Today was a busy Monday. Our Eye Opener had students focusing on comparing numbers (greater than, less than and equal to), as well as ordering numbers from greatest to least and least to greatest.
Most students have finished typing about the plant they have researched. Students began by participating in the peer editing process and having the teacher edit their work as part of a feedback loop. Doing so will help students identify where gaps in their information is, while also focusing on if their writing makes sense and attends to conventions (capitalization, punctuation). In math we continue our focus on subtraction. Looking at patterns equations and when to count down and count on to help us find missing numbers. Tomorrow we begin to apply our understanding to subtraction word problems. Many students continue to enjoy "The Secret Garden". Mary, the main character, has finally met her uncle, Mr. Craven. She is afraid of him at first but learns that he is actually kind. He just seems very troubled. We are making predictions about why this might be the case. After completing our Castle Floor Plan as part of social studies, students had to take their knowledge of directions and describe the location of Alberta in a paragraph. Practice telling directions at home. For instance, the kitchen is west of the bathroom or our backyard is south of our house. Reminders: Indigo/Chapters Fundraiser - Monday, October 17 & 18 (5 - 7pm; 130th Ave Location) Picture Day - Wednesday, October 19 Donation Drive - Saturday, October 22 Halloween/Fun Lunch - Monday October 31
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Happy birthday to one of our students today. He turned 9 years old!
We began our day by writing a descriptive paragraph about the soup that we made yesterday. Using our sense of touch, smell, sight, sound, and taste we described what people were saying, what vegetables we saw. In science, we talked about all the parts of plants that we eat. We categorized lots of different vegetables into the categories of stems, roots, leaves, fruits, seeds, and flowers. Several students were surprised what category broccoli and tomatoes fall into. Bean plants will be sent home on Monday :) During art we showed our understanding about plants, their growth and changes through a multimedia project. It will take a few days to complete as we will be using tissue paper, construction paper and magazines. We are almost done our writing!! We'll finish Monday when the computers are all fully charged. Scholastic forms went home. They are due next Friday, October 21st. Reminders: Picture Day - October 19 Donation Drive - October 22 Halloween/Fun Lunch - October 31 Today was official soup making day. Students began the day by identifying which part of the plant each vegetable came from. Tomorrow we will make a chart in our science duotangs that will have two columns: one for roots and one for stems. Ask me if I can remember which vegetables are roots and which are stems.
In writing we did our expository piece about the plant that we researched. We will need a bit more time tomorrow to complete our job. Ask me if I remember what plant I researched and if I can tell you any interesting facts about that plant. We have now learned what a line graph is. Using the measurements that we took over the last several weeks, we were able to compare the growth of our bean compared to our friend's bean. Mrs. Huston taught us how to write a blues song in music. The students really enjoyed it. "This music can be about anything", said one student. "We're writing one about marshmallows" said another. Students continue their hard work in guided reading. We are focusing on what good readers do: thinking, asking questions, visualizing, and making connections. Our buddies came for a visit. We read books with them and made a bookmark. Lastly, we tired the soup. Some students really liked the flavours and textures of the veggies in the soup. Other students did not like the favour at all. One student suggested we let it cook longer to see if it will soften our vegetables. Reminders: Jersey Day - Tomorrow (wear your jersey from your favourite team) Picture Day - October 19 Donation Drive - October 22 Halloween/Fun Lunch - October 31 Today we had the opportunity to use the computers to do research about our plant of choice. We will study the climate, the soil, the amount of water that they need, etc. This information will tie into our expository writing. In math we continued to focus on subtraction. Students have recognized that there are increasing and decreasing patterns that can be followed to make equation statements true. (example 17 - 3 = 18 - 4 and 16 - 2). Some students have also begun to apply their knowledge to word problems. We have finished working on our "poof books" that explain seed dispersal. Students have learned that seeds travel by wind, water, hitch hiking, humans and by exploding. They also received their science assessments back and did very well. Ask your child how they did and if they recognized where their learning gaps were. If you would like to see a copy of the assessment please contact me by e-mail. As part of our discussion around plants, we learned about the different parts of plants that people eat. We eat the roots of some plants and the stems of others. After reading the book Stone Soup by Jon J Muth we have decided to make our own soup using different parts of plants. Can you please send one vegetable, cut up into spoon size pieces, in a plastic bag or container to contribute to our soup. Students will be using their senses to write about the process. They will have the opportunity to taste the soup so if your child has an allergy please let me know. Reminders: Picture Day - October 19 Donation Drive - October 22 Halloween/Fun Lunch - October 31 We were back in action today! Students told all about the wonderful things they did over the long weekend and now are getting back into the swing of school this week.
Today in writing we continued our exploration of expository writing. We looked an example of expository writing and worked together as a class to identify the introductory paragraph (topic sentence or lead question), supporting paragraphs (one area of focus for each topic) and conclusion. Students looked at a graphic organizer that allowed them recognize the gaps in their own pieces of writing. Tomorrow they will go back and edit their plant paragraphs based on the new information/organizational method they learned today. Miss Nanavaty taught students a new game in the gym that had them passing and running. You can ask your child if they remember how to play. Our focus in math today was on subtraction. Students have become quite good at counting on in order to complete addition questions but are now shifting their focus. They need to recognize that the bigger number is the one that is in front of the subtraction operation. They have looked at equations that require them to make a math statement true (example: _____ - 5 = 17 - 10) . Practice counting backward with your child. We had the opportunity to use ipods as part of guided reading today. Ask me if I can remember which books are there for me to listen to. During social studies students looked at the map of Canada. As we explore why regions are identified as such and what landforms, vegetation, etc. are found there we will need to know geographically where Alberta is on a map. Students attempted to draw the location of Alberta on a blank map. They then had to recognize that it is located in the Western part of our country. After watching a brief video about directions and drawing a compass rose, they had to use their understanding of mapping to follow directions and map out a castle. Lastly, our beans are really growing. Some students plants wilted over the course of the weekend, others flourished and others are not growing. One student has a giant bean that is reaching for the sunlight (it has no chlorophyll) and another is taking a strange shape. We also have some decomposition happening.... Reminders: Picture Day - October 19 Donation Drive - October 22 Halloween/Fun Lunch - October 31 Thank you to all the families that attended conferences yesterday and today. I know people's lives are very busy but appreciate everyone taking the time to come and meet with me. I hope that after having met and discussed our vision for each student, we can help support each child's learning needs moving forward this year.
Happy Thanksgiving and have a lovely long weekend. Happy Thursday! Today students had the opportunity to use the computers to continue their research about a plant of their choice. They continue to look at the various needs of the plant, the climate in which it grows, any special adaptations it has and the way in which the seeds travel.
In today's chapter of the Secret Garden, we finally meet Dickon. He is the brother of Mary's house maid. Mary has been very curious about Dickon because he knows a great deal about all the animals that live by the manor. We also continue to watch Mary and the gardener Ben develop a friendship. As she tends to the secret garden, she asks Ben many things about the plants that may be growing there. Students completed an assessment in science that had them focus on plant systems, the process of photosynthesis, seed dispersal, plant adaptations and label the parts of a plant. Students listened to the "blues" in music to learn about different styles or types of music. We continue to practice our Star Wars theme song with boomwackers. In gym Miss N had us play a cooperative game that required students to hold hands in a circle and pass around a hula hoop without breaking the chain. Reminders: Parent conferences today and tomorrow. Picture Day - October 19 Halloween/Fun Lunch - October 31 Today in writing we learned about the lifecycle of a plant. We drew a diagram and now understand that a lifecycle has between four and six stages. Some plants flower as part of their lifecycle and others do not. Then we wrote a paragraph summarizing our understanding of the lifecycle.
In math, we solved each others word problems. We also played a dice game called "Roll Me a Number" where students had to build a number with thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. They had to add two numbers together and say the total out loud. We continue to learn about nutrition. We discussed the portion sizes of each food group that are outlined on the Canadian Food Guide. Scientific discovery is happening every day in our classroom. We read about plants that disperse their seeds when they explode. We also watched a video that showed this in slow motion. It was awesome! Science quiz tomorrow! Reminders: Parent-Teacher Conference - October 6 & 7 Picture Day - October 19 Halloween/Fun Lunch - October 31 This morning was spent catching up on some writing and any unfinished work from the last few days. In physical education, Miss Nanavaty had the students play a game where they had to hold a card to their forehead and walk around asking questions that would help them identify it as a grain, dairy, meat and alternative or fruit and veggies. They then categorized each item. She is focusing on nutrition.
Math meant working with a group. Students had to brainstorm their own word problems. Tomorrow they will be attempting to solve each others problems. After reading The Secret Garden today, we have now learned that the garden is covered in rose bushes. At first Mary thinks everything is dead. However, upon more careful inspection she has discovered different types of bulbs and can see sprouts. We still don't know where the crying in the house is coming from. Adaptations are something special that help a plant or seed survive or travel. Students need to pick a plant or seed and comment on the blog or write on a piece of paper about a specific adaptation that helps it survive. There will be a science review on Thursday morning. Reminders: Dance club tomorrow at lunch. Thursday (early dismissal), Friday (no school) Thanksgiving - Monday, October 11 Parent/Teacher Conferences - October 6 & 7 Fun Lunch - October 31 Today in physical eduction Miss N had students working on a cooperative game. They all stood in a large circle and had to pass around a ball as quickly as they could saying the name of the person to their left. Our fastest time was 17 seconds. We are working at utilizing different strategies to become even faster.
Students worked with a partner to solve several 3-digit word problems. Having many heads working together is better than just one. Students had to read aloud the question and identify the important information and then work together to solve the problem. We looked at the six regions of Alberta in more detail. Students had to each read about a different region and then share with their table group what they learned. We are working as a whole class to fill in a table that has us focus on climate, natural resources, landforms, vegetation, and bodies of water. There will be a guest teacher for music for the next short time until Miss Lysak returns. As such, there is no choir at the moment. The Secret Garden was captured our attention today because Mary finds the entrance to the garden and goes in. Science had us measuring our beans again. I would like students to begin to find the difference in growth (if your bean was 11 cm on Monday, and is now 17 cm today, what is the difference). Ask me if my plant has grown much. We read "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle and learned another method that seeds travel by. Specifically, water and wind. See if I can remember two examples of these types of seeds. There was also another fire drill this afternoon and students did amazing! Reminders: Dance Club Wednesday October 5 Parent - Teacher Conferences October 6 & 7th (book yours today) No School on Monday, October 11 (Thanksgiving) Fun Lunch (see school website to order lunch if you choose) October 31st Halloween (costumes are welcome but students must be able to still participate in school activities, no weapons, masks or gore) October 31st |
Mrs. OttersonTeacher at New Brighton School and lover of the great outdoors! Archives
June 2017
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