Yesterday, students were introduced to digital citizenship yesterday as they began their exploration of either mealworms or the sunflower. Grade three students were able to log onto the computers and choose an eight digit password. We are encouraging students to keep this password to themselves.
The practice of logging on was to help get the grade 3's ready for the SLA's. As the grade threes were introduced to how the SLA's would look and how to answer questions, the grade 4's continued to research their topic. Ask your child how they are organizing their work using a graphic organizer. Today was a whirl-wind - Gym, TWAS, Terry Fox run, and exploration time. We ran outside for an hour. Reminder that Monday is a Field study day. Students are encouraged to check the weather (I think there may be snow in the forecast) as we will be outside for a good portion of the day. We will be returning to school around 3pm. Parent teacher interviews are next Thursday and Friday. If you haven't booked yet, please book a time. The volunteer calendar is up and ready for those who are interested in helping out in the class room with reading with individual students. The extra support is always welcome.
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Field Trip forms went home today. Please send them back to school by Friday.
Yesterday we participated in an activity where we made action reaction contraptions. Ask me if I created a contraption that swung, dropped, caught, hit, rolled. While we made these contraption we were able to use a variety of supplies. We don't have these supplies available in our class yet. Maybe you have some at home that you are willing to give us? They will not be returned. Ideas could include: Pipecleaners Bendy tubes Pipes of different sizes Card board Different sizes of balls Ropes/String Styrophone Old plastic packaging Bubble wrap Buttons Pool noodles Springs Plastic containers of different sizes Coat hangers Old lights/lamps Small wood pieces/blocks Toilet paper/paper towel roles Buckets Funnels Magnets Ducktape Fabric Bottles Welcome back to school after the long weekend!
Today went by so fast. We began our day at Music, came back to class to discuss expectations in a fire drill and then began reading our TWAS poem. After recess we focused on Math and reexamined how we say number words. For example, 345 is said three hundred five NOT three hundred AND five. Students practiced saying number words properly through a place value game. Take some time to have your child share the game with you. In math we also look at how to use a ruler properly to measure items. We specifically focused on the unit of centimeters while exploring items around the classroom. We are curious to find out how long our wall would be on our marble labyrinth should we add all the walls together. In the afternoon we watched a small video on how to draw scientific observations. We then applied what we learned and discussed by sketching some of the plants in the outside classroom in front of the school. We will be practicing this skill throughout the week to prepare for our field study to Reader Rock next Monday. Reminders: We are going to Telus Spark tomorrow. Please bring lunch in a bag that can be carried as we are not taking our backpacks. We are going on a second field study on Monday October 2nd to Reader Rock and will need 4 volunteers. Please contact me as soon as possible. Forms for this field study should be ready to go by Wednesday. I apologize for the short notice on this field study. Terry Fox run is on Friday. Please dress for the weather. The marble labyrinths are mostly finished. Some students are working on last minute touch-ups and others are working on their reflections. They will be ready for showcase for parent teacher conferences in October.
In the meantime, ask your child about the process of this project. What were the steps that were included? How did we plan? At what point was feedback given to groups to help improve work or refine areas? How did the group solve problems when they arose? How did they test the designs that they made? How do they know they made a successful design? Use the pictures below to help spark some of the conversation. To begin our week of inquiry into the sunflower, students were given a poem focused around plants. They highlighted all the words that are a part of the plant. For example, stem, root, flower. Throughout the week we will return back to this poem as well as look closely at the sunflower in our class to develop a deeper understanding of the anatomy of plants.
Students were introduced to the big idea this year "Every action has a reaction." We discussed what this may mean. Some students were able to relate it to emotions and others related it to the marble labyrinth. As we progress this year, students will be able to make more connections and understandings. As a challenge to this new idea, during exploration time, I suggested students create some kind of action-reaction contraption. Marble runs were created out of blocks, and domino names were created out of math tiles. This challenge will be the focus of exploration time for the remainder of the week. Reminders: Students were given their field trip forms for Telus Spark today. Please sign and return them as soon as possible. I have now confirmed my volunteers. We have a second field study on Monday October 2nd. This field study will also require volunteers. If this date works for you, please let me know as soon as possible. Grade three students were given a letter today in regards to the Student Learning Assessments. This page explains everything and has provided some additional links where more information can be found. Should you have any questions, please contact me so I can help. Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to a Beakerhead presentation at RT Alderman. This presentation showcased the connections between art, science, technology and math. Specifically, Samphire, the presenter, demonstrated and spoke to the how illusions are created to trick the audience in thinking something like a hoop or a ball is floating in the air. We learned that the density of the ball is considered when juggling and the size of hula hoop can make the act of hulaing easier or harder.
In class we continued to work on the marble labyrinths. Students cannot wait to show you their work at interviews in October. They have been busy measuring walls, creating perpendicular intersections, using vertical and horizontal lines and identifying 90 degree angles. Once the maze is complete, students will have he opportunity to test and try out their creations. Reminders: - I am still in need of 2 more volunteers for the field trip on the 26th of September. Please let me know if you are available. - We have a second field study planned for Monday the 2nd of October. I will need volunteers as well for that trip. Please let me know if you are available for that field trip as well. In class today students continued to work on a math problem that was introduced yesterday. Each student was given 4 digits. They were to create as many numbers using those digits as they could, put the numbers into ascending and descending order and then pick one number and represent it in three different ways. This activity allows for multiple entry points by giving students choice on the difficulty of their numbers. Some students chose to work with 4-digit number and others 2-digit numbers. As your child what kind of numbers they decided to work on.
Our marble labyrinths are coming together. Each group is finalizing their plans, they have created a base and are beginning to cut strips of cardboard for the walls of the labyrinth. I hope to get some pictures up by the end of the week. Reminders: Tomorrow we will be going to RT Alderman to see a Beakerhead presentation. I need 4 volunteers for the field trip on September 26th. Please contact me asap if you are available to help. If students have their personal dictionaries from last year, can they please bring them back to school. This will help with their writing and spelling throughout the year. Today was a blur!
We are beginning one of our first mini research projects - actually two mini research projects. Thanks to Mrs. Jones for bringing in a sunflower, we are going to investigate, explore and learn about the sunflower. As well, we are going to dig deeper into understanding the mealworm. Today we set up our visual journals to start the process of being a Scientist - ASKING QUESTIONS. We created a t-chart and wrote 4 or more questions we have for both topics. There were some interesting questions written down. How long to meal worms live? Why are they dying so fast? How many sunflower seeds grow in the sunflower? What is the tallest recorded sunflower in the world? What does each part look like close up? In the afternoon we spent a long time working on our marble labyrinth. Students created a checklist of what the labyrinth needs to include and began designing a plan. Students also collaboratively created the beginning stages of a group work rubric to help us work towards working with others. Some groups were able to start the actual construction of the base of the labyrinth and will transfer their plan in the coming days. I am taking a lot of photos and will poset some soon. Today was a busy day! Students took the morning time to complete some of the assignments that were started this week such as our wonderings, our summer events and understanding our brains. Some students have brought home an assignment to finish for Monday. Please double check if they have brought something home and provide some time to complete it.
We had our first assembly today. Mr. Emery introduced all the staff. He was able to spark curiosity with the students when he introduced a blue box. Take some time to ask your child what they first thought was in the blue box and then if they were surprised after revelation. Students brought home their first TWAS book today. They had about 40 minutes to complete it. As a class we came up with a possible first paragraph and the second paragraph was student choice. Please take a moment to read and respond to the letter your child wrote to you today. Our first design challenge was introduced today with the students. We are going to make marble labyrinths. Students were shown a video to spark imagination and create a list of possible supplies. We are looking for thicker cardboard. If you happen to have any at home, please send it with your child. The thin cardboard is not strong enough for this project. I will also be looking for parents who may be able to come in next week to help cut the cardboard or use the hot glue gun. Please email me if your are available. Your security clearance must be approved. Reminder for parents who are interested in volunteering for Telus Spark on September 26th to please contact Shannon McMaster in office. She is supporting us in organizing volunteers. Another great day in room 8.
Today we continued to set up the classroom routines and expectations. Students were able to voice their opinions on the how we can keep our classroom safe, respect everyone and everything and how our responsibility is to come to school to learn. Students were introduced to the poem "Thinking like a Scientist" by Jennie Munson to begin sparking wonder and excitement for further exploration in the coming weeks. We highlighted key "Science" words and are beginning to develop and enhance our scientific vocabulary. A reminder that tomorrow night will be the open house from 5 - 7 pm. Students will be able to show you around the classroom, share some of the tasks they have completed or are working on. Thanks to parent council for hosting the Ice Cream in the Learning Commons. Students will be going on their first field student September 26th. We are looking for volunteers. If your security clearance has been approved, please contact Shannon McMaster in the office to let her you know are interested in volunteering. This will be a full day field study. |