Learning gained from Marking Papers

A job I took on this year was marking papers.   For the most part it's fairly easy work, but lately it's also been fascinating work.   The students are writing papers on items that interest them.  Tonight I learned about two things (for lack of a better word) that just fascinated me.

Ball Lightning.
a video that teaches a bit about them.

and here's one in real life

Ball lightning:
The term ball lightning refers to a strange and unexplained phenomenon in which eye witnesses have reported seeing spherical balls of light floating in the sky. They can be the size of a dime or several meters wide. People often compare the brightness to that of a 60-watt light bulb. Though it’s called lightning, it lasts longer than a lightning strike and when it disappears or explodes, it can leave behind the odor of sulfur. There have also been incidents where the explosion was fatal.  They can appear anywhere, including inside buildings. 

Fascinating eh??

 Lion's Mane Jellyfish

World's largest Jellyfish.    I find it interesting how the colder the water is, the larger they get.   Smaller ones are found in warmer water.  Aren't they gorgeous?

 

Large individuals are often red or purple, while smaller specimens tend to be shades of tannish-orange.   Frequent denizens of harsh, Arctic waters, lion’s mane jellyfish are seldom seen below the northern 42nd parallel. Also, they gravitate towards the surface and almost never venture beneath depths of 66 feet.  (source)

I am loving this aspect of writing papers and can't wait to show my son in the morning!   :)

Art Series: Arnold's Extraordinary Art Museum

I have to admit, when I first opened this book I thought...okay.. what kind of a weird little art book is this?  So I read it through, and then read it again because it intrigued in it's in weirdness. It's weirdness turned into a quirky way of  presenting different forms of art and ended up really intriguing
me.  I think it will intrigue you too.

 You might be asking, what makes this book quirky?

Well, it's done in a comic book format, it's a lovely hardcover book with great colour throughout from front to back.  The characters are a tad unusual, but they all have a great attitude and they all work with each other.

Arnold puts on an art show for his friends.   He is the collector and curator of the art museum, who wants to share his art collection with his friends.   He leads them on a marvelous adventure and they all learn much.

 Imagine if you could go to an art museum where you actually have to experience the art yourself.. like crawling through a tunnel to get to a Japanese tea room?  What if you learned how fascinating the colour blue was and how hard it was to prefect it?

Could you see a urinal as a piece of art?  Find it interesting to learn why ultramarine was used so often in pictures of the Madonna?  What about seeing the shadows or spaces of objects as the intrigue of artists?   I learned so much from this book, it was very neat.

At the close of the book, images of the actual art used and where they are found is depicted.   Some of the pieces were quite interesting, some more so after the reasoning behind them was given.

 It was so interesting to learn more about the different forms that art can take and some of the history and thought that go on behind them.  There is more to art than what you can just see.

I do have to tell you that I used this book with my art class....and they were delighted.  This book really resonated with my art students.   Check out the art project they came up.  :)

They started with circles and exploring that space, then someone got the bright idea of exploring what they can do with their hands, and then ...what if we mixed colours together and swirled them around, and what if we drop lids upside and ... it kinda went on and on from there.   It was a great finish off for our art class as the students had learned to work together and feed off each others ideas.  

 Arnold's Extraordinary Art Museum

Written/Illustrated by:
Catherine Ingram and Jim Stoten

Published by: Laurence King

Size: 10.1 x 12.06 ·

64 pages
Ages 7 and up

Reviewed For: Raincoast Books.


Amazon affiliate links are provided for your ease of finding this quirky book.  It doesn't affect your bottom line and blesses my heart more than you know.  :)   No pressure, but if you are intrigued by the book, get it!  Links are below.
 Amazon.ca: Arnold's Extraordinary Art Museum

Amazon.com: Arnold's Extraordinary Art Museum