Monday, December 21, 2015

Dance videos

Here are the dance performances from the five groups in Ms. Francesca's dance class!


Update From Ms. R

The homework for this week is that there is no homework for this week! The students have worked hard over the last 72 school days and deserve a break. Of course, they still should be reading each day for a minimum of 20 minutes.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the families for their generous gifts. These were not necessary, but they are appreciated. I will be in my cozy reading spot in my home with my blanket, slippers, mugs of tea and lots and lots of books. Thank you all so very much!

When I was reading to the class about how Dr. Suess got the idea to write the story, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", we found a quote that I thought was appropriate for everyone this time of year:

Please tell all men,
That peace is good.
That's all that need
Be understood.

I would like to wish all the students and families of Room 204 a peaceful, safe and happy holiday!


Holiday Fudge

Here is the recipe for my family's traditional chocolate fudge:

1 package (300g) of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can (usually about 300 mL) of sweetened condensed milk

Put ingredients together in a pan and stir together over low heat, until the chocolate chips are melted. Pour the mixture in a square 8"x8" pan that is lined with waxed paper. Place the pan in the fridge until the fudge has hardened. When ready to serve, take out the pan, remove the wax paper and cut the fudge into small pieces. Enjoy!




News for December 18

The week before the winter holidays is always very busy...and this week was no exception!

The children reviewed their geometry skills by folding triangle faced hexahedrons. We used these to decorate a holiday tree. It was a "geome-tree"! The students also learned how to fold a hexagon out of thin tracing paper and then fold it and cut it to make a paper snowflake.

Our Lego City was finished this week and almost covered the whole carpet! The children made and named roads for the city and placed their Lego structure buildings on the "map". They finished their stories and these are now a part of a new class book in our classroom library.

The children reviewed the 100 word wall (spelling) words that they have learned so far this year. By playing the "I'm thinking of a word wall word..." game, solving and making word search puzzles, the children reviewed the words that they famously now know for the rest of their lives....

One of the traditions in my family is to make choclate fudge for a holiday treat. The students worked together to make the fudge on Wednesday so it could harden in the fridge and be ready for our class party on Friday afternoon. 

As a twist on our unit on structures, the students created strong and stable holiday cookie houses using graham crackers, royal icing and decorated them with candies.

The students were treated to a wonderful performance of a variety of French plays put on by the junior division core French classes.

The class studied some holiday songs to learn more about the tradition of "carols" or Christmas/Winter Holiday songs. The children made little books containg the lyrics and they helped to create a table of contents for each book. We read the lyrics and and learned some new vocabulary words. Then the students wrote down the year the song was written and we calculated how long ago the songs were written. Did you know that "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells" are not Christmas songs? "Jingle Bells" was actually written for American Thanksgiving (in late November). The oldest song we learned about was "The 12 Days of Christmas" which was written in 1780 (235 years ago). 

The class watched a couple of traditional DVD's this week. "Frosty the Snowman" and "The Grinch Who  Stole Christmas" were two shows that I remember watching on TV when I was a young child.

The class also learned how to play the strategy game called "dots". In this game, players draw straight lines to create and claim squares. The person who makes the most squares, wins.

On Friday, the students joined the other primary division students in the gym to sing holiday songs. We were very lucky to be asked to lead the singalong for "The 12 Days of Christmas", since we studied the song in class and we knew the actions to the song. The children did a great job!

Finally, we had a little holiday celebration on Friday afternoon. We popped popcorn and ate the delicious chocolate fudge that we made on Wednesday. Then the students watched some episodes of "The Pink Panther" before leaving Room 204 for the last school day of 2015.

Books read aloud this week:

12 Days of Christmas by Jan Brett
365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess



Sunday, December 13, 2015

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to write about a tradition/celebration that is observed in the student's family. This could be Valentine's Day, birthdays or any other time that is special in the family. We are hoping to learn about a lot of new traditions! There is also a math sheet reviewing the combinations of numbers that add up to 10. (For example, 5+5 or 1+2+1+6.) This homework is due on Friday, December 18th.

TOY DRIVE

Our class is helping with the school's Toy Drive. Please bring in a new, or gently used, toy for a child in need. There are donation boxes in the school office or children can just bring the toys to class and we can put them in the boxes.

Important Dates:

December 17 - Last day to donate toys to the school's TOY Drive.
December 18 - Last day of school for 2015
January 4 - First day of school for 2016

News for December 11

I apologize for being away for three days this week, due to sickness. But Room 204 was back to doing amazing things by the end of the week!

In math, the students finished the geometry unit. They used what they learned to create 3D figures using straws, magnetic shapes and snap-together pieces. As a group, the class worked together to make a HUGE icosahedron, a figure with 20 equilateral triangle faces. We figured out that it also has 12 vertices and 30 edges.

The class started a new project...creating a Lego City! First the class brainstormed the type of buildings typically found in a city. Next each child chose a building to create out of Lego pieces. Then each child began to write a story, using their Lego City building as the setting for their writing.

 The students finished up editing their glovetopus chapter books this week. I will be typing these stories and the children will make proper books out of them. We also spent a lot of time writing letters for our school-wide Holiday Mailbox activity. The student are practicing what they know about proper letter writing and addressing envelopes.

The children learned about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. They learned about the history of this celebration and the food and activity traditions associated with it. We cooked potato pancakes (latkes) and every student helped to grate the potatoes. The tradition is to eat these pancakes with applesauce and they were delicious! The children also learned how to play the traditional game of dreidel (a spinning top).

We learned some holiday songs this week in preparation for the school's traditional Holiday Sing-a-long next Friday. So far, we reviewed Frosty the Snowman and The Dreidel Song.

Books read aloud this week:

The Latke That Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket
I Have a Little Dreidel by Maxie Baum
Frosty the Snowman by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson





Sunday, December 6, 2015

Readers Theatre Plays

Here are the videos of the Readers Theatre plays that the children presented last week:

Shapes in the City



The Three Billy Goats Gruff

 

 The Golden Touch

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to write a fiction story in the homework writing journal. The story can be about anything the student wishes. There is also a math worksheet reviewing geometry concepts covered this week. This homework is due on Friday, December 11th.

Notes

1. Our class is in charge of helping with our school's "Toy Drive" this year. We are collecting toys for children in need and giving them to the local fire station for distribution. We are collecting toys December 7 - 16.

2. Starting Monday, December 7th, the class will now eat lunch in Rooms 305/306. They will eat from 11:35 - 12:05 and then they will play outside from 12:05 - 12:35.

3. Please note that our library day (Day 3) is currently on Mondays. Please help your child remember to return his/her library book. The students are not allowed to borrow a new library book until the previous one has been returned.


News for December 4




In math this week, the class continued studying the properties of three dimensional (3D) figures. The students sorted figures by different attributes. Using toothpicks (for the edges) and plasticine spheres (for the vertices) the children made "skeletons" of prisms and pyramids. The children wrote about how to make 3D skeletons in their writing journals. They also made figures out of "nets" or flat paper patterns that are cut out and taped together. The students made cubes, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, pentagonal prisms, square based pyramids, triangular based pyramids, pentagon based pyramids and...a few brave children even made dodecahedrons (12 faces with all pentagon shaped faces)!

In writing, the students learned how to use quotation marks. By using quotation marks at the beginning and end of the words that are spoken in a story, the writer makes it clear who is speaking.

The children made a lot of progress on their chapter book projects this week. They are writing a series of short adventures about their glovetopuses to create different chapters in a book. After self editing and editing with the teacher, these stories will be typed. The class discussed the different parts of a book and we listed what always needed to finish their books ( front and back covers, table of contents, chapters, author biography).

The class visited the Spectrum (grades 7 and 8) art show. The children wrote down the art they liked and later wrote letters to the Spectrum students thanking them for inviting our class and telling them what they liked about their art show.

In art, the students used what they know about two elements of design, line and colour, to create the front and back covers and end papers for their chapter books. Using straight lines and warm colours (red/orange/yellow) on one side and curved lines and cool colours (green/blue/purple) on the other, they designs colourful book covers.

In science, all the students finished their research on famous structures. The students also did an experiment with straws and pipe cleaners to prove that triangles are the strongest shapes in a structure.

The class learned about the tradition of an advent calendar. In Latin, the word advent means arrival. These calendars are usually used to count the days until Christmas. However, in Room 204, we created our own advent calendar to count the days until the winter holidays. The students decorated bags and filled them with little gifts. One student each day gets one of the advent gifts. We also planted a pine tree seed. We are observing how it and our amaryllis are growing.

Books read aloud this week:

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder by Mark Cassino
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (chapter book)

Sunday, November 29, 2015

News for November 27

*** Please click or tap on the photos to see the full picture. 




News for November 27

This was a very full week for the children. From geometry, to researching structures around the world, to learning and writing about octopuses, to acting in plays they worked hard and had a lot of fun too!

The class learned about Venn Diagrams and how to use them to compare things. The standard Venn Diagram uses two overlapping circles, creating three spaces. For example, if you compare home and school (as the students did this week ), in the left space you would write things found or done at home but not at school. For example, at home you take a bath, eat dinner and have a bed. In the right hand space you would write things found or done at school and not at home. For example, at school we have recess, a principal and a large gym. In the middle, are things found or done at home AND school. For example, at home and school we eat lunch, read books and play with friends. Did you know that the Venn Diagram is named after the English mathematician John Venn (1834-1923) who first wrote about using it in 1880? That's 135 years ago and we still use this strategy to compare things. 

In math, the students finished the unit on two-dimensional (2D or flat) geometry shapes and began to look at three-dimensional (3D) figures. The children used Venn Diagrams to sort 2D shapes by different attributes (for example, if the shape has right angles or parallel lines). The class also reviewed the concept of congruency. For shapes to be congruent, they must be the same size and the same shape. Later in the week, we reviewed the basic concepts of 3D geometry, with all 3D geometric figures having vertices, edges and faces. 

In writing, the students wrote their first book reports of the year. First they chose one of the five Martha the dog books we read aloud last week. Then they answered a series of questions about the book (for example, "Who was your favourite character? Why?"). 

In our guided reading time, I worked with small groups of children to start doing the research on the structure that they chose last week. Using hard copy encyclopedias and wikipedia on the ipads, the children began to fill out their graphic organizers. These worksheets have questions to guide their research such as, "Where in the world is the structure located?" and "When was the structure built?"

The children continued to rehearse and prepare their Reader's Theatre plays in their groups. This week they collected props and made simple costumes. We managed to film two of the three plays and the audience practised giving constructive criticism (for example, what was done well and what could be done to improve). These videos will be posted next week when the final play is filmed. 

The students sewed the button eyes on their glovetopuses with a needle and thread. Now they have begun to write their first chapter book of the year, using their octopus/glovetopus as the main character. They still have to do all the stages of writing (plan, rough copy, edit, revise, good copy) but they are learning how to divide the story into smaller chunks to create separate chapters.

With the first snowfall happening this week, the children learned about the man Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley who was the first person to take photographs of snow. He dedicated his life to learning about the science and the beauty of the ice crystals that make snowflakes. Did you know that fully-formed snowflakes are in the shape of a hexagon? Aha! Math is everywhere...

The class went to the library to listen to one of the Davisville kindergarten staff members, Ms. Moaven, read aloud a story she wrote in English and in Farsi, called, Who Do You Love the Most?. This story was published in a book in the fall. She read the story aloud and answered questions from the students.

Finally, after reading the book Octopus's Garden, the class listened to the classic Beatles song (and even heard Ringo Starr talk briefly about how the song became a book).

Books read aloud this week:

On the Job With an Architect: Builder of the World by Jake Miller
Everyday Structures From A to Z by Bobbie Kalman
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Octopus's Garden by Ringo Starr

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to write a book review. Each student can use any book that s/he has recently read. Then answer the questions on both sides of the book review sheet. There is also a 3D geometry math review worksheet. This homework is due on Friday, December 4th.

***Please note: To view full-size pictures please click or tap on the photo. I've recently moved to using the Blogger app for ipad and for some reason most of the photos are cut off on the right hand side. Your child may be in the photo but may only be seen in the full picture. 

Notes:

1) Our class was checked for head lice (pediculosis) this week. This is one of several checks made during the school year.

2) It is COLD outside! Please make sure your child arrives at school with all the gear needed for playing at recess. Recall the students are outside for 15 minutes in the morning and afternoon plus 30 minutes at lunchtime. A warm coat, hat/hood, scarf and mittens are all necessary with snow pants needed when there is snow or the temperature is below zero.

3) At the staff meeting this week, our principal Mrs. Farrelly, outilined two safety issues of concern to parents. She has asked that:
                   * ALL parents sign in at the office and get a visitor badge whenever visiting the school.
                   * She has also asked that parents do not allow children to walk through or be dropped 
                      off in the school parking lot. 


Our family of glovetopuses!


Our new science project...growing an amaryllis flower!

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Update from Ms. R

The homework this week is a combined math and language activity. Each student is to teach an adult about the Chinese game of tangram puzzles. How the student does this is up to the individual student, but included in the package is a half sheet with sample tangram puzzles and rules about how to play the "missing piece" game. The child is then to complete the teaching reflection sheet in order to report on how the lesson went. This homework is due on Friday, November 27th.

Note:

Starting sometime next week there will be changes regarding when children have lunch and where they eat their lunches. Our class will still eat lunch from 11:35-12:00, BUT they will now eat lunch on the third floor in the "yoga room". These changes were necessary because of the crowding and supervision issues in the lunch rooms.

Important Dates:

December 10 - report cards go home
December 18 - last day of school for 2015
December 19 to January 3 - Winter Break
January 4 - first day of school for  2016

News for November 20

News for November 20

This week the students were very busy as usual! The students even managed to start sewing the next character in their fiction writing...the glovetopus!

In math, the class continued with the geometry unit by learning about angles. For grade two and three, the students need to know how to recognize a right angle (where a horizontal line meets a vertical line) and if an angle is bigger or smaller than a right angle. However, the students were introduced to the proper math words. An acute angle is smaller than a right angle and an obtuse angle is bigger than a right angle. The students made an angle measuring device from strips of cardstock paper and a paper fastener (or brad).

The students explored the Chinese game called tangrams all week. Tangrams are a set of seven polygons pieces (called tans) that are assembled to make pictures. The students looked at the attributes of each of the shapes and learned the word "congruent" that is used to describe objects that have the same size and the same shape. The class practiced solving tangram puzzles as quickly as possible. This helps the students develop an understanding of the relationships between the different polygons as well as helping their visual memory match shapes on the paper with actual polygon pieces. The children then designed their own tangrams and worked to solve the student-designed puzzles. These puzzles are now part of a new class book and is now in our classroom library. Every student can solve a tangram puzzle in less than 30 seconds and the best time was 11 seconds! The children also used the tangrams to follow along a tangrams story during read aloud time. The children then wrote a reflection on learning about and using tangrams in their writing journals.

The class began a week-long read aloud project by listening to and discussing a series of five books. These books were published separately, but each is like a chapter in a chapter book. The characters and setting are bascially the same in each book, so we could focus each day on comprehension strategies and making connections to the other stories in the series.

In our guided reading groups, we read the ebook What is Colour? to learn more about this element of design. The children read about complementary colours (colours that are opposite on the colour wheel) and warm colours (yellow, orange, red) and cool colours (blue, green, purple). 

In science, the students began the unit on structures. They experiments with different types of building materials, to determine the attributes of materials that make a strong and stable structure. The verdict? Materials with flat sides, that are cubes or rectangular prisms and that are able to connect (for example blocks, snap cubes) make stronger more stable structures than thin, rounded or soft materials (for example, golf tees, pom poms, tissue paper). We also touched on the beginning of using the scientific method for experiments (purpose, materials, method, observations, conclusions).

The students also experimented with making paper stronger. Using sheets of copy paper, they folded, stacked and rolled the paper to make structures that will hold a heavy load. As a group, we discovered that four pieces of paper folded in half and rolled into cylinders held 18 dictionaries! When more weight was added the paper collapsed, demonstrating that there is a limit to a structure's strength and stability.

The students have begun the second set of Readers Theatre plays this week. This time the children are in three groups and performing three different plays. This week the students read through the scripts, decided which parts they were going to play and began to rehearse the plays.

The class began to explore the QWERTY typewriter keyboard using ipad mini computers. In future, the children will be learning about the "home row" keys and how to type efficiently.

Finally, the class looked at famous structures around the world and each child chose a structure to research next week as a part of our science unit. 

Books read aloud this week:

Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
Martha Calling by Susan Meddaugh
Martha Blah Blah by Susan Meddaugh
Martha Walks the Dog by Susan Meddaugh
Martha and Skits by Susan Meddaugh
Iggy Peck Architect by Anne Beatty
Three Pigs, One Wolf and Seven Magic Shapes by Marilyn Burns






Sunday, November 15, 2015

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to write a fiction story in the homework writing journal with the title, "A World of my Own", based on a read aloud book the students heard and discussed this week. Please make sure your child remembers the details of the "editing promise" taped to the front of the journal. Many stories are handed in that have not been edited by the students to find/correct mistakes before I read the work. Also there is a math worksheet reviewing two-dimensional (2D) geometry concepts. This homework is due on  Friday, November 20th.

Note to parents

1. Please have your child bring "indoor shoes" to school. The students are tracking in mud and sand into the classroom and we had lots of sand on our new rug this week...plus ants! No kidding!

2. Please write your child's name on ALL his/her belongings that they bring to school. Almost daily we have issues of lost water bottles, sweaters etc. 

3. Report cards will go home on December 10th. I will send home an interview sign up sheet the week before that date. Please let me know if you would like an interview before that time.

4. Lindsay Wotherspoon, our class parent, still needs some parent emails to add to her group email list. If you would like to be a part of these mailings, please contact her at lindsaywotherspoon@gmail.com. Lindsay is also responsible for the Scholastic Book Club orders for our class. The monthly book club is a fundraising activity and club orders provide some money to buy books for our classroom library. The current book club flyers were sent home with children on Friday.


News for November 12



News for November 13

This four-day week, the children focused on learning about and preparing for, observing Remembrance Day on Wednesday. The children practised folding paper cranes (while reviewing 2D geometry concepts embedded in the process) which were then used to create a wreath that was taken to the primary Remembrance Day assembly. We discussed what peace means and the students then wrote 33 words about peace (based on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month or 11+11+11=33). Our class was asked to perform the song they learned about Remebrance Day using words and American Sign Language at the primary assembly. Finally, the children made a video of the students each reading his/her peace message along with the poppies that they painted. This video can be seen below:



In math, the class began the unit on 2D (two-dimensional) geometry by discussing what they already knew about flat geometric shapes (or polygons). They learned the basic attributes of a 2D shape: number of sides, number of vertices and number of angles. They learned that the number of each of these attributes are always the same for any given shape. They went on a "shape hunt" in the classroom and discovered that in places made by humans, the most common geometric shape is the rectangle. For example, a triangle has 3 sides, 3 vertices and 3 angles. After reading the book, The Greedy Triangle, the class learned that the more sides/vertices/angles a polygon has, the more it looks like a circle. We even used a long length of string with the ends tied together, to demonstrate this. The students used elastic bands and geoboards to create different kinds of 2D shapes. They used geodot paper to draw the shapes that they created on their geoboards. We also discussed the various Greek origins of the geometric names. For example, geo (earth) + metry (measurement) and poly- (many) + gon (angle).

The students are almost finished their pillow projects. What a lot of work! The children not only created a pillow, but they each wrote a "how-to" non-fiction story on the steps required to make a pillow and a fiction story using his/her pillow somehow in the story. These finished projects will be put on the bulletin board in the hallway outside of our classroom next week.

The class began using a set of ipad minis for guided reading time. We read a book together as a class and on another day the students worked with a partner to read another book. This week we focused on books about two of the elements of art, shape and line.

In art, the students continue to work in their art journals independently and in response to various art challenges that I give them. This week, I photocopied the photographs of the children with their pillows and they cut and glued (collaged) it into their journals and created a design or scene around their photos. Also, after receiving a Starburst candy, why throw out the wrapper when it can be taped into their journal and made and decortated into something else...a present? A building? A car?

Books read aloud this week:

***Please note that many students enjoy using drawing instruction books by the artist, Ed Emberley. We have several in our classroom but there are many titles available on-line and in the public library.

A World of Your Own by Laura Carlin
The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
What is a Line? (ebook) by Susan Markowitz Meredith
What is a Shape? (ebook) by Tea Benduhn
A Lion in Paris by Beatrice Alemanga

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to complete the worksheet comparing Canada Day and Remembrance Day. There is also a math worksheet reviewing subtraction with regrouping and extending patterns with two or more attributes changing. This homework is due on Friday, November 13th (or on Thursday, if Friday remains a PA Day).

Notes:

1. Mrs. Farrelly has asked that teachers do not schedule parent interviews until we know when the Progress Reports are to be sent home. I will send home a schedule for interviews when the date for reports going home has been made public.

2. The scheduled PA Day, Friday, November 13th, may be postponed to a later date.

3. Our class parent, Lindsay Wotherspoon, has generously volunteered to send out emails to all parents of children in our class when necessary. She currently has 13 parents on her list. If you would like to be included on the email distribution, please contact her directly at lindsaywotherspoon@gmail.com.

News for November 6







News for November 6

Our week began with the students sewing together their decorated pieces of fabric using a sewing machine. Then they each stuffed their pillows with polyester stuffing and sewed the pillow closed with a needle and thread. These pillows will be used in the classroom during the year to make chairs more comfortable to sit in and the carpet more comfortable to sit on during read aloud times. 

The class began a big writing project this week about the pillows that they made. They are creating displays that will include a procedural writing (non-fiction) piece about how to make a pillow, from beginning to end. The children learned some key words to help with this writing: first, next, then, finally. The other writing piece for the project is a fiction story that has the pillow as a character, setting or object in the story. The students each had his/her photo taken with the finished pillow to add to their finished pillow project poster.

We talked a lot about Remembrance Day this week, both the history of this day and how it is observed in Canada. The children learned a song using American Sign Language that reminds us that on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month (November) we remember those that fought to make Canada a free country. We discussed the symbols of peace (for example, the poppy and paper crane) and are using these symbols as part of our monthly calendar pattern. Did you know that the circular peace sign was designed in 1965 and uses the semaphore flag code for N and D standing for nuclear disarmament?

In our guided reading group time, groups read and discussed the fairy tale, "The Shoemaker and the Elves". We talked about how fairy tales were used to teach moral lessons in times long ago when many people did not go to formal school and could not read or write. The children also made a connection to the story because they were sewing things this week just like the shoemaker and elves in the story.

In math, the students learned about ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...) versus cardinal numbers (1, 2,3...) and how to use these numbers to describe the position of things. The children also practiced extending patterns with two or more attributes changing (for example, colour, size and position). They also practiced addition and subtraction with regrouping (grade 2 - two digit; grade 3 - three digit).

In art, the students first finished their journal covers on thick paper using sharpie markers and watercolour pencils. Next they folded in half different kinds of papers (plain, coloured, squared, tracing and even paper made out of bananas!) to create the pages for their journals. Then they used a needle and thread to sew the pages to the journal cover (and added beads for decoration). Finally, they used a variety of drawing instruction books to practice their drawing skills in their new handmade art journals.

On Friday, the students attended the annual Bus Safety Presentation, consisting of watching a video and actually going on a bus to practice safe bus procedures and evacuation. 

What a busy week! We even had time to watch a video of Pete Townshend (the guitarist for the band, The Who) demonstrate his "windmill" guitar-strumming technique. This is the inspiration for one of the ways the students physically practice their word wall (spelling) words each week.

Books read aloud this week:

Sadako's Cranes by Judith Loske
The First Drawing by Mordecai Gerstein
What Does Peace Feel Like? by V. Radunsky
The Peace Book by Todd Parr
Where Poppies Grow by Linda Granfield
The Book With No Pictures by B. J.Novak 






Monday, September 21, 2015

Please be advised...

Please be advised that as a result of the recent job action by the teacher union, all postings on class blogs have been suspended until further notice.

Instagram and Sharpies

Instagram

Please read the Room 204 student posts on Instagram each day. Follow us @planet5news on any apple device or go to www.instagram.com/planet5news to view pictures (click on a photo to read the text the student wrote).

Sharpies

The students are having trouble managing their lunch bags and clothing. Many items get lost every day. Please use a Sharpie or any permanent marker to write your child's name on items they bring to school. If a lunch bag has a name clearly printed on it, it's much more likely to be returned.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to write a story (fiction or non-fiction) about the squirrel sticker in the homework writing journal. Please make sure your child reads the editing promise taped on the front cover. There is also a math worksheet reviewing the numeration patterning work we covered this week. This homework is due on Friday, September 25th.

Borrow-A-Book Program

In Room 204 our Borrow-A-Book program allows the students to borrow books from our classroom library to take home to read. The students are allowed to borrow one book a day and can exchange a book each day if they wish (less often if he/she has chosen a chapter book). The students do not need to take a book each day if they are reading their own books or library books at home. The children have been given plastic zip bags to put the books in to keep the books clean. It is expected that each child read at home for a minimum of 20 minutes a day. This reading time is considered to be daily homework. When we finally get our agendas, the students will be required to write down the name of the book and the number of pages read each day in the agenda.



News for September 18




News for September 18

This week the students studied the first group of Word Wall Words (WWW). These words are chosen from lists of words appropriate for the grades with a focus on irregularly spelled words and homophones as well as words misspelled from the students' written work. The children all know to study these words in class and at home each night because they realize that they need to be able to spell these words for the rest of their lives. It is expected that the students spell WWW correctly in all their written work. (When we finally get our agendas, the WWW will be written down several times each week.)

In math, the students worked hard to link what they know about skip counting to the hundreds chart. The children realized for example that counting by 2's doesn't always begin at 2. It could start at 37, add 2 each time and end at 47. That is, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47 is also counting by two's. We cut up a hundreds chart into rows and made a very long number line. The class used number lines to show number patterns. The students created their own hundreds chart and used these charts to play a game with dice call "Race to 100".

In social studies, the class began the unit "Living and Working in Ontario" by first understanding a bit more about Canada. The children learned about "O Canada", our national anthem. Did you know that the song was first written in French in 1880? The English words were not written until 1908 and it did not become the official national anthem until 1980. The children learned the American Sign Language (ASL) signs that go with singing the national anthem. The class also learned that Canada became a country on July 1, 1867 and that Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister.

The children learned how to play a cooperative writing game using dice. Each student chose a different colour of marker. The children took turns rolling the dice and writing that number of words only. The challenge is to write only the number of words shown on the dice and to ensure the story makes sense. (This reinforces the strategy of rereading one's writing to make sure it makes sense.) The partners sat together in circle and shared the stories that they wrote...they were very funny!

The class folded and decorated large portfolios to collect work that they do during the year. We will take time over the year to reflect on the work done so far.

I typed the stories that the children wrote last week and the students themselves mounted the stories on black paper and then attached the stories to the artwork. These stories and artwork are now on display in the hallway outside our classroom.

The children read short one-paragraph stories and learned the strategies to answer comprehension questions like multiple choice questions and short answer inference questions.

The children read their first "Reader's Theatre" play of the school year. The students worked in four groups to read the parts of the play, to choose and gather props and rehearse the play. The purpose of this activity is to increase reading fluency as well as to develop group participation skills. Everyone did a great job! Here are the videos:

Group One



Group Two



Group Three



Group Four


Books read aloud this week

The Good Little Book by Kyo Maclear
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (chapter book)