Tadpole Telegram
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. The
overhead projector allowed us to trace our large map before we colored in the rivers and mountains. Using maps and a
globe we studied France’s geography. Everyone enjoyed the French fairy tale Puss in Boots. Students started work on
their French Number Book for Book Buddies. 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.
Tuesday – 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 worked in groups of four with a math game that helps them develop the concept of addition. The Train Games
are a series of games to provide practice with counting and concrete addition and subtraction. Students used colored
pencils to help fill in the details on a map of France. Heena was chosen as Artist of the Week for her attention to detail.
Wednesday – Examining 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 an
ornamental or artistic function. These are also usually 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 students have been busy this week analyzing stories to determine if they are real or make-believe. 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 help them come to life. I love the diversity and creativity students generated with their
sculptures. I introduced a math game that provided practice with teen numbers and builds number sense. The class had to
recognize teen numbers, count out the appropriate number of cubes and compare the numbers to see who had the most.
The Frogs have been practicing our French; bonjour (hello), au revoir (goodbye), merci (thank you), and s'il vous plaît,
(please).
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. Students shared our French Number Book with our Book Buddies. They were very
impressed with our 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. The class practiced listening for words that began
with the hard Cc sound. Everyone has gotten faster at being able to identify our new sight words we, my, and like.
Homework for the weekend is to read their new book with at least two people.