This morning students looked again at homophones for "Eye Opener". They had to write several sentences using the correct word (sent, scent, or cent). We have also been studying how to change a verb to make a sentence depict something that happened in the past, something that is currently happening in the present or something that will happen in the future. We continue to focus on writing good paragraphs that have a topic sentence, necessary details and a concluding sentence that wraps up our idea. These paragraphs are related to the legacy projects we are doing. As part of our project we also worked together to create a blueprint/layout for our trifold presentation and questioned ourselves about what other information will be necessary to include. Some students worked with Mrs. Spence, our Facility Operator, as they collected data about how much water or electricity we use at school. In math we really focused on setting up our question correctly to ensure we were working within the correct place value when practicing long division. You can practice simple two or three digit by 1 digit questions at home and have your child show you how they learned to check to see if the quotient they found was accurate.
Lastly, in the gym we continue to practice our passing and stick handling skills for floor hockey. We must remember that this is not competitive but simply an opportunity to try a new sport, to be active and to learn some stick handling skills. Reminders: May 10 - School Council Meeting May 19 - PD Day (No School) May 22 - Victoria Day (No School)
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Today we began by looking at how to read a table to gather information in order to create a bar graph. Students looked at the the range of scores, the highest score, the lowest score and how to plot the information on a graph. We also finished up some lovely artwork we have been doing in our visual journals around the importance of Earth Day (which took place on April 22nd). Students are recognizing all the things that people do impact the earth. Next students were asked to think deeply about how they will be carrying out their legacy projects. They will be looking at several questions, as part of checklist, to help them see where they are going next in their project.
In math we continued to focus on the steps for long division. They were shown how to complete questions that allowed numbers to be divided evenly and how to solve using remainders. Tomorrow they will look at word problems that require them to use division and multiple steps. After lunch we continued to read "Al Capone Does My Shirts". At this point in the novel, Piper, is up to her old tricks again, despite being sent away to her grandmother's house to get straightened out. We also were introduced to a new character, Al Capone's mother, and discussed whether or not she will be a criminal as well. In guided reading we had a new vocabulary literacy station that focused on the math terminology we have used thus far this year. Students have to read clues to complete a crossword puzzle. Lastly, our legacy projects continue to get us to think deeply about the steps we are taking to get students at New Brighton School to reduce their ecological footprint. Ask your child what they have done to complete their project and what their next steps will be. Reminders: May 10 - School Council Meeting May 19 - PD Day (No School) May 22 - Victoria Day (No School) Today we had a wonderful day with some of the students from our room that visited the Calgary Young Writer's Conference. Students had the chance to explore many different types of sessions including how to create interesting characters, introducing interesting twists and turns in writing, how to journal for creativity, etc. We also had Marty Chan as the keynote speaker. He is the author of the novel "The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul" which won the 2007 Diamond Willow Award and was selected for the Edmonton Public Library’s inaugural Kids Read Edmonton campaign. He was a regular humour contributor to CBC Radio and the Edmonton Journal. He was the Edmonton Public Library’s writer-in-residence in 2011. Overall, it was a wonderful day and we hope the students in attendance had a great time and learned a lot :)
![]() Today we had our 'min' teacher for the day, Kamryn, take the reins :) It was lots of fun and maybe a bit more work than our teacher expected. We began by solving a secret message. Each letter of the alphabet was assigned a number. Ask your child what the secret message said. Students also wrote letters to the teacher or to friends. We worked on how letters are formatted and how each different topic should be included in a separate paragraph. In honour of Earth Day tomorrow (April 22, 2017) we looked at some poetry that inspired a piece of art that we are creating. We began by 'painting' the background of our visual journal page with tea. Then next week we will be drawing the earth and writing a poem around our earth talking about caring for the planet. Math reviews were sent home. Overall students did quite well. Take a look at where your child and look for where their areas for growth are. Please also continue to practice basic facts with your child regularly. We also played "Spin and Colour" in math. Students had to spin to find two different factors that had to be multiplied together. The product was a square on their bingo sheet. Partners took turns and the first student to get three squares in a row won. Reminders: May 10 - School Council Meeting May 19 - PD Day (No School) May 22 - Victoria Day (No School) Today students began their morning by looking at a math problem that required them to read a chart and use that information to add or subtract. They then could also take the information and draw it in a bar graph if there was time.
We had a fire drill practice and the students did a good job of getting out of the building quickly. In math students continued their exploration around division. We have learned how to read and interpret equations showing how to use multiplication to solve a division problem; we looked at how to use base ten blocks to help us visualize bigger 2 or 3 digit number, splitting them up into equal groups; and lastly, the process for long division. Students tackled several questions and this will be marked and sent home in their communication folder tomorrow. Most students have now developed a survey to help them collect the data they need for their legacy project. Ask your child about the questions that are helping them with their investigation. The book truck is currently out of service. If your child has a book they have borrowed you can return it to your local library. Reminders: May 10 - School Council Meeting May 19 - PD Day (No School) May 22 - Victoria Day (No School) Today we began our morning with a math warm up for our 'Eye Opener'. We looked at the following questions:
1) a) 5 x 9 = b) 37 x 2 = c) 521 x 8 = 2) a) 42 ÷ 7 = b) 18 ÷ 9 = 3) A basket holds 8 pears. How many pears will 6 baskets hold? In our word work this morning we continue to focus on homophones which are two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling, e.g., new and knew. Lots of students have been confusing to, too and two so that was our focus. We also explored the "Acknowledgement of the Land" in writing. Students had to read the acknowledgement, underline key words or phrases, brainstorm other words that would be connected and then use paragraph form (topic sentence, details and concluding sentence) to answer: What does it mean to acknowledge the land? Please continue to practice basic facts with your child. I am seeing a lot of growth and students are becoming much faster at recall. This makes things much easier as we move into how multiplication is connected to division. Today students used base ten blocks to build, draw and solve several division questions. After lunch we began new literacy stations. Students are participating in Literature Circles, research about the histories, stories and people of Alberta's past, vocabulary related to acknowledging the land, and spelling when free writing. Lastly, we will be needing to sit down and continue conferencing with the teacher as we decide what steps we should be taking as part of our legacy/social action projects. Please talk to your child about what they are working on. Reminders: Apr 20 ~ Healthy Hunger (Taco Time Lunch) Apr 21 ~ Book Truck A very happy birthday to our friend Mikayla who turns 10 tomorrow!
This morning we practiced handwriting. We are focusing on how it makes us slow down and really think about how to keep our work neat and legible. Students can focus on continuing their research about their science topics over the weekend. They can do some internet research or talk to their families about possible survey questions they could ask the students at school related to their topic, in order to collect data to present as part of their sharing for the Celebration of Learning. In math, students looked at several other division questions. One question we focused on is writing a division fact to solve each equation: a) 24 children, 6 on a team, how many teams? b) 18 cookies, 9 on a plate, how many plates? c) 42 cans, 7 in each row, how many rows? c) Find all the ways of dividing 36 students into equal teams. After lunch we had our grade 2 buddies come for a visit. They practiced reading aloud to us and we helped them with any tricky words and encouraged them when they were stuck. We also helped support them as they learn how to use IRIS to enter goals and strategies for learning. Lastly, we are thinking deeply about legacies and have looked at the following website, found here, to discover some of the ways Canadians have left their legacies. Be good, be kind and play outside! Enjoy your long weekend. Reminders: Apr 14 ~ Good Friday (No School) Apr 17 ~ PD Day (No School) April 18 ~ Scholastic Book Order Due Apr 20 ~ Healthy Hunger (Taco Time Lunch) Apr 21 ~ Book Truck Today we began with a several quick math questions to warm up our brain for "Eye Opener". These are found below:
We continue our investigation of the topics we are studying for science. They include:
During writing we connected to our science topics by recognizing that we would need to collect data about our topics. This has required us to write letters of inquiry to several people or organizations. In math we focused on division. Students are working on questions like the ones below to help them discover the connection to multiplication.
Students have been practicing forward shoulder rolls, somersaults and cartwheels in the gym. We are also learning a song for our Celebration of Learning as part of music. *** If possible please have your child return their "What is a Legacy" paragraph tomorrow morning**** Reminders: Apr 14 ~ Good Friday (No School) Apr 17 ~ PD Day (No School) April 18 ~ Scholastic Book Order Due Apr 20 ~ Healthy Hunger (Taco Time Lunch) Apr 21 ~ Book Truck We began our morning by "making words". The secret message was "legacies make history". We continue to talk about how legacies can be both "good" or "bad" as they leave a lasting impact on the people that we leave behind. In writing we continue to focus on how we can make the most impact with our writing. Students were asked to go back into a piece of writing they did earlier in the year, circle words that are not very interesting, and replace them with synonyms that make their writing better. You can see a sample below: Students also listened to the story "When I was Eight" by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. The story is about young Olemaun, who is eight, and knows a lot of things. But she does not know how to read. Ignoring her father’s warnings, she travels far from her Arctic home to the outsiders’ school to learn. The nuns at the school call her Margaret. They cut off her long hair and force her to do menial chores, but she remains undaunted. Her tenacity draws the attention of a black-cloaked nun who tries to break her spirit at every turn. But the young girl is more determined than ever to learn how to read. Students used this story as an opportunity to talk about residential schools and the impact they had on the First Nations people that lived in Alberta. We talked about how First Nations people were forced to assimilate and why the Canadian Government is participating in the process of reconciliation. This will then be connected to our study of why, at New Brighton school, we acknowledge the land and the people that first lived here. Students have begun to learn about how multiplication and division are connected. Students were asked to show several ways that they could divide our class into equal groups. They then discussed all the connections they recognized between multiplication and division using the following chart. After lunch we continued our research about our topics for "Leaving a Legacy at New Brighton School" by reducing our environmental footprint here. Ask your child about their topic. They are encouraged to find out more information at home and bring it to school to include as part of their presentation at our Celebration of Learning in May.
**** Please Note: if your child would like to participate in choir, the form will need to be returned tomorrow ***** Reminders: Apr 14 ~ Good Friday (No School) Apr 17 ~ PD Day (No School) April 18 ~ Scholastic Book Order Due Apr 20 ~ Healthy Hunger (Taco Time Lunch) Apr 21 ~ Book Truck We are happy to see that blogs are up and working again. We will continue to keep you posted about all the fun and interesting things we are learning about in Room 145! This morning students began to look at how multiplication and division are related. Working with a group of 24 blocks table groups had to make as many equal groups as possible. Students offered answers like 12 x 2 = 24, and 8 x 3 = 24. We then looked at how 24 ÷ 12 = and 24 ÷ 8 = 3. You can practice this skill at home with your child by having them place items into equal groups and then tell you the division number sentence to match. In writing we looked at what synonyms and antonyms are, and how writers use them to make their writing more interesting. We first watched the clip below (who doesn't love a little Sesame Street) to determine what synonyms are. Students then had to look at a piece of writing and replace boring words with more exciting words! After visiting Aggie Days last week students created some beautiful artwork using splatter paint, construction paper and chalk pastels to create a silhouette of a barn, grain elevator, etc. They turned out lovely. After lunch we had a practice for what to do in the case of a lockdown. The students did a great job remaining calm, quiet, and hidden.
During guided reading we were introduced to several new literacy stations. Students are playing the game "Word Cloud" and "Roll the Dice" to focus on vocabulary, learning about how to annotate an article, and write a descriptive setting for a piece of writing. We continue to work with the teacher to read our novels and make predictions about what will come next in the text. Lastly, student work was sent home today in their folders. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly. * * If you are still waiting for a Scholastic book order, I have contacted them and they have informed me the order has been shipped (apparently that can take 1 - 3 weeks). It is supposed to arrive this week. Thank you for your continued patience. * * Reminders: Apr 11 ~ Kernals Popcorn Day Apr 14 ~ Good Friday (No School) Apr 17 ~ PD Day (No School) April 18 ~ Scholastic Book Order Due Apr 20 ~ Healthy Hunger (Taco Time Lunch) Apr 21 ~ Book Truck |
Mrs. OttersonTeacher at New Brighton School and lover of the great outdoors! Archives
June 2017
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