Spelling List A (Nov. 21 – 27)
Spelling List B (Nov. 21 – 27)
Spelling List C (Nov. 21 – 27)
Hi parents,
We had a great day today. The spelling quiz went really well, although I forgot to hand them back after I marked them.
In writing, we did one last conjunction / compound sentence writing activity, in which students were given a simple sentence, and asked to end it in five different ways, using different conjunctions.
For example:
The kitten went to school,
-but he didn't learn anything.
-although he would rather have stayed home.
-because he snuck into his owner's backpack.
and so on.
I'm hoping that all this work with compound sentences will help students expand on choppy, short sentences and make their writing flow a bit better.
In math, we did some toilet-themed algebra problems. The kids had a lot of fun with these and many chose to keep advancing through increasingly difficult problems, even after completing the required work.
In Gym we had some games of Pillow Polo, and the class showed great effort and sportsmanship, while also playing safely.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a nice weekend!
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a busy day today with a lot of different work.
In the morning, we did Spelling Sentences, but each sentence had to include a conjunction.
We did another cursive lesson and learned the letters 'a' and 't'. We also had our first French lesson, and learned "Je suis", "bonjour", and "bonsoir".
In math we're still chugging away using the stamp game for subtraction, but now we're on 3-digit and 4-digit equations, in which students have to regroup multiple times. We're about halfway through subtraction at this point.
In science, we learned about pulleys, and the students used K-Nex to build them. We talked about how pulleys allow us to use gravity to our advantage, by pulling down in order to lift something up.
The spelling quiz is tomorrow!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a great day at Telus Spark. The Dome Show about Mars felt like it was made to be watched by any class reading 'A Rover's Story'. The Goodnight Moon exhibit was actually super cool, fun, and interactive, a highlight of the day for many kids!
We got to engage in a whole bunch of different activities that are connected to the new Alberta science curriculum. Different groups spent time at different stations, and everyone took away something valuable, whether it was through working with tools, using magnets, building boats, or reducing friction by using jackets to go down the big slide.
Thanks so much to the parents who volunteered.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today. Ms. Ireland led a lesson on persuasive letter writing, based on a book she read the class which was about a monster who ate too many chicken nuggets.
In Science, we talked about space. It was an awesome class discussion. Then, the students used Epic to research a planet of their choice. They practiced using their field journals to document their findings in a scientific way - hopefully they'll use those skills on our field trip tomorrow.
In math, we're still doing Stamp Game subtraction. It's going great! I'm sure the students will be able to show off these skills by conferences.
Tomorrow is our field trip to Telus Spark!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today! In the morning, we reviewed subtraction with regrouping. Today was also picture day.
The students also learned about the difference between simple and compound sentences, and how to use conjunctions (and, but, so, because, although) to connect two simple sentences into a compound one. Then they wrote a sentence for each conjunction.
We had Music and Gym.
In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, and another math activity, which was focused on place value and writing numbers. It was encouraging to see that the students did much better than the first time we did this activity in September - definitely a good sign that we're still on track, even after the strike.
In Science, we learned about levers. We used K-Nex to build levers and catapults.
Our Field Trip is on Wednesday, and I am so happy to say that I have all the forms back. Please don't forget to also pay online.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Spelling List A (Nov. 14 – 21)
Spelling List B (Nov. 14 – 21)
Spelling List C (Nov. 14 – 21)
Hi parents,
Today we had a long morning work period to catch up on work from yesterday, and last week.
We learned about the wheel and axle simple machine, and how the wheels of a Mars rover are really just a fancy version of the simple machine. We used K-Nex to build wagons and wheelbarrows, and talked about how these inventions help to reduce work.
In math, we reviewed Stamp Game subtraction with regrouping.
We did Daily LA, and had a great game of Bench Dodgeball in gym.
Please send back your field trip forms if you haven't already done so, and don't forget to pay for the trip online. :)
Another reminder - please sign up for a conference spot as well.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Zac
Hi parents,
We had yet another good 'first day back' today. This year has had more starts and stops than any I've ever experienced, and I'm really impressed by how well the class has managed to maintain a good work ethic. It seems like they come back more responsible and harder working after each break.
Today in writing, the students wrote about a book or book series that interests them.
In math, we started using the stamp game to solve subtraction problems - with regrouping. This is the hardest thing we'll learn in math until long division. It is no joke. But the stamp game really helps kids to make sense of the standard algorithm, which for subtraction, is actually quite complicated.
We had Music and Gym in the morning too.
In the afternoon, the class did Daily LA, and then wrote 'code-style' instructions to help their classmates carry out the simple task of lining up. The purpose of this activity was to really emphasize how coding language is always very literal and mathematical. Students who were most successful with this task used measurement to ensure their classmates walked exact distances and made turns at specific points along the 'move route'.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had another good day today. I'm actually so impressed by how quickly we got back into the swing of things after the strike, I was so worried it was going to be like restarting the year all over again, but it honestly feels like we picked up right where we left off.
In the morning, we watched the music video for "Highway of Heroes" by The Trews. After a thoughtful class discussion, the students went and wrote short paragraphs using some sentence starters that I provided.
We also had Music in the morning.
In the afternoon we did Buddies and used the iPads to read books on Epic.
We ended our day with a fun 'screen-less coding' activity, in which the students wrote instructions, in code format, to instruct a classmate on how to line up, from their seat. We talked about how code needs to be incredibly specific - when coding a robot, for example, you couldn't just write "go line up". You'd have to walk it through each step (literally) and ensure you had specific values for distance, so it didn't just walk into a wall.
Our school's Remembrance Day Assembly is tomorrow at 11:00. Our Spelling Quiz is also tomorrow.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today!
In the morning, we looked at an alternate version of the 'number bond' math we were doing yesterday (I don't know if I even mentioned that we were doing that) in which numbers are depicted as whole and fractured rectangles.
In writing, we did Spelling Sentences. Students had to start every sentence with a different word. I had this idea to do spelling sentences every week with a different 'twist' to make it interesting. I'm sure the kids will love that.
In the afternoon, we had gym, and then had some coding lessons using Scratch Jr. The students learned more about the program's capabilities - it can do a lot more than just make animations!
Please send back your field trip forms as soon as you can, and remember our remembrance day assembly is this Friday at 11:00.
Have a nice day,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a great day today.
In the morning, we used the stamp game to review 3-digit addition with regrouping. The students did an awesome job with this, and we were able to bring in the standard algorithm alongside. Now that we've got the hang of the stamps, we can start moving away from them and towards the algorithm, which is a lot quicker and more convenient.
We used this 'provocation tray' (created by Ms. Cooper and pictured below) to introduce our new novel study, 'A Rover's Story'. Students made observations and predictions, and then we started reading the book. So far it is told from the perspective of a Mars Rover. It's interesting to hear the robot's observations about humans in the lab.
