Spelling List A
Spelling List B
Spelling List C
This guy just can't get enough of the -ck digraph!!
Friday, April 30, 2021
Friday, April 30
Happy Friday!
Today was a perfect end to our week. In the morning, we did our spelling quiz, and then we did a story writing activity, in which the students expanded on the prompt: "Once upon a time there were three little chicks..."
We haven't done much story writing this year so I was curious to see how the kids would do with this, and once again they really blew me away. Many students wrote more than a full page! Which by Grade 1/2 standards is quite a bit. I'm excited to see how their writing continues to progress as we start breaking down the processes and skills involved in writing a story.
We got to attend the Kindergarten Virtual Assembly (cute) and then came the long-awaited class Dojo Store. I think all of our word problem math practice has paid off - the students were able to calculate how many points they would have left over with minimal assistance!
We had an unexpected fire drill at the end of the day, and the whole class earned 3 bonus points for being calm, safe, and responsible during the whole thing.
We read the book "The Interrupting Chicken", and had some good conversations about 'interrupting'. This has been an ongoing issue this year and I thought it would be a good idea to address it officially. We'll keep the conversations going next week and come up with some alternative strategies for kids who really want to share but don't want to wait.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words!
Have a nice weekend,
Zac
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Thursday, April 29
Hi parents,
We had another good day today. In the morning, the students did Music, and we had an in-depth discussion about the anatomy of a math word problem (for lack of a better word). We talked about the ways you can tell if a problem requires addition or subtraction, how to analyze a problem to find important information, and how to scan for tricks and misleading information. After that, the students were tasked with creating their own word problems, with three different difficulty options:
1. Make a word problem involving numbers less than 20. (Perfect for Grade 1)
2. Make a word problem with numbers greater than 20. (Great for Grade 2, but achievable for Grade 1 too)
3. Make a word problem involving regrouping (The pinnacle of Grade 2 math wizardry)
The students did a fantastic job with this task! I was really impressed! Perhaps we can finally move on to a new math topic. I've saved all the fun ones for last.
The students got to visit the chicks in the afternoon! This was probably the highlight of the day for most of the kids. They also started to brainstorm names for each of the five chicks, but we haven't officially settled on any just yet. Here are a few contenders:
"Bodl"
"Coockei"
"Dolshaya"
"SOFTEE"
We practiced spelling at the end of the day and read Junie B.
"Job Day in Room 6" - Thursday, May 6
In honour of the Junie B. Jones novel we're reading, Room 6 will be having it's own 'Job Day' next Thursday. Students are invited to dress up in a way that reflects what they want to be when they grow up.
Tomorrow is our spelling quiz, and it also marks the long-awaited return of the Class Dojo Store!
Have a nice night,
Zac
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Wednesday, April 28
Hi parents,
We had an awesome day today, although the end of the day was a bit sad because we had to say goodbye to Ms. Rehill, who is officially done her practicum as of today. We'll really miss having her in class. :(
Unfortunately, she also wasn't able to make it in today, so our goodbye had to be virtual. We're planning to find a time in the near future when we can properly say goodbye outside.
In the morning, the students finished their "Hatching Chicks" booklets. We had a great discussion about what we observed yesterday, and the students recorded their ideas.
As part of our "This Land is Our Land" project, we 'visited' Northwest Territories. The students learned about the dynamic landscapes, beautiful scenery, and interesting wildlife.
In the afternoon, we had a good time playing "Line Tag" in gym, and had a successful bout of Daily 5 too. Then, we met with Ms. Pavey virtually for our final Artist in Residence Mindfulness session. Too many goodbyes today!
At the end of the day, Ms. Rehill read to the class (virtually) and we said our goodbyes.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Tuesday, April 27
Hi parents,
We had an exciting day today in Room 6, featuring chicks hatching, outside reading, and plenty of writing.
In the morning, the students worked on math word problems, and then wrote in their journals about the long weekend.
We had a virtual visit from Ms. Rehill, who told the students that she needed their help with a 'kindness mission'. The class wrote sentences all about being kind. They wrote about specific ways to be kind, how it feels to be kind, and how it feels when others are kind to them.
Our lesson was interrupted by news that the eggs were finally hatching! We got to watch a baby chick peck its way out of an egg via a live stream from Ms. Thomas' classroom. We checked in with the eggs throughout the day, and two more hatched too! We expect that more chicks will hatch over night. It was so cool to get to watch the egg slowly crack open until suddenly the baby chick blasted its way out. Please ask your child to share their thoughts on the process - they all seemed super excited!
In the afternoon, we went outside to do Daily 5, but unfortunately the students got a bit too rambunctious and we had to end our outdoor reading early. I think reading too close to the playground was a mistake - next time we'll go out into the field.
At the end of the day, we practiced spelling. I told the students they'd get 3 dojo points if they could identify this week's Spelling Rapper.
Have a nice night!
Zac
Friday, April 23, 2021
Spelling Words! Week of April 25
Spelling List A
Spelling List B
Spelling List C
LL COOL WORDS IN THA HOUSE
Friday, April 23
Happy Friday!
This morning, we did some math word problems, and then had our spelling quiz.
We finished working on the Nova Scotia pages in our "This Land Is Our Land" booklets.
We watched a Bill Nye video about Garbage today, which was a nice follow-up to the pollution video we watched yesterday. It's interesting to see how things have changed since the 90's when the Bill Nye videos were made.
We watched the Pixar short film "Bao", which is a real tearjerker about a mother who raises a dumpling boy. It may sound unusual but it's actually really good. The students seemed to thoroughly enjoy it and we had an awesome class discussion afterwards. They also wrote in the journals in response to the prompt: "Bao was about..."
Remember that there is No School On Monday, April 26! It is a PD Day.
Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a nice weekend!
Zac
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Mother's Day Flower Fundraiser! Last Day!
Time is running out on our Flower Fundraiser. Order before midnight tonight!
The direct link is https://lakebonavistaschool.growingsmilesfundraising.com/home.
Thursday, April 22 (Earth Day!)
Happy Earth Day!
We had a pretty good day today that was full of thought-provoking discussions.
In the morning, the students had Music class (once again working on a secret project), and we went outside to appreciate the wonders of nature. Today nature was not particularly likeable, but that's okay.
We watched a Bill Nye the Science Guy episode about pollution. We paused numerous times for class discussions and the students had some awesome questions.
The students wrote about things they could do to help the earth.
At the end of the day, we looked through our classroom's trash can, and talked about ways that we could reduce waste. For example, some students have a tendency to throw away food that they don't like. We talked about how food should be composted, containers (like yogurt, juiceboxes etc.) can be recycled, and how students should be honest about what they've eaten at lunch so they're not repeatedly throwing away things they don't like.
We talked about the importance of trees, clean air, and clean water.
For our "This Land is Our Land" booklet, we learned about Nova Scotia. Here's the vid: Nova Scotia
Have a nice night!
Zac
Sometimes I wish I taught an older grade so I could show this Futurama clip for Earth Day.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Wednesday, April 21
Hi parents,
We had an awesome day today! We spent a lot of time outside but still did plenty of work. In fact, we basically moved our classroom outside, by taking the cubbies, materials, lunchkits, and water bottles with us for most of the morning.
The students use plastercine (unsure of spelling) to make boats that were capable of floating on water. They were interested to see how much of a role the shape of their creation played in determining whether it would float. For example, a ball of plastercine would sink immediately, but a thin bowl-shaped thing could float, if placed gently in the water.
The students wrote about which school playground they liked better, and why.
We started a new Junie B. Jones Book: "Junie B. Jones And Her Big, Fat, Mouth". The theme of this novel is "Career Day". We thought it might be fun to have a 'career day' in our own classroom, where the students dress up to show what job they'd like to do when they grow up. We haven't picked a date yet, but it will probably be next week.
We did Daily 5 and spelling practice at the end of the day. The students wrote their words in alphabetical order. We learned how to play "Hand Ball" in gym.
Tomorrow is Earth Day! Unfortunately, it's not looking very nice out. I'm glad we got to spend so much time appreciating the outdoors today.
Have a wonderful evening!
Zac
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Tuesday, April 20
Hi parents,
We had a good day today! In the morning, the students wrote down things they like about our land, using the prompt: "Thank you [the land] for..." They wrote their ideas down on sticky notes, which will be put up on the "We Show Gratitude to the LAND" wall.
Today we learned about New Brunswick in filled in another page from the "This Land Is Our Land" (in the same way as our previous pages).
The students worked on a secret project during music. I'm sure they can tell you about it but I don't want to go into detail on the blog, just in case Ms. Rehill is reading it.
In the afternoon, we did Daily 5, Gym, and Spelling Practice.
The students are continuing to work on word problems in math. I'm finding that some students are having trouble translating word problems into equation form. They're really good at using pictures to solve problems (which is awesome because it shows that they're paying close attention to the words), but it can be less efficient when dealing with larger 2-digit numbers. We'll keep working at it at home, and if you want to do some extra practice at home, that would help too!
Have a nice night!
Zac
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