February 2020

February 7th, 2020

Sadly, it was another short week and yet we managed to pack quite a bit in.

In Language, students continued to work on their magazines. This week, we had a lesson on citing sources and taking the time to make sure that the images used are free. Students are gaining a greater appreciation and understanding of being sure to give credit to the sources of their information. The covers of their magazines are very interesting and next week we will continue to write. 

In Math, we continued to work on our problem for the school yard. It's been interesting seeing students who are able to problem solve and those that need specific support, even given the information on our KWC chart. Please take a few minutes to read the Extra Work At Home page in order to find activities and ideas to support your child in real world Math problem solving. The ideas below come from one of the resources and connect to the learning we are currently doing in the classroom.

• Measure things in your home. Older kids can convert measurements and find area and perimeter.

• Teach kids how to use Amazon properly - the importance of looking at SHIPPING CHARGES as well as the cost of the item, and how to calculate TOTAL COST (including shipping) to find the best deal.

• We want four tickets for the hockey game. How much money do we need to take to the arena?

• We need 20 stamps at the post office. How much money will we need?

In Physical Education this week, we started yoga. Amazing student leaders facilitated our warm-up, using a variety of poses and helped us start to get ready for next week's gymnastics unit. For the next 3 weeks, we will be engaging in gymnastics activities and students are reminded to wear clothing that will allow them to freely move.

In Health, we finished and presented our PSAs. Students did a fantastic job in presenting their knowledge and understanding of vaping and its consequences. Their presentations were fun and engaging. 

In Science, the Grade 4s had the opportunity this week to test the power of pulleys in a hands-on activity. Using fixed and movable pulleys, students were able to see how pulleys help to make life easier for lifting a load. The Grade 5s had the chance this week to power a light by creating a battery out of lemons and potatoes. It was a challenge and at the end of our time together, we finally got enough juice to get a bit of flow from the bulb. Next week we will continue to investigate uses of pulleys and gears as well as renewable and non-renewable forms of energy. 

In Social Studies, the Grade 4s continued to investigate a variety of early societies and will be responsible for coming up with their own inquiry question as we begin deeper research next week.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe long weekend. 

February 13th, 2020

In Language this week we continued to work on our magazines. On Monday, students considered essential elements of ads as they worked to create their own and add them to their magazines. On Thursday, we continued to discuss the value of peer-editing. Students had the opportunity to sit with a peer and read what they have written so far, making changes along the way. We'll continue working on them next week.

In Math, we continued working on our presentations for our Measurement problem that we have been working on for the past couple of weeks. Students are understanding the importance of breaking down the problem into smaller steps and showing their work along the way. It's been helping us in our understanding of solving complex problems and using strategies that we know and have used in the past to do so.  

In Science, we combined our work on renewable sources of energy and pulleys to create windmills that could lift a load. It was a great opportunity for the whole class to participate in an activity where they were able to bring their newly acquired knowledge to share with each other.

Although the week was extremely short, we managed to get some time with our Kindergarten buddies. We worked on the puzzles in the online Blockly program as students investigated the different blocks and their functions. 

Next week is another condensed week but hopefully we'll have the chance to finish up some tasks and start a few others. I hope that everyone has a wonderful family day long weekend!

February 21st, 2020

We had 3 days in a row this week and got back into our groove!

In Language, we started reading a new book - My Life as a Diamond  - one of the Silver Birch Award fiction nominees for 2020. Students have started working on writing short reading responses to the book. While there isn't a right or wrong answer in these responses, students are being assessed on their ability to extend their understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them. A great way to help students with this at home is to have them read for 20 minutes on an ongoing basis and then answer one or two of the comprehension questions found on the Extra Work at Home page per sitting. These questions can be answered orally should they have the chance to reflect with someone or they can be written, giving students the opportunity to continue to practice their writing at home. 

In Math, we tried to finish up with our yard question this week. On Friday, we had the opportunity to have students present their work to peers  and get feedback on ways in which their presentations could be more clear, explaining their Math. Students will have one more opportunity to work on this on Monday and submit their work. Next week, students will be looking for the missing numbers in equations and how to solve algebraic equations. 

This week, there was a lot of ice on the back field and pavement. As such, students were not allowed to go outside to play. Due to this, we spent some time going on walks this week and we had the chance to be in the gym twice for Physical Education. On Tuesday, we practiced our hand-eye coordination by playing some Badminton. On Thursday, we continued by practicing our skills in Volleyball.

In Health, we started to talk about and reflect on healthy relationships. Students were invited to consider what healthy relationships look like, feel like and sound like. As we prepare for our Growth and Development unit later this spring, students will be asked to consider how relationships may change as they experience the effects of puberty.

In Social Studies, the grade 4s have been looking at Early Societies. Students have been given links in Google Classroom and we have been watching some videos online. They have also had some time to research the 6 elements of a society:

1. Written language

2. Agriculture

3. Religion

4. Science

5. Settlements

6. Government

For our activity this week, students were tasked to research and familiarize themselves with the 6 elements - mentioned above - about their early society. From there, they are to consider one person who they find of interest in that society and to write about a day in their life in relation to those 6 elements. Should students wish to continue to research at home, some questions to guide could be:

• Where do they live?

• What role does gender play in what this person can or cannot do within the society?

• What do they do within the society?

• What religion is the foundation of their beliefs?

• What are their feelings towards the government?

• Where does their food come from? How does it arrive to them?

• How do they communicate with others within their society and/or beyond their society?

• What risks do they face on a daily basis?

• Where do they stand in the hierarchy of the society? What privilege does this afford them?

Once they have an in depth idea of life from that person's perspective, students will choose how they wish to communicate a day in the person's life - journal entry, biography or something else. 

 It was another great but short week. I hope that everyone has a happy and safe long weekend.

February 28th, 2020

February wrapped up with a full week of school!

In Language, we continued with reading responses for My Life as a Diamond. Over the past weeks we've been answering the following questions as we dig further into the text:

• If you had the opportunity to have a conversation with one of the characters in the book so far, who would it be and why? What questions would you ask? How might those questions help to shape your understanding of what is happening?

• What do you think Caz’s first day at school might be like? Why?

• If Caz was coming to Sloane Public School, what 3 key things do you need to tell him about our school community? Why would those things be meaningful to him? Which teacher would you connect him to as a supportive or caring adult? Why?

• Why is this book an important text for ALL readers?

• Caz had his first sleepover at a friend’s house in his new city. Did he do the right thing by not telling Hank about his decision to identify as male although he was born female? Why or why not?

Students are reminded to continue to give justification for their responses by providing a detailed explanation or supporting evidence from the text. We'll be wrapping up our reading of this text next week and will start reading another. This week, students also had the chance to continue to work on their magazines and we will be trying to wrap them up in the next week or two. 

In Math, students started to consider the missing number in equations by trying to solve for a particular variable (for example, 26 + J = 42). Students are learning to isolate the variable; remembering that whatever you do to the left side of the equation, you must do to the right side. Using our earlier example: 

26 - 26 + J = 42 - 26

J = 42 - 26

J = 16

Some students have been using IXL (Grade 4s - G.5; Grade 5s - R.5) at home to get additional practice as next week we will be moving into word problems that involve variables as we learn to write equations and solve them. Today we also started to look at growing patterns and will be continuing this work next week. 

In Physical Education we played badminton and dodgeball. Next week, we will be having 2 students work on a variety of balance skills.

In Social Studies, the Grade 4s have been continuing their work on their life as a person from an early society. These will most likely be due at the end of next week or early the following week. On Monday we will be working together to create our success criteria so that students have something to refer back to before submitting their work. Next week, the Grade 5s will be starting a new unit looking at the interactions between First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early Canada.

In Health, we looked at what it means to be a good friend as we continued our work on Healthy Relationships. Students were asked to consider the qualities that they appreciate most in their friendships and to reflect on whether or not they too possess these qualities. Next week, we will be continuing to reflect on changes that occur over time in relationships. 

Today 2 students were awarded the Character Education Award for Fairness. While we haven't be able to have assemblies due to ongoing job action, they were congratulated in class and will be acknowledged in front of the whole school when we are back to doing assemblies. 

Have a great weekend! See you in March!