Update from Ms. R

Well, another school year is done! We had a wonderful time in Room 222 this year, learning and laughing together. It was a pleasure and a privilege to teach this group of students.

Thank you to all the families for your support this year. I believe that the combination of my work with the children at school and your love and encouragement at home, has created a group of curious, insightful and capable young people. I always get a bit teary on the last day of school, as I realize that my time with this group is finished. However, they are now all fully formed grade two children, ready for the fun and challenges of grade 3!

Thank you also for the generous end-of-year gifts. They are not necessary, but they are appreciated.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy summer vacation!

Important Dates:

September 3 - First day of classes for the 2019-2020 school year

News for June 27

The last four days of this school year were filled with end-of-year activities. Among the various activities children opened our class "time capsule", filmed sock creature movies, had a Speed Stacking contest, learned how to use a knitting corker and watched a film adaptation of one of our read aloud books!

At the beginning of October last year, the children made little personal books about themselves documenting things like their heights and the size of their hands, wishes and predictions about the year ahead and including their photos and a "lucky" nickel. We also wrote a class letter to "the future Room 222". We bundled all these things into a box and sealed our "time capsule" to be opened at the end of the school year. On Monday, we opened the box and looked at what had changed (e.g., "My hair is so short!") and what hadn't changed (e.g., names).

The class learned more about the Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, who lived in Pisa, Italy over 800 years ago. Actually, the children talked about Fibonacci throughout the school year as he helped to promote the use of Hindu-Arabic numbers (using the ten digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) over the use of Roman Numerals. He helped to introduce the digit zero, that is necessary for place value. Fibonacci also described a number pattern, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8...New terms are created by adding the previous two numbers. This set of numbers was part of our calendar pattern for the month of June. These are also referred to as "Fibonacci Numbers" and can be found in nature.

The class calculated how many days are in this year's summer vacation. First, I asked the children to estimate how many days...and the estimates were very close. When I asked how their brains figured out their estimates, the children said basically that the summer holidays are in July and August and there are 31 days in each month, so 31 + 31 = 62. WOW! Applied knowledge in action! The actual number for 2019 is 67 summer vacation days, when you include the days at the end of June and the beginning of September.

The children worked very hard in small groups to plan and rehearse short stories to be filmed into movies. The students created sets and credits and. of course, the "actors"...their sock creatures that they sewed! The class commented on what the children did well (e.g., "I liked watching it because it was funny") and made suggestions for improvement (e.g., "Next time please speak louder because it was hard to hear you"). These movies can be seen in a separate blog posting.

The class watched the film adaptation of  the book read aloud to the class last week, "The Iron Man". The animated film is called "The Iron Giant" and the students watched and commented on what was the same in the book and the movie and what was different.

Our class Speed Stacking contest, Stackfest 2019, was held on Tuesday. In the spirit of friendly competition, we held a double elimination contest for 3x3x3 and 3x6x3. The children improved so much with practice that it was amazing to witness just how fast they could stack and unstack those cups!

The students reviewed the contents of their portfolios. Each child picked two items to share with the class that he/she thought were examples of her/his best work. It's not easy to stand up in front of the class and talk about personal work and achievements, but the children did an excellent job. (One of the most rewarding times of my job as a teacher, is to listen to the students as they realize for themselves, how much they have improved in their writing abilities.) It was also fun to listen to them chat with their friends about their work, for example, "I remember doing this!".

Through the week, we had some time for the children to learn beginner knitting using the knitting corkers that they made last week. This is a great quiet time activity that promotes fine motor skills.

Finally, the students cleaned out their desks and washed the desktops with...shaving foam! The children spread the foam around, wrote their names and drew pictures in the foam before using a piece of cardboard to "shave" the foam off the desks.

Books read aloud this week:

Blockhead - The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D'Agnese
Growing Patterns - Fibonacci Numbers in Nature by Sarah Campbell
The Iron Giant (DVD ) - book adaptation of The Iron Man by Ted Hughes.
Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier

2019 Sock Creature Movies!

Halloween Night


Giant Attack



The Mistake of the Prime Minister



Captured From Pirates



The Queen's Stolen Treasure

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is....there is no homework! With only four school days left, the children deserve a break. On Friday, I sent home their homework writing journals with a personalized farewell letter from me. The students also, after nine months of waiting, took home their homemade pillows!

Important Dates:

June 26 - Term 2 (final) report cards go home
June 27 - Last day of classes for the 2018-2019 school year
September 3 - First day of classes for the 2019-2020 school year

News for June 21

It was our last full week together in Room 222 and the students were busy with some big projects. The class finished their sock creatures and made structures for them, they began to plan and rehearse movies starring their sock creatures, learned beginning division concepts and made their own word search puzzles!

In writing, the students created their own word search puzzles using Term 2 word wall words. Later in the week, each child solved another student's puzzle and wrote them a letter thanking them for doing a good job and making suggestions on how to improve her/his puzzle. The children also continued to work on their graphic novels/comic stories.

In math, the class focused on using "multiplicative thinking" to help them solve word problems. One questions was, "Ms. R threaded 5 sewing needles for each student to sew his/her sock creature. The class made 18 sock creatures. How many sewing needles did Ms. R have to thread for the class to finished the sock creature projects?" (The answer was that she threaded 90 sewing needles!)

The class also did some math with gum. (This week the usual "no gum chewing at school" rule was lifted temporarily.) They used multiplication to figure out how many pieces of bubble gum that I bought for the class and completed a class survey as to their favourite of the three flavours. (Blueberry/raspberry was the most popular.) The class did some introductory division activities, by learning how to equally divide a given number of objects. (Sorting or "dealing" playing cards is a great way to illustrate this math concept.)

In reading, the class finished hearing the read aloud chapter book, The Iron Man. They used the comprehension strategy of drawing on paper what pictures the words were making in their minds to follow the details of the story. The class also learned about the invention of bubble gum.

In art, the children finished making their soft sculpture sock creatures. They are all so cute! The students are now working in small groups to create movies starring their creations. At the end of the week, the children selected a number of empty cardboard boxes to make structures for their sock creatures.

Finally...

 * The class went for a dental screening with a dental hygienist. Dental reports were sent home with the children on Monday.

* They continued to practice Speed Stacking to prepare for our class contest next week.

* Each child made a knitting "corker" to do "corking" also known as "French knitting". This device will help the children learn how to knit. We will begin knitting next week!

Books read aloud this week:

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (chapter book - now finished)
Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy

Update from Ms. R

.
Happy Father's Day to all the Room 222 families!

The homework for this week is to complete the science worksheet reviewing concepts from the simple machines unit and a multiplication math sheet. The children also took home a "times table" that they made to help them with multiplication fact recall. This is a reference sheet that is to be kept at home. This homework is due on Friday, June 21st.

Reminder...

Please dress your child appropriately for the weather. If your child wears sandals, they also need running shoes for gym class. Also, there isn't a lot of shade on the playground, so a hat and sunscreen are necessary on hot days. Please apply sunscreen at home before school as there is not a lot of time before recess for your child to do this. Our classroom only has a fan (no air conditioning), so please make sure your child has a water bottle to keep on his/her desk.

Important Dates:

June 26 - Term 2 (final) report cards go home
June 27 - Last day of classes for the 2018-2019 school year
September 3 - First day of classes for the 2019-2020 school year

News for June 14

News for June 14

This week the class applied their knowledge of simple machines to create Father's Day gifts, continued to look at multiplication concepts, started to write graphic novels and sewed two arms and a tail on their sock creatures!

In writing, each child read another student's caterpillar/butterfly book and wrote the author a letter to let them know his/her favourite part of the book, what she/he could do to improve and asked the author a question about the stories. Each letter is now a part of the book itself, tucked into an envelope in the middle of the book.

The class learned about how to write graphic novels or comics. After learning some tips and tricks to make the comic easy to read (e.g., drawn the speech bubble after writing the words), each student began to plan and then draw and write her/his comic.

The class was challenged to count and list the homophone words learned this term. The children worked with partners in order to make sure they got them all. The result? There were 16 pairs of homophones (one was actually a trio) learned this term. The children also practised using these homophone words, by choosing the appropriate word spelling depending on the meaning of the word in a sentence.

In reading, the students completed their individual reading assessments during our scheduled guided reading time. At the end of the week, the class began a new project using drawing to help them understand what is happening in a book. To increase comprehension, children are urged to "make a picture in your mind" to help visualize what is going on in a story. As children improve in their reading fluency, is not easy for many students to keep track of details as stories get longer and more complicated. The Iron Giant is a short chapter book by the English poet Ted Hughes. He uses his poetic skill to give lots of details in his writing. During read aloud time for this book, each child has a clipboard with paper and pencil to draw what is in his/her mind while the story is read to them.

In math, the children were introduced to the concept of a "times table", a paper calculator to help them retrieve various multiplication facts from 0 to 10. We reviewed the facts that they already know, x 0 (always 0), x 1 (the number stays the same), x 2 (skip counting by 2 or double facts), x 5 (skip counting) and x 10 (skip counting). The students filled in the table with the facts that they already know. After hearing the story of Six Dinner Sid, the children were challenged to use what they know about multiplication to solve the word problem, "How many dinners did Sid eat in one week?"

In science, the class talked about the final two types of simple machines, pulleys and wheels and axles and how these machines make work easier. The children finished their simple machine posters by cutting out, sorting and taping diagrams of simple machines to their posters. The students applied their knowledge of simple machines to create Father's Day gifts, using a drill, screws, screwdrivers, nails and hammers.

In art, the children continued to create their soft sculptures made out of socks. The students stuffed and sewed with a needle and thread, and sewed two arms and a tail on the bodies of their sock creatures that they made last week.

Finally, the children continue to practise speed stacking and recording their individual times in preparation for the friendly "Stackfest 2019" competition during the last week of school.

On Friday, the children created Father's Day cards by making paper wheels on cards using paper fasteners. They wrapped up the gifts that they made and were all set to celebrate Father's Day this weekend.

Books read aloud this week:

Everything's Coming Up Sock Monkeys - The Art, History and Business of the American Sock Monkey by B. K. Connelly
Get to Know Pulleys by Karen Volpe
Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood by Cece Bell
Simple Machines by David Adler
Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (chapter book - to be continued next week)

Update from Ms. R

This week the homework is to complete the science reading comprehension worksheet about levers and the math review sheet on beginning multiplication understanding. This homework is due on Friday, June 14th.

Notes for Parents:

1. Thank you to everyone for your donations to the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation and helping to make our annual fundraiser a great success!

2. Thank you for helping to return the school library books that your children borrowed. There are a few still outstanding and I will remind those families by email.

3. Please dress your child appropriately for the weather. If your child wears sandals, they also need running shoes for gym class. Also, there isn't a lot of shade on the playground, so a hat and sunscreen are necessary on hot days. Please apply sunscreen at home before school as there is not a lot of time before recess for your child to do this. Our classroom only has a fan (no air conditioning), so please make sure your child has a water bottle to keep on his/her desk.

Important Dates:

June 26 - Term 2 (final) report cards go home
June 27 - Last day of classes for the 2018-2019 school year
September 3 - First day of classes for the 2019-2020 school year

News for June 6

News for June 6

Another four-day week in Room 222, but the children were busy learning about multiplication, simple machines, sewing sock creatures and practising their speed stacking skills!

In writing, the students wrote an art reflection on the process of creating their M. C. Escher art. The artwork and artist reflections are now on display in our classroom. The children are now officially finished their dos-a-dos or back-to-back books! On one side there is a fiction story about a caterpillar and on the other side there is a fiction story about a butterfly. These are now available in our classroom library for the children to read the other children's books.

In reading, the guided reading groups read the next two chapters of Geronimo Stilton's Little Book of Happiness. This week we discussed how true happiness can't be bought from a store and that it is things like spending time with family and friends that is truly valuable.

In math, the class began to learn about multiplication and how it developed as a way to make the repeated addition of equal groups easier. For example, 2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2=20 becomes 10x2=20. Mathematicians are always looking for shortcuts! The children brainstormed the kinds of items that come in particular groupings, for example, there are five fingers on a hand, there are 12 eggs in a carton of a dozen eggs. The children solved a problem of how many chopsticks we would need to have a meal, to show the connection between repeated addition and multiplication. The students worked in pairs to find the twelve multiplication facts from 1-6 using dice. (These will be used to co-create a multiplication chart next week.)

In science, the lass learned about two additional types of simple machines, the screw and the lever.
The children heard read aloud books about these machines, collected names of examples of these and watched a couple of videos. The students chorally read about screws and answered reading comprehension questions. Each child also did an activity to prove that a screw is actually an inclined plane wrapped around a rod or cylinder by wrapping a paper inclined plane around a pencil. Here are the videos that the children watched:

In art, the students began making their soft sculpture sock creatures. After choosing two socks, each child chose a sock for the body and turned it inside out. (Recall when sewing, items are always sewn inside out!) Then it was time to go to the sewing machine to cut and sew the legs. Afterwards the students each stuffed the body of her/his sock creature. (This is a multi-step project that requires patience!)

The students learned how to do the 6-stack in Speed Stacking. They also learned how to use the official Speed Stacking timing mats.

Finally, on Thursday the class participated in our school's annual Jump Rope for Heart event to raise money for the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation. The children went to the auditorium to watch a performance of the play "Mary Poppins" presented by the grade 7 and 8 students.


Books read aloud this week:

Get to Know Levers by Karen Volpe
Get to Know Screws by Paul Challen
Panorama - A fold-out book about animals around the world by Fani Marceau
The Glass Doorknob - A Sock Monkey Adventure by Tony Millionaire

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is for students to complete the math, reading comprehension and science worksheets given out on Friday. This homework is due on THURSDAY, June 6th (since Friday is a P.A. Day).

Notes for Parents:

1. The school library is now CLOSED. Our librarian, Ms. Mantello has asked that ALL library books be returned by Thursday, June 6th. Please help your child to return the library book that she/he has borrowed. Books not returned are subject to a fine of $5.00 for softcover books and $10.00 for hardcover books. It's a big job to close the library for the summer, so a quick return of books is appreciated.

2. Our school's annual FUNDRAISER for the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation is on the morning Wednesday, June 5th. Please place your donation in the fundraising envelope and return the envelope to school as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for supporting this worthy cause.

Important Dates:

June 5 - Jump Rope for Heart - fundraiser for the Heart & Stroke Foundation
June 7 - P.A. Day - no classes on this day
June 26 - Term 2 (final) report cards go home
June 27 - Last day of classes for the 2018-2019 school year
September 3 - First day of classes for the 2019-2020 school year

News for May 31

The students were busy this week learning about simple machines, how to do Speed Stacking and connecting math with art by learning how to do art like M.C. Escher!

In math, the class practiced how to flip , slide and turn shapes on a flat surface. This is called "motion geometry". Then the children took the five square shapes that they created last week to see if they could determine all the possible ways to arrange the squares. This was their introduction to the puzzle game called "Pentominoes". Then the students worked with a partner to figure out all 12 of the possible arrangements. Then after watching a video of different pentomino puzzles, the partners worked on creating their own pentomino puzzles. The children documented their work, calculated the area of the shapes and wrote reflections on the process, on chart paper. These posters are now on display in the hall outside of our classroom. Here is a video that the class watched, for inspiration:

In writing, the children began to learn about the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. This week the class looked at the basic forms, for example, old, older (comparative) and oldest (superlative). The students also worked on the butterfly portion of their caterpillar/butterfly books. Several children have finished their books and the balance of the books will be finished next week.

In guided reading, the students began to read the book, "Georonimo Stilton's Little Book of Happiness" in their guided reading groups. This is a chapter book and the groups are focusing on the text features unique to Geronimo Stilton books and discussing the messages about what happiness means.

In science, the children learned more about simple machines. Books about wedges and inclined planes were read aloud and the students made posters to keep track of the examples of the 6 different kinds of simple machines. Did you know that your front teeth are an example of wedges? Did you know that stairs are an example of inclined planes? Here are the videos we watched to help understand more about these simple machines.

First...WEDGES...

Next...INCLINED PLANES...

In art, the class learned about the Dutch artist/mathematician M. C. Escher. Escher was fasninated by how shapes are tiled together on a flat surface without any gaps or overlaps. Simple examples are squares because they can be arranged to cover a surface completely. Escher experimented with changing different basic tiling shapes to make his art. He was inspired by nature to make tiles in the shape of lizards and butterflies, for example. Later in the week, each student created his/her own unique shape and began to create an artwork using the same method as Escher. These types of patterns are called "tessellations".

Finally, the class learned about the sport of Speed Stacking or Sport Stacking. This is a sport which develops hand-eye coordination and helps children to set and achieve simple goals...to stack and unstack plastic cups as fast as possible. Here is a link to the Canadian website for this sport:

https://www.sportstackingcanada.ca/

Books read aloud this week:

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (chapter book - now finished)
Pippi Moves In - Pippi Longstocking Comics by Astrid Lindgren and Ingrid Vang Nyman
Get to Know Wedges by Jennifer Christiansen
Get to Know Inclined Planes by John Brigham
M. C. Escher - The Graphic Work by
Geronimo Stilton's Little Book of Happiness by Elisabetta Dami (chapter book)