The students had a great first week of 2015! The children performed plays, created folded circle 3D sculptures, learned about the Great Lakes, started to prepare for the EQAO standardized test and much more...
In math, the students reviewed 2D and 3D geometry concepts by learning how to fold paper circles into an equilateral triangles, then using these units they created all sorts of paper sculptures, from tetrahedrons to octahedrons to icosahedrons. Each child also wrote a reflection on the process.
Also in math, the children reviewed the basics of single digit multiplication and began learning their multiplication facts from 0x to 10x. They learned the "tricks" for multiplying by 0, 1, 2, 5 and 10 this week. They learned how to used skip counting to help them reason out the answer s to other facts and also the "commutative law", where the order of the factors in multiplication does not matter (that is, 3 x 5 is the same as 5 x 3).
The class reviewed the Term 1 word wall words by creating personal dictionaries, to which they can refer if needed when writing. The students were also challenged to count the number of word wall words (119 words) that they now will spell correctly, for the rest of their lives!
Inspired by the artwork in a book we read before the holidays, You are Stardust, the students began to create a diorama frame using wooden chopsticks and hot glue. They began to plan their art and the fiction story to go with the art.
In social studies, the students reviewed the meaning of rural (country) and urban (city) and learned more about the province of Ontario, with a focus on the largest freshwater lakes in the world, The Great Lakes. They used the memory device of "Superman helps everyone" (Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario) to help them not only remember the names of the lakes but also the order of the lakes from west to east.
The students began to learn the standard way to type on a keyboard. They visited the following site to play games to help them learn the "home keys". Here is the link:
www.dancemattypingguide.com
We had sad news this week. Our pet water snail Georgette passed away. We had a chance to look closely at her shell and saw that she was getting quite old as her shell was starting to crack in many places. We miss her.
We have a special pattern on our calendar this month. Everyday, the number doubles and so far the growing pattern shows 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256... the power of doubling! The pattern goes from one digit to three digits in 8 terms. The class discussed the read aloud book, One Grain of Rice, which is an Indian folktale based on this idea and watched a short video of a folktale using this growing pattern based on the 64 squares of a chessboard. Here is the video:
The students rehearsed their "The Golden Touch" plays, about King Midas and the consequences of having the ability to turn everything into gold. The children really got into acting their parts and creating their props and costumes. Here are the videos:
Books read aloud this week:
The Hershey's Chocolate Multiplication Book by Jerry Pallotta
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
Peggy - A Brave Chicken on a Big Adventure by Anna Walker
One Grain of Rice by Demi
The Boy Who Invented TV - The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull
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