We had a great last day that was filled with fun. In the morning we had some time to work on crafts including making christmas ornaments, reindeer candy canes and recycled Christmas cards. (although some left their crafts at school!).
Next we had a Character Education Assembly, where our class presented our collaboration efforts with the kindergarten class. We also got so sing lots of Christmas songs which we all enjoyed
Finally, we had our "treats" and game time. We got to play different games like Guess Who and Battleship and even Disney Scene It on the smart board. Thanks to everyone who brought in tasty treats for everyone to share. Also thanks to everyone for their cards, gifts, treats and especially their holiday cheer!
I'll try and update the blog over the holidays with some fun websites and activities that you can try out.
Wishing everyone and their families a safe and happy holiday season! See you next year!
Friday 23 December 2011
Thursday 22 December 2011
SNOW DAY!
So yesterday was a "snow day" or rather "freezing rain" day. I hope there aren't too many this winter, but it's always better to be safe rather than sorry. During these days students usually have the opportunity to ask any questions about what we are learning about, do some arts and crafts, play with math manipulatives and even watch a movie.
Today is our official "Movie Day". Most of the class has chosen to watch Elf which will be held in the gym. Our own classroom will be a host to those who are watching the Smurfs. The school has provided students with popcorn at no cost! Yum! We will also use some of our time today to clean out our desks, cubbies and lockers so that they are nice and tidy when we come back after the holidays.
Tomorrow is the last day of classes before the break. In the morning I hope for us to be able to do some arts and crafts, and there is a character education assembly where some of the class will be presenting our collaboration acivity that we did with our reading buddies. Then, after lunch we will be having our own "party" where there will be some snacks and games for everyone to play. Feel free to bring in an appropriate board game or playing cards.
I am afraid with everything that is going on we won't be able to get to our spelling test this week - as I haven't even given out the words yet! Spelling will resume after the holidays. A Monday Mission is being sent home for the holidays as well as three dinner dazzle words. Independent reading journals are due on Friday and both the math test and social studies test need to come back to school signed as soon as possible. There is a Math Re-Test today for some who wish to improve their mark!
Today is our official "Movie Day". Most of the class has chosen to watch Elf which will be held in the gym. Our own classroom will be a host to those who are watching the Smurfs. The school has provided students with popcorn at no cost! Yum! We will also use some of our time today to clean out our desks, cubbies and lockers so that they are nice and tidy when we come back after the holidays.
Tomorrow is the last day of classes before the break. In the morning I hope for us to be able to do some arts and crafts, and there is a character education assembly where some of the class will be presenting our collaboration acivity that we did with our reading buddies. Then, after lunch we will be having our own "party" where there will be some snacks and games for everyone to play. Feel free to bring in an appropriate board game or playing cards.
I am afraid with everything that is going on we won't be able to get to our spelling test this week - as I haven't even given out the words yet! Spelling will resume after the holidays. A Monday Mission is being sent home for the holidays as well as three dinner dazzle words. Independent reading journals are due on Friday and both the math test and social studies test need to come back to school signed as soon as possible. There is a Math Re-Test today for some who wish to improve their mark!
Friday 16 December 2011
FYI
A letter has been sent home about a site that you can visit as a great resouce for some learning at home. Try and check it out at some point. I can't post this site in a public location (like a blog) so if you didn't get the letter, make sure your child lets me know know so I can send another one home with the info on it.
Next Thursday is our movie day (with popcorn available to be purchased) and Friday I would like to have a craft/game day. I have reminded kids that we are a part of the Healthy Schools Act and any snacks brought it should be as healthy as possible.
Since there is only 3 practical math classes left, we are not starting a new unit, but will be working with problem solving and money amounts. When we come back from break we will start a Geometry unit looking at 2-D shapes.
Next Thursday is our movie day (with popcorn available to be purchased) and Friday I would like to have a craft/game day. I have reminded kids that we are a part of the Healthy Schools Act and any snacks brought it should be as healthy as possible.
Since there is only 3 practical math classes left, we are not starting a new unit, but will be working with problem solving and money amounts. When we come back from break we will start a Geometry unit looking at 2-D shapes.
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Problem Solving
Today I went to a workshop with other grade 4 - 6 teachers with the Arnprior family of schools. We were looking at using problem solving to help students understand math concepts and ultimately help them move through the PRIME phases (a type of math assessment). I really was happy to hear that we should be teaching math through problem solving as this is something I totally agree with and is why we have a "daily problem".
With the daily problem, students are encouraged to use the problem solving model that we have displayed on the board. Also, students have the option of picking from 2 or 3 different questions depending on what level they are comfortable with. What I learned today is that I need to incorporate more dialogue between students during this process in hopes that then when they are working independently, they are able to ask themselves their own questions in their heads to help them answer questions. I'm sure this will be a work in progress for a while, but I am excited to get started with it!
With the daily problem, students are encouraged to use the problem solving model that we have displayed on the board. Also, students have the option of picking from 2 or 3 different questions depending on what level they are comfortable with. What I learned today is that I need to incorporate more dialogue between students during this process in hopes that then when they are working independently, they are able to ask themselves their own questions in their heads to help them answer questions. I'm sure this will be a work in progress for a while, but I am excited to get started with it!
Tuesday 13 December 2011
Our new Science unit
Last Friday I was away at another NTIP meeting. I found it very worthwhile as it dealt with technology and special education. I was able to use one of the sites that I learned about today as we played some games about light and sound on the smart board.
Below is a link to some other interactive activities, just click on Light or Sound and it will take you to a list of the activities.
http://www.bnl.gov/slc/interactivewebsites.asp#Light
Remember our hands are OPAQUE which means no light passes through them, so we are able to make . . .
shadow puppets!
Check out some ideas here:
http://www.blifaloo.com/shadow-puppets/index.php
Yes, we have finally started our science unit about light and sound. First we will be learning about the properties of light and sound, or in other words the things about light and sound that makes it what it is. I hope for us to be able to work through some discovery centers soon. After Christmas break we will start to investigate more about how light and sound are a part of our lives.
Also just a note that the next few days in math we will be reviewing perimeter and area and our test for it will be on Friday.
Below is a link to some other interactive activities, just click on Light or Sound and it will take you to a list of the activities.
http://www.bnl.gov/slc/interactivewebsites.asp#Light
Remember our hands are OPAQUE which means no light passes through them, so we are able to make . . .
shadow puppets!
Check out some ideas here:
http://www.blifaloo.com/shadow-puppets/index.php
Yes, we have finally started our science unit about light and sound. First we will be learning about the properties of light and sound, or in other words the things about light and sound that makes it what it is. I hope for us to be able to work through some discovery centers soon. After Christmas break we will start to investigate more about how light and sound are a part of our lives.
Also just a note that the next few days in math we will be reviewing perimeter and area and our test for it will be on Friday.
Thursday 8 December 2011
We have homework?!?!
I feel like homework has been going home more frequently recently. I hope no one feels too overwhelmed. I understand that students have extra curriculars and that homework can't always get done. As I have informed students, having incomplete homework is only a concern if it happens constantly. I generally don't give out homework for the sake of it, but sometimes I like to have some work going home so that parents and guardians can be involved and know more about what their kids are learning. In terms of math, our class, that is 75 minutes long, usually consisting of Mad Minutes, our Daily Problem, a short lesson and then 20 - 30 minutes to work on practice problems. Ususally that should be enough time to complete the 4 - 5 questions, but lately I feel that I spend so much time having the students quiet down during the transition of different activities, they are not able to have enough time to complete work in class. I just want to ask students and parents to be patient as we work on our listening skills and realize that we shouldn't always have homework if we work hard in class. I believe math class can be fun, but we always need to take care of buisness first . . . and lately there's been a lot of buisness.
Soon we will be starting into our math games to practice numeration skills, so we have that to look forward to!
Soon we will be starting into our math games to practice numeration skills, so we have that to look forward to!
Wednesday 7 December 2011
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
A little update!
Tomorrow night (Dec 8th) is the Christmas Concert fundraiser for the playground expansion project. It starts at 6:30 and tickets are $7 at the door.
Also, you can bring in any Canadian Tire money that you have lying around. Funds will go to buy toys for underprivilaged children.
We will be working on collaborating with our reading buddies and helping them make a "count down to Christmas" art activity.
If anyone has any leftover cards from last holiday season that we can cut up and use for an art project, please bring them in by next Friday.
We are beginning to look at making inferrences in our reading. This is the first step to being able to answer higher level thinking questions. To make an inferrence, we need to use clues and our own knowledge to make conclusions or to figure something out. Stories, articles and books don't always say everything right there on the page. Sometimes things are implied or hinted at and we have to figure them out. It's all about reading "between the lines"
Tomorrow is the Canada Test and then we will start our Science unit of Light and Sound.
Finally, in math, we are looking at finding the area of shapes using grid paper and today we figured out how to find the area of squares and rectangles without using grid paper: Area = length x width!
Tomorrow night (Dec 8th) is the Christmas Concert fundraiser for the playground expansion project. It starts at 6:30 and tickets are $7 at the door.
Also, you can bring in any Canadian Tire money that you have lying around. Funds will go to buy toys for underprivilaged children.
We will be working on collaborating with our reading buddies and helping them make a "count down to Christmas" art activity.
If anyone has any leftover cards from last holiday season that we can cut up and use for an art project, please bring them in by next Friday.
We are beginning to look at making inferrences in our reading. This is the first step to being able to answer higher level thinking questions. To make an inferrence, we need to use clues and our own knowledge to make conclusions or to figure something out. Stories, articles and books don't always say everything right there on the page. Sometimes things are implied or hinted at and we have to figure them out. It's all about reading "between the lines"
Tomorrow is the Canada Test and then we will start our Science unit of Light and Sound.
Finally, in math, we are looking at finding the area of shapes using grid paper and today we figured out how to find the area of squares and rectangles without using grid paper: Area = length x width!
Monday 5 December 2011
Main Idea
We have finished working with finding the main idea in our readings. This was our critical pathway for the last couple of weeks. I'm happy to say we were able to get 65% of the class scoring a level 3 or 4, which is up from the initial 23% of the class scoring a level 3 or 4. Good work everyone!
The next couple of days we will be working on the review of Canada and its geographical regions. The main idea of this unit was to figure out how Canada's landforms and resources shape our culture and economy.
The test for this will be on Thursday, following our self evaluation on Wednesday. Self evaluation is important so we can see where our strengths and weaknesses are and how we can improve.
We are going to be using area and perimeter to make some "area art" this week which will then be able to be seen on display in our hallway. Our learning goal is to be able to calculate the area and perimeter of our drawings using 1 cm grid paper.
No Monday Missions this week - take some time to make up a fun game involving multiplication at home.
Dinner Dazzle word has been given.
Spelling words have been written in agendas - remember to study these this week - test on Friday
Independent Reading Journals are due on Friday as well. I enjoy reading all about your books and asking questions about them to help you explore them more.
The next couple of days we will be working on the review of Canada and its geographical regions. The main idea of this unit was to figure out how Canada's landforms and resources shape our culture and economy.
The test for this will be on Thursday, following our self evaluation on Wednesday. Self evaluation is important so we can see where our strengths and weaknesses are and how we can improve.
We are going to be using area and perimeter to make some "area art" this week which will then be able to be seen on display in our hallway. Our learning goal is to be able to calculate the area and perimeter of our drawings using 1 cm grid paper.
No Monday Missions this week - take some time to make up a fun game involving multiplication at home.
Dinner Dazzle word has been given.
Spelling words have been written in agendas - remember to study these this week - test on Friday
Independent Reading Journals are due on Friday as well. I enjoy reading all about your books and asking questions about them to help you explore them more.
Friday 2 December 2011
Happy Friday Everyone!
We played our Canada Board Games today and I think realized how important it is to have rules for games and how these rules need to be detailed so others can play the game. We used this opportunity to also practice self assessment and the assessment of others, seeing what it's like to take the point of view of a teacher when they are marking student work.
I was not in class during the middle block today, as I was learning about how I can help students move through the PRIME phases in math class. There will be an assessment in PRIME coming soon and I am still learning about how this new assessment tool works. However, today I was given lots of good ideas to help us fill in our learning "gaps" which will ultimately help all students succeed in developing higher level thinking and problem solving in math. I'm excited to play all the new games we have learned about. At home, you can practice you addition, subtraction and multiplication facts still. The Monday Missions that are sent home are great ways to practice some of these skills.
We are continuing working through our measurment unit in math as well. Today the class looked at perimeter and most have taken home some homework to practice. Next week, we will be looking at area. Remember perimeter is like a fence around the yard while area is the grass.
Finally, we are working establishing our learning goals and looking at them on a daily basis now. Learning goals are the things we hope to learn during each lesson of the day. By identifying these goals, we know what to set our sights on and can see the steps of how to get there.
Have great weekend everybody!
I was not in class during the middle block today, as I was learning about how I can help students move through the PRIME phases in math class. There will be an assessment in PRIME coming soon and I am still learning about how this new assessment tool works. However, today I was given lots of good ideas to help us fill in our learning "gaps" which will ultimately help all students succeed in developing higher level thinking and problem solving in math. I'm excited to play all the new games we have learned about. At home, you can practice you addition, subtraction and multiplication facts still. The Monday Missions that are sent home are great ways to practice some of these skills.
We are continuing working through our measurment unit in math as well. Today the class looked at perimeter and most have taken home some homework to practice. Next week, we will be looking at area. Remember perimeter is like a fence around the yard while area is the grass.
Finally, we are working establishing our learning goals and looking at them on a daily basis now. Learning goals are the things we hope to learn during each lesson of the day. By identifying these goals, we know what to set our sights on and can see the steps of how to get there.
Have great weekend everybody!
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