Summer Fun websites

Here is a list of some websites you can visit this summer that deal with the grade 5 curriculum for next year. Remember to get outside and have some fun and discovery time this summer! (Summer to-do list to follow)

Websites:

Math:

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/

-          games involving numeration, patterning and algebra

http://www.kidsnumbers.com/

-          games

http://www.gamequarium.com/data.html

- graphing

http://www.mathplayground.com/MTV/mathtv15.html

-          algebra problems solving

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade/fourth/

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade/fifth/

-          basic math concepts

http://www.funbrain.com/measure/

-          measurement games (centimeters)

http://www.math.com/parents/helpyourkids.html

http://www.mathatube.com/

-          at home help for parents and kids

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/brochure/earlymath/

- Ontario government documents for parents

Science:

http://www.kidport.com/grade5/Science/BodyBones.htm

-          grade 5 Human Body

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/

http://www.theweatherchannelkids.com/weather-games/

-          weather (grade 5 strand) information and some games

http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/

-          fun science for kids

Language:

http://www.gamequarium.com/languagearts.htm

-          links to many vocabulary, parts of speech and reading games at various levels

http://www.funbrain.com/grammar/

-          grammar games

http://www.kidsspell.com/

http://www.spellingbeethegame.com/

- spelling games

http://thestorystarter.com/scribble.html

-          how many words can you make in 5 min?

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary_games.html

- vocabulary games

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/o/pointofviewl.cfm

-          point of view

http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

-          create your own story

http://www.readingmatrix.com/directory/pages/

-          links to readings with questions that go with them – divided up by grade levels or subject area – reading comprehension

http://www.teacherneedhelp.com/students/testdir.htm

-          reading comprehension tests

General:

http://www.kidsdiscover.com/

-          website that contains a list of  titles in different subject areas, as well as free resources for teachers and interactive games for kids. It has been given awards and Kids Discover Magazine has been published since 1991

http://www.slimekids.com/games/typing-games/

http://www.funtotype.com/typinggames/

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html

- typing games

http://www.teachingyourchild.org.uk/

-          offers advice and a range of activities for literacy, numeracy, behavioral issues and social and emotional well-being.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/

-          links to grade or subject area pdf formats of the updated Ontario curriculum documents

There are lots and lots more fun AND education sites to visit as well, but remember to get outside to play and discover!!!!

Check out sites below for some ideas! http://pinterest.com/boutiquecafe/kids-summer-to-do-list/

http://www.parenting.com/article/fun-things-to-do-summer

A splunking we will go!

What everyone has been waiting for . . . the classtrip!

We will be going to the Bonnechere Caves on Friday, June 22nd. I had originally planned the 19th, but that day is the roller coaster testing (where students get to try out designs by the grade 8s in the gym) and I didn't want the kids to miss that. Letters will be going home tomorrow and are due back with payment by Wednesday June 20th. The cost is $10 for admission, and the bus cost has been covered. The caves are a perfect place as they fit with the grade 4 rocks and minerals unit in science, and also we can make a connection to our novel study, The City of Ember, as they were living underground!
Check out the Bonnechere Caves at: http://www.bonnecherecaves.com/

In math, we are currently going over all the areas that we need some extra practice in, mainly in Number Sense and Numeration, by looking at decimals, fractions, multiplication and division as well as problem solving and reasoning. There will be a PRIME assessment tomorrow that will be used to see student growth through the phases to pass on to next year teachers.

In Language, we have finished up our Literature Circle groups with the culminating activity of making huge scrapbook pages that represent our novels. Also, we have finished the diaries we had been working on which were when we took the point of view of an animal and kept a journal of the days events.

In science, we are still looking at Habitats, with a focus on endangered species and how we can help preserve and protect wild life.

In gym, we are getting a great cardio workout by developing skipping routines. Check out some fancy skipping at the links below.

Canada team at the world skipping championship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azG-GjZkIEE&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Jump Rope for Heart Team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ivwt6kaYvg&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Australia's Got Talent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAZE7sGjqoA&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Also, check out the Jump Rope for Heart page for kids and parents:
http://www.jumpropeforheart.ca/

Finally, spelling workbooks due and quiz on Friday!

Healthy Living

Today, we looked at the effects of smoking and ways to say no to peer presure. We created comic strips to show different non-smoking messages. We found out that it is very difficult to quite smoking once you are addicted, so it is a better idea to just never start in the first place!

PBS kids site about tobacco/smoking facts

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/smoking/article2.html

Bonko's Body Quiz
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/smoking_flash.html

Choose your path series of videos about drug abuse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JIo-PL1vAo&feature=plcp&context=C474caabVDvjVQa1PpcFMPqSfcnHMywUBtKSsapjtrifov-B2s03U%3D&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Also, we have started looking at probability in math and this will be our last math strand for this year to cover, then we will be going back over number sense and numeration as the fractions and division really was tricky for many students.

In language we are continuing with Literature Circles and will be doing a final projects on each groups novel next week which will look like giant scrapbook pages.
Also, students are working on making their diaries of animals, which tie in with writing and habitat studies in science.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yes, we still need to do school work!

I know that now that the warm weather is here, we all can just taste summer just around the corner ... but we are still in school and there will still be learning going on, right up until the very last day! So come prepared to class to work and have fun!

Here is what we are working on this week:

In language we are starting to look at the format and features of a diary or jounal. We will reading "Diary of a Fly" as our read aloud, and most student have read this before, or another diary from this series. Then, to tie in with our habitat unit, students will be writing a diary of a chosen animal themselves.

Spelling (time related) - workbook and quiz: Friday

In math, we are working on finishing up measurement by taking a quick look at time.
Our math learning goals are:
I will be able to tell time on an analog clock to the nearest minute
I will be able to determine elasped time

Success Criteria:
- I know how many seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week, days in each month, weeks in a year, months in a year, years in a decade, years in a century and years in a millenium.
-  I can can read an analog and digital clock
- I can estimate elapsed time
- I can read and create time line

We have done some fun activities with this unit, including designing watch concepts and we will be making personal timelines as well (which will tie in with language when we look at autobiographies)

Below are some sites that have some activities involving time

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/earlymath/clock_shoot.htm

http://www.thatquiz.org/tq-g/math/time/

interactive clock:
http://www.time-for-time.com/swf/myclox.swf

clock timeline
http://www.teacherled.com/resources/elapsedtime/elapsetimelineload.html


We are continuing with Habitats in science and made a food web outside today with ourselves and some yarn. This way, it was easy to see how everything is connected together and if one organism in an ecosystem or habitat is effected, many others are effected as a result.  We are also continuing to look at movie clips about animal life as well.

Some extra information:

build an online habitat
http://www.switcheroozoo.com/games/habitatgame.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/habitats.shtml

check out this clips to build your own habitats at home! watch in order (they are not long)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lUsCFDAS4M&list=PL66088158FF933E91&index=1&feature=plpp_video&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3noXhWAM28&list=PL66088158FF933E91&index=2&feature=plpp_video&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnOxQPyiMpo&feature=relmfu&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT5mFr4ojgA&feature=relmfu&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNf3gVgEiBE&feature=relmfu&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKVmkaw4e34&feature=relmfu&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0EjNAEXMuw&feature=relmfu&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Oh what a tangled web . . .

We have started our habitat unit in science. We have watched some clips about animal adaptations, as all animals have many things that help them adapt, to be able to live in their own habitats. Some animals have physical adaptations, and some animals perform behavioural adaptations. Below are some links to videos about animal adaptations.

Next week we will be focusing on the transfer of energy, food chains and food webs. Below are some links where you can create your own food chains and food webs:

carnivors, herbivors and producers in different habitats
http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm

for this one, just scroll down and click on "Create a Food Web"
http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm

Our Learning Goal is:

We will be able to understand how plants and animals live together in habitats and how human effect habitats.

The success criteria for this goal:
- we will be able to use appropriate vocabulary: (habitat, population, community, adaptation, food chain, food web, producer, consumer, decomposer, scavenger, carnivors, herbivors, omnivors and population capacity, endangered, extinction)
- we will be able to discuss adapatations that animals have to help them live in their habitats - both physical and behavioural
- we will be able to demonstrate and understanding of food chains and webs and how energy is transferred
- we will be able to describe ways that humans are dependent on natural habitats and how we effect them
- we will be able to use scientific inquiry and research skills to investigate positive and negative impacts of human interactions with natural habitats, including reasons for extinction

Tomorrow in math we will be having our measurement test on mass, volume and capacity. This was a straight forward unit and all seem to crasp the concepts very well. Next week will be the re-test for the division test that has been sent home to be signed. Next, we will be looking at probability.

Remember to practice your multiplication tables at home!

In language, we have started Literature Circles and the novels for discussion in the groups have been assigned and given out. Students will be reading these books for the next 3 weeks and meet twice a week to conference about the reading and to complete their jobs, such as summarizer, discussion leader, word wizzard etc. This will end with a culminating task. We are still looking at parts of speech and have finished learning about alliteration.


Hope everyone has a great long weekend!

It's been a while!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you in "Blog-land". Sorry about the lack of posts in the last couple of weeks - but let's get back on track! I was able to catch up with most of you last week at the Open House!

This week, we are finishing up looking at reading poetry. We have made inferences about poems, made connections with poems, evaluated poems and created visualizations. Also, small groups presented poetry readings for their oral communication. We will be starting into small group/independent novel studies for the rest of the year, ending with a fun project!

In Language, we are also looking at parts of speech such as common and proper nouns, action verbs and verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions and conjunctions
Below are some sites to help you learn these:

Games
Try: Rats: Nouns and Verbs
http://www.gamequarium.com/partsofspeech.html

Blast from the past: Schoolhouse Rock clips!!!
Nouns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pFEiDd9nuY&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Verbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MfeH0ZXEVs&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Adverbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwXHTcodNg&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Adjectives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbgZfQNBFS0&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Mad Libs!
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/games/mad_libs/
http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

Also, we are working hard at making connections. When we read, we can make a connection to ourselves, to another piece of text, or to the world (like the moral of the story, or a big idea). When writing a reading or listening response, it is the connections that we can make that really bump up our marks!

In terms of media literacty, we will be looking at magazine ads and comercials and what techniques they use to get people to buy their products. This will tie in with substance abuse in health as well.

In Math, we have taken a break from looking at division problems and have started into Measurement. Our goal is to be able to estimate, measure, record and compare:

Mass - g or kg

Volume - units cubed (^3)

Capacity - mL or L

Try and find some items at home that tell you their mass or capacity on the packaging.
Everyone seems to be learning this quickly and there will be a quiz to check in on Wednesday and then the final test sometime next week. After this, we will look at time, probability and finally work a bit more with fractions and decimals again.

Our wonderful Medieval Times unit is almost all wrapped up today, ending with the unit test. I think I could teach this unit all year, there is so much to cover and so much interesting history from this time. Everyone seems to really enjoy all of the activities that we participated in, especially the feast! Thanks to all who brought in food and costumes!

We will be ending the year by looking at the science unit of Habitats. During this, students will have the chance to research and report on an animal of their choice and its habitat.

The Open House was a huge success and I was able to say hello again to many friends and family. The flash mob was very nice to watch and everyone said how much they enjoyed watching it. Also the new play structure is up and running - I've never seen anything like it! We are trying to take advantage of the nice weather and this wonderful new play structure by going outside and playing on it during our gym time. This also means there are no lines and no crowding like there can be a recess.
We will be finishing up our medieval tournament in gym by having a knighting ceremony and awarding prizes. The knight school activities that students planned looked at fitness and safety. Next we will be looking at growth and development.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend and everyone is looking forward to the May long weekend coming up!



Feast Time!

Coming up on Friday is the Medieval Feast! Students should dress or bring clothes that are suitable for someone during this time period. Also, many have offered to bring in an item of food to be shared with everyone. Notes have gone home with students regarding their choices, but this may change when parents have an input as well. Don't worry if you are unable to contribute, there will be lots of food to go around. I will be bringing in chicken wings, almond milk, non-alcoholic wine, cups, and music. We hope to create a great memory for students with this activity. Friday is also sub day, so those of you who ordered, save room! Also, make sure you pack something to eat incase your taste is different from the lords and ladies of the Middle ages. We don't want anyone going hungry!
Below are some links to costume ideas and recipes from the middle ages if you'd like to explore this further.

costume ideas:
no sew knight:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5464826_make-sew-knight-costume-child.html
pillow case Knight costume
http://www.ziggityzoom.com/activity/make-knight-outfit
really cool crown:
http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/World/medievalcrown/medievalcrown.html
printable crown templates:
http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/printables/princesscrown.html
Medieval clothing:
http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/clothing.html

food ideas:
information and links
http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/feasts.html

ideas of what they ate in the middle ages
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/middleages/medievalfeast.htm

easy Medieval recipes (maybe try at home sometime!)
http://www.medievalcookery.com/recipes/indexesy.html
for the adventerous:
http://cookit.e2bn.org/historycookbook/27-315-normans-medieval-Food-facts.html

Medieval Recipes (lemon salad found here)
http://www.bitwise.net/~ken-bill/med-p1.htm

In reading we are looking at poetry features as well as practicing reading and listening to poetry. This goes well with writing with Mrs. Hill where we are writing poems.
Below are some great poetry links for kids. Pick a poem you really like (or a few) and perform a poetry reading for people at home!

funny poems
http://www.poetry4kids.com/

kids classic poems
http://www.storyit.com/Classics/JustPoems/index.htm

poems for kids
http://www.angelfire.com/md/byme/pocket/poetry1.html

poetry forms
http://www.kathimitchell.com/poemtypes.html

Tomorrow we are having a guest speaker from the Health Unit come and talk to our class about dental hygiene. Everyone loves a nice smile!

We are collecting castle building materials for next week.

No spelling this week.

We started working more on division in math as our Geometry unit is complete, many did very well. Good job everyone.

Next, we will be looking at measuring volume.

Our Medieval Tournament in gym continues. 

Free the Chrildren

Our last block of the day today was for an assembly where we presented the money raised for the Brick by Brick Campaign to Free the Children. There was a wonderful presentation about the organization and what our money is going to help build in Kenya. Over $9 500 was raised that will provide a school, supplies, a clean water system, health care for students and alternative income oportunities to parents in a village in Kenya.

If you want to find out more, you can visit the Me to We website at:
http://www.weday.com/ and don't forget to "Like" them on Facebook to raise money!

Additionally, we had a pretty great week.
In math, students demonstrated their ability to build 3D shapes out of interlocking cubes, polydrons, paper using nets and today they made 3D skeletons of shapes using clay and straws. Some review homework has been sent home and is due on Monday as the test for this unit is on Tuesday next week.

In art today we made pictures of our favourite outdoor place using pastels and thought about what it would be like if this place was in danger of being polluted. These pictures and write-ups (to be finished Monday) will be part of a school wide contest in the spirit of Earth Week. Also, we now have a compost in our classroom as we are still trying hard to reduce our garbage.

Our medieval times unit is still going and we learned about the Magna Carta this week and its importance.
Below are some sites that we looked at and some clips of which we watched some parts.

Back history of some of the kings at this time and the signing of the Magna Carta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUVnpe8uffs&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

clip of the current display of the document
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IedSB1vokEM&feature=fvst&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

translation of the Magna Carta
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/translation.html

close up image of the original piece
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/images/after-restoration-xl.jpg

We have continued with our Medieval Tournament in Gym, which will be ending next week with a knighting ceremony and Feast! Stay tuned in for the details early next week.


Have a great weekend everyone!
Remember Sunday April 22 is Earth Day!

It's like we've entered another dimension!

In math that is!

We are starting to look at 3-D shapes

Here are some great websites to check out over the weekend!

count the cubes:
http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/3dboxes.html

what is a 3D shape?
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/3d/index.htm

the site we worked with in math to fulfill the math learning goal:
"Construct a three dimentional figure from a picture or model of the figure, using connecting cubes"
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=125

matching game to learn the names of 3-D shapes:
http://www.interactivestuff.org/match/maker.phtml?featured=1&id=15

Attributes of 3-D shapes involving a castle!!!
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/castle_shapes/eng/Introduction/Plenary.htm

We have started a Medieval Tournament in Gym class, and will continue next week, ending with the final prizes and a knighting ceremony.

In language we are looking at poetry and point of view still.
Next week we hope to start up our Literature Circles

Illunination art projects all due on Monday
Year book preoreder due April 20th
Open House: May 8th

Happy Friday the 13th  . .. have a great weekend!

Hope everyone had an EGGcellent long weekend!

We have finished up our Algebra and Multiplication Strategies in Math. Test have been sent home to be signed and brought back. A re-test is available on Friday for those who need it. Overall, the class did a great job! EVERYONE needs to be practicing the multiplication tables at home! Your facts should be memorized up to 9 x 9!
Here is the math trainer site where you can practice! Just doing a couple of minutes a night will really help!

http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/math-trainer-multiply.html

Now we are working on division strategies and geometry. Look around your house for our benchmark angles of 90, 45 and 180 degrees.

Check out the following vertual online protractor to practice measuring angles!

http://www.mathplayground.com/measuringangles.html

Also try this fun game!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/maths/activities/angles.swf

Medieval Times is a fan unit. We have big plans for this including a Tournament in gym, a Medieval Feast and building our own model castles. In art, we have made some beautiful coat of arms and illuminations as well. We will schedule the medieval feast near the end of the month, and students will be asked to bring in different food for everyone to share at lunch, as well as dress up in costume.
Here is a link to an article that has some ideas about constumes if you want to start thinking ahead!

http://apps.buckscc.gov.uk/eforms/medieval_life/Costume.doc


In language, we are looking at different points of view in our reading, and investigating first, second and third person writing. We continue to work on inferences, making connections and communication.  Our learning goal is to be able to identify features or characteristics of a variety of text, We are now looking at the features in poetry.

Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky

66 and 99! The quotation marks of course!

We have worked at using quotation marks in our writing, and now we are also looking at how they are used in our reading as well. They are not always used to show that someone is speaking. Although not as catchy as the Apostrophe Song, here is a link to a Quotation Song. I encourage you to dance and sing along!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBO6fKfPuRg&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Looking at quotation marks used when showing sarcasim, check out the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4dUkoenQGA&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

I am currently marking the math quizzes from today and they will go home this weekend to be looked over, signed and brought back. It looks like we need some more work in a few areas:

- memorizing multiplication facts to 9 x 9
- understanding what division means
- knowing division facts to 81 divided by 9 because we know how the inverse relationship between multiplication and division - a.k.a the fact families
- knowing the distributive property of multiplication (our Break it Down! method)
- explaining our thinking (but we're getting better!)

Medieval Times

Medieval Times can be very interesting and exciting to study. However, they were known as the "Dark Ages"
We have been learning about how people lived, and some of the conditions they lived in. The Black Death was something that happened at this time and had a huge impact on history. Myself, with having a background in the study of infectious disease, virology and microbiology . . .find the plague more interesting than some.  Below are some more interesting and interactive websites to check out at home!

To learn more about the plague during this time:
http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/plague.html (ignore the ads)

See the spread of the disease in only a few years:
http://www.wadsworth.com/history_d/templates/student_resources/0534600069_spielvogel/InteractiveMaps/swfs/map11_1.html

A rat's life!
http://www.imaginon.org/fun/whippingboy/aratslife.asp?themeid=2&activityid=9

See if you can "Fling the Teacher!" by answering questions about the Black Death - these are tricky!!!!
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/fling/plague/index.shtml


In math, we want to see how we are doing with Algebra and operational number sense, so there is a quiz tomorrow. Homework has been sent home that should be completed as soon as possible and might be a good way to practice for the quiz tomorrow. I have been very impressed over the last few days at how students are starting to show their thinking and realize that they can figure math questions out by using many different methods.

Remember we can:
- use counters
- use an open number line and "jump"
- change it up!
- break it down!
- use an array
- line it up
- use algorithms
It's all about seeing the "happy" numbers in a question and going from there!

Raffle tickets still on sale! Bring back any unused ones also!
Spelling quiz Friday.
Good copy of fairy tale due tomorrow for Mrs. Hill
Reminder to take home any tree house/crane projects or they will be recycled at the end of the week.
French homework due Friday.

MARCHing onward . . .

We have finally finished our read aloud of The City of Ember and also finished watching the movie. We found out that the book and the movie had some similarities and some differences. Books are always better than their movies it seems! Below is a link to the official website of the author in case you are interested in reading some more of her books in the series. Keep in mind, that these books are at a grade 5 - 6 reading level. There are other activities on the site that are worth looking at as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

We will continue to examine this novel as we work in language with summarizing, synonyms, quotations and points of view.

In math we are continuing to work with numbers and their operations. Today we tried adding and subtracting large numbers by using an open number line. Tomorrow we will work on multiplication using arrays. These strategies are designed to help us see how numbers work and slow down our thinking when we are trying to problem solve. They will give us a better understanding of operations and what really is going on when it comes to working with whole numbers.

In gym class today we started a small unit that is a part of the art curriculum as well . . .DANCE! We looked at some of the trendy dances through the last few decades and turned our room into a dance floor to display our "moves". We found out that dancing is quite good exercise as we "twisted" up a sweat! Below are the two videos that we watched and danced along to in class. We also then did the Twist, and the Macarena!

Evolution of Dance part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Evolution of Dance part 2
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=evolution+of+dance+2&oq=evolution&aq=2&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_l=youtube-reduced.1.2.0l4.1911l3088l0l4584l9l9l0l5l5l0l122l398l3j1l4l0.&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

We hope to be able to come up with some of our dance routines in the near future.

We are still working at becoming a certified green school and everyone is helping to do our part. We really appreciate everyone who works hard to bring in waste free lunches and recycling the things that we do bring in. I would really like to start composting soon as well. Below is a site that you can look at at home for ideas and fun activities:

http://www.kidsbegreen.org/

Finally, upcoming for this week:
- spelling quiz Friday (words given out tomorrow)
- Lunch orders due tomorrow
- raffle tickets for baskets $1
- take home building projects by end of week, or they will be recycled.
- Math quiz on Thusday!

Spring Fever!

Welcome back from the March Break! I hope everyone had great times with friends and family, I know I did!

It's a very hot first day of spring today!

A reminder that as the weather gets warmer, we can wear layers of clothing that we can take off to help keep cool, while remembering the dress code for the school as well - no spaghetti straps and no short-shorts! Now is a perfect time to be using our water bottles in class as well - but for drinking only - there will be no one giving themselves a "shower" because of the heat. After lunch recess, everyone comes in and has silent reading time to cool down. Also, even though everyone might not have snow boots anymore, you are still expected to have outdoor and indoor shoes . . .and wear them in the appropriate locations.

We have started looking at Medieval Times in Social Studies.
Our Learning Goal is:
 "I will be able to describe what life was like during Medival Times in Europe (500 - 1500 C.E.)"
Some of the Success Criteria are:
- I can describe characteristics of castles
- I can describe daily life of medieval people and compare it to life now
- I can describe and understand the Feudal System
- I can make questions to guide my learning and research
- I can create a model of a castle and label it
- I can create a coat of arms
- I use and understand the appropriate vocabulary
- I can use a graphic organizer to summarize information.
There are some very fun activities that I hope the class can participate in while learning about this time in history. The Middle Ages covers about 1000 years, so there is a lot of information to get through, and obviously we can't learn everything there is to know about this time. I encourage you to look with someone at home at some of the clips or documentaries found on the internet. There is a series from the History Channel about the Dark Ages on YouTube, but it does have some violent parts shown (it is the Dark Ages after all) so I recommend that you have an adult watch any of these with you.
There are still many other sites you can visit if you are interested, or want to learn more about Medieval Times. Check out the ones below:

For some good reading and information:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/

Pictures of Famous Castles:
http://www.everycastle.com/

The Knighting Ceremony (good information and links, but lots of advertisements)
http://www.ehow.com/info_10003927_information-knighting-ceremony-medieval-knight.html

My Favourites!
 (make your own coat of arms!)
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/castles/games.php

explore a castle
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/castles/games.php

Jousing tournament:
http://www.tudorbritain.org/joust/index.asp

One of our Critical Pathways in Reading has been about learning how and when to use (or not use) apostrophes. In the beginning, 38% of the class understood why apostrophes were used in writing, based on the results of the "mini CASI" which was given. After working with apostrophes and listening to the "Apostrophe Song", I'm happy to report that 100% of the class understand the two purposes of when we use an apostrophe in writing based on our last reading response. We will now move on to looking at quotation marks and continue with the pathway of using inferences.

We are almost done reading the City of Ember and hope to be able to watch the movie on Friday and discuss all the similarities and differences between it and the book.

Thanks to everyone who dontated to our movie themed fund raising basket- it looks great! Raffle Tickets for baskets are $1!

Play Day

Part of tomorrow is a play day where school teams will rotate through various fun activities. There are outdoor activities and it is quite wet out there, so make sure you dress appropriately and bring a change of clothes (at least extra socks!) This will be a kick start to the March Break next week!

A newletter has gone home with information about what we have and will be covering in class.
Also, some extra (optional) fraction work has gone home. I do encourage everyone to try it, although I know that it is not possible for everyone, especially if you are travelling.

When we come back from break, I hope to start looking at decimals and algebra in math. Below are some sites to try at home:

http://www.math-play.com/Equation/Equation-Game-Online.html

http://www.vectorkids.com/vkvariable.htm
- choose addition or multiplication
- max number 10
- play
-start
- type answer and press enter

http://www.funbrain.com/guess2/index.html

My faves!
Addition: http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/SumSense/sumadd.html
Subtraction: http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/SumSense/sumsub.html
Multiplication: http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/SumSense/summulti.html
Division: http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/SumSense/sumdiv.html

Art Attack!

In Art class today, we demonstrated and understanding of the proper and controlled use of art tools, materials and techniques as we created night time drawings with black paper and chalk. Check out the video below about this!  I hope to use some of these to put up in the school library for the Art in the Library for the next few months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESuDGsw6qoM&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

In math, we are still looking at fractions and decimals. Experiment at home with measuring cups this weekend, looking at how fractions are involved in cooking and baking. . . maybe you'll even bake something yummy!

In Language, we did a reading response about The City of Ember. Over the past week, we looked at exemplars of responses to see what it takes to get a level 3 or 4. From this we are able to develop the success criteria. We are looking at identifying and explaining different characteristics of a variety of texts, such as interview, fiction, non-fiction etc.

A reminder that articles for the fundraising basket are still being accepted.
Rough copy of story is due on Monday for Mrs. Hill.

Have a great weekend everyone!

When is a Tuesday another day?

. . . When it's a Sundae Tuesday!
Our class brought in the most money for the coin drive for the library and we won ourselves a Sundae treat. Save room for dessert next Tuesday after lunch!

We looked at characteristics of an interview today and then had a sneak peak at the Movie Trailer for the City of Ember. You can check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkSFsbv6eUg&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Please don't watch the movie yet though - we want to watch it as a class after we finish reading the book!

Math quiz tomorrow about fractions, but I think we still need to spend more time on this as it is a big concept that many students still need to practice.

LEAPING into March this week

As we wrap up Feburary, we have a quiz about fractions and decimals coming up on Thursday, March 1st. This is to see if we can move on to another math strand, or if we need another week working out some kinks about fractions.

In Science, we are looking at pulley and gear systems and designing a tree house or crane that uses at least one of these. Remember to bring in any materials that you can use to help with your construction.

The Helping Hands fundraiser is finished and we raised over $5 000 in a month for the new playground structure. A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped, especially a very special school mom who was the backbone of this frundraiser, donating hours and hours of work towards this and who will be sporting some colourful highlights tomorrow!

A reminder to buy a lock for your locker for those who don't have one.
Spelling Quiz Friday.

We are wrapping up the last of the public service announcements on Thursday and Friday so bring in any props that are needed.

Waste Free Lunches

As we look into having more waste free lunches, here is a site about the different kinds of plastics out there. Another reason why our new metal water bottles are so great!

www.lunchwithoutwaste.com/SmartPlasticsGuide.aspx

Waste free lunches might require a bit more time to prepare, but are much healthier, cheaper and better for the environment, so well worth it!

A typical disposible lunch includes:
- sandwiches in plastic bags
- bags of chips, cookies
- single use yogourt and fruit cups
-snacks in plastic bags
-juice boxes, juice pouches, water bottles
- plastic spoons
- plastic and paper bags

A waste free lunch could include:
- sandwiches and main dishes in reuseable containers
- cloth napkins
- metal forks and spoons
- reusable drink containers
- reusable lunch bags

By buying food in larger amounts, rather than single serving portions, you often get healthier options and always save money (who doesn't like that?) Of course the odd treat like a granola bar or fruit roll up is fine, but it's all the little changes are what add up to make a big difference.

For more tips and ideas check out:
www.wastefreelunches.org/parents.html

Punctuation Saves Lives!

Well ... maybe a stretch, but it could be the difference between "Let's eat, Grandma!" or "Let's EAT Grandma!" (run Grandma run!)

We have started to look at the proper ways to use apostrophes.
To see what NOT to do, check out the following song and video below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc2aSz9Ficw&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

"Don't use an apostrophe in its unless you mean it is"

Also, you can click here to practice your apostrophe and soccer skills!
http://www.firstschoolyears.com/literacy/word/punctuation/apostrophes/interactive/possapos.swf

Also, we are continue to read the City of Ember as a class and discover new and exciting things about where Lina and Doon are living. As we read, we write down new words, draw our visualizations and use inferences to try and solve their Instructions puzzle to see if there really is a way out of Ember.

In Language, one of our learning goals is:

"I will be able to identify features or characteristics of a variety of text"

We have non-fiction and narrative down, but need to work on some other types now as well and work on being able to support our answers.

The Critical Pathway of Inferences is still going on as well. We make inferences all the time and we are now looking at making inferences to figure out words.

There have been no Dinner Dazzle words sent home, as we have been working as a class to create our own words. A big goal of mine is to help expand everyone's vocabulary (NOTE: Apostrophe used to show possession!)

In Math, we are working with fractions and developing a "math tool kit". Today we made our fraction strips. To check out interactive fractions strips online, visit the site below:

http://www.mathplayground.com/Fraction_bars.html

Finally, in Science, we are looking at Pulleys and Gears. Next week we will start making our model of a tree house, or crane that uses at least one pulley or gear system. Remember to say up some of those materials this weekend that might come in handing during building time!

Public Service Announcements will be "filmed" tomorrow and Friday.
Spelling quiz on Friday
Character Education Assembly Friday
Art and Library on Thursday
No more Monday Missions as of this time, however we are playing lots of math games in class now to develop our Math Facts and Mental Math skills.

For more practice at home, check out Math Trainer:
 http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/math-trainer-addition.html

Eco Friendly

We are working hard here at AJ to reduce our impact on the environment. I was just informed that we produce 200 juice boxes a day! That is 40 000 each school year. Many of these are still ending up in the garbage. Canada`s Food Guide suggests having a piece of fruit over fruit juice. Also, parents could save money by buying large juice containers and sending it in reuseable containers, such as the new metal bottles. In grade 4 we are looking to do our part to help and I would like to start composting in class and have a litterless lunch day once a week.

Fraction Time!

A big area for stuggle for many students (and adults) are fractions! (AHHHHH)
This is a part of our number sense and numeration area of the curriculum.
We are determined to learn fractions (and decimals) so that we don't have to be afraid of them anymore!
We made tangrams and worked with them this week and next week we will be making fraction strips and working with ten frames more.
Here are some sites with some online interactive games that involve fractions and a great at home help for parents too:

http://www.visualfractions.com/Games.htm

Lots to see here:
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/fractions/index.html


In art today we made monochromatic pictures. I have to say everyone did a great job! We were inspired by how the character Lina in The City of Ember made a picture with just one pencil crayon.

In Language we looked at the use of italics, quotations and apostrophies in our shared reading.

Hope everyone has a great long weekend and spends some time with family!

Pulleys and Gears

We have started learning about pulleys and gears in science. Below is one of the best video clips that I have found about how they work. We watched it in class, and here it is if you'd like to watch it at home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7tGosXM58&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Also, we haven't investigated too much with gears yet, but here is the video we watched in class today about them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_i3PJIYtuY&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Remember tomorrow is Valentine's Day so dress up in all the "love" colours!

Show some school spirit!

Next week is SPIRIT WEEK! Just a reminder about it:
Monday - 80's Day
Tuesday - Valetine's Day
Wednesday - Crazy  Hair Day
Thursday - PJ Day
Friday - AJ Day

Also, we have a few fundraisers underway:
Helping Hand mittens for the new playground - our class is currently in the top 5! Great job everyone!
Penny Drive for the library - bring in any unrolled pennies or change - prize for top class - Sundae Day and prizes for top student as well
We have an upcomming fundraiser involving themed baskets that we will sell raffle tickets for. This will be done to raise the last bit of money for the brick by brick campaign for the school in Kenya. Each class will be making up a basket with donated items from students and families and teacher. Our theme is "movie night" so you can start thinking of ideas.
Candy grams for Valentine's day are one sale for $1.
Finally, a few students from the grade 4 class wanted to help the brick by brick foundation as well and we have made bookmarks that are being sold in class and soon to the rest of the school for $0.25 each or 5 for $1.
I know it is a lot of fund raising but the idea is that everyone doing just a little will produce big results.

I got to go to a PRIME workshop and am very excited to continue working with everyone to develop our numeracy skills in math. Currently we are working with fractions and decimals.
Try and find some ways you use estimation everyday.

In Language we are working on inferring and text features as our critical pathway.

We have started a new unit in science about pulleys and gears.

Finally, public service announcements will begin filming next week!

A very short week ... but a long post!

Well another "inclement" weather day came upon us (maybe that could be a dinner dazzle word!)

Today we reviewed terms in science about light and sound by making our own wordsearches.
In math, we worked on our numberation skills playing math games. Tomorrow there probably will be homework sent home for everyone though about adding and subtracting decimals. (just a heads up!)
In the afternoon, we had the Grade 2 class join us as we watched "Horton Hears A Who!" I had never seen it before and I highly recommend it!
Here, try out the following activity from "Seussville" about making your own story:
http://www.seussville.com/games_hb/storymaker/story_maker.html

Also, for philosophical parents, you can generate at home discussion about the movie from the site below:
http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/Horton_Hears_a_Who

Since Friday is a P.A. Day, I would still like to have our science quiz tomorrow. It has a lot of fill in the blank type questions, so I think that everyone will be able to give it a good try. I just want to see where we are with our knowledge of light and sound before we move on.

Health posters are due tomorrow as well.

On a different note, I hope that everyone enjoyed Unique Me day yesterday as well as the Recycle Rock. It was a fun day and I'm glad everyone was able to show off their spirit and uniqueness.
During our character education assembly, I was awarded with the "Green Teacher Award" - I always use reusable containers for my water and lunch and we have done a few projects in class that involve using recycled materials.

Our class is doing a better job of keeping waste and recycling where they belong. I have some really great helpers who are checking the garbage for recyclable materials and the recycling for garbage who are earing "caught being green" awards. Our goal is to get the Green Classroom Award next month! The arrival of our new waterbottles should help with that. They are being sent home with a note and should be washed with soap and water before use (no dishwasher). Everyone is encouraged to put their names on the bottom and use them as much as they can instead of plastic water bottles. I hope to organize some litterless lunches in the near future as well.

Think of the wastes involves with plastic water bottle use.

• The waste in the manufacturing process for plastic water bottles (energy, transportation, etc).
• The waste in the bottling process (energy, water, transportation).
• The potential health risk of chemical leaching into the water the detrimental effect on landfill sites and recycling programs.
• The high rate of uncaptured plastic water bottles

Below is a link that hopfully encourages everyone to use their new water bottles!
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/get-rid-plastic-water-bottles

End of January Update

Wow, another month almost gone!

• Unique Me day rescheduled to tomorrow - along with our assembly and the Junkyard Symphony! (I can't wait!)
• P.A. Day this Friday
• No spelling words this week! (but quiz from last week on Wednesday)
• Monday Mission will be a Tuesday Mission because we ran out of time at the end of the day
• As we are working on WORD CHOICE in language, everyone is to find their own Dinner Dazzle word to share with the class this week and use at home.

In math, we have some new learning goals that involve working with numbers that have decimals.
Here is a site that has some games that you can play to practice addition and subtraction with decimals:

http://www.math-play.com/decimal-math-games.html

Also, on the last snow day, the students introduced me to a site that has some fun strategy and math games which everyone seemed to enjoy.

http://hoodamath.com/

In reading we are still reading The City of Ember as a class. We are going to be trying to solve a puzzle that is in the book by using inferencing. Today we also looked at text features in non-fiction books and found that there are many! Try looking at some books at home to see if you can find the text features we talked about such as:
- table of contents
- index
- glossary
- pictures
- photographs
- captions
- diagrams
- labels
- titles/headings
- subtitles/subheadings
- bold print
- italic print
- maps
- lists
- bulleted points
- about the author
- book description
 .. . . phew!
Books could have all of these things, or maybe only a few. They are all designed to help us understand what we are reading.

This week we are practicing for the public service announcements that we are making that warn of the hazards that light and sound can have and how we can protect ourselves. There will be a review about light and sound on Tuesday and Wednesday and the Quiz for this unit will be on Thursday, Feb 2nd.
The public service announcements that we looked at to see the characteristics of good ones can be found at:

http://www.cca-kids.ca/psas/media_literacy.html

In health we are using our media awareness to design and make healthy eating posters. Today we developed the success criteria for them and worked hard in class to make them. For those who are not done yet, they are due on Wednesday, Feb 1st.
If you want to learn more about healthy eating you can visit:

http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health.aspx

For online activities and games:
http://www.themedifastplan.com/feature-articles/nutrition-for-kids-activities-webquests/
(I recomend "Drop and Catch" and "Dinning Decisions" but some of the webquests, the virtual grocery store don't work)

Looking forward to another fun week :)

Unique Me Day

Unique Me Day is coming up on Friday, Jan 27th. This is a chance to dress to show how unique you are by wearing things that describe you, your personality and what you like to do. This should be a fun day - so mark it on your calendars!

Our geometry unit in math is complete and I'm happy to say that everyone got a level 3 or higher! Great job class - you really know all about you spatial sense!

We are now working with decimals and will soon move onto fractions.

In science we are combining our knowledge of media literacy and we will be developing public service announcements that warn of the dangers of light and sound and how we can protect ourselves from the hazards they cause.

In language we are continuing to read The City of Ember and we have done a few reading responses which require us to use our inferencing skills. We will soon be looking at text features as well.

Finally, here are some websites that you can check out to practice conventions (like nouns, verbs, etc)

http://www.toonuniversity.com/aol/4l_parts.html

http://rbeaudoin333.homestead.com/partsofspeech_1.html

Also, dinner dazzle, Monday missions and spelling are due on Friday :)

Healthy Eating Goals

Today we were looking at making a healthy eating goal for ourselves.
Below is the succes criteria that the class developed to help us create these goals:

          Success Criteria:
- is a healthy choice
- doesn't involve junk food
- follow Canada's food guide
- is something new to try
- is an appropriate goal for you
- is specific
   
If you want to check out Canada's Food Guide, you can online at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php
Tomorrow we will be making up our own individualized food guides in the computer lab

Also, tomorrow we will be working on review in Math and a review will be sent home that is due on Monday for us to correct together as a class. The math text for Geometry will be on Tudesday, Jan 24.

Snow Day Blues

Now is a great time if you are at home to check out some of the activities on the sites that are posted on here. We are still learning things even when it is a snow day, but it all is just review. So if you want some extra review and to keep from being bored at home, or watching that "Wretched Stone" all day . . . go online and keep that mind fresh!

Here is a site with some interactive activities for all subjects - look for titles of the things that we have studied like "Pattern Generator" or "Area Explorer" and even the "Simple Coordinates Game"
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-math.htm

Hope to see you all soon! We still have lots of learning to do before the end of Term 1!

Back in the swing of things

We had a great week back at school.

You probably haven't noticed any math homework - that's because there hasn't been any! We have spent the week working at math centers that allow us to use discovery to investigate reflection, lines of symmetry and plotting points on a grid. Also, we have been working on problem solving as always.
Mad Minutes continues and many are going strong still! Good work everyone!
Next week we will continue looking at geometry and we will be doing some work from the text book again as well as a new math assessment called "PRIME" that the class will be taking part in next week. No need to study for this one though.

Another co-ordinate pair game you can try at home is:
http://hotmath.com/hotmath_help/games/ctf/ctf_hotmath.swf

We have been continuing to read The City of Ember and have been looking at the character traits of the two main characters so far. To figure these out, we need to use our inferring skills which are getting sharper all the time.

If you'd like to quiz yourself at home, below is a link to some questions about the book. We have read chapters 1 and 2 so far
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/reading52/city_of_ember.htm

Our science unit of light and sound is going to lead us into looking at the different parts of the eye and ear and how they work. Then I hope we can make some kalidoscopes and instruments using all the knowledge we have learned.

Here is a site you can visit:
http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/oceanodyssey/oceanodysseylink.htm

So far, the properties of light that we should know are:
- light travels in straight lines
- light is a wave
- light can be reflected off of shiney surfaces
- light can be bent (slowed down) as it passes through different things like water
- light can be absorbed - which is how we see all our colours

We have also looked at natural and artificial light sources and things that do not give off their own light, but reflect it.
We have learned that almost anything can make sound, as long as we can get it to make a vibration.

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year everyone! Welcome back to school! I hope everyone is ready to learn and have fun!

Today we did a little switcheroo with our seating arrangement. Some people have moved up, back, side to side and some are in the same spot. I hope that the new seating helps everyone to learn the best they can and still allow collaboration with others.

Also, our behaviour chart is fresh and new - erasing all the old "x's" from last year, but keeping all the "checks". Now is a good time to set your sights on having a clean record.

We will be experimenting with more light and sound. Discuss at home all of the things you have that give off light or sound.

In math we are working on Geometry as well as continuing with problem solving in Number Sense and Numeration with a focus in adding and subtracting decimals, including money amounts. I feel being able to estimate the total cost of things and make change is an essential life skill which we will be working with.

Here is a list of activities that you can do at home or in your neighborhood to help understand symmetry.

• Symmetry at the Supermarket
  • Go to the supermarket and identify symmetrical boxes, containers, and packages. 
  • Look at the different fruits and vegetables.  Which are symmetrical and which are not?  What is more likely to be symmetrical-fruit or veggies?
• Symmetry in Nature
  • Examine flowers, trees, leaves for symmetry
  • Take a picture of an insect-where is the line of symmetry?
• Symmetry in Your Bedroom
  • Identify lines of symmetry on your bed, TV, video game system, computer and closet door.
  • Who has more symmetrical figures in the bedroom-you or your sibling?  How many more symmetrical figures do you see?
• Kitchen Symmetry
  • Use boxes or containers from the kitchen cupboards to create a symmetrical figure on either side of a line of symmetry (you can use a meter stick or a long piece of tape as the line of symmetry).
• Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
• Look for examples of symmetry by simply walking around your neighborhood.
• Record drawings or pictures of figures that are symmetrical.

In language, we are continuing with making inferences and I have started a Read Aloud novel with them: "The City of Ember". It is one of my favourites and we will be able to watch the movie as well when we are all done.
We missed our last spelling test, but new words will be given out this week for the quiz on Friday.
Dinner Dazzle word will be sent home, but I hope to slowly transition to a "word of the day".
No Monday Mission this week, as I need to make up some more activities for students.

A reminder that signed Canada and Measurement tests still need to come back.

Hope we can settle back into all our routines with ease!

A look ahead in math

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is enjoying their time with family and friends.

When we get back next week we will be starting looking at some geometry in math. Below are links to a some geometry games that you can try if you're already bored with all the toys Santa bought you!

http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/geometry.html

Some of these are a bit harder (I don't recomend the co-ordinates one) http://gamequarium.com/geometry.html

Also break out the old battleship game and play with someone at home. It invovles using paired coordinates!