Update from Ms. R

Homework

The homework for this week is for each student to interview a parent to learn more about them by asking questions and writing down the answers. (These pages will be collected into a binder to make a class book for our classroom library.) There is also a math worksheet reviewing the analog and digital clock time concepts covered this week. This homework is due on Friday, November 29th.

Notes for Parents

1. Water bottles - Each child is encouraged to have a water bottle on his/her desk during the day and to take the bottles home at night to be cleaned and refilled. This saves a lot of time for the children and me. I have the job of refilling the bottles, if necessary. Please send a filled water bottle with your child each day.

2. Homework - Homework is assigned at the end of each week and is due at the end of the following week. Please help your child to return her/his completed homework on time every week.

3. Winter Clothing - Dressing for the weather is a challenge these days! Please send your child to school dressed for the weather as ALL children are expected to be outside before school, AM recess, lunch recess and PM recess. Boots are needed to protect feet from the cold, wet and mud. Despite the name, a pair of snow pants aren't just for snow. Snow pants also protect against cold temperatures.

4. Winter Concert - Our class is NOT in the winter concert. However, if your child is in the Primary Choir, your child will be performing. Our class will perform together in the Spring Concert.

IMPORTANT DATES

December 6 - P.A. Day - no classes on this day
December 12 - Winter Concert - PRIMARY CHOIR MEMBERS ONLY! (Our class will perform in the Spring Concert.)
December 21 to January 5 - Winter Break holidays
January 6, 2020 - School resumes

News for November 22

The children were busy this week measuring out the 27 metre length of a blue whale, writing about and drawing their foil people to create posters and, at the end of the week, beginning to make a classroom advent calendar!

Writing: The students were challenged to write a first person narrative (story) about her/his foil person that was made last week. This helps the children to learn about character development, by creating a back story for a character. After writing and editing their rough drafts, the children were introduced to the idea of revising their writing or adding words to make their good writing even better. Finally, the children wrote the good copy of their stories on loooonnng paper....

Reading: The students are now listening to the read aloud chapter book, The Hundred Dresses. This award-wining book was written 75 years ago and is based on a real event in the life of the author. It is a story that helps the children reflect on how to treat others with respect and how "teasing" is a form of bullying. In guided reading, the small groups read aloud the book, The Special Day. We talked about how the reader knows that the story is not set in Toronto, but is set in a tropical country. We collected different words other than "said" when writing dialog (e.g., replied). We also discussed the role of a title for a story and how to write an appropriate title.

Math: In the hall outside of our classroom, the children used metre sticks to measure out 27 metres or the length of a blue whale, the largest animal on Earth. Markers were put on the floor every 5 metres to help with the count. Then the children took the 10 metre piece of pink plastic ribbon we used to measure the height of the school and we found that the blue whale measures the same as the height of almost 3 of our school buildings stacked on top!

The students also reviewed the standard units of gram (g) and kilogram (kg) and how to choose an appropriate unit to determine the mass (or weight) of a given object.

On Thursday, the children reviewed the features of analog clocks and digital clocks. The class reviewed how to write the numbers on an analog clock and how to write digital time using a colon (:). We practised reading the time on an analog clock and writing the digital time and drawing the hour hand and minute hand appropriately on a clock face, given the digital time. (Curriculum expectations are: Grade 1 - to read and write the time to the half-hour; Grade 2 - to read and write time to the quarter-hour.)

Science: The class practised how to read a non-fiction text and how to understand, remember and apply what was read. This week the children read information about liquids and solids used in everyday life. Then they were asked to give examples of liquids or solids, given various clues (e.g., a solid you can see through = glass).

Social Studies: As we slowly move through the unit on Traditions and Celebrations, the class learned about how a tradition can be important to a small group of people and isn't necessarily observed by a lot of people. For example, in my classroom there is a tradition at this time of year to create a classroom "advent calendar". The origin of the advent calendar is to count down the days to the Christian holy day of Christmas (the word "advent" means "arrival" in Latin). Often, commercial advent calendars have small treats like chocolates each day of the count. In my class, we use this idea to make our own version by counting down the days to the beginning of the winter holidays. This week, each child was given a day number to design an envelope and the students collected various trinkets like plastic snowflakes and pencils to put in each envelope. Starting next week, each day one child will be randomly selected to receive one of the envelopes. By the end, all children will have received an envelope.

Art: The students learned some strategies on how to improve their drawing skills. One way, if the object is small enough, is to trace the object. Another strategy is to imagine drawing a line around the outside of the object. The children drew 4 different versions of his/her foil person and then experimented with different drawing mediums: woodless graphite pencils, thin sharpie marker, tempera paint and charcoal.

Finally, each student created a large poster using their drawings, foil person and their foil person stories. These are now on display in the hall outside of our classroom.

Books read aloud this week:

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (chapter book - to be continued)

The Blue Whale by Jenni Desmond

A Special Day by Judy Bagshaw

Update from Ms. R

THANK YOU to all the families for coming by Room 222 on Thursday and Friday last week. I enjoyed talking about your child's work in our class, sharing ways to improve and how we can work together to help your child do her/his best work. Our class is filled with curious, intelligent children and I enjoy seeing them learn and grow each day!

The homework for this week is to write a fiction story about snow in the homework writing journal. Two ideas we talked about in class are...imagine if snow was vanilla ice cream or if a snowflake was magic. There is also a math sheet reviewing mass measurement concepts. This homework is due on Friday, November 22nd.

IMPORTANT DATES

December 6 - P.A. Day - no classes on this day
December 21 to January 5 - Winter Break holidays
January 6, 2020 - School resumes

News for November 14

It was a busy four-day week in Room 222! The children finished their third books with different sized and coloured paper, they continued the unit on linear measurement and learned how to make small sculptures using aluminum foil.

In writing, the students worked very hard to finish their third books of the year. Recall the class heard read aloud Open This Little Book last week and took on the challenge to create their own versions of this style of book. They wrote, edited and create a good copy of their stories using coloured paper of different sizes. They made front and back covers and all the pages were sewn together using a sewing machine, just like how hardcover book pages are sewn together. These books will now be available in our classroom library for children to read each other's books during independent reading times.

In guided reading, the small discussion groups read a story about clouds and rainbows. This story is an example of a fiction story that teaches non-fiction information. In our class we call these stories "Near-fiction" to differentiate them from fiction and non-fiction stories. The class made connections to the text about what they have learned about different types of clouds and water in the atmosphere and learned about how, for example, a rainbow is formed after a heavy rain because the water in the air splits white light into its component colour wavelengths (red/orange/yellow/green/blue/indigo/violet). The groups then discussed the differences between pigment colours (e.g., in paint) and light colours as components of white light. The children also looked at CD disks, where the surface of each disk is prismatic, and also is able to split white light to create small areas of standard rainbow colours.

In math, the class continued the unit on linear measurement by learning how to estimate. Estimating is a particular skill that requires children to apply what they know and requires a lot of practice! Estimation is different from guessing because there is some information that is already known to help to make the estimate. The students practised estimating and then measuring to think about how accurate their estimates were (e.g., length of his/her shoe). After measuring the height of our classroom (3 metres), and remembering that our school has three floors above ground, the students estimated how tall the school is. Then the class had to solve the problem of how to actually measure the height of the school. We all went to the stairwell and used plastic ribbon to measure the vertical height from the floor of the first floor to the ceiling of the third floor. Back in the classroom, we measure the plastic ribbon and it was 10 metres and 17 centimeters long. The class also estimated and measured the length of the short hallway near our classroom using non-standard units (12 student bodies) and standard units (16 metres).

At the end of the week, the children were introduced to how to measure mass and weight. They reviewed the using of a standard scale (standard weight in kilograms) and a balance scale (relative weight). For example, a small Domo figure has the same mass as 35 plastic cubes. Mass is the amount of "stuff" or matter in something and weight is the measure of the pull of gravity on that mass. That's why the mass of something doesn't change but the weight can, depending on where the object is. For example, objects have a lighter weight on the moon because the pull of gravity is less.

In science, the arrival of colder weather and snow has helped our units on water and liquids and solids! The children learned how a snowflake is really a solid crystal of ice and how it "grows" in a cloud. Because of the shape of the water molecule, snowflake crystals are always in the shape of a hexagon and the crystals often has small "branches" sticking out of the vertices of the hexagon. Did you know that every snowflake begins in a cloud, with a tiny speck (e.g., a piece of dust) upon which the ice crystal grows?

In art, the class experimented with making small sculptures with aluminum foil. Since aluminum foil is metal, the standard ways to adhere it together, like glue and tape, do not work. After learning about how to cut the foil strategically, the children learned how to create a small foil person. The students were then free to make more foil people and to experiment with the foil to make other forms. For example, using a smaller piece of foil to make a smaller foil person and how to cut the foil to make rings or other animals like cats and spiders.

On Monday, the class attended the school's Remembrance Day assembly. The large peace symbols, poppies and origami paper cranes that our class made were used to decorate the auditorium for this occasion.

Books read aloud this week:

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Snow Crystal Photographs by Wilson A. Bentley
The Story of Snow - The Science of Winter's Wonder by Mark Cassino
Winter's Coming by Jan Thornhill

Update from Ms. R

The homework for this week is to complete the science reading comprehension activity (read text then answer questions on the content) and the math worksheet on linear measurement. This homework is due on THURSDAY, November 14th (since Friday is a P.A.Day).

THANK YOU to all the parents for the timely return of the interview request forms. I appreciate your understanding that some times are very popular, but there are only so many spots available. I will place an interview time reminder in the report card envelopes when they are sent home on Tuesday next week.

IMPORTANT DATES

November 11 - Remembrance Day
November 12 - Progress Reports go home
November 14 (evening) and November 15 (morning) - parent/teacher interviews
November 15 - P.A. Day - no classes on this day
December 6 - P.A. Day - no classes on this day
December 21 to January 5 - Winter Break holidays
January 6, 2020 - School resumes

33 Words About Peace

News for November 8

This week the children learned about Remembrance Day, linear measurement and how to fold origami paper peace cranes!

In writing, the class began a new book project using different colours and sizes of paper to create the book. The project was inspired by our read aloud book, Open This Little Book, which uses different colours and sizes of paper to tell the story. Most children have finished their rough copies and self-edited their stories. Next week, each child will edit with the teacher and create the final good copy.

In reading, the children learned from our read aloud books this week about different kinds of peace in our world. Sadako's Cranes helped the class learn a bit about the history of World War II and how origami paper cranes became a symbol of peace. Hey Little Ant aided the discussion of treating others with kindness and respect and It's Too Noisy is a folktale that reminds us what it means to have peace with friends and family.

In guided reading, the groups read the story Clouds by Arnold Loebel. (He also wrote the book the class read together, Frog and Toad are Friends.) The reading goal this week was to discuss the use of quotation marks to identify the words a character says and how readers and writers use quotation marks.

In math, the class reviewed the relationships between days/weeks/months/years. Next the children learned about linear measurement using the standard units of centimetre (cm), metre (m) and kilometre (km). The students learned how and when to use a ruler, metre stick and measuring tape. The children also practised choosing an appropriate unit to measure an object. For example, one would use centimetres to measure the length of a shoe, metres to measure the length of a swimming pool and kilometres to measure the width of Canada.

In science, the class continued to learn about air in the environment. They read and talked about how air is used by humans to do work. For example, a bicycle pump was used to put air into our class soccer balls. Clothes dryers, air conditioners, vacuums, and hair dryers all use air to do work.

In social studies, the class is now, more formally, talking about traditions and celebrations. This week we spent a lot of time discussing the history, traditions and symbols of Remembrance Day. The students identified and learned the history of the red poppy, paper peace cranes, the two finger peace hand sign, a white dove (with an olive branch) and the peace symbol. The students made poppies, folded paper peace cranes and created huge peace signs to be used for decorating the auditorium for the school's assembly on Monday, November 11th. The class learned that the time to remember those that passed away in the pursuit of peace is the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month (November). The children also learned a song, using American Sign Language, to help them remember this information. Later in the week the children took the challenge to write "33 Words About Peace". These words were videotaped as the students read them, and they are now on display in the hall outside of our classroom. The Remembrance Day video we made can be seen in a separate posting.

In art, the class created red poppies, of all different sizes, from red construction paper. They learned how to fold origami paper peace cranes. The folding procedure helps the children with their fine motor development (accuracy of fold placements), patience to complete a project that takes time and practice (almost 30 separate folds), geometry concepts (identifying shapes like right-angles triangles) and learning and memorizing the progression of a multi-step process. Some children became local experts to help their friends remember the next steps. Many children can now fold a paper crane independently!

Books read aloud this week:

Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier
Sadako's Cranes by Judith Loske
The Biggest Puddle in the World by Mark Lee
Hey Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose
It's Too Noisy by Joanna Cole

Update from Ms. R

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

It's almost parent/teacher interview time and the time set aside for interviews is on Thursday, November 14 (evening) and Friday, November 15 (morning). An interview request form (green sheet) was sent home with your child on Friday. Please write your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices for times on the sheet and return it to school with your child as soon as possible, as many parents want the same times! If your choices are already taken, I will choose a time for you close to your preferred times. I will send home a confirmation note with your child. If these times are not convenient, please email me to make other arrangements.

HOMEWORK

The homework for this week is for each student to teach the math board game that she or he created to an adult and write a reflection on the experience. There is also a math sheet covering ordinal numbers and time measurement (using calendars). THE BOARD GAME IS TO BE KEPT AT HOME. The completed reflection sheet and math worksheet are due on Friday, November 8th.

IMPORTANT DATES

November 11 - Remembrance Day
November 12 - Progress Reports go home
November 14 (evening) and November 15 (morning) - parent/teacher interviews
November 15 - P.A. Day - no classes on this day
December 6 - P.A. Day - no classes on this day
December 21 to January 5 - Winter Break holidays
January 6, 2020 - School resumes

Halloween 2019

Halloween 2019

We had a great Halloween week together! The students made spiders, wrote spider stories and even did some spider math. The children heard fiction and non-fiction Halloween books read aloud. They learned how to make a beaded spider and how to fold origami paper "claws". They watched the kindergarten children parade in their costumes and in turn, our class was part of the primary costume parade on the third floor. 

Thank you to all the families for respecting our school Halloween rules. By not having masks, toy weapons and treats that may have nuts or peanuts, all children had a safe and happy time.

News for November 1

This week the children finished their time capsule books, made spiders, talked about the relationships between days/weeks/months/years, learned about the history and traditions of Halloween and much more!

In math, the class has begun the unit on measurement by talking about the relationships between days/weeks/months/years. For example, there are 365 days in a year. Some time measurements have a science reason for the amount of time, for example, a year or 365 days is the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one complete trip around the sun.

Later in the week, the students learned about ordinal numbers. Ordinal numbers indicate the order of things (e.g, fifth or 5th). Regular numbers are called cardinal numbers (e.g, 1, 2, 3). This fits in with calendar dates as the numbered day of the month often uses the ordinal number, for example, Friday, November 1st.

On Halloween, the children did some "spider math" based on the 20 spiders that the class made. They were asked to figure out how many spider bodies there were, how many spider eyes and how many spider legs altogether. They were also asked to write about how they got their answers. This is an example of an applied knowledge activity. There was no lesson as students were expected to "use what they know" to help them. For example, many children used skip counting, some children did the math for one desk group and then added the totals for the four desk groups in our room.

In writing, the children finished their time capsule books documenting some things about themselves, like their age and height. The students also had a photo taken and were given a "lucky nickel" to put in their little books. Later in the week the class wrote a large letter to "The Future Room 222" documenting some of the activities that we have done so far this year. After learning how to write a letter, each child wrote a letter to their future selves and put the letter in his/her time capsule book. At the end of the week the class put all the books, the class letter and "Flash Domo" in a box and sealed it up with lots of tape. We will open the time capsule on the last day of school, June 25, 2020.

The students wrote short stories about the spiders that they made. However, the "twist" this time was to write the story as if the spider was talking. This is called a first person narrative. For example, the story might begin, "Hello! I am Boris the spider. I live in England and I am a pizza chef."

In our guided reading groups, the children finished chorally reading the second half of, "Moira's Birthday". The learning goal with this book was to read with expression and use the text features in the book like capital letters and exclamation marks, to help them read aloud.

In science, the children continued the unit on Air and Water in the Environment by talking about the different states of water in The Water Cycle. There is only so much water on Earth and so it is constantly being recycled through evaporation-condensation-precipitation. The students did a short experiment by having a large drop of water on each of their desks. The next morning, the drop of water was gone. Where did it go? The water evaporated into the air by going from a liquid to a gas. Did you know that fog is really a cloud on the ground and a cloud has drops of liquid water in it?

The class started to learn about the air around us. The children chorally read some text about air and how living things use air. Then they completed content questions using the information in the text. Did you know that animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide and plants do the opposite during the day, by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen? That's why plants and trees are so important on Earth because they constantly release the oxygen that humans and animals breathe.

In social studies, we are slowly going to go through the unit on Traditions and Celebrations this term. Some traditions are observed by lots of people and some are simply family or local traditions. Halloween was a great opportunity to talk about the history of this celebration and the symbols and traditional activities done at this time of year. Did you know that the word "Halloween" comes from the original Christian observation of  the day before "All Saints Day" or "All Hallows Eve" which over the years was shortened to "Halloween"?

Our time capsule project is an example of a local tradition in my classroom. Every year my class does this project, but not every class does. It's also a class tradition to put "Flash Domo" inside the box to protect the little books until we open the box on the last day of the school year.

In art, the students created beaded spiders by counting out materials and following directions. This was a great activity for developing fine motor skills as counting out the 32 beads and threading them on pipe cleaners in a specific pattern was a lot to remember. Later in the week, the children learned how to fold origami paper "claws". (This origami model can also be used to make finger puppets.)

Please see more Halloween photos and information in a separate posting.

We also planted an amaryllis flower bulb and are measuring how tall it is each day to observe its growth.

Books read aloud this week:

Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
Halloween Is... by Gail Gibbons
The Tailypo by Joanne Galdone
The Secret Birthday Message by Eric Carle
Moira's Birthday by Robert Munsch (finished)