Update from Ms. R

Our class participated in the annual Terry Fox Run on Wednesday morning. Together, our class counted the money we collected and we raised $36.10 for cancer research. Thanks for your support!

The homework for this week is to complete the reading comprehension worksheet by reading the story and answering the questions. There is also a math worksheet reviewing the concepts of ordinal numbers (first, second etc.) and rounding numbers. This homework is due on Friday, October 3rd.

News for September 26

News for September 26

This week the class finished up a few projects so that we can begin new projects next week!

The time capsules are finally finished and sealed away in a box for the next 168 school days. It's not to be opened until June 26, 2015! The students finished their books by adding a page with their photo on it and creating a front and back cover for the book. Together we wrote a big letter to the "future students of Room 5" writing about all the things we've done so far this year. It will be interesting to read this letter 9 months from now.

The children made sock puppets! They learned how to make a mouth and practised how to speak and make the puppet talk at the same time. They drew eyes, practised character voices and gave names to their puppets. They worked in groups of three to create puppet plays and wrote down the characters, setting, problem and solution for the story. Finally, the students performed their plays for the rest of the class.

In science, the students continued to research information about snails. Using highlighters and working in pairs they read the information and shared the facts that they learned. Then they took the facts from their research and created individual pages for our class book. Did you know that a snail has tongue called a radula that has thousands of teeth to rip up food? This book is now available for children to choose to read during independent reading time.

To learn more about the natural structure of the snail shell, we did an experiment on egg shells. We put an egg into vinegar and left it overnight. The next day the acetic acid in the vinegar had combined with the calcium carbonate in the shell and made lots of carbon dioxide bubbles. When we took the egg out of the vinegar it was still the shape of an egg but the shell was soft and sort of bouncy! So the calcium carbonate is what makes shells hard.

In math, the students learned about ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd etc) versus cardinal numbers (1,2,3 etc.) and when it is appropriate to use ordinal numbers. The children also explored the concept of 1000 to understand better just how big 1000 really is. Finally, at the end of the week, the class learned about "rounding" numbers (for example, rounding the number 48 to the nearest ten is 50 because 48 is closer to 50 than 40).

The children learned about the life of Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research. The class made a great connection between the prosthetic tail of Winter the dolphin and Terry Fox's prosthetic leg.

Books read aloud this week:

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (chapter book)
Terry Fox by Maxine Trottier
The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow- a story about colour (DVD)

TVO video

TVO visited our classroom last June to film myself and last year's class. Click on the link and then click on my name:

http://en.teachingawards.ca/nominations/winners/2014

Update from Ms. R

A big THANK YOU to all the families that came to our school's curriculum night this past Tuesday. It was wonderful to meet all the parents and share the great work that the children are doing in Room 5.

The homework for this week is to write a story (fiction or non-fiction) about the stamped image in the homework writing journal. There is also a math worksheet reviewing the different ways to represent and compare two- and three-digit numbers. This homework is due on Friday, September 26th.

***Terry Fox Run***

This year our school is having it's annual Terry Fox Run on the morning of Wednesday, September 24th. Please make sure your child brings a water bottle, is ready to run outside and is dressed for the weather. Also our school asks that your child bring a "Toonie for Terry" with all the collected money going to cancer research.

News for September 19

News for September 19

During language time, the students explored what it would be like to live in a world without punctuation. They attempted to read a story about the class that had no spaces, capital letters or periods. It was very difficult to read! Then the students attempted to find all the mistakes...and finally read a corrected version (that was SO much easier to read).

After reviewing the proper steps to write a letter, each child wrote a letter to his/her family welcoming them to our school's Curriculum Night. These letters were put on the desks to greet the family members when they came into our class.

The children learned a new writing game. Working in pairs and using two different coloured markers and one die, the students worked together to write funny stories rolling the die to determine how many words he/she could write on his/her turn. When they shared their stories in our sharing circle, the stories they wrote had a lot of action and were very funny!

In math, the students tried to draw as many circles as they could in one minute and then used what they know about groups of 10 and place value to count them quickly and accurately. We reviewed the 4 ways to represent a number: numeral, base 10 name, words and pictures of base 10 blocks. The students also learned how to quickly compare numbers (greatest/least) and how to put a list of numbers in order from greatest to least or least to greatest.

In science, the students continue to write their questions about snails and post them on our research posters. We learned a lot about snails after reading from the encyclopedia and taking notes from www.snail-world.com during our computer time. Did you know that the science name for snails is gastropod (gastro=stomach, pod=foot)? The students also had a chance to make a plaster cast of different shapes and sizes of snail shells using Plaster of Paris and plasticine. (Of course, they also wrote about how they did this!)

Our class has begun a long-term project creating a huge 100 chart in the stairwell, outside of our classroom. We are counting 100 pairs of shoes, one pair for each day leading up to the 100th day of school. Each day the star student posts a new photo. So far, we have photos of 14 pairs of shoes!

In visual art, the students explored another element of design, line. Using pencil then black sharpie marker, the students each drew lines around the shapes and spaces they saw on their shoes. After colouring the drawings to look like their shoes, they placed them around our 100 chart of shoes, as decoration (and providing clues as to which shoes belong to whom).

The children learned about time capsules and how they are collections of current information that is packed away for a period of time and opened up later to see what has changed and what hasn't changed. The children began making their time capsules this week by collecting information about themselves (for example, measuring their heights) and collecting a treasure (they each selected a "lucky penny" and calculated how old it was). When these are finished next week, these Time Capsule Books will be put away to be looked at again after approximately 170 days (or the last week of school in June).

Books read aloud this week:

! (Exclamation Mark) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (chapter book)

Update from Ms. R

***Reminder***

Curriculum Night is on Tuesday, September 16 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Please come by Room 5 (on the second floor, across from the library) to see all the great work your son/daughter has done so far this year. I will talk a bit about the grade 3 program and will be available to answer your questions. I hope to see you there!

The homework for this week is to complete the "Thinking About the Movie" worksheet, based on the movie Dolphin Tale that the class watched this week. There is also a math worksheet on number patterns and skip counting. This homework is due on Friday, September 19th.

Remember to follow us on Instagram @planet5news to view daily news posted by the students!

You can download the Instagram app on your Apple or Android device. (It's best to do this through www.instagram.com as the app store has many versions and only the basic version is needed.) Alternatively, you can view the daily postings at www.instagram.com/planet5news. (Click on the image to read the caption.)

Our LIBRARY DAY for book exchange is on Day 2. Currently, Day 2 is a Wednesday, but this will change every time there is a weekday holiday.

News for September 12

News for September 12

Finally, the class had a five day week to work on a number of projects together.

In language, the students studied their first 10 word wall words. The words can be subject vocabulary words or irregular and high-frequency use words. However, many of the words come from the students' writing (that is, words that theyperonally have trouble spelling). The children are expected to study their words at home each day to prepare for the spelling test each Friday. After that, they are expected to spell the word walls words correctly for the rest of their lives!

The class has published its first group of fiction stories! Each child brought his/her story through the traditional writing process (plan, rough copy, edit, good copy). It's a lot of work. These stories are now on display on the bulletin board in the hall outside of our classroom.

In math, the class continued to learn about number patterns using the 100 chart, number lines and skip counting. The students practiced figuring out the pattern rules and how the tens digits and ones digits show patterns as well. The children also practiced their "mental math" skills (doing math in their heads) and explaining in words how his/her brain got the answer (not always easy to do).

In visual arts, the children focused on design element of colour. They used primary coloured playdoh (red, blue, yellow) and mixed these to create the secondary colours (orange, green, purple). They used these six colours to create a traditional colour wheel. The students also learned about tints (adding white) and shades (adding black).

The students learned how to use watercolour pencils and used these to create illustrations to go with their fiction stories. These are now on display in the hall with the published stories.

In science, the class began the process of how to learn more about our pet water snail Georgette. Research always begins with questions! The questions the children have will help to guide our research project. Using the traditional question words (who, what, when, where, why, how) each student wrote the questions they had on post-it notes and we put them together. Next week, we will find out the answers to these questions and write a class book on snails.

The students watched the film Dolphin Tale to accompany our read aloud non-fiction book, Winter's Tail, about a real-life dolphin who lost her tail and how her human friends helped her. The class discussed how the book and the movie were the same and how they were different. (Since the movie was only based on a true story, there were many things in the movie version that weren't true in real life.)

If you would like to visit the real Winter the dolphin (who lives in Florida) on the internet, here is the Clearwater Marine Aquarium website:

www.seewinter.com

Books read aloud this week:

Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Craig Hatkoff
Dolphin Tale (DVD) - a film based on the true story of Winter the dolphin
Life Size Zoo (and More Life Size Zoo) by Teruyuki Komiya
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

Update from Ms. R

Welcome to Planet 5 News! Each week I post photos (sometimes videos) and write about what the children did in the classroom that week. I usually post the information on Sunday mornings.

Students reflect on the activities in Room 5 each day with a photo and comment. Follow us on Instagram @planet5news!

The homework for this week is to complete the worksheet "A Little Bit About Me". These sheets will become part of a class book. The math worksheet reviews math concepts on the 100 chart and place value.
This homework is due on Friday, September 12th.

***A note about homework in Room 5***

There are two types of homework in our classroom, daily homework and weekly homework. Each day, students are expected to read for at least 20 minutes (more is always better!) Also each day, students are expected to review their Word Wall Words (spelling words) for the week. These are written in the child's agenda every Monday. Weekly homework is assigned every Friday and is due the following Friday. Language and math work is assigned each week.

Please join us on CURRICULUM NIGHT on Tuesday, September 16 from 6:30 to 8:00. I will present the program of study for the year and am available to answer any questions you may have.

Important Dates (Some dates are subject to change.)

September 12 - Completed student school forms are due (these were handed out on Wednesday).
September 16 - Curriculum Night (6:30-8:00)
October 1 - Photo Day
October 13 - Canadian Thanksgiving - no classes
October 23 - Multicultural Night
November 11 - Remembrance Day
November 12 - Progress report cards go home to parents.
November 13 (evening) and November 14 (morning) - Parent/Teacher interviews
November 14 - P. A. Day - no classes
December 19 - Last day of school for 2014

News for September 5

News for September 5

It was a busy first four days of school this week. The students were getting used to the rules and routines of Room 5, but there was a lot of time for fun too. "Lego Friday" was a big hit!

In writing, the students reviewed how to print their letters and how to write a proper sentence. We reviewed the writing process (plan, rough copy, edit/revise, publish) and the children began to write their first fiction story in grade three. Most students have finished planning their stories and are now working on writing the rough copy.

In reading, the students heard and discussed several books about books. They tried a reading activity called "Reader's Theatre". In this activity, the students read a script for a play chorally (altogether) and then read the play having students read the parts of different characters in the play. This time around the class read the script for the fairy tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

In math, the class reviewed a classroom tool called the 100 chart. Each student created his/her own 100 chart, reviewing the numbers from 1-100. Using the chart as a game board, the children worked in pairs to play the addition game "Race to 100" and the subtraction game "Race to 1". We also used the 100 chart to review place value (ones, tens and hundreds) and chanted the reminder, "The VALUE of the digit, depends on the PLACE that you put it". 

In visual arts, the children learned the six elements of design: colour, value, line, texture, shape and form. These words, and the concepts behind them, are useful for when the students look at art and design as well as when they create their own art. 

The class learned  how to use a paintbrush properly as well as how to use dry tempera paint. Each student painted several pictures. Later in the week, the children gave their favourite painting a title and wrote three sentences on what the picture was about. These paintings and the written work are now on display in our classroom.

The children learned how to make big, chunky letters. The class worked together to make a display for the bulletin board outside our classroom, welcoming back the students in the whole school.

We also had a chance to learn some American Sign Language (ASL). The class learned the signs for yes, no, thank you, sorry and Canada. These are useful non-verbal ways to communicate. They are also beginning to learn the ASL signs as we sing "Oh, Canada" each morning.

Finally, the children started a chart to record the kinds of things they want to learn this year. They came up with some great ideas! From space to animals, robots to Canadian history, this group is interested in learning a great range of subjects.

Books read aloud this week:

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

The Book That Eats People by John Perry

Do Not Open This Book! by Michaela Muntean

The Little Red Pen by Janet Stevens

Welcome Back!

Welcome to all the new students in Room 5!
The news is posted every Sunday.
Follow us daily on Instagram @planet5news!