December 7th to December 11th

This week we have been working on writing a variety of memories.  The students have especially enjoyed writing and sharing their winter and Christmas memories.

The students completed their work on the map of their Canadian provinces and territories.  Next week, they will present what they learned to the class.

We have been having a fantastic time playing floor hockey.  The students have been working on passing, shooting and working within their teams to experience success.  It has been wonderful to see a variety of levels playing together being positive, encouraging teammates.  

In Math, we have been working on adding three, four and five digit numbers both with and without re-grouping.

Today we met with our grade one buddies.  We started by reading the book, "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.  We then worked collaboratively with our buddy to create an image of a snowy day activity with tear art.

November 30th to December 3rd

We had a fantastic visit to the zoo on Tuesday.  Our morning was spent learning about the importance of plants.  It was interesting to see common foods, spices and teas in their plant form.  The afternoon was spent exploring the different areas of the zoo, learning about the animals and their habitats.  

Following our trip, we revisited the question, "Are zoos good or bad?"  The students then had the opportunity to move their name on the continuum after spending the day at the zoo and observing the animals.  The students explained the reason for making the change.  It was wonderful to hear their observations and opinions.  Following the discussion, some students wanted to move further on the continuum as the ideas of others impacted their own feelings.  We learned that our voices have a lot of power!  Check out our continuum before and after our zoo visit and discussions. 

Our Continuum Before Our Visit and Discussion

Our Continuum Following the Zoo Visit

We then completed an activity on the perspectives of the different animals at the zoo.  We generated questions for the animals and then wrote an answer from the voice of the animal.

We completed our research and began representing our understandings on an image of our province or territory.  The students are working to ensure that their work reflects what they feel is most important about the province or territory.

November 23rd to November 27th

It is hard to believe that we are near the end of November. Time is moving much too quickly!

Following the reading of the book, "The One And Only Ivan", the students completed two activities to bring closure to the story.  First, our class had a friendly debate if we felt zoos were a good place for animals.  Before any discussion, the question was written on a paper with a continuum.  The students placed their name along the continuum and wrote about their response.  After reading four articles on the topic and sharing our thoughts and opinions in class discussions, the students were able to move their name on the continuum if their opinion had changed.  Most students felt that zoos can be both positive and negative depending on the particular zoo and the situation of each animal.  We will explore this question further on our visit to the zoo on December 1st.

Next, the students had the opportunity to select a form of their own choosing to represent and celebrate the book.  We were impressed at the variety of work such as; a play showing the important parts of the story, a diorama representing the different settings and a stop-motion claymation video.  The students loved being able to collaborate with others and represent their learning in a way that suited their personal learning style.

We were incredibly excited to finally have the opportunity to meet with our grade one buddies. The students each selected a book to share with their buddy.  They practised reading the book out loud and came up with questions to ask their buddy following the reading. 

In Math, we completed the majority of our work on place value.  Next week, we will have a short assessment on the skills from this unit.

We had the opportunity to join the grade 5/6 class for a fantastic presentation by the organization, "Free The Children".  The students inspired by stories of children who had made difference in either their own community or in the larger global community.  You can learn more at:
http://www.freethechildren.com

November 16th to November 20th.

Thank you to all the families who came out for our conferences this week.  We are lucky to work with so many fantastic children.  It is nice to be able to share their accomplishments and growth with you.

We completed reading the book, "The One and Only Ivan".  It was such a beautiful story and prompted a great deal of meaningful discussions within our classroom.  In writing, we have been working on paragraphs inspired by the book, "The Best Part of Me".  We talked about what we most value and love about ourselves and why.

"My back helps me to be alive and send messages to my brain so I can think and function." L.R
"The best part of me is my hands.  They're useful for playing with when I can't fall asleep." E.H
"The best part of me is my brain.  I can remember all of the beautiful faces in my family and at school" L.T

The students continued with their research of their Canadian province or territory.  We have been working on how to search and find information on the internet and how to find websites that fit a variety of reading levels.  We have been discussing how to determine if a site and the information we read about is reliable.

Being an artist himself, Mr. Semmens always noticed and appreciated the art our class created.  We wanted to create a piece of art for Mr. Semmens.  We felt the birch trees in winter were a perfect fit.

November 9th to November 13th.

It was an incrediblely difficult week. Mr. Semmens was an amazing person who brought so much to our school.  He cared so much for others and went out of his way to support those around him.  Mr. Semmens is remembered with notes and pictures outside his office. It is wonderful to see the different memories; hanging a larger than life tinfoil dinosaur in kindergarten, teaching a class how to draw an apple and measuring how tall Mr. Semmens was compared to the grade 4 and 5's. Please feel welcome to come into the school and have your child share the wall with you. 

We read the book,"Invisable String" by Patricia Karst. It shared that we are connected to the hearts of the people we care about by an invisible string. The idea suggests that when we feel a tug at our heart, we are sending or receiving a message from a loved one. When we know we are connected, we can never feel alone. 

November 2nd to November 6th

Time is passing too quickly. It is hard to believe that we are already in the month of November!

Room 4 has become the "Green Team" for Rosemont School. The students worked to create a presentation focused on the new recycling program initiated by the CBE. They were very excited to share their presentations with the other classes. The students will be taking on a leadership role at the recycling centre in the lunchroom and outside at recess. Well done, room 4!

In math, we began looking at place value and assessing what background knowledge and understandings the students already have with these concepts.

Inline skating has been a great deal of fun. The students have been working on their speed and control. Please remember we have our final in-line skating Monday afternoon from 1:30 to 2:30.

We have almost finished with our first read aloud, "The One And Only Ivan".  Sharing this story has been such a wonderful experience. The insights and discussions have been fantastic. 

We read the story, "Our Canadian Flag, focused on the meaning and stories behind our flag.  The students were surprised to learn that Canada did not have our flag until 1964.  We began looking at the geography of Canada. The students worked in groups to create maps showing the provinces, territories and capital cities. We then brainstormed what we felt we should know and what we were interested in learning about the provinces such as; the climate, natural resources, landmarks and National parks.

Home Journal Questions:

1.  What year did Canada get our current Canadian flag?

2.  Ivans goal had been to leave the mall.  Why was it hard for him to leave when the time actually came?

3.  Solve the following math problem:

Mr.Williams ran a 7 km run.

The 1st km took him 5 minutes to run.

The 2nd km took him 1 minute longer (6 minutes).

Each km took him 1 minute longer than the last.

How long did it take him to run all 7 km?

Remember to check your work and ask yourself, "Does my answer make sense?"

Please remember that we have In-Line Skating on Monday from 1:30 to 2:30.  The Remembrance Day Assembly will be on Tuesday at 11:00 and there is no school on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful weekend.

October 26th to October 29th

Our focus in Social Studies this year is Canada.  We began with discussing what we know and love about Canada.  Some of the things the students loved about Canada were; the variety of wildlife, the great protection and safety, that we are a Democratic country and that everyone has the right to an education.

We continued working on descriptive paragraphs with interesting beginnings including sound effects and actions for our "Me In A Box" objects.

In math, we wrapped up our focus on patterns in math.  We worked on estimation and measurement as we explored the height, weight and circumference of pumpkins.  We worked on strategies on how to make an estimate and how an estimate is different from a guess.  We also worked on making Halloween "Dollar Words".  When making dollar words; a = $0.01, b = $0.02, c = $0.03 and so on.  The students brainstormed words they associated with Halloween and worked to calculate the value of the words, with a goal of finding a word with a value of $1.00.  It is a great activity to practice adding sums and to develop strategies for how to add multiple numerals.  Students, as a secret homework activity, work with your parents to find a dollar word and bring that word to share with the class. (How many of you are reading the blog?!)

The Halloween festivities were a great deal of fun.  It was wonderful to see so many fantastic costumes.

With our recent half days and PD days, there has been no time to squeeze in the home journals.

Please remember that we have In-Line skating next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.

October 19th to October 23rd

We had a fantastic afternoon exploring Confederation Park on Monday afternoon. We observed and recorded information about the weather, animals and plants in the park. We then created art using objects in nature such as twigs and leaves. The art was inspired by the work of Andrew Goldsworthy, an artist who uses nature to create temporary sculptures.

In Math, we worked on an assessment from our work with patterns.  Below are some examples of the questions we worked through.  Have your child share with you how independently they were able to complete the charts and predict the patterns.  Many students had a difficult time with more complex growing patterns such as the pattern with the yellow tiles.

In writing, we worked on writing description paragraphs, explaining the importance of the various objects we placed in our, "Me In A Box" project.  We worked on writing interesting paragraph beginnings such as beginning with dialogue.

October 13th to October 16th

It was a short and sweet week in room 4!

We worked on our descriptive paragraphs on pomegranates. The writing that came from this activity was incredible.  The students worked on adding interesting words and descriptions to describe their pomegranate.  They then worked to edit their work with a focus on a variety of sentence beginnings and sentence lengths.

"When you eat the seed it pops and all the delicious juice squirts into your mouth." C.M

"The smell of the pomegranate is like a freshly cut apple." A.D

"When you plop one in your mouth, your taste buds go wild." K.W

"They cling to the white spongy membrane that is like armour for the seeds. It protects them." N.K

The students put the final touches on their "Me In A Box", adding a poem, photograph and words to describe themselves.  We have begun sharing our work. It has been so wonderful to see the confidence as the students have shared their work.

Me In A Box

In math, we continued to look at a variety of patterns.  One of the more challenging skills has been to predict how the pattern will grow or change.  Today we challenged ourselves by looking at the Fibonacci Sequence.  The sequence begins with 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5.  Students, can you see if your parents can figure out the pattern?  We then looked at examples of the Fibonacci Sequence in nature.  Have your child share some of the examples with you.

Building A Growing Pattern

Representing The Fibonacci Sequence On Grid Paper

In health, we have been working on how to be positive and effective communicators.  We discussed the questions below as a tool to help us when working with others.

All students in the school will be bringing home a work sample to share their work in writing and mathematics. Please take the time to have your child share their work with you.

October 5th to October 9th

After a week away in Spain, it was great to have Ms. Reschke back in class this week.  The students began the week exploring pomegranates, a fruit that originates in Spain!  The students had a fantastic time opening, touching and tasting the pomegranates.  We worked on using our 5 senses as we explored the pomegranates, adding our ideas to a writing planner that will help us write descriptive paragraphs next week.

The students have been very excited by our unit on plants.  The students planted a variety of seeds including radishes, carrots and celery.  We are recording our observations on the growth of our seeds each day.  We have been reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction books about plants, learning about the different parts of the plants and their function.  We are also testing to see what happens when you open up a pumpkin and add soil and water.  Will the seeds from the pumpkin grow?  Can we grow a pumpkin in a pumpkin?  Some students worried that with so many seeds, there would be too much competition for space, light and nutrients.  Others felt that the pumpkin could crack from the pressure of so many roots growing.  It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks.

As a connection with our plant unit, we created pumpkins using ink pens and zentangle patterns.  Have your child explain to you what a zentangle pattern is.

In math, we have continued our work on Patterns and Relations.  The home journal this week shows some of the work that we have been doing.  The students should be able to determine a pattern rule, create a chart tp record and reveal the pattern and describe in their own words how the pattern grows.

September 28th to October 2nd

It is hard to believe that we are already in the month of October. Time is flying by!  We finish each day by representing a favourite experience or activity on our monthly calendar. It is a wonderful way to reflect on our day and our month. With the end of the month comes the completion of our first monthly calendar.

We had a fantastic week of swimming lessons. It was incredible to watch the confidence and skills gained in only one week!

In science, we began our first unit, "Plant Growth and Changes". We started by exploring a variety of seeds. We then grew our own sprouts in mason jars. It was exciting to see how quickly our seeds grew into something we could eat and enjoy. 

We started a new class read aloud, "The One And Only Ivan" by K.A. Applegate.  Inspired by a true story about a gorilla who spent 27 years living in a cage in a mall, the book follows Ivan during his time in captivity. The book explores friendship and how relationships can impact others and ourselves.  Before reading, we researched mountain gorillas.  By knowing more about how gorillas live in the wild, we can better understand what life would be like for Ivan in captivity.

The students worked on an activity called, "Figure Me Out". They came up with a variety of math equations to represent numbers that were important to them such as their age, birth month and number of people in their family. 

Thank you for all the work that was put into the home portion of the "Me In A Box" project.  We will be finishing up the school portion of the project next week. We are excited to have the students share their efforts. 

The students have been a tired bunch with our daily swimming. We therefore had no homework or home journal this week. 

Have a wonderful weekend.