About Our Learning

Language Arts

We call the Language Arts program in our classroom “Daily 5.” It is a structure that teaches children independence and the skills needed to develop a lasting love of reading and writing. It consists of five tasks: Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, and Word Work. The goal is to do all five tasks daily, however we are usually too busy for this to be realistic. Instead, we aim to do Read to Self and Work on Writing daily, and the other three tasks weekly. One of the biggest ways you can support us at home is by reading with your child each day.

Along with Daily 5, we will also be using the "CAFÉ Method" to learn about some specific reading strategies. CAFÉ is an acronym for “Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expand Vocabulary.” Here are some of the first strategies we'll be learning:

“Check for Understanding.” This means that you stop frequently while reading to talk about what you just read.
“Self-Correcting.” This means you stop at a tricky word and think "Does it look right, sound right and make sense?" If not, you back up and try again.
“Use the Beginning and Ending Sounds.” Too often, we get hung up on the beginning of a word and we forget to look at the ending sounds for a clue.
“Sound and Pound.” A common strategy everyone uses, often referred to as "sounding it out."
“Chunk It.” Another common strategy that involves breaking a word into smaller parts.

Choosing “Good-Fit” books is a big part of improving our reading skills. These are books that are not too hard and not too easy and it is an important skill for children to develop. We learn 5 steps to help us, using the acronym, IPICK:

I = I choose/look at a book
P = Purpose (why do I want to read this book?)
I = Interest (am I interested in this book?)
C = Comprehension (when I read a page from the book, do I understand what I read?)
K = Know (when I read a page from the book, do I know most of the words?)

When choosing a book, we open it up to any page and if these 5 steps are successful, it is a good fit. If we struggle with 5 or more words on the page, it’s not a good fit for now. These are all things you can practice with your child at home to help support their hard work at school.

We will be writing in various styles and about various topics throughout the year. Please check your weekly emails for more information about this. The biggest way to support our writing at home is to practice fine motor skills, proper letter formation (starting most letters at the top), writing grocery lists, cards and letters to loved ones, etc.

We will begin by working on our reading and writing stamina. Once we are able to read and write independently for 20 minutes without distractions, we will learn the other elements of Daily 5, and eventually begin to choose which task we would like to complete first. Building this foundation of independent work is the key to our success in all that we do in Grades 2 and 3. As the children engage in meaningful tasks to improve their literacy skills, I am able to work with them one-on-one and in small groups in order to help them set and reach their literacy goals.

Our Word Work or spelling program at BES is called UFLI and is a research-based phonics program that all students in Kindergarten-Grade 3 at BES will experience. It involves eplicit instruction about the sounds and rules associated with each letter and letter combination. It also includes practising those sounds in the context of spelling words, writing sentences and reading stories specifically focused on those sounds. Students will be bringing practise sheets home weekly so that you can help support what we are doing at school. Please see the UFLI Parent Hub for more information and resources to help you support your child's learning.

Math

We will be covering many topics throughout the year in Math. Below is a list of topics and a few of the main outcomes. For more details, please see the Alberta Curriculum.

The best way to support our leaning at home is to play math games! Have a family games night. Board games, dice and card games are all great ways to develop those important number skills and practise basic facts (single digit adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing). You will also receive weekly updates about the things we are learning. Be sure to discuss these with your child and have conversations about the math you see around you.

Here are the highlights of what we will be learning this year:

Number Sense - Identify and express numbers up to 1000.
Patterns - Recognize and create repeating and increasing patterns.
Operations - Add and subtract numbers within 100.
Fractions - Understand part-whole relationships in unit fractions (1/__).
Geometry - Sort shapes and describe the sorting rule.
Measurement - Measure length in non-standard units and centimetres.
Time - Describe durations of time in days, weeks, months, or years.
Data - Collect and graph data.

Science

Topics:

Energy - Investigate the behaviours of light and sound.
Matter - Investigate properties of materials and relate them to a purpose.
Computer Science - Apply creativity when designing instructions.
Earth Systems - Investigate Earth, its landforms, its bodies of water, and its relationship to the Sun.
Living Systems - Investigate the growth and development of plants and animals and their relationship to humans.
Scientific Method - Explain how investigation is influenced by purpose.

Social Studies

Topics:

Citizenship - Explore democratic discussion and decision-making.
Time and Place - Discovering Canada's regions and resources; Traditions, heritage and belonging in Canada.
Systems - How trade supports communities; The role of gonvernment in Canada.

Other Subjects

We will also have the following learning opportunities:

Music with Ms. Kowalewski
Physical Education and Wellness
Math strategies and games with Mr. Higginbottom
Right From the Start with Ms. Masniak
Art
Learning Buddies with Gr. 4

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