May the Fourth (be with you)

 Hi parents,

Today was a pretty good day for our class, although the heat is definitely taking a bit of a toll. The students have been calling out quite a bit which has had a negative effect on our discussions and lessons.

In the morning, we did yet another mad minute practice, and then half the class worked with our buddies, while the other half worked on a special "growth & life cycles" project.

The students wrote good copies for their prairie haikus! I can't believe how quickly they came together. Many students took risks and used metaphors, similes, and unique descriptive words in creative ways.

We learned about minerals today. We learned that rocks are formed from minerals, and that certain minerals are rare, while others are very common.

In the afternoon, we had Gym and Mindfulness, and finished the mineral book we'd started earlier.

Please Send Back NETBALL Forms! We're starting on Monday and your child will not be able to participate without a form!

Tomorrow is a PD day - so have a wonderful weekend, and stay tuned for next week's spelling words.

Zac

PS: Star Wars: A New Hope starts tonight at Canyon Meadows Cinema!

https://www.canyonmeadowscinemas.ca/index.htm

Wednesday, May 3

 Hi parents,

We had a good day today. In the morning we did Morning Math as usual, as well as spelling practice and work period time to catch up on earlier tasks. We did another round of Mad Minute Practice, and then in Science, we watched a Magic school Bus episode about the rock cycle. It was a pretty cool one. Superhero themed.

We did a Ticket To Curlew-inspired poetry activity which was probably the highlight of the day! After watching a breathtaking video that showcased the beauty of Alberta's prairies, the students wrote Haiku poems about the prairies. We've done Haiku poetry before, but this time went a lot better. The students are beginning to push themselves and use less literal language, in favour of more poetic, figurative language. 

We learned about fractions as they pertain to number lines. We talked about how a number line from 0 - 10 is divided up by evenly-spaced ticks, and that a number line from 0 - 1 can be divided up in the same manner, to show different fractions.

The students settled on names for their Kickball Teams - The Saffires (intentionally misspelled for pun factor), and The Mythical Amethysts. Looks like the Rocks and Minerals unit has been popular.

We ended our day with Ticket To Curlew, and also by reading a book called Lucy's Blue Day, in honour of Mental Health Awareness Day.

Have a good one,

Zac

Tuesday, May 2

 Hi parents,

Today we did some more "Mad Minute" Practice, and talked about strategies for test-taking in a limited time setting, such as skipping challenging problems and coming back to them at the end. Many students were able to improve on their scores from yesterday, so hopefully they're starting to see the value of this practice.

In Science, we read a book on Epic about Sedimentary Rocks. We learned more about erosion and weathering. We also learned a bit about the Grand Canyon, one of the earth's most incredible examples of the aforementioned.

We did more work around equivalent fractions. The students learned that you can create equivalent fractions by multiplying the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same value.

For example, we can multiply the numerator and denominator of 1/2 by 2, and show that 1/2 = 2/4, because 1 x 2 = 2 (numerator) and 2 x 2 = 4.

BLOG HOMEWORK (+2 points)

Solve the word problem, and show your thinking.

Three friends each order a medium pizza for themselves.

Dorothy eats 9/16 of her pizza. 

Phyllis eats 1/2 of her pizza. 

Campbell eats 7/8 of his pizza. 

Who eats the most pizza? Who eats the least? How do you know?

In the afternoon we had Gym, Daily LA, Mindfulness, and Music. We ended our day by reading Ticket to Curlew, which the students seem to be enjoying much more than I did when I was in Grade 3. I'm enjoying it a lot more this time around too! 

Have a nice night,

Zac

 

Monday, May 1

 Hi parents,

We had a good day back at school. In the morning, the students worked on math problems and rhymes, and then we did some writing. Students had the choice between writing about their weekend or writing about where our class should go for our next field trip, which included considering price, location, transportation, and what we would learn. It was a pretty even split between the two prompts! They did a good job with it.

In math, we did a "Mad Minute". We talked about how mad minutes are a fun way to compete with yourself, and try to improve your personal score over the course of a few weeks. Mad Minutes are kind of like spelling quizzes in my opinion as they give students a good opportunity to experience what a timed test feels like, and build test-taking skills in a setting where there are no consequences. Students also get pretty excited as they inevitably see their scores improve over time.

In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, read Ticket To Curlew, and played Battle of the Ten Towers in Gym. It was a good day!

Have a nice night,

Zac

Spelling Words (Week of April 30)

 Spelling List A (May 1 – 5)

Mouth	Lived	Dollar	Town	You’re
Seventh	Fifth	Sixth	Third	Quarter

 

Spelling List B  (May 1 – 5)

Coast	Earn	Cousin	Planet	Peaceful
Eighth	Fraction	Ninth	Twelfth	Sixteenth

 

Spelling List C (May 1 – 5)

Altitude	Fascinate	Proceed	Cargo	Harsh
Twentieth	Hundredth	Eleventh	Twenty-ninth	Sixtieth

Spelling meets math in this rare crossover event!!

Friday, April 28

Hi parents,

We had a great day today! Although saying goodbye to Mr. Ripka was not easy.

In the morning, students finished up the many work choices they'd started earlier in the week (it was an exceptionally busy one), and worked on long division problems. With our recent move into fractions, I really want to make sure nobody forgets the process of long division.

We did our spelling quiz, and had a sharing circle about favourite Mr. Ripka memories. We finished watching a magic school bus episode about erosion. We went outside and spent some time with our buddy class.

The class went to Music, and when we got back, we had our "Student Appreciation Event", which was basically a time for responsible work choices. Mr. Ripka also brought Star Wars Pod Racing to help the students understand what it was like to be their age in the early 2000's. 

Have a nice weekend!

Zac

PS:  Guess what:

Thursday, April 27

 Hi parents,

We had a great day today!

In the morning, the students had time to work on an exceptionally flexible writing prompt, which gave them the option to write about rocks, minerals, Alberta's history, or some other topic we've recently been learning about.

In math, we learned about writing and naming fractions, by using the ths suffix for the denominator. For example, saying tenths rather than tens, or even an obscure one like twenty-sevenths. 

We had a kickball rematch and this time the purple team won. It's been awesome seeing the team spirit and positivity from both teams!

In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, read Ticket to Curlew, and got to attend the Kindergarten Concert Rehearsal, which was all about bees. It was an excellent performance. I bet tonight's will be even better.

Tomorrow we're celebrating "Student Appreciation Day"! The acronym SAD is especially fitting, as it is also Mr. Ripka's last day. :(

We'll make sure it's a good one though. It is a PJ Day and a Stuffy Day. Students have been asked to use their best judgment in bringing 1-2 stuffies that won't be too distracting.

Have a nice night!

Zac

PS: There is a giant Pysanky Egg display at Southcentre Mall until April 30! It's pretty cool and I think our class would especially appreciate seeing it since we just made eggs of our own.

Also, on the topic of local community events, Canyon Meadows Cinema is showing Star Wars: A New Hope in honour of May 4th, and the sequels in the following weeks! 

https://www.canyonmeadowscinemas.ca/comingsoon.htm

Wednesday, April 26

 Hi parents,

We had a great day today! Total redemption from our previous two wild days.

In the morning, we learned about the rock cycle. The students created diagrams to show how rocks change from one type to another, and how steps are often skipped or repeated. It's a very chaotic cycle.

We learned more about fractions as well, and started to discuss 'equivalent' and 'not equivalent' fractions. This is a pretty difficult concept. It's tough for students to understand how '1/3 apples' is equivalent to '2/6' apples, even though the number of apples is different. We'll spend more time reviewing this tomorrow and probably into next week too.

In the afternoon, we went outside for gym and played field-point kickball. Basically it's regular kickball but you can only score points when your team is in the field. You get a point for a catch, or for getting the ball to the base before a runner. I like this version of kickball because it rewards kids more for their teamwork than just for kicking the ball really far.

We ended our day by reading Ticket to Curlew and completing some comprehension questions. 

Have a nice day,

Zac

Tuesday, April 25

 Hi parents,

Sorry for the lack of blogs - Friday's just didn't post for some reason, and yesterday I had to take off right after school.

The last couple days have been pretty good for our class, although energy levels have been abnormally high.

We've started learning about fractions! It seemed to be a next logical step since the students have been getting so good at division. 

We've officially finished the brochure project! I'm just in the process of looking over them, but so far, they've been fantastic.  

Our math quiz on Friday went well too. Looking forward to sending those home later this week!

We've been doing Mission Impossible in gym, as the final portion of our gymnastics unit.

Yesterday I sent home field trip forms for our upcoming trip to Ann and Sandy Cross. Unfortunately, the online payment option is still unavailable (it has to be approved downtown). I really apologize for the inconvenience, and I will let you all know as soon as online payment opens up!

Tomorrow is PATTERN DAY!

Students are encouraged to wear pants, shirts, hats, shoes, and anything else with a cool pattern.

Have a nice night,

Zac

"LBS Pattern Day" c. 1994

Spelling Words! Week of April 23

 Spelling List A (April 23 - 28

Front	Half	Laugh	Queen	Tenth
Prefix	Prefer	Predate	Preview	Pretend

 

Spelling List B  (April 23 – 28)

Paper	Juice	Thirty	Style	Whenever
Predict	Present	Preowned	Preschool	Prepare

 

Spelling List C (April 23 – 28)

Comprehend	Stall	Occasion	Disaster	Thwart
Precaution	Preventative	Prebuilt	Premier	Preparation

More opportunities to learn about and practice prefixes with these wonderful words.

Thursday, April 20

 Hi parents,

We had an awesome day today, but a very busy, and very tiring one.

The students spent the entire morning working on Pysanky Eggs, which turned out beautifully! 

Some students were unable to take their eggs home today. This is because they didn't have a container in which to safely transport their eggs. Some of the containers were accidentally recycled. If your child did not bring home eggs today, please send them with any sort of insulated vessel tomorrow.  Tupperware, a box, a yogurt container, etc. would all work fine.

This project was quite exhausting for everyone (most of all for our parent volunteers) and as a result, the students were noticeably "off" for the rest of the day. Emotions were running high and the class had a lot of trouble following expectations in gymnastics, lunch, and Music. We were supposed to have a math quiz at the end of the day, but we decided to put it off until tomorrow instead. Sorry for the inconvenience - I know a lot of students practiced hard and were ready to go, but I think they'll be even more ready tomorrow!

So that means there will be two quizzes tomorrow. A math quiz and a spelling quiz.

Have a nice night!

Zac