Hello Families,
Today, students in rooms 8 and 11 continued to explore the different factors that contribute to identity, by examining family. We watched "The Big Book of Families" as a read-aloud to see how families are different, and get ideas about how they shape our identity.
You can watch it together here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDpckrBl0S8
Afterwards, Ms. Brown and Ms. Thomas told stories about their families and gave ideas of artifacts that they would use for their own Identity Portrait project:
Ms. Brown's story: "Soccer (or football) was always something my dad and I
shared, watching EPL, playing, etc. so I would bring a picture of a soccer ball or jersey. My mom has
always embraced her Italian side, so I would use a picture of pasta (or even real pasta!) and a lyric from the song “mumbo italiano” as it was a
song we always sung together while cooking. I would bring a dog tag from
my dog, Sunny. I would also bring a piece of bark from nature as spending time outside with my family
shaped my childhood. Last, I would bring an emblem of Big Ben and Trafalgar Square, as they are
symbolic of England and I remember first visiting them and feeling connected to
my family history."
Ms. Thomas's story: "I would bring a picture of my family: Mom, Dad, my brother and me. My Dad is from Wales, so I would bring a picture of the dragon from the flag of Wales, as well as a label from a mint sauce bottle. My Dad puts mint sauce on everything when we have a roast, and now I do too! My Mom is from Saskatchewan, so I would bring some wheat. I am from the maritimes so I would bring some shells to represent the ocean. My family is military, and we lived a lot of different places in Canada, so I would bring a small map of Canada with dots for all the places I've lived. My Mom and I like to travel together, so I would take a picture of the memory books I made for her. We also like to garden together, so I would use a seed packet to represent that. My Dad and I build things together, so I would bring some wood screws, and a picture of my Dad with my shed from this summer".
Students are bringing home a notice requesting pictures and artifacts about their family. There are some questions to help guide you in your selection, and you can use Ms. Brown and my stories to help you also think of ideas. These pictures and/or artifacts will be glued to a final Identity Portrait, so please read the criteria on the notice carefully.
If your can bring their artifacts early next week, it would be appreciated. Over the next 4 weeks (ish) we will be collecting different stories and artifacts to support a culminating task. Your support is appreciated.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Ms. Thomas
