grade 4, block 1: norse myths (week 1)

norse myths I (5 week lang arts block), with 1 week 'off' for michaelmas



resources:
main lessons:D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths by Ingri D'Aulaire

independent reading: Thorkill of Iceland: Viking Hero Tales by Isabel Wyatt

form drawing: Form Drawing for Grades 1-4, Ernst Schuberth & Laura Embry-Stine

copy work: verse from "Poetic Edda" http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm

read aloud: (finish) Peter Pan: The Original Story by J. M. Barrie,
(begin) The story Bible, by Pearl S. Buck


monday, august 24th:

(read on own, thorkill, 45 min)

main lesson:

(tell first gods & goddesses story, D'Aulaire's, p. 12-20)

*copy work:

"Out of the Ice-waves issued venom-drops,
Waxing until a giant was;
Thence are our kindred come all together,
--So it is they are savage forever."

*math practice*

nature study challenge #1
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock & http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/02/green-hour-challenge-1-lets-get-started.html

lesson b:

form drawing, p. 20, fig 32 a. (trillium knot)http://www.millennialchild.com/Slideshows/Resources/Grade04FormDrawing.html



tuesday, august 25th:

(read on own, thorkill, 45 min)

main lesson:

*math practice*

tell “creation story”, D'Aulaire's, p. 21-25

chalkboard drawing (cb): D'Aulaire's, p. 22


*project; make a ‘creation’ mosaic (p. 22)

(orin really wanted to paint, so, we painted!)

lesson b:

handwork, begin work on runes cut to size & sand, if time begin to copy runic alphabet in pencil

http://thalion.exotica.org.uk/games/amberstar/scans/runes.jpg

aydin and i spent our handwork time needle felting some sheep & making them a little grazing area by covering a piece of scrap wood with a large price of felted sweater & then added a few bushes & some grass.

orin really wanted to join in, so i helped him make some needle felted some horses...

but as we were to begin our runes, i cheated a bit to keep us on track...;)

we had some partially dried cherry limbs in the basement, so i cut those with the circular saw & we baked them to finish the drying process...

(spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet & bake at 200 degrees for 20 min or so, depending on thickness, kind of wood, etc)

wednesday, august 26th:

(read on own, thorkill, 45 min)

main lesson:

*math practice

(recall creation)

*write together 2-3 paragraph summary; copy into main lesson book

lesson b:

baking, "finnish blueberry pie"http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Finnish-Blueberry-Pie/Detail.aspx

thursday, august 27th

(read on own, thorkill, 45 min)

main lesson:

*math practice

(cb): D’Aulaire’s, inner cover

*read aloud summary; copy into main lesson book

**painting of 9 norse worlds; add titles of worlds when dry

(as we had already painted this week, we opted to break in some recently purchased chalk pastels. they worked beautifully for this project)

lesson b:

handwork, continue work on runes, draw runes on in pencil & begin wood burning

(orin finished drawing the runes on in pencil rather quickly as he had been writing 'secret' messages & things in runes ever since he saw me print them our back in july :)