Today we wrote our paragraph about Terry Fox. We used our idea map from yesterday. When we were finished, we edited for COPS and we checked our Rubrics to make sure we included all the criteria for a paragraph. Then we wrote a reflection about what we thought we did really well and what we are going to work on for next paragraph.
Grdae 3 students began the SLAs this afternoon- the numeracy part. The grade 4s were enagaged in an art activity with Mrs. Hill's class at that time. Student and class photos will go home tomorrow. Sorry for the delay. WE will ruin the Terry Fox Run at 11:00. Please come and join us if you wish. Bring a Toonie (or more ) if you can. Students should wear something on their feet that is suitable for running. Please bring your TWAS to school tomorrow because we will need them to write our weekly letter. Thanks!
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Today went by very quickly.
We started writing a paragraph about Terry Fox and why we think he is a hero. We watched a video yesterday and read a book today. We made a plan this morning and tomorrow we will write our paragraphs. This afternoon we had a surprise visit from Ms. V. She is very nice. She played the "Name Game" which was fun and read a book about patterns in nature. Then we went outside to find patterns of our own in the school yard. We are learning that patterns can repeat, they can increase or decrease. If they repeat they must have a core and they need to be predictable. Patterns can be made with colours, shapes, lines, numbers, objects and anything in nature. Maybe you can find some tonight in your own backyard! Today we read a poem about the power of the word "YET". We focused on a few things in our personal lives that we aren't good at-YET- and something at school that maybe we aren't good at -YET- and how we will get better at it.
This afternoon, we continued our study of leaves and went outdoors to collect some leaves and to study the colour, shape and movement of leaves so we can write a poem about leaves this week. We also watched a short video about Terry Fox and discussed the characteristics of a "hero". We will write a paragraph about Terry Fox this week. All parents are welcome to join us at the Terry Fox Run on Friday at 11:00. Today we read a book called "Finding the Green Stone" The book was about a
brother and sister who live in a community where everyone has a green stone. When everyone is acting kindly towards each other and making others feel welcome, their green stones shimmer and glow a beautiful green colour and the person holding the stone feels so happy and good. Whenever somebody has unkind thoughts, says unkind things or acts unkindly towards others, their stone turns grey and the person feels very bad. This book is to remind us how important it is to make everyone feel welcome and that they belongin the classroom and in Maple Ridge School:-) This afternoon we began to look at different leaves and learn different ways to classify them by looking at Size, shape, edges or margins. We also looked at plants with leaves that can be opposite or alternating. We measured and sketchedour leaves. Friday is our annual TERRY FOX RUN. This year we will be running with RT Alderman School. The run is at 11:00 and we ask that students bring a TOONIE FOR TERRY if you are able to ---or more if you can. Parents are invited to come out and run or walk with students. One or more volunteers for the event would be helpful to keep the kids on track. ( email if you can come- [email protected]) Hope to see you then. We wrote our TWAS today because there is no school tomorrow.
Thank you to the parents who are responding in writing. The students are excited to receive a reply and read what you have written. This really motivates them to write again the next week. We have been working on writing a paragraph based on the Hamburger Model. The Top Bun is like the topic sentence. The lettuce, tomatoes and cheese are like 3 sentences about the topic that add more details and make the paragraph "juicier" like they make a hamburger juicier. And the bottom bun is like the closing sentence, which is often very similar to the topic sentence. So about 5 sentences make a good paragraph. Today we read a book called, Me and Mr. Mah. In the story both the young boy and the old Chinese man have special boxes where they keep their most treasured possessions. We thought it would be interesting to bring in our own boxes of special objects that help tell the story of who we are. Mr. Mah had a red cloth, a special stone and Chinese herbs to remind him of China. The boy had a toy tractor, some wheat and some cow bones to remind him of when he lived on the prairie. Not a huge box---- but a small box with a lid with a few small objects that would represent who you are. If the boxes could come in at the beginning of next week, we can share them with the class. Thanks for your help with this. Enjoy your long weekend. Today we spent some more time learning how to embellish sentences. We are getting better at using adjectives and adverbs to help make our Skeleton sentences sound better for the reader.
This afternoon, we made a "quadrat"! Mrs. Jones had to look the word up too!! we took a picture frame outside and found a spot where we thought we might find seeds. We drew what was inside the quadrat and labeled it. We collected what we thought might be "seed samples" in a small baggie and brought them back to class for closer observations. tomorrow we will find out if we have any seeds and identify them. Today in MAth we worked some more on place value. We had to work in a team to build a structure worth 217. We used base ten blocks to build it. While we were in our groups we were focused on sharing ideas and materials and problem solving. We were really concentrating on listening to others, not arguing and sharing new ideas and working together. Afterwards, we reflected on wether or not our group was Off the Target, Working towards the target, or On Target.
This afternoon, we read a story about Vincent Van Gogh called :THE FIRST STARRY NIGHT. While we were reading the book we were focused on some of our "Brain Pockets"- like the Imagination Pocket, The Memory Pocket and the Fact Pocket. When we read, our brains make connections to what we read. Sometimes the text makes us remember something stored in our memory pockets, or helps us imagine something we can store in our imagination pocket. Sometimes there is factual information that we can store in our FACT Pockets. Today we learned that Vincent only sold one painting while we was alive and he died when he was only 37 years old. Reminder there is no school on Friday for teacher professional development day. Today we spent some time observing the changes in the sunflowers.
Some students noticed: -the leaves were curling up -the sunflower looked liked it might be dying -one of the flowers in the vase looked like it was dying too Others observed : -some of the buds opened up in the vase -there was a lot less water in the vase today than on Friday Some students felt that the big sunflower needed a big drink of water. Only some students took home their TWAS on Friday because i forgot to hand them back to students after checking them. Look for them today. It was wonderful to see the smiles on faces of children whose parents wrote back. Please read, respond and return by Thursday. Thank you for your support with this activity. Also today, grade 3s brought home an orange letter explaining the SLAs- please read the letter to find out more about this. OTHER STUFF: There is no school this Friday- Teacher Professional Development !!! Terry Fox Run is September 29 Picture retakes are Oct. 24 There are 2 notices that went home today: One for Healthy Hunger (FUN LUNCHES) and a blue one regarding Fees.
DON"T FORGET TO BRING BACK TWAS BOOKS IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY!!! The Beakerhead Presentation this morning was amazing. We met "Sapphire" a circus performer who demonstrated incredible juggling, balancing and hoolahoop techniques. She explained the science and math involved in all the acts she performed. She had all the students and teachers mesmerized. There are many more Beakerhead activities to see throughout the city this weekend and many are free. Check out Beakerhead.com to find out more. This afternoon, we watched a short video on "Growth Mindsets" and we learned a little about the cerebrum and how it helps us learn. We found out what the brain needs to learn best and how stress can have a negative affect on our learning. We also found out that everybody can get smarter (even old people like Mrs. Jones!) and what we need to do to get smarter. You can discuss this video with your child or watch it again using this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgLYkV689s4 Although it is going to be drizzly and rainy for the rest of the week, we will still be going outside to get some fresh air at break time. Please make sure your children are dressed warmly and have clothes to go outside. Thanks.
We have our first Fun Lunch next week on Thursday. Don't forget to sign up, Tomorrow we will walk over to RT ALderman School to see the Beakerhead performance. If your child's teacher sent home their "My Dictionary" last year, it is a small white book, could you send it back to school for them to use again this year? It is such a helpful tool when students are doing their writing. Please return the green TWAS notebooks by Friday. |
AuthorI am originally from Nova Scotia. I am looking forward to a great year. Archives
June 2018
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