Friday, March 24

Hi parents,

We had a great day!

In the morning, we had our spelling quiz, reviewed long division, and then the students edited / perfected their Peruvian Artifact paragraphs. Then, every student had an opportunity to share their writing with the class. We worked on presentation skills, like speaking clearly, and at good volume, and of course reading with expression. 

We learned about the phrase 'je joue' in French, which means "I play", and talked about a bunch of ways we could complete that sentence. For example, "Je joue au hockey" (I play hockey), "Je joue au foot" (I play soccer), or "Je joue du piano" (I play piano).

We played the math game Classroom Of Doom and reviewed basic fact skills. 

I hope you all have a fantastic Spring Break! :D

Zac

Thursday, March 23

 Hi parents,

We had a really awesome day today. In the morning, we watched the long division video that I posted on the Blog yesterday, and went through the problems as a class. I am truly humbled by that man's ability to teach long division. The students walked away with a significantly stronger understanding of it today. But, any practice you choose to do at home will certainly make that understanding even stronger. Just keep in mind, it's a grade 4 concept, and an end of Grade 4 concept at that. So it'll take time.

We revisited our Peruvian artifacts one last time for our writing prompt. The students chose one artifact to write a paragraph, or for grade 4s, two paragraphs, about. The students got to choose whether to write a fictional or non-fictional paragraph. But even students writing fiction were still asked to incorporate factual information where relevant. For example, one student chose to write a fictional story about a cursed wooden mask, but also included information about how the mask was built in the Andes by Incan warriors.

The class worked for 45 minutes straight on this writing task and stayed focused the whole time. I was incredibly proud and they were proud of themselves too.

In the afternoon, we learned more about the Medicine Wheel, and had a great class discussion about wellbeing. The students did self-reflection surveys about their own physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, and answered YES / NO to a series of statements. They then wrote sentences to reflect on their strengths, and areas for growth. 

We ended our day with Daily LA, and a place value "Teacher vs. Student" Math Game called "Place Value Pickle".

Tomorrow is our spelling quiz! Don't forget to prejuggle the gufts at jord.

Have a rippy dunkamellow,

Zac

Wednesday, March 22

 Hi families,

We had another good day today. In the morning, we started to delve deeper into long division. I found this video which probably explains it better than I did earlier today:

Normally I'm not a big fan of using youtube to teach but this video does an awesome job of highlighting the many steps involved!

Blog Homework: Use long division to solve the problem 928 / 4. Bring in your work for 2 bonus table points!

Keep in mind that long division is a Grade 4 math concept, and as such I am not expecting grade 3 students to have it mastered. However, the process of long division does involve numerous short division operations, so I think it's still a valuable opportunity to practice skills at the Grade 3 level. Plus, having some exposure to a concept this difficult will certainly help the Grade 3 students next year. Even just a bit of familiarity will feel like a head start.

We revisited our Peru museum, and learned more about the artifacts. We learned that traditional weaving was even used to construct armour for battles! 

In the afternoon, the students did Daily LA, Music, and a big cubby clean-up. We also discussed circles and cycles in nature, while learning about The Medicine Wheel.

Please see the previous post about Gymnastics if you haven't already - and have a nice night!

Zac

Gymnastics! April 3 - May 4

 We will begin gymnastics in our regularly scheduled gym classes on Monday, April 3.

The gymnastics unit will last two weeks.  Safety routines, cooperation and sportsmanship are taught and reviewed in each class.    

This physical activity opportunity will help students acquire individual skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities.  

It is important for students to come to school prepared to be actively engaged. The following guidelines are very helpful…  

HEAD TO TOE - READY TO GO!!!   

Head ....................... long hair pulled back  

Ears/Throat/Wrist ............... jewellery off  

Shirt.................................. one layer shirt  

Waist ................................................tucked in  

Pants.........................sporty pants or shorts, no belts or zippers  

Ankles..........................pants rolled up if ankles are covered  

Toes...............running shoes, gymnastic slippers or bare feet (no footed tights)  

“Playing & moving safely is everyone’s responsibility” 

Tuesday, March 21

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today! Unfortunately I was in meetings / working outside of the classroom for much of the day so I can't give as many details as usual, but I think it all went smoothly with Mr. Ripka and Ms. Moore in charge. :)

In the morning, we read a book called "Zest For Life". It was written by a boy with Down syndrome who wanted to help other students understand him better. We talked about all the ways we were very similar to the boy in the book (named Mike), but also about the things that come easily to us that he may experience difficulty with.

The students designed their own wacky sock patterns, and wrote about things they'd learned from the book, from the video, and from our class discussions.

We transformed our classroom into a miniature museum, showcasing Peruvian artifacts! The students made observations and predictions about what each artifact might be used for, and made from.

In the afternoon, we had another presentation from the student nurses about resilience and self regulation. 

We ended our day with some long division practice worksheets, and also another round of Daily LA.

Have a nice night!

Zac

Monday, March 20

Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today. In the morning, the students finished up their limericks, and then we had a presentation from the student nurses from U of C. They talked to the class about Zones of Regulation self-regulation, and mental wellness. We had snack, went outside for some fresh air and exercise, and came back in to have our first encounter with "long division".

Mr. Ripka is back! The students were excited to learn that he will once again be working in our classroom every day until the end of April. :)

We mostly talked about how long division problems can be written and solved differently than regular short division problems.

The students solved a few simple problems to warm up. We didn't get into the trickier ones yet but will likely start those on Wednesday. We still need to spend more time talking about 'remainders'.

In the afternoon, we had Music, Gym, and Daily LA.

Tomorrow is International Down Syndrome Day, and below you will find some information about the fun way we get to celebrate:

International Down Syndrome Day  

  

Tuesday March 21st is International Down Syndrome Day. Students are invited to wear their funkiest socks out where everyone can see them! On this day we will celebrate and continue to extend our ongoing learning about diversity and inclusion within our classroom, school, and community. We look forward to seeing everyone's funky socks! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_QGlbwwCy4&t=42s  (Read-out-loud) 

https://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org  

Have a nice night!

Zac