News for November 14

News for November 14

This four-day week the students finished up the math unit on linear measurement by learning about metres and kilometres. The children learned how to measure things that can't easily be measured by using rulers and metre sticks by measuring using a piece of string and then measuring the string. The class used this method to measure the height of the school! We wrote a letter to Pat the chief caretaker last week and asked for his help. He came to our class and told us that he would be happy to help us. The children also estimated how tall the school was. So, he climbed up to the roof and dropped down a line of orange plastic ribbon. Then we measured the ribbon by arranging it in a straight line down the hallway. It measured 10 m and 37 cm ! (Congratulations to Ivy whose estimate of 10 m and 6 cm was the closest.)

The students worked very hard to finish their family trees. They wrote out the names of their parents and their mother's parents (maternal grandparents) and father's parents (paternal grandparents). The students then glued this information along with sentences about their favourite new and old traditions and the reason their parents chose their first names. These finished family trees are now on display in the hallway outside of our classroom.

The students learned about shape poems (also called concrete poems) this week and wrote some original shape poems. 

The children used playdoh to create colour wheels. A colour wheel shows how the primary colours (red, blue and yellow) and secondary colours (green, orange and purple) are related. The students actually made their own secondary colours by mixing together primary colours (for example, blue + yellow = green). The students also learned that mixing all the colours together make brown and mixing white with a colour makes a tint and mixing black with a colour makes a shade.

Each child picked an animal to research for his/her individual science project. The students learned how to use stencils to create titles on their posters.

Finally, on Thursday, each student wrote a letter to his/her parents to thank them for coming to our class for a parent-teacher interviews and pointing out things for them to look at during their visit. 

Books read aloud this week:

Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Suess

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess

Christian the Lion by Anthony (Ace) Bourke and John Rendall