Composting Video's

Today we started to learn about composting. Soon, the students will be creating posters to advertise & raise awareness about the importance of composting. Enjoy this short video.

Happy Days Ahead!

In September, at our first school Mass the Deacon asked us a very simple question. He asked us, "What can you do to make Jesus happy today?". He listened attentively to what each student had to say and then encouraged each of us to think about that question when we wake up in the morning. He asked us to think about that question when the school bell rings, and outside on the playground. If we think about doing things and making choices to please Jesus, then we are surely on the right path. Our homes, classrooms and playgrounds will be safe and special places. In our classroom I have dedicated a small board to this idea. Students filled out sticky notes and shared with one another what they were going to try and do to 'Make Jesus Smile'. Take a look!

So ask yourself! What can you do today to make Jesus HAPPY? 

Remembrance Day - We Remember!

This week and throughout November we will continue to focus on Remembrance Day and what it means in Canada.  Please visit the following links to see what we have been discussing. This year we are learning about the role that animals have played during times of war. I know you will be surprised at a few!

Tales of Animals Newspaper

Tales of Animals in War POSTER (full size)

Tales of Animals - Text/Description

The Science of Soil

Today we spent some of the morning taking a closer look at soil. The students paired up and were able to use magnifying glasses to take a super close up look at more than one soil sample.  We've discussed in previous lessons that soil always contains both living and non-living things. Today the students discovered the following items in their soil samples:

sticks, roots, pieces of leaves, large soil clumps, tiny rocks, fertilizer, insects (living), insects (dead), hair, water (moisture).

Everyone enjoyed using the magnifying glasses. Hopefully later on this week we'll get the chance to take them outside.

Fundraising Foxes!

Our Fundraising efforts were successful! We will be celebrating as a school at tomorrow's assembly in the gym. Students, take a look at the fox poster to see what foxes you were able to win!

Below are our successful fundraisers! Way to go.

Number Patterns

Our class continues to look at growing and shrinking number patterns in math. We have been looking at different patterns for a few weeks now and are ready to really put our new knowledge into practice. Below is an example of an 'OPEN QUESTION'. It requires each student to create a pattern but they have the freedom to choose what kind of pattern. This way, anyone can be successful and not feel intimidated because they get to be in charge of their own pattern numbers. They can choose if they want their pattern to grow by many numbers or few numbers.

This is the question everyone was expected to answer.

Mali's rule is...Start at 0 count on by 1s.

Gracie's rule is...Start at 0. Count on by 5s.

Nrec's rule is...Start at 0. Count on by 2s each time.

Aries' rule is...Start at 0. Count on by 10 each time.

Brayden's rule is ...Start at 0. Count on by 20s each time.

Braydee's rule is...Start at 0. Count on by 3s each time.

Estimation Challenge #3

For our third Estimation Challenge we estimated a very familiar building tool, the straws from our straws and connector kit. We had amazing results! Devon guessed one short of our total, and the rest of the crew photographed were less than 5 away from our total. Great Estimation Power Grade 3!

Kids in Action

Take a look at our class working! They are really gaining independence and patience while completing tasks. We have a 'work around the room' policy which allows students to choose a space/place to work where they feel most comfortable. We always are trying to set ourselves up for success! Sometimes a little change of scenery is all we need to stay motivated and working.

Small Group Work

Each week, I make sure to plan some activities that require 'small groups'. These small groups allow students to learn how to work with a variety of classmates to complete a task. It also helps them build independence and improves their problem solving skills. For this task, students were asked to group together to create a list of words associated with Fall. 

These groups were especially focused on the task.

Estimation Challenge #2

For our second estimation challenge,  the class had to estimate how many 2 cm snap cubes were in our Estimation Jar. Everyone knew that it would be a larger number than last week because each items was smaller. However, Aiden was our strongest estimator for this challenge. He estimated that there were 99 cubes in our Estimation Jar. After we VERIFIED the actual amount as a class, we realized that there were 105 cubes in total. Aiden had a pretty strong strategy that he shared with his classmates. Great Strategy Aiden!

What does the FOX say?

Frannie the Fox says "SELL, SELL, SELL"! Please continue trying to sell items for our Fall Fundraiser. ALL kids benefit when the school can purchase valuable classroom items and equipment! I have added an extra incentive. I will provide an ice-cream treat for those in the class who manage to make at least one sale. Remember, if you are struggling to find a buyer, let me know and I will do my best to help you.

Also please know that very soon, our class will be receiving 3 monthly magazines!
CHICKADEE, OWL and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS should be arriving soon. Stay tuned....

Super Sentences

This week, we have started to take our sentences more seriously! We are learning strategies to create detailed and descriptive sentences. This week, EVERYONE was excited to write about their Thanksgiving Feast's! We have been training ourselves to find the 5W's in one another's sentences.  Take a look at the ANCHOR CHART we created together. It will be posted in our classroom as a helper for ALL.

We use the words 'BUMP IT UP' a lot while we are learning. It is a gentle and positive way to ask students to improve the quality of their work. We all learn from our mistakes, and 'bumping it up' allows each student to try and figure out how to improve upon their work. Below is a picture of me modelling a 'BUMP UP'.

If this picture is confusing to you, your child should be very happy to explain it to you. 

Happy Thanksgiving

We celebrated Eucharist today with St. Jules School.  It was a wonderful example of how strong the power of prayer can be when many are 'gathered in His name'. I wish you all a sunny, safe and blessed Thanksgiving weekend. Ask your child if they remember what letters (and words) they can see when they look closely at the cross. Someone wise once showed me that when you look at Jesus upon the cross you can see the letters (t-shape of the cross, and y- shape of His body). It is a simple reminder to always say 'THANK YOU' to Jesus for all of our blessings.

SCHOOL FUNDRAISING

Our Fall Fundraiser has officially kicked off! Frannie the Fox, our classroom mascot, is encouraging everyone to do their very best in trying to sell one item (cookie dough or magazine) to a family member or a combination of 3 or more items if they would like to earn prizes. Be sure to ask your children what the school wide incentives are! A huge shout out to Evelyn! She was the first to make a sale and return her envelopes to school. Thanks for being a leader Evelyn!

If you are struggling to make a sale but would like to participate, please let me know. I have a few fundraising angels (friends & family) who like to help when they can.

Estimation Challenge

Once a week our class takes on an Estimation Challenge . I set up a clear container and fill it with something. Together we discuss what a reasonable estimate may be for the total amount.  Almost like a carnival Guessing Jar. It is a fun and effective way to practice our Spatial Reasoning Skills. In order to have a close estimation, students must think hard about the shape and size of the figure. They also must consider how full the estimation jar is. Today, we tried it for the first time and Ethan was our strongest estimator! Cohen and Swedlan were also quite close.  Ethan's estimate of 38 was just one over our total (it was 37). Cohen and Swedlan both estimated 40. Stay tuned for the next challenge.

Here, Jirou and Austin are VERIFYING by counting the items from the jar.

Ethan was very accurate with an estimate of 38! Way to go Ethan. 

Fairy Tales and Folk Tales

In Literacy we will be taking a look at common features found in Fairy / Folk Tales.  It is a way for us to look deeper into a simple story to see how it is built. We are learning that Fairy Tales usually

• Begin with "Once upon a time", or "Long, long ago"...
• Involve magical powers and magical things
• Have imaginary good characters and imaginary evil/bad characters
• Can not be real
• Often involve royalty
• happen in far away lands or magical settings
• problems are solved with a happy outcome
• There is a lesson to be learned

We will be comparing several different Fairy Tales, however this one of my personal favourites! 

It is one of a few books I've saved from my childhood. I love sharing it with my class each year.

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.