The Terry Fox Song

Please enjoy this motivating song written about Terry Fox. Remember to wear red and white tomorrow and don't forget your Twoonie  for TERRY.

Math Time!

Everyone was working hard today trying to solve today's math question. Today we looked at a very "OPEN" question. An "OPEN" question allows for MANY DIFFERENT CORRECT ANSWERS. Take a look at how our lesson progressed today.

First, I presented the kids with our question:

On a graph about pets owned by children in our class, I counted more dogs than cats. What might the graph look like?

Students then worked in partners to create their graphs.

Once, all of the graphs were completed, I chose 2 for us to view and discuss as a class.  We looked at Jirou and Scarlett's graph. It had a title, lables, and an accurate scale (left side). Also it was in line with our question and display's more dogs than cats.

Lastly, I pushed the thinking forward by asking if I was 'allowed' to add in labels for 'birds' and 'fish'. At first everyone said "no" but could not give me enough proof to explain why I couldn't.

 I added in the categories and we re-read the original question.  The class realized that it was okay for me to add extra labels as long as..."MY GRAPH SHOWS MORE DOGS THAN CATS" as stated in the question.

We will continue looking at different questions about data and graphing.

Our Literacy Block

We being every day with Literacy. Thank you for sending your children on time, well rested and prepared to start the day. Our classroom looks different throughout the day especially during Literacy. Many things are happening at the same time and students are required to work on their own while I am meeting daily with small 'guided reading groups'.

We usually start off together collected as a whole group but quickly move to independent practice and guided reading. During this time, students are required to work in small groups or by themselves on a variety of different literacy tasks. This daily practice is very important. While they are working away, I am meeting with small groups. These small groups allows students to read pieces of text (stories, poems, articles, etc.) that directly relate to their individual reading level. Small group instruction gives me the opportunity to really see what your can do! Often times, in small groups, students are more willing to share their thoughts and opinions about what they read.

Take a look at the pictures below. You should notice different students working on different things at the same time.  Today, everyone did a fabulous job staying focused on their tasks!

Cohen and Matthew are writing sentences about their weekend.

Many students partnered up to practice making 'sight words'. 

Scarlett is exploring some books on EPIC books (www.getepic.com)

These students have different tasks but are all working well together!

Making Pictographs

Today we focused on creating our own pictographs. Each student was given a set of 'data' (insects) and then they had to 'plot' the data on their graph. Our next step will be to exchange graphs with one another and see what we can learn. Stay tuned!!! In the meantime, ask your child if they remember what 'data', 'pictograph', and 'plot' (place information into a graph) mean. If they can tell you they deserve a GIANT kiss 😜.

Pictographs and Partners

We have started looking into Data Management. Students are learning how to look at a set of data to learn information. Our focus today was on PICTOGRAPHS. Students were partnered up (for the first time) and things went extremely well! I asked them to look at the data and write about what you can learn from it. We are only getting started but the kids are quite excited. Take a look. Be sure to ask your child to explain what a PICTOGRAPH is (it is a graph that uses pictures to show data/information).

The Name Jar

This week we are focusing on the book The Name Jar. It's a lovely story about being new and having first day jitters. Also, it shows the reader how important it is to be friendly which just happens to be our first area of focus for our Religion/Fully Alive Program (Let Us Be Friends). 

We will have discussions about what makes us unique and special and we will also be discussing some more technical issues like the 'problem', and 'solution' for this particular text. 

Week One!

It was a quick but wonderful start to our school year! Everyone is off to a great start. Students came prepared to learn, well rested and full of positivity. Today a few classmates had the opportunity to explore our 'Bananagrams'. Take a look at what they were able to create! Bananagrams are an excellent tool for word building and we use them frequently during Literacy.

We are settling into our routines and getting to know one another. Enjoy the weekend everyone! 

We Can!

We will spend a lot of time this year focusing on what we CAN do. A positive mind set allows everyone to see their successes and build upon them. Today we talked about what we CAN do to create a strong working environment. Below is an anchor chart that the kids discussed and then created.

 Also, later on in the morning we talked about the importance of having an opinion. It was a quick 10 minute talk however many were able to share their thoughts about 'which bird was the best'. Ask your child what bird they thought was the best and why?

Welcome!

Happy September Everyone!

In Numeracy today we spent some time 'rolling to 100'. Students were asked to use a counter, die and hundreds chart so that they could roll to 100. Take a look at your children hard at work. This activity allows students to practice counting forward (or backwards) by different intervals. Eventually, I will encourage students to eliminate the counter and do all calculations mentally.