Book Fair - March 6 - March 13

 We are pleased to be hosting a hybrid (In-School and Virtual) Scholastic Book from Monday, March 6^th till Monday, March 13^th. 

Each class will get one opportunity to visit the Book Fair to see what’s new and exciting between Monday, March 6^th till Wednesday, March 8^th.  

  

Purchase Options:  

·         Online using the link below: 

o    Virtual Book Fair Link: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5184684 

o    Link is active from Monday, March 6^th till Monday, March 13^th   

o    Online orders will be shipped to the school and sent home with your child when they arrive 

·         In-Person during your Student-Led Conferences    

Monday, February 27

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good Monday today. In the morning, the students worked in their table groups to revisit, summarize, and fill in some gaps regarding the foods traditionally found in the community they've been studying. Our focus today was on the geographic factors that affect traditional foods. For example, the reasons why Alberta is known for beef and canola oil rather than pineapples and tuna. 

We went over this week's spelling words and talked more about rhymes. I've noticed the students have made a lot of progress in terms of understanding rhyme, rhythm, and poetry, and I think our recent spelling words have helped with that!

In the afternoon, we had Music, Gym, and Daily LA. We ended our day by reading The Little Prince.

Have a nice night!

Zac

Spelling Words (Week of Feb. 26)

 Spelling List A (Feb. 26 – Mar. 2)

Heard	Cries	Should	Together	Wednesday
Note	Float	Main	Plane	Vein

 

Spelling List B  (Feb. 26 – Mar 2)

Brought	Enough	Forever	Listen	Meant
Wrote	Gloat	Explain	Humane	Dwayne

 

Spelling List C (Feb. 26 – Mar 2)

Coyote	Afloat	Maintain	Mundane	Feign
Promote	Longboat	Restrain	Arcane	Reign

We're doing more rhyming words this week - good luck!

He got that "List B Swagger" 

Friday, February 24

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today! The spelling quiz went better than I expected. In social studies, we continued to learn about Tunisia, and turned our focus to the climate, clothing, and modes of  transportation commonly found there.

We did a fun "Flower Dissection" activity today. The Kindergarten students had brought me some flowers for Valentines day, and they were starting to get pretty withered, so it seems like a good opportunity to revisit our exploration of plants (which is kind of a full-year, on-and-off sort of science unit). The students used magnifying glasses to examine the flowers more closely, and even got to carefully cut the flowers to inspect individual structures.

We read a good amount of the Little Prince today, which was nice, and the students promised that they would re-read the novel on their own in 5 years. And then again in 10 years. So please hold them to that promise.

We had enough time for Daily LA, and then our day was done.

Have a nice weekend!

Zac

A long, long, time ago, in a country far, far, away...

Yes this is in Tunisia.

Thursday, February 23

 Hi parents,

First of all, check out these photos from yesterday's field trip:

We had an awesome time yesterday and a good day back at school today too. 

In the morning, we did a "Think About It Thursday" writing prompt, where the students responded to one of two quotes from indigenous elders. 

Then, we learned about Tunisia, and the students wrote notes about some of the most interesting places to visit in Tunisia. A lot of them were pretty excited to learn that "Tattooine" is actually in Tunisia! The set is virtually unchanged from the actual location, which is called Djerba.

In the afternoon,  we did Daily LA, Gym, Music, and Mindfulness.

Tomorrow is our spelling quiz! And even though we've had two weeks to practice, I fear the class may not be ready, so please do a quick run-through at home if you have time.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Tuesday, February 21

 Hi parents,

We had an awesome day today in spite of (or perhaps because of) the crazy amount of snow we got overnight. The students had an absolute blast building and playing outside. It was warm enough to go out in the morning but sadly not in the afternoon.

The class wrote about their long weekends, and we talked about the phrase "quality over quantity". So today, they were actually given a maximum numbers of sentences to write, rather than a minimum. We talked about how sometimes, a few well thought-out sentences can be more meaningful than pages of basic ones.

We officially discussed and practiced our spelling words for this week, and had an interesting discussion about how when it comes to rhyming words, it's the sound, not the letters, that matter. This week's words should be a good exercise in rhyming.

Tomorrow is our Be Brave Field Trip! Students will be receiving Pink Shirts to wear to the game. It will truly be a sea of pink. Please make sure to pack your child with a snack, lunch, and water bottle. I'm not sure if we are bringing backpacks to the game, but if we do, they should be empty aside from just the essentials.

Have a nice night!

Zac

Wednesday, February 15

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty fun end to our week today. It was in fact the 100th day of school, so we met with our buddies and the students worked in groups on art projects. The goal was to create an ocean scene that featured exactly 100 marine creatures. The students had a lot of fun with this activity and got lots of practice counting to 100 and building group-work and organization skills.

We did another 100's themed activity, in which the class worked together to survey a total of 100 people on four simple questions. We compiled the data and found that, out of 100 students at LBS, the most-liked colour is 'green', the favourite pet is 'dog', and the favourite season is summer.

In the afternoon we had Music and finished watching Gnomeo and Juliet. We attempted to start working on Little Prince stop-motion animations, but I think it's been too long since the students worked with Stop Motion for them to get right back into it. So we'll have to do some simpler projects first and hope that we can find time to record Little Prince movies in the near future!

Tonight is the Family Dance! Please make sure you buy tickets beforehand if you want the best deal. I hope to see you there!

Please also keep in mind that we do not have school until next Tuesday due to Teachers Convention and Family Day.

Have a nice long weekend!

Zac

Tuesday, February 14

 Hi parents,

We had an awesome Valentines Day today!

In the morning, students finished up their 'Secret Valentines' cards, as well as their Little Prince writing. We started a new writing task - a Love Letter.  To something other than a person. 

Students wrote about their love for sports, video games, snacks, etc., but addressed their letters to these things as if they were people. It was a cool exercise in personification and letter writing.

We officially had our first division lesson today, which all around went really well. The class was quick to notice how similar it is to multiplication. There is a great Number Blocks episode on division that I recommend watching at home if your child is still a little unsure. We watched it today in class as well.

In the afternoon,  students made 'mail bags' for their Secret Valentines cards. These were also used for storing valentines cards students decided to bring for the class. They were thrilled by this activity as it's the first time we've gotten to do a card exchange in the last couple years.

Tomorrow is the Family Dance!

Have a nice night,

Zac

Monday, February 13

 Hi parents,

We had a decent day today, but a tiring one, the students were very loud and wrestle-y.

We spent most of the morning doing "Secret Valentine". The students filled out surveys regarding their favourite colours, sports, hobbies, etc. They were assigned a classmate at random to make a valentines card for. They got to look at their Valentine's surveys to get a better idea of the sorts of things to put on the card, to make it extra special and personalized. 

We watched the first part of Gnomeo and Juliet. We also talked about William Shakespeare, and the original play it's based on.

Tomorrow is Valentines Day! Once again, if you are sending Valentines, please make sure you send 23 so everyone in the class can have one.

Have a nice night!

Zac

Spelling Words (Week of Feb. 12, and the next week)

Spelling List A (Feb. 12 – 24)

Everyone	Happen	None	Straight	We’ll
True	Grew	Through	Shoe	Zoo

 

Spelling List B  (Feb. 12 – 24)

Although	Couple	Electric	Lonely	Quiet
Statue	View	Through	Canoe	Bamboo

 

Spelling List C (Feb. 12 – 24)

Tattoo	Preview	Continue	Through	Outgrew
Kangaroo	Nephew	Value	Horseshoe	Venue

This week (and for the next few weeks) we'll be working on rhyming words from different word families. This has been an area of difficulty for the class. The students often assume that words only rhyme if they have the exact same letters at the end, which is causing some problems for them. For example, they'll put 'slow' and 'now' as rhyming words. Hopefully these spelling lists will help reinforce that it's the sound, and not the letters, that determine rhyme.

There are only three school days next week, so we'll put the quiz off until February 24. 

Good luck!

Friday, February 10

 Hi parents,

So I may have overreacted a bit to my thumb injury. It's a lot better today and no excuse for skipping blog updates.

We had a fun day today in Room 4. In the morning, we got to visit a different kind of sharing assembly put on by the students in Rooms 16 and 17 (Grades 5 / 6), who set up displays around the gym and taught our class about their experiences from City Hall School. Their main message was that you are never too young or too old to make a positive change.

The spelling quiz seemed to go pretty well although I have not had a chance to mark them yet.

Mr. Ripka came to volunteer today and the students had a great time catching up with him. He also did an amazing job holding down the fort during Work Period, which gave me a perfect opportunity to talk through next steps with some students about their Little Prince chapters. We've discussed the possibility of turning them into Stop Motion films!

Our collaboratively created math game, Dungeon Dice, was finally unveiled to the class, and the students had a lot of fun with it. There are already plans for an 'expansion pack' in the works to add even more twists and math skills.

Valentines Day - Tuesday, February 14

On Tuesday, we will have having our Valentines Day celebration! If you are sending your child with Valentines (which is of course optional), please make sure there are enough for our whole class of 23 students! We will also be watching Gnomeo and Juliet over the course of the week, for roughly 30 minutes each day, and doing some work around that, as it is a literary classic that deserves to be analyzed through a scholarly lens. Finally, we will be making more detailed Valentines cards in the classroom too, most likely for our younger buddies. So whether you choose to bring Valentines Cards or not, it will be a special day for everyone.

Have a nice weekend,

Zac

Thursday, February 9

 Hi parents,

I sprained my thumb in gym so my hand is all wrapped up and I can't really type. So unfortunately there won't be a Blog for a few days. But Spelling words will still be posted tomorrow!

Have a nice night,

Zac

Wednesday, February 8 (PJ / Stuffy Day tomorrow!)

 Hi parents,

The students have earned 20 helping hearts for their efforts at lunch time, and so they have won a PJ / Stuffy Day for tomorrow. They've been asked to please only bring one stuffed animal and make sure it's not too big to fit in their backpacks. 

Today was our last session with Mrs. Sharon, our school's artist in residence, and the students had fun checking out their clay and painting it to look like food. We even incorporated 'sauce paint' and real spices! The Grade 3/4 team will collaborate to figure out how to display all of our pieces together, to really capture the essence of 'celebration' as it appears in different cultures around the world.

The students worked on their Little Prince chapters some more. We're at the point now where everyone is wrapping things up. We're going full Montessori on this one - I've let the class know the chapters are due next Wednesday, and it's their responsibility to use time during the work period to ensure their stories are complete by that time. This gives them the opportunity to practice time management - hopefully the class can avoid learning the dangers of procrastination the hard way. Unfortunately I didn't learn that lesson until university, at which point it was a more expensive lesson than it probably should have been...

The students made floor-plans for houses, schools, and space stations as part of our work with Area. Always a fun project!

We ended our day with Music.

Remember that tomorrow is our Math Quiz! Any practice tonight would probably be helpful but is of course unnecessary. 

Blog Homework for One bonus table point:

Solve the problem (and bring in your work!):

    An LBS hat costs $5. How much money would it cost to buy hats for all 23 students in Room 4?

Have a nice night,

Zac

Tuesday, February 7

 Hi parents,

The energy level was high today, but we had a good day anyway.

In the morning, the students got to work with Ms. Sharon again on their cultural food art. Today we painted the papier mache plates. Groups decided to coordinate colour choices together to keep the artwork unified. 

In math, the class blasted through Area worksheets, using their multiplication skills. 

They were even successful in solving what I considered to be an exceptionally difficult math word problem (a similar problem will appear on our quiz as a 'bonus'!):

    Draw the French Flag in your math book. It must have an area of exactly 72 square cm. Each colour        must occupy equal areas within the flag. It must be between 4-10cm tall.

Even though most students already did this problem, it might be fun to do again at home. There are a couple ways to solve it! Could even be some bonus points involved if anyone brings in their work....

In the afternoon, the students wrote about a time they made a mistake, or a time they felt humbled. This task was connected to our recent work around 'Humility', the sixth sacred teaching.

We ended our day with Gym and Daily LA. We tried to watch the music video for Alberta Bound by Paul Brandt, but there were just too many call-outs. It will have to wait until tomorrow.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Multiplication Quiz Thursday!

There will be a Multiplication Quiz on Thursday, February 9. As with our other Math quizzes, this will be low-stakes, and students will have opportunities to correct their mistakes if they like. The purpose of the quiz is just for me to see whether we're ready to start moving on to division, or if we should keep working at multiplication for a while longer.

The quiz will include:

• Some basic Multiplication Facts (using numbers up to 12 x 12)
• Some 2-digit or 3-digit by 1-digit multiplication problems (3-digit for Grade 4 only)
• A word problem involving multiplication 
• A problem in which students must find the area of a rectangle using multiplication

Please do not feel obligated to study at home - we've been doing all this in class and the students will have plenty of practice here. But if you want to get some extra practice in at home, it always helps!

Monday, February 6

 Hello families,

Today was another good day in Room 4 as per usual, but we did switch up some of our Monday routines. 

Instead of writing in their journals, students continued to work on their Little Prince chapters. We talked about 'dialogue', which is a fairly advanced writing concept, but I believe the class took enough away from the lesson to help improve their writing. The Little Prince is a largely dialogue-driven story, so I'd like the students' chapters to reflect that.

In Math, we learned about the concept of Area. Students drew rectangles in their math books and determined the area, either by counting the squares on the grid paper, or by using multiplication. We talked about the concept of 'square centimetres' as well. Another math concept newly added to the curriculum that the class seemed more than ready to take on.

We talked about compound words, and brainstormed a list of them. Some students had a chance to practice their spelling words but others didn't quite get to it. 

In the afternoon, we had Music, and then watched this video about the sixth sacred teaching - "Humility". We had a great class discussion about how humility basically means being humble, and understanding that you are no better or worse than anyone else. I think it's important for students to understand that you can be humble while still being self-confident. We also talked about how being able to laugh at your mistakes is a great way to practice humility.

We ended our day with Daily 5, and by reading the actual Little Prince. He just met the snake, who is quite an ominous yet poetic character. There's some really awesome dialogue in Chapter 17. 

Have a nice night,

Zac

Spelling Words! (week of Feb. 5)

 Spelling List A (Jan. 30 – Feb 2)

Would	Could	Should	They	Shouldn’t
Catfish	Sunburn	Doorbell	Snowball	Subway

 

Spelling List B  (Jan. 30 – Feb 2)

Would	Could	Blood	Important	Ready
Grandparents	Earthquake	Newspaper	Firefighter	Daydream

 

Spelling List C (Janvier 30 – Fevrier 2)

Background	Counterattack	Firecracker	Grandchildren	Honeycomb
Moonlight	Noteworthy	Soapstone	Underachiever	Wavelength

The focus this week is compound words! Lots of great opportunities for discussing how the components of words impact word meaning. Working on compound words also helps students learn the skill of looking for familiar chunks within words. Even if these chunks are not complete words on their own.

As you will notice, there are a few repeat words too! Regardless of what list your child is studying, please take a moment to quiz them on these words:

-Would

-Could

-Should

-They

Those words have been our collective nemesis since the start of the year and I think it's finally time we defeat them once and for all.

Good luck!