Tadpole Telegram November 26-30, 2012
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, was completed in 1250 and is more than 700 years old. Notre
Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The South Tower
houses the cathedral's famous bell, “Emmanuel”. The bell weighs over 28,000 pounds. The bell is Notre Dame's
oldest, having been recast in 1631. The grand Gallery connects the two Towers, and is where the cathedral's
legendary gargoyles (chimaeras) can be found. The West Rose Window is a remarkable stained glass window 33
feet in diameter.
Monday – Bonjour! We started our exploration of France and some different aspects of French culture. Students worked
on counting in French, creating a French flag and creating a large map of France for our bulletin board in the hall. Using
maps and a globe we studied France’s geography. Our morning routine now includes the students using his or her picture
to create a bar graph in response to a question. Each morning students will work on a different question. After the graph
is complete, the students will be asked to analyze the data. Our story, Animal Babies in Grasslands, taught us much
about a grassland habitat, names for a variety of baby animals and helped us understand the difference between a fiction
and a non-fiction selection. I introduced three new word wall high-frequency words: we, my, and like.
Tuesday –We used a graph to determine that in our class more of the students prefer the color purple to the color pink.
The surprise box contained a stained-glass holly wreath with pictures of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Everyone designed
and started their stained glass windows. Their creativity shows in the variety of shapes and styles they chose. We
finished our stained glass windows and were surprised after they were laminated that by overlapping colored tissue paper
we created new colors. These beautiful stained glass windows can be seen on our French bulletin board in the hall.
Students used colored pencils to help fill in the details on a map of France and Logan was chosen as Artist of the Week.
Students started learning how to count to 12 in French and worked on their French Number Book for Book Buddies.
Wednesday – Examining four different gargoyles helped us with creative ideas for designing our own Model Magic
gargoyles. We read the story, Night of the Gargoyles, where stone gargoyles come awake at night! In architecture, a
gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a
building. A chimera, or a grotesque figure, is a sculpture that does not work as a waterspout and serves only as an artistic
ornament. These figures are also called gargoyles in laypersons' terminology, although the field of architecture usually
preserves the distinction between gargoyles (functional waterspouts) and non-waterspout grotesques. Although most have
grotesque features, the term gargoyle has come to include all types of images.
Thursday –The beginning segment of the Hunchback of Notre Dame video provided some great views of the cathedral
and gargoyles! We discovered our gargoyles were dry and ready for a coat of gray paint. Everyone is very excited to have
the opportunity to paint their gargoyles and have each one come to life. I love the diversity and creativity students
generated with their sculptures. The students have been practicing French; bonjour (hello), au revoir (goodbye), merci
(thank you), and s'il vous plaît, (please). The class was introduced to the basic language of probability. Students
discussed the difference between things that are certain, things that are impossible, and things that might happen. During
our math games, students were encouraged to use the language of probability to describe predictions.
Friday – The video, Families Around the World, allowed us to see inside the life of one French family. The class
practiced counting to 12 in French. The large walk-on number line had students walking from zero to 10. Students were
encouraged to use it to help them solve addition and subtraction problems. Our math game Go Forward, Back Up, had
students exploring addition and subtraction concepts and strategies. Homework for the weekend is to read their new book
with at least two people. I finished the end of trimester assessments for literacy and math. Student information will be
available to parents through the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus. Directions on how to access and use the portal will be
sent home. All the different assessment results will be available to clarify the final grade on the report card.