Photoshop Tutorials

For Visual Arts this week, we used the program Photoshop to edit and alter pictures that the students brought in.

This meets the Ontario curriculum expectation for students to use technology under the Visual Arts strand.

Here are some links that have tutorials for students to learn more about Photoshop: Tutorial Magazine, List of Photoshop Tips and Photo Radar.

Enjoy!

Miss G

Tip for Parents: This is not an extension of their homework, rather, it is for students to improve their Photoshop skills on their own time.

Language Links

We have been exploring and analyzing different news sources, as a part of the media literacy strand in our Language Arts class.

According to Ontario Curriculum Standards, students are expected to understand a variety of media texts. Please refer to page 133 of this .pdf document to see the expectations under Media Literacy.

As part of our ongoing analysis, students are expected to read three online newspapers, The Hamilton Spectator, The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. We have been following the upcoming Ontario election and students are expected to read articles from each paper. We then compare and contrast each online paper by looking at word choice, points of view and the angle of the article.

Tips for Parents: Please read the online paper along with your child and try to discuss the news on a daily basis.

Miss G

Geography Fun!

We had a great discussion in geography this week. Using unlabelled black and white maps of Canada, we identified the provinces, territories and their capital cities. The class then described the relative locations of each by using compass bearings - North, South, East and West.

Below, I have listed some fun activities and games that will continue your learning about the geography of Canada.

1. Canada is broken and you have to put it back together! Click here for an interactive puzzle of our country.

2. See if you can label this map by dragging and dropping each province and territory. Or, click on the location of each province and territory listed in the blue box in this game.

3. Find your house on Google Maps!

Tips for parents: Encourage students to play these games without the use of an atlas or the map that we made in class. It is okay if they don't get every answer right, as long as they are enjoying the game and trying to recall each province and territory independently.

Miss G

Online Resources

There are many online resources that will provide you with information during the year.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board's website is a great source of information about all of the schools and programs in the area.

Another site to look at is the Ministry of Education's Curriculum Site, which has downloadable curriculum documents for all grades and subject areas.

Miss G

Welcome!

Welcome to Miss Gilbert's Classroom Portal. During the school year, I will be posting information, news and links for students and parents to help strengthen communication between home and school. I encourage both students and parents to make comments and ask questions on the blog posts. Soon, the students in my class with be receiving their own blogs! This is be a learning experience and a chance for the students to express themselves and publish their writing to the online community. I look forward to communicating through this blog! Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Miss G