional support from the text. 

The Marginal World