Remembrance Day & Solving Problems

"When you go home, tell them of us and say, 

for your to-morrows these gave their today."

                                                                                               -John Maxwell Edmonds

This week students participated in several activities to develop their understanding of why we celebrate Remembrance Day and to remember those who have and are currently participated in conflicts around our world.

Students were surprised to learn that it wasn’t only men who partook in fighting for our freedom, but that women, people of all cultures and religions and even animals were involved in keeping us safe.

Did you know that animals had vital roles such as:

Mules: Carried panniers and artillery.
Horses: Carried mounted troops and hauled field guns.
Carrier pigeons: Delivered messages to specific destinations.
Dogs: Used as messengers, medical assistants, bomb detectors, and search and rescue workers.

 

Many other animals were mascots and helped to keep the soldiers spirits up. One famous example of this is 'Winnie,' who became famous when later named Winnie-the Pooh.

We were inspired by the UK artist Jacqueline Hurley’s ‘Remembrance Collection’ honouring military heroes. Using actual black and white photos from different wars as their base, students created handmade poppies to which added a pop colour to the photo. We were proud to see them on display at our Remembrance Day assembly.

We also wrote a letter to a soldier expressing our gratitude for their sacrifices and made a promise of how we will maintain peace in our lives.

In math we have been working on learning different strategies to solve multi-step word problems. Students learned a strategy using the acronym ‘UGLY’ to help them carefully examine problems and ensure that they fully solve and answer the problem.

We also looked at clue words that might help us understand which operation we could use to solve problems. 

Mathematics Learning Outcome:

Students apply strategies for addition and subtraction within 1000.

Student Learning Intentions:

• I can solve problems using addition and subtraction.
• I can estimate sums and differences.