Some links and tips

We had a great day today, focusing primarily on Math, French and Science. As I mentioned in Friday's post, here are some useful links that we will be taking advantage of throughout the coming weeks. I will link them in the sidebar (to the right) as well within the next week.

Social Studies: The Beothuk peoples and early colonists of Newfoundland

http://www.mun.ca/rels/native/beothuk/beohist.html : I will use this site to pull information from during our Drama in Education program about early Newfoundland settlement.

http://www.bigorrin.org/beothuk_kids.htm : This informational site is more kid-friendly; students will be using it for their own work.

http://www.mun.ca/rels/native/beothuk/beo2gifs/texts/howley17.html#jgnar : This is a source text that I will be translating for use in our projects; feel free to refer to it, and bookmark it in case it is needed as a supplementary reading later.

Math: Place value, counting and representing up to 1 000 000

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_152_g_2_t_1.html?from=category_g_2_t_1.html : This site allows students to practice working with place value. If you click on "Parent/Teacher" at the top of the page, there is a helpful tutorial.

http://www.gamequarium.com/placevalue.html : Gamequarium is a great site with plenty of good, interactive activities. I would suggst playing a couple of these games whenever students get a chance, just to improve comprehension and to get some practice in.

French: Grammar, Responding, Reading

http://w3.restena.lu/primaire/weiswampach/arend/01_02/2/histoires2.html : These are stories written by schoolchildren, and can be used for nightly assigned reading if your child doesn't have a book. They are also a good model of what I am looking for in their writing.

Science: Weather and Climate

http://www.meteo.gc.ca/city/pages/nl-24_metric_f.html : We will be monitoring weather over the next couple weeks; please use this site to find weather predictions and conditions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74mhQyuyELQ&feature=player_embedded&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active : This video is made up of images taken from the International Space Station. It helped students as they tried to visualize the scope of climate and the atmosphere.

Religion: Civil Rights and Peace-Making

http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/070/article_39395.asp : This is a news account of the passing of Rosa Parks. It will be used as a reference for a project on Martin Luther King and other noted "Peace-Makers"

http://lpdw.free.fr/freedom/martinlutherbio.htm : This is a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. in French. It is above most students' reading levels, but excerpts will be used when we deal with this topic.

http://bharat.pagesperso-orange.fr/bio/gandhi.htm : Finally, this page is about the life of Gandhi. It is more approachable to the readers in our class, and will serve as a source in class.

English: Writing a business letter and analyzing text

http://www.infoplease.com/homework/wsbookreportelem.html : When I ask students to reflect on something they have written or on a text they are given (which will be frequent in English and French), I expect them to consider certain things. This site gives many examples of what I am looking for, either in formal reports or in individual reflections.

http://www.xerox.ca/office/small-business/tips/business-letter/enca.html : Students will be learning how to write business letters in class. If they need help, you can use this site to remind you of exact formatting details.

These links should be helpful, either directly or indirectly. Here are a few more notes specific to today's activities:

• We gave out new weekly tasks today, so it is worth checking with your child to see what they will be responsible for.
• I have prepared morning checklists, and almost completed the homework folders I mentioned last week. These will be a dynamic, changing document that students will be able to refer to throughout the year.
• Thank you for sending in book orders, they will be sent in today.
• If your child is using KidBlog frequently (as most are), please have them check my posts frequently. Also, any post not adhering to the "New Rules" will be marked as a "Draft" by me and sent back. Students can look at their drafts in the "New Post" tab under "Review Posts", and make any changes. Most often, the changes will involve capitalization, punctuation or French-language issues. It bears repeating that I will not reject posts for spelling, grammar or other similar errors.
• Today's Question du Jour is math-related. Students have been instructed already that any responses to math questions should be answered in full sentences.

Have a great night and let me know if you have any questions.