Spelling List A
Spelling List B
Spelling List C
This guy just can't get enough of the -ck digraph!!
Friday, April 30, 2021
Friday, April 30
Happy Friday!
Today was a perfect end to our week. In the morning, we did our spelling quiz, and then we did a story writing activity, in which the students expanded on the prompt: "Once upon a time there were three little chicks..."
We haven't done much story writing this year so I was curious to see how the kids would do with this, and once again they really blew me away. Many students wrote more than a full page! Which by Grade 1/2 standards is quite a bit. I'm excited to see how their writing continues to progress as we start breaking down the processes and skills involved in writing a story.
We got to attend the Kindergarten Virtual Assembly (cute) and then came the long-awaited class Dojo Store. I think all of our word problem math practice has paid off - the students were able to calculate how many points they would have left over with minimal assistance!
We had an unexpected fire drill at the end of the day, and the whole class earned 3 bonus points for being calm, safe, and responsible during the whole thing.
We read the book "The Interrupting Chicken", and had some good conversations about 'interrupting'. This has been an ongoing issue this year and I thought it would be a good idea to address it officially. We'll keep the conversations going next week and come up with some alternative strategies for kids who really want to share but don't want to wait.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words!
Have a nice weekend,
Zac
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Thursday, April 29
Hi parents,
We had another good day today. In the morning, the students did Music, and we had an in-depth discussion about the anatomy of a math word problem (for lack of a better word). We talked about the ways you can tell if a problem requires addition or subtraction, how to analyze a problem to find important information, and how to scan for tricks and misleading information. After that, the students were tasked with creating their own word problems, with three different difficulty options:
1. Make a word problem involving numbers less than 20. (Perfect for Grade 1)
2. Make a word problem with numbers greater than 20. (Great for Grade 2, but achievable for Grade 1 too)
3. Make a word problem involving regrouping (The pinnacle of Grade 2 math wizardry)
The students did a fantastic job with this task! I was really impressed! Perhaps we can finally move on to a new math topic. I've saved all the fun ones for last.
The students got to visit the chicks in the afternoon! This was probably the highlight of the day for most of the kids. They also started to brainstorm names for each of the five chicks, but we haven't officially settled on any just yet. Here are a few contenders:
"Bodl"
"Coockei"
"Dolshaya"
"SOFTEE"
We practiced spelling at the end of the day and read Junie B.
"Job Day in Room 6" - Thursday, May 6
In honour of the Junie B. Jones novel we're reading, Room 6 will be having it's own 'Job Day' next Thursday. Students are invited to dress up in a way that reflects what they want to be when they grow up.
Tomorrow is our spelling quiz, and it also marks the long-awaited return of the Class Dojo Store!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Wednesday, April 28
Hi parents,
We had an awesome day today, although the end of the day was a bit sad because we had to say goodbye to Ms. Rehill, who is officially done her practicum as of today. We'll really miss having her in class. :(
Unfortunately, she also wasn't able to make it in today, so our goodbye had to be virtual. We're planning to find a time in the near future when we can properly say goodbye outside.
In the morning, the students finished their "Hatching Chicks" booklets. We had a great discussion about what we observed yesterday, and the students recorded their ideas.
As part of our "This Land is Our Land" project, we 'visited' Northwest Territories. The students learned about the dynamic landscapes, beautiful scenery, and interesting wildlife.
In the afternoon, we had a good time playing "Line Tag" in gym, and had a successful bout of Daily 5 too. Then, we met with Ms. Pavey virtually for our final Artist in Residence Mindfulness session. Too many goodbyes today!
At the end of the day, Ms. Rehill read to the class (virtually) and we said our goodbyes.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Tuesday, April 27
Hi parents,
We had an exciting day today in Room 6, featuring chicks hatching, outside reading, and plenty of writing.
In the morning, the students worked on math word problems, and then wrote in their journals about the long weekend.
We had a virtual visit from Ms. Rehill, who told the students that she needed their help with a 'kindness mission'. The class wrote sentences all about being kind. They wrote about specific ways to be kind, how it feels to be kind, and how it feels when others are kind to them.
Our lesson was interrupted by news that the eggs were finally hatching! We got to watch a baby chick peck its way out of an egg via a live stream from Ms. Thomas' classroom. We checked in with the eggs throughout the day, and two more hatched too! We expect that more chicks will hatch over night. It was so cool to get to watch the egg slowly crack open until suddenly the baby chick blasted its way out. Please ask your child to share their thoughts on the process - they all seemed super excited!
In the afternoon, we went outside to do Daily 5, but unfortunately the students got a bit too rambunctious and we had to end our outdoor reading early. I think reading too close to the playground was a mistake - next time we'll go out into the field.
At the end of the day, we practiced spelling. I told the students they'd get 3 dojo points if they could identify this week's Spelling Rapper.
Have a nice night!
Zac
Friday, April 23, 2021
Spelling Words! Week of April 25
Spelling List A
Spelling List B
Spelling List C
LL COOL WORDS IN THA HOUSE
Friday, April 23
Happy Friday!
This morning, we did some math word problems, and then had our spelling quiz.
We finished working on the Nova Scotia pages in our "This Land Is Our Land" booklets.
We watched a Bill Nye video about Garbage today, which was a nice follow-up to the pollution video we watched yesterday. It's interesting to see how things have changed since the 90's when the Bill Nye videos were made.
We watched the Pixar short film "Bao", which is a real tearjerker about a mother who raises a dumpling boy. It may sound unusual but it's actually really good. The students seemed to thoroughly enjoy it and we had an awesome class discussion afterwards. They also wrote in the journals in response to the prompt: "Bao was about..."
Remember that there is No School On Monday, April 26! It is a PD Day.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a nice weekend!
Zac
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Mother's Day Flower Fundraiser! Last Day!
Time is running out on our Flower Fundraiser. Order before midnight tonight!
The direct link is https://lakebonavistaschool.growingsmilesfundraising.com/home.
Thursday, April 22 (Earth Day!)
Happy Earth Day!
We had a pretty good day today that was full of thought-provoking discussions.
In the morning, the students had Music class (once again working on a secret project), and we went outside to appreciate the wonders of nature. Today nature was not particularly likeable, but that's okay.
We watched a Bill Nye the Science Guy episode about pollution. We paused numerous times for class discussions and the students had some awesome questions.
The students wrote about things they could do to help the earth.
At the end of the day, we looked through our classroom's trash can, and talked about ways that we could reduce waste. For example, some students have a tendency to throw away food that they don't like. We talked about how food should be composted, containers (like yogurt, juiceboxes etc.) can be recycled, and how students should be honest about what they've eaten at lunch so they're not repeatedly throwing away things they don't like.
We talked about the importance of trees, clean air, and clean water.
For our "This Land is Our Land" booklet, we learned about Nova Scotia. Here's the vid: Nova Scotia
Have a nice night!
Zac
Sometimes I wish I taught an older grade so I could show this Futurama clip for Earth Day.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Wednesday, April 21
Hi parents,
We had an awesome day today! We spent a lot of time outside but still did plenty of work. In fact, we basically moved our classroom outside, by taking the cubbies, materials, lunchkits, and water bottles with us for most of the morning.
The students use plastercine (unsure of spelling) to make boats that were capable of floating on water. They were interested to see how much of a role the shape of their creation played in determining whether it would float. For example, a ball of plastercine would sink immediately, but a thin bowl-shaped thing could float, if placed gently in the water.
The students wrote about which school playground they liked better, and why.
We started a new Junie B. Jones Book: "Junie B. Jones And Her Big, Fat, Mouth". The theme of this novel is "Career Day". We thought it might be fun to have a 'career day' in our own classroom, where the students dress up to show what job they'd like to do when they grow up. We haven't picked a date yet, but it will probably be next week.
We did Daily 5 and spelling practice at the end of the day. The students wrote their words in alphabetical order. We learned how to play "Hand Ball" in gym.
Tomorrow is Earth Day! Unfortunately, it's not looking very nice out. I'm glad we got to spend so much time appreciating the outdoors today.
Have a wonderful evening!
Zac
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Tuesday, April 20
Hi parents,
We had a good day today! In the morning, the students wrote down things they like about our land, using the prompt: "Thank you [the land] for..." They wrote their ideas down on sticky notes, which will be put up on the "We Show Gratitude to the LAND" wall.
Today we learned about New Brunswick in filled in another page from the "This Land Is Our Land" (in the same way as our previous pages).
The students worked on a secret project during music. I'm sure they can tell you about it but I don't want to go into detail on the blog, just in case Ms. Rehill is reading it.
In the afternoon, we did Daily 5, Gym, and Spelling Practice.
The students are continuing to work on word problems in math. I'm finding that some students are having trouble translating word problems into equation form. They're really good at using pictures to solve problems (which is awesome because it shows that they're paying close attention to the words), but it can be less efficient when dealing with larger 2-digit numbers. We'll keep working at it at home, and if you want to do some extra practice at home, that would help too!
Have a nice night!
Zac
Monday, April 19, 2021
Monday, April 19
Hi parents,
We had a great day today!
In the morning, we quickly worked on weekend journals, and went outside for a body break so that everyone would be calm and collected for our special presentation.
Elder Shirley is one of the kindest, most entertaining people I have ever met, and the students just loved listening to her talk about Indigenous traditions, the buffalo jump, and her childhood. They really enjoyed meeting Lemon, the baby bear, and watching Elder Shirley perform a Hoop Dance. We learned about the significance of orange shirt day, and Aboriginal Peoples Day, which is on June 21. We will definitely be celebrating. :)
In the afternoon, we worked on our Hatching Chicks booklets. Currently the eggs are on Day 14, which means the chicks are developing claws, eyelids, and turning their heads towards the air pocket in the egg. We watched This Video and made observations.
The students practiced their new spelling words and did Daily 5.
Have a nice evening!
Zac
Friday, April 16, 2021
Spelling Words (Week of April 18)
Spelling List A
Spelling List B
Spelling List C
I think we've done this word family earlier in the year, but with less advanced words.
Good luck!
Friday, April 16
Happy Friday!
We had a great day today. In the morning, the students finally got to see their movie "21 Ways to Clean Up", which we've been filming in class for the past month. The director was incredibly inefficient which is why it took so long. The kids had a great time seeing themselves and their classmates on the SMARTboard, and it seemed to generate a lot of enthusiasm about cleaning up (which is something we've been lacking all year!)
The students did a writing activity after reading the book, "Pig the Star". For this task, they wrote about what they would do if they were famous. They also had to think about what brought them into fame in the first place.
We began to work on our classroom's "Acknowledgment of the Land". We brainstormed reasons that we are thankful for the land. We talked about how nice it is to live in a place that has snow, rain, fresh air, warm, sunny days, and plenty of space to play.
We had our spelling quiz, and then did a "Film Studies" activity. The students watched the Pixar Short: "The Blue Umbrella", which is a love story involving two umbrellas and a bunch of other urban scenery that comes to life and helps the umbrellas get together.
We had a great discussion afterwards. The students seemed to really enjoy this one. It's available on Disney Plus, and I think you can find some low resolution versions of it online too.
The students drew pictures of umbrellas with faces. Then, they looked around the classroom for examples of other 'faces' on a variety of classroom objects.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words - have a wonderful weekend!
Zac
Also.....on Monday, April 19th, students in grade 1/2 at Lake Bonavista School will participate in an Arts Commons Virtual Arts Education Program, connecting with artist-in-residence Shirley Hill to learn about Blackfoot language and storytelling: https://artscommons.ca/learn-engage/school-programs/artist-in-residence/ This program enriches student learning within our Language Arts and Social Studies curriculum.
Thank you to our Lake Bonavista School Council for generously providing the funding for this experience.
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Thursday, April 15
Hi parents,
We had a good day today! In the morning, we read the story "The Couch Potato". It's about a potato who becomes so fixated on convenience and electronics that he loses sight of what's important in life. The students responded to the writing prompt: "I'm not a couch potato! I'm a _______ potato because..."
This was a fun writing prompt because the kids got to invent their own type of potato, and draw themselves as a potato.
In Social Studies, we 'visited' Newfoundland today. The students watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtHfKgfwVA0
Then, they drew the Flag, the animal (puffin), the natural resources, the flower (pitcher plant), the landscape, and their personal connection to the land.
We've been working on word problems in math, and I've posted the entire list of basic problems on Google Classroom if anyone is interested in doing some extra practice at home. Each morning, the students choose 2-3 problems to complete independently.
In the afternoon, we did Daily 5, spelling practice, and had some time to finish up our social studies work from earlier. We did not have Music today, so we got to spend a bit of extra time outside in the sun after snack.
Remember that tomorrow is our Spelling Quiz! And also, please feel free to place a yearbook order to help support our school and commemorate this super fun school year.
Have a nice evening!
Zac
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Wednesday, April 14
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today. In the morning, the students finished up work from earlier in the week, and Ms. Rehill finished reading "Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business".
We had a fantastic class discussion about the importance of "Land Acknowledgment", which turned into a discussion about Canadian History, and then another discussion about European history. It was really interesting! The kids made some wonderful contributions and asked thoughtful questions.
Here is the land acknowledgement video we have used before each of our social studies lessons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jqskc3man4
We didn't get through as much of the activity as we were hoping, but I feel the conversations were worth it. I encourage everyone to talk with your children at home about land acknowledgments and Canadian history too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETOhNzBsiKA
We watched the above video, and also looked at a map that shows traditional indigenous territories, on the websites above, respectively.
We're planning to write our own acknowledgement tomorrow! We spent a lot of time playing outside this morning so I'm sure the kids will have plenty of reasons to be thankful for the outdoors. I look forward to hearing them tomorrow. :)
We are on Day 9 for our Hatching Chicks project, and today we 'candled' the eggs. Here are a couple videos:
We did our third mindfulness activity with Ms. Pavey, and the students learned how taking big, slow breaths can help them feel calm and peaceful. We practiced spelling and did Daily 5.
Have a nice night!
Zac
Order Your Yearbook Today!
If ever there was a year to buy a yearbook, it is surely this one.
Order your copy of the 2020-2021 school yearbook! Get the early bird price of only $22 before April 15th. Please log in online to order your yearbook today which this year will feature pictures from our teachers.
The site is ybpay.lifetouch.ca
Your yearbook ID code for this year is: 11352721
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Tuesday, April 13
Hi parents,
We had another good day today!
In the morning, the students worked on Word Problems for Morning Math. Grade 1 students are working on word problems that involve 2-digit numbers (with no regrouping), and the Grade 2 students are working on problems involving 2-digit numbers with grouping. If you're interested in practicing these sorts of problems at home, here are some examples do get you started. We'll be doing a lot more like these over the next couple weeks in class too.
Grade 1 Examples:
I have 11 cookies. I bake 24 more. How many cookies do I have altogether?
I have 43 cupcakes. I eat 21. How many cupcakes do I have left?
Grade 2 Examples:
I have 58 cookies. I bake 26 more. How many cookies do I have altogether?
I have 43 cupcakes. I eat 26. How many cupcakes do I have left?
The students had Music Class, and then we learned about Quebec as part of our "This Land Is Our Land" project.
We watched This Video.
Then, the students drew pictures and wrote brief sentences about what they learned about Quebec, using these headings:
-Flag
-Natural Resources
-Animal
-Plant/Flower
-Landscape
-My Connection (how the students feel connected to Quebec)
In the afternoon, we did Daily 5, continued to work on our Canada booklets, and practiced Spelling Words. We also reviewed the 'oa' sound and brainstormed a variety of words that contain 'oa'.
Have a nice evening!
Zac
Monday, April 12, 2021
Monday, April 12
Hi parents,
We had a good Monday today!
In the morning, the students had some Explore and Play time, and then they worked on their Hatching Chicks booklets. Today was Day 7 for our eggs. We learned that on the seventh day, the chicks start to develop their egg tooth, comb, and beak. The students drew pictures of what was going on inside the egg, and wrote a brief response explaining what they'd learned.
Today we started to work on more complicated word problems in math. We talked about how when solving a word problem, it is helpful to first isolate important information in the problem. For example, the numbers involved, phrases like 'how many', words like 'more' or 'less', etc. The key is to figure out what equation corresponds with the problem! Today, the students had to apply their understanding of borrowing and carrying to solve some pretty tricky problems. In hindsight, they may have been a bit too tricky... They went like this:
1. Emma had some kittens. She gave away 7 of them. She has 28 kittens left. How many did she have to start?
2. Wayne bought 92 magic cards. He gave Leon 35 magic cards. How many does he have left?
The students wrote about their weekends in their journals. They were asked to include at least one fun adjective in their work.
In the afternoon, we did Daily 5, and the students practiced their new spelling words by writing them in alphabetical order. We played some quick soccer games in gym and I was very impressed by how the students tried their best and showed exemplary sportsmanship.
Have a nice night!
Zac
Friday, April 9, 2021
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