October 2024

October 25th, 2024

Time sure is flying! Who would believe we are already in the last full week of October? Here's what we were up to this week:

Language

Although at a slower pace, we continue to listen to and write about the 6 Minutes podcast. We're learning more and more about Holiday and her history but it's also causing us to question everything we've heard and learned about her so far. Students are encouraged to look back to their last set of feedback and to implement portions of it as they work on improving their writing.

Our Book Talks are moving along nicely. I've noticed that many groups have been picking up the pace in their reading and I'm glad that many have the chance to discuss some of the important themes in the book. This week, I had the chance to read with each group and in different groups we discussed the following:

• The One and Only Ivan - We are introduced to Ruby who will be joining Ivan and Stella at the mall. Stella is concerned. Why might she be concerned? How might their domain be different from a zoo? What are our thoughts about zoos?

• The Wild Robot - Roz is learning more and more as she experiences the island. We were introduced to some new vocabulary - defecating, nibbling, gnawing. What do these words mean? As Roz is a robot, we learn that she has a ton of information stored in her to learn to be a mother. What connections can we make between Roz and AI? 

• Inkling - Ethan accidentally takes Inkling to school one day and Inkling escapes to explore. While Ethan and his best friend Soren find Inkling, it's at this moment that Soren realizes Inkling's capabilities. He wonders if he could borrow him for his history test. There's a conversation about that being cheating. Is what Soren wants to do any different than what Ethan is doing? Has he gone too far with the illustrations for the graphic novel? Can he turn back?

• Front Desk - A car goes missing from the Calavista. This sparks a whole new set of injustices. Not only is Mia facing racism at school, but she is also learning about how racism impacts people of other racial groups. She's quick to speak up for others and act but we are saddened that Jason doesn't do the same.  When thinking about racism, have we come as far as we think we have? In what ways can students act to create a more socially just world?

The students were hard at work on a variety of activities, demonstrating our understanding of the texts. Students were tasked with the following:

• Select the best quote from the book thus far. Use images to support the idea of the quote and share why it might be significant.

• Use a Venn Diagram to compare themselves to a character from the book.

• Answer my questions from their last Reader's Response and select a new question to answer this week.

As we continue to read, students are encouraged to reflect on key themes of the book and consider what connections they can make. If you have some time this weekend, consider having a chat about new vocabulary and some of the themes mentioned above based on your student's novel. 

Math

This week we started our unit on Patterning. We focused this week specifically on geometric patterns. We began with students creating a repeating, increasing or decreasing pattern with colour tiles or linking cubes for members of their table group. Once the pattern was created, members moved around the table group to determine the pattern rule and to extend the pattern.

Students also worked online in Mathigon Polypad and mPower to solve problems related to patterns.

We connected our Data Management unit to our current unit by having students create line graphs of geometric patterns that were growing exponentially. In groups, students worked to consider pattern rules with addition and multiplication.

This task was sent home today as practice It is due on Wednesday of next week. 

Next week we will continue exploring geometric patterns and start on number patterns.

Science

This week students explored the Adventure Playground in mPower. The goal was to create a playground that is accessible considering their learning around forces and structures.

After much learning about the forces acting on structures through videos and classroom readings, the students planned and built bridges that can withstand a load. Safety was of the utmost importance when students wanted to use glue guns. We discussed how to use a glue gun safely and how we might make the building area safer as we worked. I was so happy to see students safely using materials and collaborating to achieve a goal. Some groups have finished their designs and began testing them out this week. Some groups still need a little more time. The build continues next week. Students will also present their work and describe the different forces in action.

Physical Education

Today we had our final game of volleyball in Physical Education. I am so proud of the students. Over the past month, they each learned and worked to perfect their volleyball skills and have improved tremendously through practice.  

The Arts

Our first play is complete and the students did an amazing job with presenting. From incredible props to being in-role and reading with expression, students worked hard to help us visualize this hilarious play. Next up, students will be responsible for writing their plays in small groups and then working towards bringing them to life. Based on what they did with this play, I can't wait!

The Wrap-Up

Just a reminder that picture day is on Tuesday.

Next Thursday is Halloween. Students can wear school-safe costumes if they like but it is not mandatory.

Mr. Crone and I spent a couple of hours manually entering all of the 1:1 Device Program forms this week. Thank you to all families for returning the forms. The last shipment of devices took about 7 weeks. We expect that this shipment might take the same amount of time. This falls right around the time of the winter break.  We appreciate your patience with this process. In the meantime, I will continue to provide students with learning opportunities that reflect the technology available. We have a few devices on loan to us in our room to ensure that students have access should they need it. So far, we have managed very well and we will continue to do so.

Scholastic flyers went home last week. I have received orders from families and will be placing those orders this coming Thursday, October 31st, 2024. They should arrive in the first week of November. If families want to purchase books, orders can be made online. Please reach out if you have any questions. 

Have a wonderful weekend. See you on Monday!

October 18th, 2024

It was yet another short week with so much packed in! Here's what we were up to in 5A:

Language

We started our Book Talks! In small groups, students are: reading a novel; discussing important themes; and completing assignments along the way. This week students were tasked with creating a bookmark for their book and adding 2 predictions based on the information provided in the blurb and after the first day of reading. Similar to the comprehension questions on the homework page, students were tasked with answering one response question independently. While these questions are great for sparking conversations at home, we used a few to be able to spark discussion and then our writing. One group worked on making an incredible song and performed it for me today! 

So far, I have had the opportunity to read with most groups and will ensure that I read with every group during the 5-day cycle. While reading with groups, I am looking for fluency and for understanding as we read. Sometimes I'll make notes as students read and other times, we might just sit and chat. 

Most groups have been able to stay on track with reading however, there are a couple who may need a little extra time so you might see your student reading their novel at home. Whether or not they are reading their novel at home, please ask them about what they have been reading. Many of our books have themes of Social Justice and you might be surprised by some of the critical thinking happening.

Math

We wrapped up our Data Management unit this week with students interpreting data. We've had many check-ins along the way and there has been a great improvement in the application of the learning over the unit. Students have been able to confidently explain what they are noticing in graphs and can analyze them effectively.  

Today we did a quick quiz for our patterning unit which we start on Monday. Students have been asked to bring in a pattern on Monday. They can find one or create one of their own. It can be a geometric pattern or a number pattern. 

Science

After learning that a force is a push or pull in any direction, we dove into the different forces that could be acting on structures. From tension and compression to gravity and friction, students learned about internal and external forces. Next week we will use this knowledge in groups to create bridges that can withstand a load and describe where we see these forces in action.   

Physical Education

I am so impressed by the volleyball skills that I have seen improve week after week. I'm telling you, we've got some extraordinary servers, bumpers, and volleyers. This was supposed to be our last week of volleyball, but as school teams are starting up, there's been a bit of interest in keeping the practices going to continue to improve and possibly make the team. We'll check in on Monday and see how people are feeling about continuing with this sport.

A couple of final notes...

Some students received their Chromebooks today. I thank all families for submitting the forms for the 1-to-1 Device Program.  We are in the process of sorting things out so that we will all have devices in our classroom. For those who already have devices, we learned about being careful with them and ensuring that they are stored in a safe place while at school. With few outlets in the classroom, we hope that devices can be charged in the evenings so that they are ready to use in the classroom. A Google Classroom will be set up shortly so that all students are able to join. 

Scholastic flyers went home this week. If families are interested in purchasing books, I will place orders on October 31st, 2024. Ordering is simple and can be done online. Please reach out if you have any questions. 

Have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday!

October 10th, 2024

It was great meeting so many families this evening at curriculum night. Thank you for taking the time to come into our learning space and for taking the time to explore what we have been learning over the last few weeks. The students have been hard at work and I'm proud of the work they have been doing so far. 

Here's what we were up to this week: 

Language

Students started this week with feedback on their reading responses for our podcast. They each received a copy of a rubric that highlighted their areas of strength, need, and feedback. It was refreshing to see that as I read their responses this week, many students have already incorporated the feedback to improve their responses. As we continue this work, I will provide more of these assessments of their responses. 

The selections have been made and students will be starting Book Talks next week in their groups! I shared a bit about each book by reading the blurb and sharing some reasons why I enjoyed each one. From there, students made their selections and I am happy to say that each student got their first choice for their book and we begin on Wednesday. Students will read in groups for 4 days of the week and will be responsible for discussing key themes and topics as they arise and completing assignments in their groups. Each week, they will also be responsible for completing an independent reading response. I'm super excited to get started with these Book Talks and can't wait to discuss them with students. 

Math

This week we had a quiz on the mode, median and mean, along with some additional practice. We also had the opportunity to learn about and create Infographics based on water use. We are nearing the end of our unit and next week will be all about data interpretation. Using a variety of graphs, students will have the opportunity to analyze and share what information they can gather. On Friday of next week, students will have a quick readiness quiz on our next unit in Math, Patterning. This quiz is for me to get a sense of where students are at as we start this new unit.

Physical Education

Our student-led warm-ups continue to be creative and they get our bodies moving. Volleyball is the name of the game and this week, I've seen improvements in the student's skills. This week we even got started on a game. Next week we will continue to practice and play a game or two. 

The Arts

Our querkles are finished and they were up on the wall as you visited for curriculum night! I'm so proud of their understanding of value and how they were able to apply this knowledge to this task. The leaves are falling and our next project will involve a few leaves and warm and cool colours. 

We had our first group present their play and it was incredible! With props on hand, members of this group were in role and spoke with passion and expression. The entire class erupted with applause at the end. Next week we will continue with presentations. Students are encouraged to continue to practice their scripts. 

Thanks again for taking the time to visit for curriculum night. As I mentioned, my door is always open so please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I hope that you have a wonderful long weekend and we will see students again on Tuesday.

October 4th, 2024

Welcome to October in 5A! Here's what we were up to this week.

Language

With Monday being the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we started our week watching videos, listening to stories and learning more about the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We learned about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its 94 calls to action. Students read and designed orange T-shirts with some of these calls as a reminder of how we can learn more and take action.  

While reading Shi-shi-etko and  Shin-Chi's Canoe, students had the opportunity to explore both texts and make comparisons, noting that the colour changes were directly related to the emotion based on the events in each text.  They were also tasked with considering what was included and excluded in both stories and their imagery. This work connects to our upcoming Social Studies unit: Heritage and Identity: Interactions of Indigenous Peoples and Europeans prior to 1713, in What Would Eventually Become Canada.

We also continued this week with our podcast which has taken many twists and turns. It's always so much fun watching students' faces when an episode is nearing the end and new information is introduced. Once again we had many unbelievable moments and our predictions and responses continue to improve.

Book talks are starting soon and we've got some exciting texts that we will be starting to explore. 

Math

In Math, we continued with our Data Management unit. Along with a quiz to check for understanding, students were tasked with:

1. Creating a survey; 

2. Conducting their surveys, keeping their data in a frequency table;

3. Graphing their data;

4. Determining the mode, median and mean.

It was great to see all of the creative questions that students came up with as they continued to learn more about their peers. 

Next week we will be exploring infographics and students will be tasked with interpreting them and creating their own.  

Science

Feedback has been given and changes have been made for our prototypes. Next week we will be doing short presentations in groups so that people can hear about our new and unique solutions. They'll also be ready for you to check out when you arrive for curriculum night on Thursday. 

We also started a new unit - Forces Acting on Structures. Students were tasked with considering what they already know about strong and stable structures and building free-standing skyscrapers. We worked on a KWL for the unit and watched a video to help us understand some of the forces involved when natural disasters occur. The learning continues next week as we learn about the external and internal forces that act on structures. 

Physical Education

Students led our warm-ups this week and it was fantastic to see the creativity when it came to putting together movements that would prepare us for our new unit, volleyball. Students learned some basic skills - how to volley, bump and serve.  We spent some time playing a few games of keep-up and the competition was great between groups. Next week we'll have the nets up in the gym and will try and see if we can put it all together to play a game or two. 

Art

Many of our querkles are ready for you to check out next week during curriculum night. Our plays are coming along nicely with groups having yet another chance to practice today. Performances start next week. Students are encouraged to continue to practice their parts.

I hope that you have a restful weekend! Next week is another short week with the PA Day on Friday.  I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday as we kick off another busy week.