Spelling List A (Sep. 27 – October 4)
Spelling List B (Sep. 27 – October 4)
Spelling List C (Sep. 27 – October 4)
Hi parents,
Sorry about the spelling words fiasco. I don't know how I missed posting them. Our quiz is still going to be tomorrow, because we have spent quite a bit of time in class on these words, and I think the students have mostly got them down.
Today we did more work with the Stamp Game. We have started to work on using the standard algorithm side by side with the stamp game so that the kids can see the process of 'carrying the one', aka 'regrouping', in action.
Yesterday we finished reading Wayside School, and today, the students started writing their own Wayside School stories. They had the option to start a story from scratch, or to finish a story from a given beginning.
In the afternoon, we learned about the significance of the eagle in many indigenous cultures. We watched a video about how the eagle represents the virtue of 'love', and as such, an eagle feather is a symbol of this virtue as well. Then, the students sketched feathers, and painted them orange, to make a little orange shirt day art display.
Orange Shirt Day is tomorrow! Please remind your child to wear an orange shirt if they have one, and if not, maybe just a shirt they really like.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Spelling List A (Sep. 20 – Sep. 27)
Spelling List B
Spelling List C
Hi parents,
Today was fairly similar to yesterday, but without the Terry Fox run. We continued using the Stamp Game to practice 4-digit addition with regrouping. The students are doing pretty well with this concept and really only make mistakes when they rush. Since the addition problems were going so well, we tried a few subtraction ones as well - also with regrouping. That was tougher.
For writing, we talked about the idea of a 'complete sentence'. A lot of students have been completing writing tasks by writing a whole bunch of ideas down, and then adding periods after. This is a really terrible habit for writing that almost always results in incomplete sentences. We practiced writing complete sentences by writing a sentence for each spelling word.
In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, and then had a conversation about Orange Shirt Day. We mostly talked about the historic events that led to indigenous peoples being treated unfairly. We watched this episode of Molly of Denali:
While the episode focuses on indigenous people in Alaska, the experience that Grandpa Nat had as a child is quite similar to that of Phyllis Webstad, who had her orange shirt taken on her first day of school. We'll be talking more about orange shirt day tomorrow, and of course on Thursday (Thusday is orange shirt day at LBS).
We ended our day with Music.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today. In the morning, the students wrote in their journals about their weekends. We talked about how work time is like a big bucket of Lego - you could use a few pieces and make something simple, or you could use every piece, and make something really cool. A lot of students in this class are fast writers, and can write the minimum requirement for a task like this in less than 10 minutes. As time goes on, I'm really hoping those fast-finishers can find ways to use all that extra time to create something exceptional.
In math, the students worked in pairs using the Stamp Game to solve 3 and 4-digit by 4-digit addition problems, with regrouping. I really like working with this material because it teaches Place Value while also teaching addition. Representing each number, stamp by stamp, forces kids to think about what each digit of the number really means.
In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, Mindfulness, and the Terry Fox Run. We ended our day with Spelling.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
Our Terry Fox run was sadly postponed until next week, but we still had a good day. We went to the gym for the Terry Fox assembly, and when we got back, the students wrote about mini "Terry Fox Run" posters they'd made yesterday with the I-Pads.
The spelling quiz this week was a bit rough. We didn't practice as much in class because things were so busy, and the words were the toughest yet. Next week we'll get back to our spelling routine.
We ended the day with Music.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a nice weekend!
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a good day today with a lot of work period time. Students worked hard on their My Story Good Copies, and many were able to finish them!
We continued working on three digit, and even four digit addition, using the Montessori materials.
Tonight is the Welcome Back Open House (which is not a BBQ after all - but there will be excellent pancakes). It starts at 4:00 pm. I hope to see you there!
Tomorrow is our spelling quiz, and it's also the Terry Fox Run. If you'd like to donate, you can do so by sending money (we're doing "Toonies for Terry" this year), or online at https://terryfoxschoolrun.org/
See you later,
Zac
Hi parents,
Thanks to everyone who did the Blog homework! I really enjoyed reading those sentences!
It was another good day in Room 3 as the students continued working on their 'My Story' good copies. I think most will be done, or mostly done, by tomorrow. :)
In math, the students worked in groups to 'regroup' numbers using the golden beads and stamp game materials. Basically the groups were given huge quantities of beads (for example, 25 'ones', 30 'tens', 14 'hundreds'), and had to use regrouping to show the quantity in the most clear and efficient way. After that, we cautiously approached 3-digit by 3-digit addition with regrouping. Even though many students are already familiar with the addition algorithm, I think its important that they work through exercises like this first, so that they can see what's really happening when the 'carry the one'.
In the afternoon, we had our first Library visit, which was mostly just an orientation. Next week we'll get to sign out books.
We did another round of Daily LA, and then ended our day by watching a video on Terry Fox.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had an awesome day today. In the morning, the students once again greatly surpassed my expectations as we started writing our 'good copies' for the My Story writing task. I figured this would take about 3 days. Half the class is already finished. And somehow nobody is rushing. The work is looking really nice.
In math, we talked more about Place Value, and did an activity where the class determined the value of each digit in a number. So for example, in the number 45,982:
The value is 4 is 40,000.
The value of 5 is 5,000.
The value of 9 is 900.
The value of 8 is 80.
The value of 2 is 2.
Students used 10-sided dice to roll and create their own numbers. I intended this to be just for grade 4's, but the Grade 3's seemed more than ready to take on the challenge too.
In the afternoon, we did Mindfulness as usual, and then had our first official 'Daily LA' block. The students were split into reading groups, and engaged in a variety of different literacy stations while I read with a small group as well.
After that, we revisited Kandinsky and had a fantastic discussion about some of his paintings.
We ended the day with Music.
Apologies for not sending home the 'blue forms' on time. They've been sent home now. Please fill those out at your earliest convenience and send them back.
BLOG HOMEWORK - SPELLING SENTENCES (+1 table point)
Write a sentence using at least 3 of this week's spelling words.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Terry Fox Run - Friday, September 20
More information to follow!
Hi parents,
Today was "International Dot Day", and we had a good time. I'm still getting used to this being a day we celebrate and I forgot to remind the students to wear polka dots. Sorry about that!
We did a quick 'Artist Study' on Wassili Kandinsky, a Russian painter known for his abstract art involving shapes, lines, and colours. His artwork pairs really nicely with "The Dot". The students made their own artwork inspired by one of Kandinsky's pieces from the early 1900's.
We also worked with the Grade 5/6 students to do some editing for our "My Story" writing work. The students will start on their good copies tomorrow!
In math, we continued to work on skip-counting. We've been using the golden beads while skip-counting so students can visualize the numbers growing or shrinking, rather than just memorizing a pattern. Skip-counting by 10's and 100's, forwards and backwards, is a great skill to practice at home. You can also try starting from different places (for example, 20, 120, 220, 320...)
We ended our day by learning about this week's spelling words, and practicing them.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Spelling List A (Sep. 13 – 20)
Spelling List B (Sep. 13 – 20)
Spelling List C (Sep. 13 – 20)
The spelling concept this week is 'ck'. You'll notice all the lists have once again gotten more difficult!
Good luck!
Hi parents,
Today was a nice end to our first full week of school. We had a lot of work period time so that students could finish up their rough drafts of their "My Story" writing tasks. We should be on track to have the good copies done (or mostly done) by the end of next week - just in time for the Family BBQ.
In Math, we practiced writing large numbers as a class. I noticed that the students are pretty good at numbers up to 1000, but then anything after that, they'll start adding too many zeroes. For example, they'll write the number "five thousand six hundred four" as "5000,604".
For Daily LA, it was student choice. We've officially covered all the stations. Next week, they students will be placed in Daily LA groups, and we'll start rotating through the stations independently. While the class is engaged in Daily LA, I'll be reading with a group myself. It's an awesome way to meet kids where they're at and work on books that are a good difficulty level for them.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a nice weekend!
Zac
Hi parents,
Today the class wrote the third parts of their mini autobiographies, which focused on their hopes, dreams, and plans for the future. Many even wrote about how they want to change the world. We'll spend some time editing, and then start on the good copies next week! Hopefully they'll be up and on display by next Thursday. :)
In math, we continued learning about Place Value and large numbers. We talked about the Montessori Place Value chart, and how the colours were intentionally chosen to highlight the patterns in number formation.
In the afternoon, we addressed the final Daily LA station - creative writing. We had a good discussion about the vast number of possibilities this station holds, as students are able to write anything, as long as it involves putting words on a page. Some ideas included stories, comics, letters, poems, research notes, and diagrams.
We ended our day with Music.
Remember that tomorrow is our spelling quiz, and have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
Thanks to everyone who helped with the Blog Homework! It really means a lot that people are staying caught up with the blog. I hope its somewhat interesting.
Today we did a lot of work with representing numbers. The students have gotten a lot of practice using the Stamp Game and Golden Beads materials.
We also introduced the "Ten Thousands" and "Hundred Thousands" blocks, which are absolutely massive, and help students build perspective of just how big those numbers are.
Students wrote the second parts of their mini autobiographies. This was focused on sharing impactful moments where they discovered a passion or hobby that they've continued working at over the years.
In the afternoon, we made custom "Math Bosses" for our math game "Classroom of Doom". This activity was by student request. I'm hoping it helps them get more excited about the game.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had another good day today. I've got to be honest, I'm struggling with keeping up with the rate at which this class is finishing their work. They're really blasting through things, especially in math.
We started a fairly big writing task today, called "My Story", where the students are basically writing an autobiography. Today we focused on 'early years'. Students wrote about when they were born, and also about an important memory / event that occurred early in their lives. They included things like discovering a passion or meeting a close friend, as well as funny anecdotes that have stuck with them over the years.
In math, we continued talked about "Expanded Form", and how a number like '124' can also be written as "100 + 20 + 4". The students completed a cut and glue number matching activity, and then used the Montessori materials to represent some numbers.
In the afternoon, the students learned how to access Epic! as another way of doing "Listen to Reading" during Daily LA.
We played Bench Dodgeball in gym, and ended our day with a whole class math game called Classroom of Doom.
Have a nice day,
Zac
Hi parents,
We started our first full week of school off on a good note today.
In the morning, we had a sharing circle to talk about our weekends, and then moved on to Morning Math. The class is currently reviewing 2-digit by 2-digit addition and subtraction problems, and the concept of 'regrouping'. We've been doing daily check-ins with the Golden Beads to help students visualize what actually happens when you 'carry the one' for an addition problem. We've also been reviewing skip-counting.
Blog Homework (Optional: +1 table point if completed)
Fill in the blanks:
24, _____, 44, 54, _____, ______, _____, 94, _____, _______, ______
For writing, we built on the Jot Note skills we started last week, and the students wrote jot notes about themselves. They mostly focused on general information like age, hair colour, favourite stuff, etc. We're going to go a bit deeper over the next few days and focus on some of the life events and stories that shaped us. And then we're going to try to do the same for Terry Fox, and write his story. I hope it all comes together!
In the afternoon, we talked about this week's spelling words and the students chose their new lists to practice. The "Listen to Reading" Daily LA station was introduced, and the class learned how they can access Storyline Online during future Daily LA sessions to listen to celebrities read stories aloud.
We ended the day with Music.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Spelling List A (Sep. 6 – 13)
Spelling List B (Sep. 6 – 13)
Spelling List C (Sep. 6 – 13)
The theme this week is -all and -ill. Please help your child choose a list that is a good challenge for them!
Good luck!
