Spelling List A (March 2 – 7)
Spelling List B (March 2 – 7)
Spelling List C (March 2 – 7)
Hi parents,
We had a good day today!
The spelling quiz was exceptional - I think we had more A's than ever before!
In the morning, the students did some more work with telling time. It was kind of an unofficial pop quiz just to make sure everyone was getting it, and it looks like they are. Once students have the basics of clock-reading, they inevitably start practicing it throughout their days, and I'm confident that at the very least, everyone knows it well enough to start doing that.
In writing, the students came up with different topic sentences for their upcoming informative Dinosaur Writing project. We talked about how a topic sentence should be broad and clear, but also engaging. Generally, ultra specific details and 'fun facts' are avoided in Topic Sentences. The students wrote three different sentences for their paragraphs, and chose their favourite of the three.
In the afternoon, we did Social Emotional Learning with Mr. Ripka, Daily LA, and Music.
Have a nice weekend,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had an awesome time at the Hitmen Game today!
The students learned about friendship, bullying, and how to stop it. But we mostly just got to share a really fun experience together that brought us all closer.
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There is no school on Friday, so the spelling quiz will be tomorrow. Please practice at home if you can! We've only practiced twice in class this week!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today! In the morning, the students started doing research on a dinosaur of their choosing. We used kid-friendly books on Epic! to take notes, and organize information by sub-topics. Thanks to our lessons last week, students had a much better idea of what these sub-topics should be. Things like Diet, Habitat, Appearance, and Adaptions were all good ones.
Thanks to Ms. Bouchard and Ms. Cooper's classes for hosting a fantastic assembly about the FinS (Fish in Schools) Program, and how it helps the environment by combatting over-fishing of Rainbow Trout.
We did Daily LA in the afternoon, and then reviewed the Telling Time concepts we've learned. The students seem to have a much better handle on it. We even talked about common 'clock slang' terms (or 'fraction time'), such as "half past ____", "quarter to ___", etc.
Blog Homework: Draw a Clock to Show Each Time (+1 table point)
a) 8:40pm
b) 2:25pm
c) Half Past 6
d) Quarter to 10
Remember that tomorrow is the Be Brave Field Trip! I sent a message out with some details you may want to know.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a good day today! It was, kind of ironically, "Winter Walk Day", and the students reviewed our plan for a new drop-off point across the field. We distributed our pamphlets to the whole school! And you can watch our video here:
For writing, the students used French 'cheat sheets' to write sentences using the French words we've learned so far this year.
In math, we reviewed concepts around telling time, and practiced determining elapsed time. It's pretty tricky to do this actually. It would probably be helpful (and easy!) to practice at home, just by asking your child, "what time will it be in 45 minutes? What time was it an hour ago? How many minutes until it's 6:30? etc."
We talked about this week's new spelling words (sorry for the delay in posting them), and did Daily LA.
BE BRAVE FIELD TRIP - NOV. 26!
Just a reminder that our Be Brave Field Trip will be in two day! Thanks everyone for getting your forms back so promptly - we are good to go!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Spelling List A (Feb. 24 – 28)
Spelling List B (Feb. 24 – 28)
Spelling List C (Feb. 24 – 28)
Hi parents,
Today was mostly a wrap-up type of day after our busy week. Students finished up work from earlier in the week, and we had our spelling quiz, which unfortunately I didn't get a chance to mark yet. We played "Mario Kart" in gym, and in math, we tried some really difficult problems involving elapsed time and analog clocks. It's quite difficult for kids to figure out what time it was '2 and a half hours ago', for example. I think we need to start with easier ones, just going by the hour. We'll do that next week.
In social studies, we read about the first fossil discoveries in Alberta. The students discussed whether or not people should be allowed to keep fossils they find, and why Dinosaur Provincial Park was created.
Finally, in writing, we continued exploring that idea of 'sub-topics', and the kids wrote a table of contents for their hypothetical own biographies. I liked this activity because it forced the class to plan - they had to ask themselves, 'how would I structure a full-length biography?', rather than just writing their life story, like we did earlier in the year.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a nice weekend!
Zac
Hi parents,
We had another good day today. In the morning, we revisited the concepts of Topics and Sub-Topics. We brainstormed a list of the best 'sub-topics' for a variety of subjects, in general terms.
In math, we continued learning about telling time using an analog clock. This time, the students were given a time, and asked to draw the hands on a clock.
We did Daily LA, Social Emotional Learning with Mr. Ripka, and ended the day with Music - it was a pretty fun afternoon!
Tomorrow is our spelling quiz - please try to practice one more time tonight, as its been a short week, and we only went over the words a couple times.
Have a nice night!
Zac
Hi parents,
We had another great day today.
The students learned more about informative writing, and the idea of 'sub-topics'. I've really enjoyed the writing tasks we've done this week because they've been so focused on the planning aspect, rather than the finished product, and I feel like that has reduced some of the pressure students normally feel when writing. It's also helping them build skills that will come in handy in later grades, when they have to plan out multi-paragraph essays and presentations.
In math, we started learning how to tell time on an analog clock. This is one of those skills that teaches itself, once students get the basics, as they inevitably use it throughout the day (especially during boring social studies lessons) to find out how many minutes there are until recess.
In the afternoon, we had one of those social studies lessons, and talked about the influence of missionaries in the formation of Alberta. I actually thought this lesson was pretty cool, and the kids made good contributions to our discussions. We talked about how missionaries built schools and hospitals, and helped translate indigenous languages, which allowed settlers and indigenous peoples to better communicate. We also talked about things they could have done differently, such as honouring indigenous traditions and cultures while still providing education and support for Alberta's earliest communities.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
Today was our 100th day of school, and it was a great one for Room 3.
In the morning, we did a really challenging math problem, in which the students had to determine which was a better deal:
-Getting $100
OR
-Over the span of two weeks, getting $1, then $2, then $4, then $8, and so on in this doubling fashion.
The students showed exceptional persistence with this one. I was really impressed by the lack of complaining. This is a difficult and very time-consuming problem, and I was shocked by the positivity, as well as the number of kids who were successful with it!
We also did a writing activity that compared two different styles of writing - informative, and narrative. This year we've mostly done narrative-style writing. Today, the students chose a topic, and showed how that topic could be written about in a narrative style, and an informative style, all on the same page, to really draw attention to the differences.
In the afternoon, we had a great discussion about the problems faced by Fur Traders ~200 years ago. We talked about how virtually all of the 'fur trader problems' are irrelevant to us nowadays - things like getting around, finding food, and being safe from wildlife never really phase us. Then, returning to our '100th day of school' theme, the students worked in groups to brainstorm examples of problems they think will affect us 100 years from now. The class had some very thoughtful answers!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Spelling List A (Feb. 18 – 21)
Spelling List B (Feb. 18 – 21)
Spelling List C (Feb. 18 – 21)
Hi parents,
We had a great Valentines Day today.
In the morning, we did the Geometry Quiz. All around it went really well. Everybody passed, and the things students struggled more with are all things we'll be covering later, so I have no concerns.
We did a "Secret Valentine" activity, where the students circulated the room and wrote nice things in cards for each other.
In the afternoon, we had the spelling quiz, did Daily LA, and met up with our buddies to exchange cards with them.
Tomorrow is Teachers' Convention, Monday is Family Day, so enjoy the long weekend and I will aim to have new Spelling Words posted on Monday.
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a great day today. In the morning, the students made Valentines Cards for their younger buddies. They wrote metaphors and similes to send kind, meaningful messages to their buddies.
In math, we reviewed quadrilaterals, triangles, and polygons. The grade 4 students also learned how to use the 'partial products' strategy to solve 2-digit multiplication problems. It's a pretty cool approach - almost as quick as the standard algorithm, and it helps kids build connections to place value.
In the afternoon, we learned more about the Metis of Alberta. We had a great discussion about the Metis flag in our school foyer.
We also had music, and more work period time.
Tomorrow is Valentines Day!
Just a reminder we are sadly not allowed to do treats anymore. And, if you are sending Valentines with your child, please make sure there are enough for all the students (22)!
Tomorrow also features:
-Geometry Quiz
-Spelling Quiz
-Family Dance
What a Wednesday!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
Today we learned about metaphors and similes. The students wrote cheesy poems about their hearts, using metaphors and similes, as well as other literary devices.
In math, we reviewed regular and irregular polygons, as well as concepts like 'parallel', 'congruent', and various quadrilaterals. We are having a geometry quiz on Wednesday!
It may be helpful for Grade 3 students to review:
-Congruent / similar shapes
-Regular / Irregular Polygons
-Parallel Lines
Grade 4 Students should review the above, as well as:
-rhombuses, parallelograms, trapezoids, and rectangles (know how to recognize and draw each one!)
-scalene, isosceles, and equilateral triangles
We are not covering measurement, angles, or area / perimeter on this one!
In the afternoon, we learned about the Metis peoples of Canada. We learned a bit about their history in Alberta, and their role in the Fur Trade. The students are having some trouble with retaining all of the stuff we've learned about Alberta's history - any conversations you have at home would definitely be helpful!
BLOG HOMEWORK: Mini Alberta Timeline (+3 table points)
Create a simple timeline that puts these events in the correct order.
-Ranchers and Farmers arrive from other countries
-Indigenous peoples are the only ones living in the land now called Alberta
-Trading posts are built along rivers, some become forts
-Fur Traders arrive from France and Britain, looking for beaver, mink, muskrat, and marten fur
Have a nice night!
Zac
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Spelling List A (Feb. 3 – 7)
Spelling List B (Feb. 3 – 7)
Spelling List C (Feb. 3 – 7)
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