Update from Ms. R

I would like to wish all the families of Room 5 a safe, happy holiday and all the best for the year 20012!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday, January 9th.

News for December 23

News for December 23

It was a busy final week of 2011 for the students of Room 5!

The big news was our school concert on Tuesday night. The children did an amazing job singing "What a Wonderful World" and "Firecracker"!

On Monday afternoon, the class had a chance to watch the whole show during the concert rehearsal.

A tradition at our school during the last week of school is for all the students to get together in the gym for 30 minutes each day to sing holiday songs. This a great community-building time.

The grade three's finally finished their paper chain project. It took 600 paper chains to measure from our classroom to the gym! It was a lot of work but the students worked cooperatively and daily revised their estimates of how many chains they thought it would take based on what they learned each day.

The students had a 30 word review of the "trickiest" words to spell on our class word wall. After reviewing words each day, there was a final spelling test for 2011. I'm happy to say that everyone did very well, proving that when Ms. R says that the students need to spell these key words "for the rest of your life", that the children are paying attention!

The class continued the unit on snow this week. We read several books together and learned a lot of cool facts. We reviewed the difference between "fact" and "opinion" and the students wrote some facts about snow and their opinion of snow. This writing along with their cut paper snowflakes (scientifically correct of course - based on a hexagon) are now on display in the hall outside of our classroom. One of the snow facts we talked about was why snow crystals are based on the six-sided hexagon. The reason is the shape of the water molecule (two hydrogen atoms attached to an oxygen molecule). As a comparison, the students "grew" crystals out of the mineral borax. After dissolving borax powder in hot water, each child put a bent pipe cleaner in the liquid and left it overnight. By the next day, large borax crystals had formed on the pipe cleaner and on the sides of the styrofoam cup. The students then looked at the crystals with a magnifying glass and discovered that borax crystals are cubes.

The class was invited to participate in a "Spelling Bee" this week. The students of grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 had a chance to continue to spell a given word as long as they spelled the word correctly.

The children learned about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. They helped to make the traditional dish of potato latkes by peeling, grating and frying potatoes in oil, then eating them with sour cream and applesauce. The students also learned how to play the traditional game of "dreidel" (a game using a spinning top).

The students learned about the Christian holiday of Christmas. They also learned how to make a Christmas treat that was a tradition in my family when I was growing up...chocolate fudge! Here is the recipe:

Easy Chocolate Fudge

300g package of chocolate chips

1 can ( 300 ml) sweetened condensed milk

1 and 1/4 cups of icing sugar

2-3 tablespoons of coloured sprinkles (optional)

* In the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat, combine and melt the chips and condensed milk. When completely melted, sift in the icing sugar (to remove any lumps) and mix thoroughly. Pour into an 8 X 8 inch pan lined with wax paper. Press the sprinkles over the surface, if using. Cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Remove the fudge and peel off the wax paper. Cut into small squares and serve.

We finished off the last school day of 2011 by having a party eating popcorn, chocolate snowman, class-made chocolate fudge, oranges, banana bread and even candy "rocks"!

Books read aloud this week:

The Latke That Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket

The Flying Latke by Arthur Yorinks

Christmas Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner

I Have a Little Dreidel by Moxie Baum

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss (plus the animated version on DVD)

Pop Up Christmas Alphabet by Robert Sabuda

Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Update from Ms. R

The students have worked very hard on their songs and performances for our winter concert on Tuesday, December 20. Please drop off your child at our classroom no later than 6:45 PM.

There will be a school Bake Sale on December 20 in the afternoon and during intermission at the concert.

Important Dates:

December 20 - Winter Concert - 7:00 to 8:00 PM (drop off your child at 6:45 PM)

December 23 - Last day of classes for 2011

December 24 to January 8 - Winter Holidays

January 9 - First day of classes for 2012

News for December 16

News for December 16

This week the students spent a lot of time preparing for their performance at the school's Winter Concert on the evening of December 20th. Learning the lyrics to the songs and the dance moves takes a lot of time and practice to get it just right.

The students have finally finished their "good copies" of their opinion writing comparing the book "The Iron Man" and the movie "The Iron Giant". There is now a display of the writing on the bulletin board in our hallway, decorated with aluminum foil "iron men".

The class has started a unit looking at snow. The children learned about "Snowflake Bentley" the first person to photograph snowflakes over 100 years ago. The students learned the science behind the formation of the ice crystals in snowflakes. The class then learned how to make hexagonal-shaped snowflakes, which are more scientifically correct that the usual ones people make that are based on an octagon.

In the computer lab, the students visited a site to cut virtual snowflakes:

http://www.funny-games.biz/external/create-a-snowflake.html

In math, each day the children reviewed an aspect of measurement (mass and capacity, linear measurement, time and money) and on Friday, both grades wrote the unit test.

The grade three students continued to work on their paper chain project and have almost made it to the gym. The chain is now attached to the hall ceiling and travels from our class (almost) to the gym. This project shows a real-life application of non-standard unit measurement and estimation and how to use new information to update estimations.
The students also had an opportunity to try making a "house of cards" (this is mentioned in the Firework song the students learned for the concert). They also had a chance to watch the original 1969 cartoon, "Frosty the Snowman" based on the song from the 1950's.

Books read aloud this week:

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino

The Secret Life of a Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht

Update from Ms. R

Only two weeks to go until the Winter Holidays...

The homework for this week is to teach an adult learner how to make an "iron man" out of aluminum foil and then write a reflection on the experience. The students are also asked to learn the lyrics for the two songs the class will be performing at the concert on Tuesday, December 20 (7:00 -8:00 PM). The sheets for these activities were sent home with your child on Thursday.

News for December 8

News for December 8

It was a short, 4-day week, but the students in Room 5 were busy as usual.

There was a lot of music in the class this week. First, the students are learning the two songs for our concert performance on the evening of December 20. Second, the students wrote a song (more on this below). The children have copies of the lyrics and are asked to practice learning the songs. Here are two links to help the sing-a-long process:

"What A Wonderful World"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yCcXgbKrE

"Firework"

(This link features Ms. Fletcher on guitar.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdcmucgdvfU&feature=youtu.be

The students finished watching the DVD story of The Iron Giant. Each child used a Venn diagram to compare the book and the movie, looking at what parts of each story were the same and which parts were different. The class learned about opinion writing and began to write their opinions of the book and movie, remembering to use information from the stories to back up their opinions. The students also learned how to create his/her own "iron" man figure, using aluminum foil.

In math, the students learned about capacity (the amount an object can hold) and the standard units of litre (L) and millilitre (mL) as well as mass (the amount of "stuff" in an object) and the standard units of kilogram (kg) and gram (g). They all used the reference points of a litre bottle of water and a one kilogram bag of sugar to help them understand these standard units better.

The class went to see a play by The Dufflebag Theatre called "The Three Muskateers". In this very funny retelling of the classic story, many students from our school were actors in the play. Our own Haleigh was asked to play the role of "Constance"!

Ms. Fletcher helped the students work together to write a song this week. They used the tune of a song familiar to our class called "All Star" and work in partners to write new lyrics to show what they know about rocks and minerals. The song was a great success and a video of the students performing this song can be found at the end of this posting. The class said "good bye" to Ms. Fletcher this week as she will be at a different school next month. We all wish her the best of luck in her role as a teacher!

The students continued to learn more about the brain. We read a book that talked about what it means to be a genius and during our computer time, the children visited a website that has games that challenges you to use your brain differently:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/braingames/braingames.htm

Books read aloud this week:

Train Your Brain To Be A Genius by John Woodward

Zero by Kathryn Otoshi

Room 5 - Trip to the ROM

Here are some photos of our trip to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM):

Update from Ms. R

Our trip to the ROM was a success! The children all had a great time. Thanks so much to Carson's mom Sherry and to Doron's mom Rodica for volunteering on the trip.

The homework for this week is to complete the review worksheets on money and cursive writing.

Important Dates:

December 9 - Federation Day - no classes on this day

December 20 (evening) - Winter Concert - Our class will be performing. Please note: Due to our school's increase in student population, this will be our ONLY school concert performance this year.

December 24 to January 8 - Winter Holidays

News for December 2

News for December 2

This week the big news was our trip to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). We spent all day there and we did a lot of different things. First, our class met Ian, our ROM teacher, and he took us to a special classroom were the students got to see, touch and do experiments with different rocks and minerals. Next, the class went to the Rocks and Minerals gallery and saw a piece of a meteorite! There were lots of samples of different rocks and gemstones too. Then, we went downstairs to eat lunch. Then, the children went upstairs to see the David Hockney exhibit where he made pictures on iPads and iPhones. Finally, the class went to the Dinosaur exhibit where we saw lots and lots of dinosaurs!

In class, we continued the unit on Canadian money with a focus on counting money and making change. The students also learned the game "Roll to $1.00".

The students finally finished their posters explaining their jellybean art. They included the letters that they wrote to Kina and Greg and photos of the art. These posters are now on display in the stairwell by our classroom.

In preparation for Multicultural Night, the students began working on a puzzle of flags of the world. The students also created lots of flags to decorate the gym. In order to learn to identify flags, the class visited two sites to help them learn:

http://www.guesstheflag.com/

http://www.chevroncars.com/games/world-flags/

We began our new unit on Canada by learning the names and positions on the map of the 10 provinces and 3 territories. We also learned a song to help remember the order of the provinces from east to west.

We finished the read aloud book, The Iron Man, this week. This book was adapted into an animated movie and the class began watching the DVD in order to write a comparison/opinion essay on both the book and the movie.

Update from Ms. R

The children are very excited about our field trip to the ROM on November 30. However, I have no parent volunteers for the trip! Please if you are able to join us let me know as soon as possible. Thank you.

I apologize for the delay in posting the student movies. I'm having trouble with the movie maker program and I hope to have these posted soon.

Homework for this week is to write a story about the Lego sticker in the homework writing journal. This homework is due on Friday, December 2.

News for November 25

News for November 25

This week the students were invited to an art show put on by the grade 7 and 8 students from Spectrum
Alternative School (now housed on the third floor of our school). The students spent almost an hour viewing the art, talking to the artists and writing down information on their clipboards. Next the students wrote letters to the students thanking them for inviting them to their show and writing about what they liked about the show. Then the grade 3's wrote a group letter to the students. Finally, the grade three's delivered the group letter and the individual letters to Spectrum, where they presented the letters to the students.

As part of our jellybean project, the class counted the number of jellybeans that our class used to make our jellybean art. Using empty egg cartons, they used what they know about "10" to help them count (that is 10 groups of 10 equal 100).
In math, the students finished up the measurement unit on time by looking at and calculating "elapsed time" (the time passing from one event to another event). The class reviewed temperature measurement in degrees Celsius, noting that at 100 degrees C (water boils), 20 degrees C (room temperature) and 0 degrees C (water freezes). They started the measurement unit on money by reviewing the properties of the six coins of Canadian currency, learning the history of Canadian currency and began reviewing the different ways to count money.
The students did a class study of the Robert Munsch book "I Want My Dad Back!". They reviewed text features, standard parts of a story and began to learn how to write a summary of the story in five sentences (as opposed to a more detailed story retell).
The class continued to listen to the book, The Iron Man, and practiced orally summarizing the events in each chapter.

In science, the children learned about salt and how salt is mined. We even have a Himalayan salt lamp in our class now! The class also read and took notes on articles about mining and fossils. Since metals (in ore) and fossils (in sedimentary rock) need to be separated from other rock in order to be useful, the students had a chance to see how difficult it would be by trying to separate chocolate chips from the rest of a baked cookie. They used knives, spoons and toothpicks to help them. It was a lot harder to do than you might think! The class also had a chance to view a DVD about the Arctic and Antarctica.
Books Read Aloud This Week

I Want My Dad Back by Robert Munsch

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (chapters 3 and 4)

Currency by Barb McDermott and Gail McKeown

Metals by Andrew Langley

Update from Ms. R

Thank you to all the parents who came by Room 5 to see and talk about the work your child is doing this year. As you saw, the students are all doing outstanding work!

The Homework for this week is to teach an adult about the class blog and then write a reflection on the experience (and post a comment if you wish). There is also a sheet of grade-appropriate questions based on our "time" math unit. This homework is due on Friday, November 25.

Important Dates:

November 21 - After school movie (a fundraiser by our parent council)

November 30 - Field trip to the Royal Ontario Museum (all day)

December 1 (evening) - Multicultural Night

December 9 - Federation Day - no classes on this day

December 20 (evening) - Winter Concert - Our class will be performing. Please note: Due to our school's increase in student population, this will be our ONLY school concert performance this year.

December 24 to January 8 - Winter Holidays

News for November 17

News for November 17

During this 4 day week, the children worked hard to complete their work to go on display for all the parents to see when visiting the class for parent/teacher interviews.

The students started out the week by viewing a music video by Kina Grannis that uses animated jellybeans. We also watched a video about how the video was made and the students were inspired to make some jellybean art. It was a lot harder than it looked in the video! The students worked in pairs to design and create an image out of jellybeans. They also figured out that the 288,00 jellybeans, if laid end-to-end, would measure 576,000 cm or 5,760 m or almost 6 km!

After all this thinking and learning the students decided to write letters to Kina (the singer songwriter) and Greg (the director) to tell them what they thought about the video and to ask them some questions. After reviewing how to write a standard letter, the students got to work and hopefully we will be able to send the letters, drawings and photos to them (in California!) next week.
In math, we started the unit on the measurement of time. We reviewed the concepts of days, weeks and years and talked about why we use these units of time (for example, one day = one revolution of the earth as it spins on its axis and one year = the time it takes for the earth to go once around the sun). We also started to talk about analog and digital clocks. Each student made an analog clock to use to help them with his/her understanding of these concepts.

The students finished their pillows this week by learning how to hand sew the opening of their pillows so the stuffing won't fall out.

The penguin stories were finally finished and put on display in our hallway.

The students worked hard on their first movie projects this week. The children worked in groups to create an original story and problem-solved how to tell the story visually. They also made beginning and ending credits and picked the music. After filming the movies, the class practiced how to give positive criticism and how to communicate what the groups could do next time to make their movies even better. The movies are posted on our sister blog at:

http://planet5movies.blogspot.com/
Books read aloud this week:

What?! Cried Granny by Kate Lum (Ms. R's favourite read aloud book ever!)

Iron Man by Ted Hughes (chapters 1 and 2)

Here is the video we watched on how they made the jellybean video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIH4MJAC2Tg&feature=relmfu

Update from Ms. R

The good news from Room 5 this week was our winning a "Golden Shoe" award! Every child (including myself) arrived at school by walking or using the subway. It was a great ABC (Anything But a Car) day!

I forgot to mention that our class now has a student teacher for the next few weeks. Nikki Fletcher is a student at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at OISE/University of Toronto. This is a special honour for me as I received my Master's degree from this same program.

The parents of our school now have a website to communicate upcoming events. Visit the site at: http://davisvilleparents.com/

Important Dates:

November 14- Progress reports go home

November 17 (evening) and November 18 (morning)- Parent/teacher interviews

November 30- Class trip to the ROM to see the Rocks and Minerals exhibit (details to follow)

December 1- Multicultural Night (*New date)

December 20 - Winter Concert (our class will be performing)

News for November 11

News for November 11

This week the class used what they know about measurement to look at the food we collected for the Spectrum Food Drive. The grade three's counted the food (22 pieces), weighed the food (7 kg), made the tallest stable structure possible (112 cm) and made the longest line possible along the floor (286 cm). The students even managed to figure out that a square package's longest length is its diagonal. The students then wrote a letter to Spectrum informing them of their findings, followed by a presentation to the grade four students.

The children worked with Ms. Fletcher to learn about the concept of "point of view". The read the story, Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. In this story, a boy finds a penguin and takes him to the South Pole but realized the penguin wasn't lost, he just wanted a friend. During the adventure, the penguin doesn't say a word. The challenge for the class was to give a voice to the penguin and to retell the story from the penguin's point of view. The students each wrote a good copy of his/her story and made a poster including an origami penguin. These stories are now on display in the hall outside of our classroom.

We now have over 500 paper cranes for our paper cranes for peace project. The children have started to string the cranes in groups of 50 to be part of a display. The students practised singing the words and using the American Sign Language signs, to perform our Remembrance Day song. Our class performed it during our school's assembly on Friday. The children did an excellent job doing their part to honour this solemn occasion.
The class finished up the linear measurement part of the current math unit by working with a partner to measure his/her height and reach (distance from fingertip to fingertip). They had to figure out if their body was "square" (height=reach), a "tall rectangle" (height>reach) or a "wide rectangle" (heightOn Thursday, the author/illustrator Ian Wallace visited our school. He spoke about his job and read aloud one of his books. His animated retelling of his book really made the story come alive.
The students learned more about minerals. Minerals are pure substances, while rocks are mixtures of minerals. They learned that the colour, texture, hardness, weight and shape of the rocks are used to tell which kind of rock a sample is.

Books read aloud this week:

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

Sadako and 1,000 Cranes by Eleanor Coer

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to teach an adult learner how to write Mad Libs stories and then write a reflection on the experience.

Please Note:

November 9 is our school's ABC Day. This means "anything but the car" and is a campaign for students to come to school by any means other that a car.

News for November 4

News for November 4

This week the class started a new math unit on measurement. This week we focused on linear measurement and the standard units, millimetre, centimetre, metre and kilometre. The students reviewed the use of non-standard units and the reason for having standard units. They learned ways to estimate using body parts for the 4 linear measurement units and measured objects around the classroom.

In writing, the students practiced how to use adjectives and metaphors to describe a character. As it was Halloween, the students wrote a description of a monster. Since the students each made a caramel apple for our Halloween celebration, each child wrote instructions for making carmel apples. The children also reviewed the parts of speech for the grades (noun, plural noun, proper noun, adjective, verb and adverb) and used this knowledge to write Mad Libs stories.

The students are now working in groups to write a story and develop the story into a movie.

In science, the students watched a DVD about mining.
We discussed peace this week in relation to Remembrance Day. The students learned a song with American Sign Language signs in preparation for our performance at the school assembly next Friday. The students learned the history of the peace symbol and created a large artwork using images of peace. The children also wrote a 33-word message for peace and wrote it on paper with a half-folded paper crane. (The class is now halfway to our goal of 1000 paper cranes, with 500 made so far.)

Books read aloud this week:

The Tailypo by Joanna Gladstone

Follow the Line Around the World by Laura Ljungkvist

Domo in the World by Kate T. Williamson

Sadako by Eleanor Coer