News for November 24

News for November 24

This week the children learned the names and values of Canadian coins and how to count money, they did a science experiment with different liquids and solids, created a BIG advent calendar and much more!

In writing, the class learned about how to revise their writing, which is different from editing. When children EDIT their work, they use a pencil to correct mistakes such as, capital letters and periods missing or word wall words spelled incorrectly. When children REVISE their written work they use a coloured pen and make their good writing even better by adding more words to give the reader more information. The students are now editing and revising their writing, before reviewing their stories with me. For this project, I will be typing all the written work before the stories are bound together with a front and back cover.

The students wrote a reflection on the art they made last week using clocks, that was inspired by the painting, “The Persistence of Memory” by Salavador Dali. After doing some research on Dali, we found lots of photos of him with magnifying glasses. So I took a photo of each child looking through a magnifying glass. Finally, the children each assembled the good copy of his/her reflection writing, the photo and their colour version of “The Persistence of Memory” to make a poster. The artwork and reflection posters are now on display in the hall outside of our classroom. Did you know that “The Persistence of Memory” is worth over one million dollars? Did you know that Dali also designed the label on the wrapping of Chupa Chups lollipops?

The class also used magnifying glasses to create miniature art! The children designed artwork on small (approximately 2 cm by 3 cm) paper rectangles. Then the artwork was framed in small plastic keychains. The children each made two of these and kept one at school and took one home. Some made necklaces, some put them on the zippers of their coats or backpacks. One child was overheard saying, “I’m wearing art!”

The class has begun an author study of the writer Susan Meddaugh. Each day this week we read one of her books featuring a dog, named Martha, that can talk. Next week, after reading aloud the 6th book in the series, we will talk about how to write a book report.

In math, the children learned the names and values of the Canadian coins, toonie ($2), loonie ($1), quarter (25 cents), dime (10 cents) and nickel (5 cents). We included the penny (1 cent) as well, even though these coins are now out of circulation. The students used what they know about skip counting to help them add up the value of a group of different coins.

In guided reading, I met with the groups twice this week. The focus of discussion was on writer intention, or why an author writes a story. The first book was fiction and was based on Aesop’s fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. The second book was non-fiction and was about wolves and sheep. Finally, we talked about the connection between these two books.

In science, the students worked together with the children in their table groups to predict and then observe, what happens to liquids and solids when they are heated (put in hot water) or cooled down (put in freezer). The students recorded this information on a chart.

The class discussed the Christian tradition of using an advent (Latin for “arrival”) calendar to count down the days until Christmas. The tradition in our classroom is to create a “Room 204 advent calendar” to count down the days until the Winter Holidays. Each child wrote a kind letter to a fellow student, collected some small toys and treats and put them all into a large decorated envelope. Each day, for 21 days, one student is randomly selected to receive the advent envelope of the day. This activity is meant to foster kindness and patience (as it’s not easy to wait for your turn…)

Finally, each day this week groups of students continued to write and read an announcement about our contest, on the school’s morning announcements. Everyone did a great job and the last announcement, with the names of the prize winners will happen next Tuesday.

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