This week we had a guest visit the classroom! Mrs. Mazzuca, and her daughter Mrs. Cesario, came to our class to talk about her journey to Canada from Italy (60 years ago) and her life in Canada. (Mrs. Cesario is Ms. Katie's mother-in-law and Mrs. Mazzuca is Mrs. Cesario's mother.) Mrs. Mazzuca told the class how she traveled on a boat for 15 days and nights and arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax, the entry point for over a million immigrants to Canada. She then took a train to Toronto where she lived and raised her family. The children learned about the history of Pier 21 and talked about how Canada is a nation of immigrants from all over the world. Each student wrote a question for Mrs. Mazzuca to answer. For example, on student asked what kind of food she ate on the boat and Mrs. Mazzuca said there was all kinds of good food but most of the time she felt seasick from the big waves of the ocean rocking the boat! The next day, the students wrote in their journals about what they found most interesting about her visit to our class and even wrote about who they would like to learn more about and possibly invite to the class to ask him/her questions.
The students learned about homophones this week. Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. This week we studied one/won and two/to/too.
In math, the children used what they know about place value to help them add two-digit numbers without regrouping. Using place value blocks, they made the transition from using manipulatives to using the vertical algorithm. At the end of the week, the children applied what they know to two-digit subtraction without regrouping.
In science, the children worked in two groups to research snails and goldfish. The groups asked questions about what they wanted to know about snails and goldfish to help guide their research. On another day, the groups had a guided reading lesson and wrote down facts they learned. This research will be made into class books at the end of the unit.
The class created more comics! This week, the children concentrated on characters talking to each other. The students also learned the best way to draw a speech bubble in a comic (hint: draw the bubble after writing the words.) Some of the comics are on display in the hallway and others are going into a class book.
The students used fabric paint to create a second piece of fabric for their pillows. Using blue, yellow, red and green they painted designs to go with the fabric they tie-dyed last week.
Each child create a large "portfolio". This portfolio will hold work that the children do in class all year and will be used for the children to assess their progress during the year.
Finally...the students taped photos of themselves into their time capsule books and put them in a box. The class wrote a letter to the "future" Room 5 students to read when the box of time capsules is opened at the end of the school year in June 2014. Then each child wrote a warning on a yellow piece of tape to ensure that the time capsule box is not opened until the end of the year!
Books read aloud this week:
Pier 21 by Linda Granfield
All Kinds of Children by Norma Simon
How Pizza Came To Our Town by Dayal Kaur Khalsa
Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose
Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin
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