Spelling List A (Dec. 1 – 5)
Spelling List B (Dec. 1 – 5)
Spelling List C (Dec. 1 – 5)
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today, even though the class ended up in listening club again. The work in the morning was fantastic. The listening in the afternoon was.... C+.
In the morning, the students worked really hard to finish up subtraction worksheets, spelling sentences, and their "Dear Res" letter rough copies. We started working on those yesterday. The students had written letters to Res, the Mars Rover, before, but this time they're helping him to prepare for his journey to Mars, or another planet. The students are bringing in info from their planet research to make letters than are friendly and engaging, but also full of factual information.
We had Music and Gym in the morning too.
In the afternoon, we did Quiet Reading, and then went to the library to check out the cool art pieces which our school has borrowed for a few weeks. Many students did an awesome job using all the time they were given to ponder the artwork, and even sketch their own versions of it.
Due to conferences being tomorrow evening and Friday (please book if you haven't already!), tomorrow is our last day of school this week, which means our spelling quiz will be tomorrow.
We are also having a quick math check-in, which students don't need to study for, but it will help me figure out where we're all at with addition and subtraction.
Have a nice night,
Zac
Hi parents,
We had a pretty good day today. In the morning, the students just wrote about their weekends - we haven't done a classic 'weekend journal' in a long time (since September I think!) so it was cool to see the progression. We also reviewed conjunctions, and why you usually can't start a sentence with 'and'.
In math, we looked at subtraction with regrouping across zeroes. Using the stamp game, of course. This is another tricky algorithm to grasp, but when students are able to physically model the regrouping process using the materials, it makes it a little easier.
We went over this week's spelling words, and the 'oa' vowel team.
In the afternoon, we watched the short film 'Hewn' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjLC5ky94ns) and had some cool discussions around it. It's a very artsy little film. There are a lot of ways you could interpret it, which makes it a great introduction to the idea of art / stories having both figurative and literal meanings.
Parent Teacher conferences are on Thursday and Friday this week, please book a spot if you have not already done so. :)
Have a nice night,
Zac
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 was a perfect way to wrap up another school year. We had lots of time for goodbyes and reflecting. The students were kind...
