Mr. Angeli -- Blogmeister

I'm very excited to meet all of my new students for the upcoming school year, and hopefully, you are just as excited as me! This is our blog, where we will have time to write about what we've learned and seen this school year!

A diorama is a small model of a real-life scene that has lifelike details and a realistic background.It can be anything you want it to be so get out the scissors,pencils, and pipe cleaners! Pick your animal and let's get started!

Steps
Choose a scene to re-create.(For example, think of the most important scene in the book. It might be the scene that explains the conflict, or maybe the scene where the conflict is solved. Maybe the setting is very important to the story and you want to show a scene that describes it in detail. Its up to you!)

Make sketches of how you want your diorama to look. Plan the front, back, sides, and top. Make the inside of the diorama look as deep and 3 dimensional as you can. Make a list of the things you will need to make your diorama. Use a variety of materials.

Make a base for the model out of a shoe box or other box about the size of a shoebox. Make sure your box is sturdy.

Find small figures to go along with your scene or make them out of clay, printouts, or even Legos. You could also make them from plaster. Use RTV Silicone to make a mold around an object. Pour in plaster or slow-setting colored epoxy to make the figurine. Use your imagination.

Cut out colored paper drawings for your project.
Be creative. Anything you can find (cotton balls, leaves, twigs, etc.) will work. Make every detail count.

Hang flying objects with clear string such as monofilament used for fishing line, if you have it.

Include a paragraph on the top of the box describing the scene you selected within the box. The paragraph should be 4-6 sentences and can be typed or handwritten. It should include the name of the book and the author. Your name should be printed clearly on the back of the box.

Explain your diorama during your presentation. Why is this scene important? What does it show? Be ready to tell us the 3 elements of your story: characters, setting, conflict/resolution. You might wish to have notes handy to explain the various details.

Tips

Put bigger items in the back, leaving the scene easy to see.

The most important object of your diorama should be centered or just a bit off center to draw the viewers attention to it first.

Green and brown pipe cleaners are great for plants. You can also buy miniature plants from a Supercenter or a crafts store.

You can use cotton swabs for clouds or snow also.

Be sure to use color all over. You don't want a blue sky with brown (cardboard box)spots showing in it, do you?

Warnings
Don't become upset if you make a mistake when covering your box in colored paper. You can usually cover up mistakes with other paper.

Suggested Materials
Shoe box (or cardboard box about the same size)
Crayons, colored markers, colored pencils, acrylic or tempera paints
Construction paper, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, toothpicks, clay
Yarn, string, felt, foam, popsicle sticks, tongue depressors
Dirt, sand, leaves, twigs
Tape, glue, scissors
small figures, Legos, clip art printouts found on free Internet websites

We recently finished our Einstein unit on Motion and Design. We used K'Nex pieces to construct vehicles that needed to be powered by a force to move. We explored gravity, rubber band power, air power, and the use of a propeller before time ran out and we had to send the unit back. However, we had a lot of fun with it this year, and learned a lot about forces, friction, and energy!

On February 29, our class did a "make-up" visit to the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame in Green Bay (our last attempt to visit was cancelled by snow). During our visit, we learned that the Packers not only go back way before we were born, but how tied into the community the Packers really are, as the only publicly owned professional sports franchise. Even the non-Packer fans were impressed with the facility and history!

On January 29th, our class boarded a bus and headed to Green Bay, where we viewed the TheatreWorks production of "Freedom Train" at the Weidner Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus. For many of us, it was the first time inside a really "classy" theatre, and our seats were down on the floor and up close to the action.

The play was full of songs and action that never seemed to wane. After reading "Freedom Crossing", this did a great job bringing a lot of what read to life!

We recently began the book, "Helen Keller: Crusader for the Blind and Deaf", and discussed accomodations for the blind (Braille) and the deaf (sign language).

We will soon be posting some blog entries in response to both the book and what we learn about those differently-abled people and how they adjust to be a part of a hearing and/or sighted-world.

Today, we spent a day celebrating what we've learned about Wisconsin Native Americans with our project due day. Several students researched many of the recipes used by many of the tribes of Wisconsin (Ojibwe and Menominee, for example), so our room was filled with the smell of cornbread and wild rice.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Other students created projects showing the types of homes or lifestyles of the tribes, including telling the difference between a wigwam and a longhouse (no tepees in Wisconsin!), and how they hunted.

Good job to all!

Had a great field trip today to the Beyer Home in Oconto, followed by a trip to the Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo.

The Beyer Home was an interesting trip down the history of Wisconsin, and particularly our own area. Most interesting was the reproduction of Main Street in Oconto, complete with the original doors and signs of century-old shops.

The Peshtigo Fire Museum is a quaint museum dedicated to the memory of the deadliest fire in American history (and oddly enough, the same night as the Chicago Fire). We most enjoyed touring the cemetary, where students studied many of the informational signs to prepare their next blog entries.

Keep an eye out at classroomcity.com for a podcast of our field trip, along with the podcast from our Heritage Hill field trip.

Well, we went down to the computer lab today to give the students their first look at blogging...I think they were rather excited (as was I!). This is going to have some growing pains along the way as I figure out what to do, when to do it, and where I find it all, but the benefits of having students publish to the web is so exciting that it'll be worth any extra time!

Well, we had Meet the Teacher night last night, and 17 of my 22 students came in to load up their desks and turn in their box of tissues to me (as the Amazing Leaning Tower of Tissue continues to grow). I was very excited to see everyone, meet the parents, and get to know the students that we'll be taking off with all year!

We will see everyone for the first day of school on Tuesday!

Hey, everyone out there! This is the official blog site of Mr. Angeli's classroom. Hopefully, if everything goes as planned, we'll have weekly updates of how things are going in our room, and along the way, getting our writing up to publication quality. Please bookmark this site and check back often!

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