March 29th to April 1st.

It was great to be back together after our Spring Break. Thursday was the first day with everyone here in a very long time!  Time is passing by so quickly. How are we already in April?!

We began a new unit in Science, Classroom Chemistry. To begin the unit I challenged my inner storyteller and shared a story about the creation of a potion. The story was told with an overhead and a variety of substances such as food colouring, oil, baking soda and vinegar.  It was a great springboard to a discussion on the differences between substances and mixtures, how different mixtures can be made and how substances can be separated. 

We continued discussing different mixtures such as solids with liquids and two liquids as we explored dying cotton yarn.  We tried to get substances such as berries, spices and avocado pits to dissolve in water by blending, heating the water and stirring. Ask me how adding vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda changed the colour of cabbage. We made predictions on which substances would dye the yarn and what colour it would become. Thank you to everyone who sent items in for testing.  We are very excited to see our results!  

In Math, the students were introduced to the grid method of multiplication. Many students will have a clear preference for either the traditional method or the grid method. We have discussed that neither method is "right", they both arrive at the same product. The students will now select the method that makes the most sense for them.

Our Stellaluna inspired books are coming along wonderfully. We have Ms.Style working with us for the full hour and Ms.Campbell for half an hour. It is incredibly to have so many adults in the space at one time. We are able to work closely with the students on their specific writing goals and needs. It is my favourite hour of the day!

March 7th to March 11th

Our Stellaluna inspired stories are coming along beautifully. The students are so engaged during our time. With our process of writing a page, editing the page and the creating the watercolour illustration, we have students at different places in the process.  This has been wonderful as we have really been able to focus on working with individual students on their stories and their specific writing needs. It is fantastic to see the students reflect on their work and their desire to make their work their best. 

We enjoyed our last visit with Jeff Stockton before our break. We played a variety of cooperative games and began working on telling our story using the storytellers "bullseye". 

We completed our research and pamphlets on the Cordillera region of Canada. Many of the pamphlets make the region look pretty inviting!

February 29th to March 4th

We have been working on writing our own stories inspired by the book, "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon. The book follows a young fruit bat who after becoming separated from her mother, is adopted by a family of birds and adapts to their bird habits. The students selected two Canadian animals to research and use in their own story about an animal adopted and living in a different way than if they were raised by their own mother. The students created a story planner and are now working on writing their book one page at a time.  After writing a page the students work through the editing process. We are working on helping the students that writing involves multiple steps and that editing is an important part of the process. Once they have edited their work, the students create their illustration for the page. 

In our time with Jeff Stockton, each student selected a First Nations story to retell. Students broke their story into 6 to 10 different parts and have been working on using their fingers as a tool to help them remember the parts of the story. It is incredible how quickly the students have been able to remember the events and bring their own voice to the story. 

In Physical Education, we began working on badminton skills. Many students shared that badminton has been their favourite part of the week.