News for May 17

News for May 17

It was another busy week in Room 222...

From preparing and performing the poem and dance for the Spring Concert to learning about capacity and area to releasing butterflies, the students had a lot of fun learning!

In science, the butterflies have begun to emerge from their chrysalids! More information and photos
can be found in a separate posting. At the end of the week, the class watched an episode of The Magic School Bus about butterflies.

In math, the children reviewed the proper use of the mass (weight) standard units of kilogram and gram. They were introduced to the concept of capacity or the measurement of how much something can hold. The standard units for capacity are litre and millilitre. A the end of the week, the children began to talk about how to measure area, or the surface within the perimeter of a shape. Area is measured in square units.

In reading, the children did a reading response activity based on the book, "Mummy on the Nile" by Canadian author Susan Aguilo. She was an author that visited our school two weeks ago. The class were asked to answer, in writing, some questions about the story.

In social studies, the class learned the history of Victoria Day. They chorally read a short non-fiction story and then answered some questions in writing. Qeen Victoria was such a well-like queen that people began to have a holiday around her actual birthday (May 24) and the tradition is to have fireworks to celebrate. Did you know that Queen Victoria became queen when she was only 18 years old and ruled for 64 years? Queen Victoria was Queen Elizabeth's great-great grandmother.

In writing, the students worked hard to complete the good copies of their caterpillar stories and made illustrations and front covers for their books.

The class was asked to create a "gratitude chain" to use for decorations in the auditorium for the concert. Each child wrote down what they were grateful for and why on a long piece of paper and these were linked together to make a chain. One sentence was "I am grateful for my family because they love me."

Finally, the children worked very hard and practised reciting the poem and doing the dance every day to prepare for the concert on Thursday night. They even learned the history of the balloons that we used in our performance. Did you know that balloons are made of rubber and were invented by the English scientist Michael Faraday in 1824, 195 years ago? (Faraday is known for his work in electromagnetism). The class also had a chance to watch the performances of the other classes, during a full rehearsal on Wednesday afternoon.

Books read aloud this week:

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (chapter book - continued)
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
Mummy on the Nile by Susan Aguuilo
The Magic School Bus - Butterflies and the Bog Beast (DVD)