'Tis the season!

As 2011 (and the first part of our school year) draws to a close, we are having lots of fun in room 137. The last week has been a flurry of activity as we try to get some things finished up, as well as working on some art projects. We have almost finished Number The Stars, which was a huge hit with the kids. Our ambitious Papier Maché project will be finished tomorrow (knock on wood), as will our work with basic Canadian geography.

Tomorrow is the day of our Christmas party, and will also be a "pyjama day". It amazes me that wearing pyjamas to school can be so much fun, but what do I know? We're going to have some hot cocoa and snacks, and probably do a few fun Christmassy activities.

Several of my students were selected to pariticpate in the school-wide Talent Show, which we are all very thrilled about. It will be fun to watch them up on stage. All students who auditioned will be officially recognized by the Spirit Committee before Christmas.

There is no homework tonight, as I am sure there is already plenty on the go in your busy lives. Have a good evening, and please email if you have any questions or concerns.

Useful math sites

We are moving into geometry and measurement before Christmas, and I showed the students some fun sites today. Here are links to a few of them, and more are available through the links on the right sidebar.

Pentominoes! This games looks at many geometric and problem-solving situations.

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_114_g_2_t_3.html

Ladybug Mazes: Students use basic computer programming skills to direct a ladybug through a maze

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_141_g_2_t_3.html

Turtle Geometry: A slightly more complicated version of the Ladybug game

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_178_g_2_t_3.html

Geoboards!

 

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_166_g_2_t_3.html?open=activities&from=category_g_2_t_3.html

On a different note, this link is good for practicing multiples of a given number. It uses Pascal's triangle, a common way of representing patterns in multiples of real numbers.

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/ColoringMultiples/

Farewell Movember

Today was a very busy day! The class is really hitting their stride academically, working harder every day to get their work done and really push themselves to achieve at a high level. It also marks the last day of my now-infamous moustache, which will be returned to the stubble from whence it came later on this evening. Thanks to Jack and family for their kind Christmas/Movember gift that will help with my efforts.

We finished up the math chapter today, focusing on some techniques that they can use for doing subtraction using mental math strategies. This was a very brief lesson since it is a concept they have seen many times before. Your child should be able to complete their entire math review booklet now. I have assigned up to (at least) Lesson 6 tonight. If they finish, please encourage them to review more and create new problems to solve.

The class is participating in a school program affiliated with the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton/Calgary. Today our package arrived in the mail, so we started doing some of the activities online. The website they can follow along with is:

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/170445/la_id/1.htm

Click on any of the activities on the left sidebar (in French, s'il vous plait!), and you will be prompted to give a username and password. These are:

username: schoolprogram
password: wjc2012

Have fun! This could be used as a great substitute for reading a French book if your child is interested.

We are moving along with our study of geography and all health mobiles are now complete and presented. Report cards are coming out on Friday, so be sure to keep an eye out! The information for booking parent-teacher meetings is available on a newsletter that went home yesterday.

It's Friday!

I hope everybody has a great weekend; not much to say here. I will be going to see the new Muppet movie, and I hope you all find ways to amuse yourselves as well! The only homework for this weekend is to check up on KidBlog on Saturday afternoon. I will be posting a little homework assignment then.

Email if you have any questions or concerns, and have fun.

Where in the world are we?

Today we kicked off a new project in social studies. We are moving from studying the history of Newfoundland to studying Geography. The class spent time reviewing terms and concepts from last year's geography curriculum, and I gave out a DuoTang with some review sheets for them to work on. I will be assigning work in this folder as homework over the next couple of weeks.

As part of this unit, we are creating a map of the world using symbols, images, words and drawings. Students have been placed in groups of two, each assigned to a continent. The idea is that they will get things started now, and continue working on the project throughout the next few weeks.

The kids will be presenting their health mobiles tomorrow. Each student should be ready to present tomorrow, with a short piece written up to read from when they show it to the class. They will present as part of a tour that the kids will take around the class, watching each presentation and asking questions as appropriate.

We discussed last night's Question du Jour at length this morning, to clear up some of the confusion that existed about the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation. Many students had amazing answers to the question I posed, which was a hypothetical question about how they would react if they saw a friend stealing. We had a great discussion about this, and will expand on it later as we get more into philosophical issues about morality and ethics.

A few other housekeeping notes:
-Scholastic orders will be here soon; there were numerous backorders and incomplete sets, so they held them and shipped this week.
-If we (knock on wood) don't have school tomorrow, Spice Barn orders can be picked up between 3-6 on Monday.
-BCE Chapters Night has been postponed until Monday, just in case.
-The students are really enjoying the hockey pool, and it has turned into a great math tool. Students will have an opportunity to add/drop two players on the day report cards go home.

Have a great evening, and I will post more tomorrow (now that I'm through report cards).

Tech Day

We had a very busy day today in Room 137! We had a full class for the first time in a while, as all my students seem to have successfully fought off a wicked flu that was going around. We focused very heavily on math today, with a particular eye on modelling subtraction of decimals. This was a good activity using tile blocks, the SmartBoard and written answers.

We also had a researcher from MUN come in to observe our use of technology in class, which was interesting. She had lots of good questions, and will be offering some feedback down the line to help improve my procedures and use of technology in class. We did an activity to follow up on last night's Question du Jour, which asked the students to make observations and pose questions about our hockey pool. On that note, Sid the Kid's triumphant return has shaken up our pool greatly. I feel as though my chances are now circling the drain....

We looked at the story of The Prodigal Son in religion class today, and talked about how this parable and many others in religious and secular traditions talk about forgiveness, reconciliation and justice. Tonight's Question du Jour asks a hypothetical moral question, and I have asked students to consider the story and reflect on how they would act.

We will be starting to read Number the Stars in the next week, as a guided reading/response activity. We introduced this book yesterday with an activity that had students respond to the cover and back jacket of the book. The class seems very into the process of response to reading, and I hope to use this interest to help increase the enjoyment and depth of their own independent reading. Today we had a "practice session", as I walked them through the process of guided reading with a chapter from one of my favourite books called Maniac Magee. I was very impressed with their work, and I think that reading Number the Stars will be a very fruitful exercise. As always, I encourage parents to discuss their child's reading with them and encourage them to ask questions and look into their reading with ever-increasing depth.

The first reporting period is over, and I am very happy with where my students are in their progress. I look forward to seeing all the parents/guardians of my class in the following couple of week, and will be more than happy to meet with you whenever/wherever if you have any questions or concerns.

Back from the Mainland

After a lovely few days visiting my grandparents in Ontario, I'm back in class. It seems as though the class didn't miss a beat, left in the capable hands of Ms. Bishop. They continued to move along in the curriculum over the 3 days I was absent, and completed some important evaluation pieces in the meantime.
Our Social Studies projects are now completely finished, and students are most of the way through a cumulative health project. This project has them creating a mobile that reflects themselves in a variety of ways past, present and future. Students have shown some ingenious ways of demonstrating their interests, strengths, weaknesses and relationships through text, visuals and other media.
Today's Question du Jour is about what we are doing in Math. To help comprehension, it is in English with a supporting video on KidBlog. I would encourage all students to take a look at this video again, as we will be applying the principles therein to decimal subtraction tomorrow. I also told students that we will be using their french reading material in class tomorrow, so it was crucial to read in French tonight.
I don't have much more to add right now. I'm wading through the things the kids did while I was away, and finishing up my first term reports (if you can believe it). Parent-teacher meetings are coming up in a few weeks, so in preparation we will be doing some introspection activities in class to encourage the students to reflect on their learning and set goals for the rest of the year. Some of these activities will be take-home projects, so expect to see them popping up in the next couple of weeks.

What a big day!

Today marked the conclusion of two big projects we have been working on over the last while. Students presented their projects about John Guy and the Beothuks, and they also wrote their science test. I feel that both went very well, and showed just how much they have learned, experienced and accomplished since the beginning of the year.

Much like the Becoming an Expert projects that some students completed last year, the social studies projects were a very wide-ranging, exhaustive study. They required students to work in gradual steps, with a focus on being thorough and maintaining a clarity in their work. They had to create their project within the parameters laid out by Mme Curtis and I, while making their own decisions along the way.

The bulk of the material the students drew from as they completed their projects was taken from folders of information that were created by the class last month. These folders covered a variety of topics, and were 100% student-generated. We feel as though this clearly showed students that research is a worthwhile process with very tangible results. It also meant that every student was included (in a way) in everybody's project.

The end result was a wide array of projects that covered many topics related to our study of colonial and pre-colonial Newfoundland and Labrador. It was interesting to see how the information was interpreted by students. The interpretations were a reflection of their own tastes and abilities, the medium we chose for them to present in, and the interactions between group members. Even though current wisdom suggests that this hands-on method is a very good way to teach, I am always amazed by how much students are able to retain after going through an experience like this.

The students in my class seemed very comfortable with their science tests, which I was happy to see. The format of the test was very open-ended, with no matching, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks or definitions. All 6 questions were somewhat open-ended, with a focus on letting students show what they have learned. It was great to see so many students taking this as an opportunity to give great explanations and details on a variety of topics (and including personal anecdotes and examples from class as well). Due to the amount of material we covered and the nature of the questions I asked, these tests will not be returned until Wednesday.

We have our Remembrance Day assembly on Thursday, as marked on the November calendar. There will be a more detailed note going home prior to the big day, which will have more detail about timing (1:30pm) and what else needs to be done. As always, I encourage parents to come along if possible. The kids love to see you there, and they have some very heart-felt things prepared.

Tonight's homework is related to Remembrance Day. We received a mail out from the Department of Veterans Affairs that contained some great bilingual resources, which we will be using throughout this week (and perhaps beyond). I have ask students to read at least 2 articles in a newspaper that I sent them home with, of which at least one must be French. It is important that they complete this work, since we will be using what they have read tomorrow in class.

Typing Tutor

For those that are taking my typing classes, here is a link to purchase the typing tutor we will be using. It is also possible to borrow it from me to install, but that will take a couple of weeks to get a copy to everybody.

http://www.amazon.com/Mavis-Beacon-Teaches-Typing-18/dp/B0014ZQMXO

Tomorrow may be a letdown...

Today the class enjoyed the spoils of victory. The main feature was a pizza party, which was "payment" for a successful KidBlog assignment in October. The kids had a great time, I think. We also redeemed our reward for our successful 20 minute run, which was 1 free hour of gym. We were one of two classes in the school that accomplished this lofty goal as a whole class. I was very impressed by the achievement, as was Ms. Tapper.

We concluded our Science review and worked on some written and oral responses to math questions about our hockey pool. This afternoon, we finished up our Beothuk projects for presentation tomorrow. Should be a good time! Mme Curtis and I are both very happy with the results.

Tomorrow will be back to the grindstone a bit, since Day 7 has no gym or music class and we have lots to accomplish. On that note, have a great night and talk to you all tomorrow.

Post coming soon

Typing and a few other things ran late, so check back for a post after 8pm please.

A big day tomorrow!

As the title leads you to believe, tomorrow will be lots of fun in Room 137. I sent home a science study guide for students to complete to the best of their ability (using their text and notes), which we will complete and correct tomorrow. We are also going to be finishing up our Beothuk/John Guy projects to present on Friday! I think there's something else....

OH YEAH! IT'S PIZZA PYJAMA PARTY THURSDAY!!!!

As a reward for completing a task on KidBlog earlier in October, students will be enjoying a Pizza/Pyjama Party tomorrow. They have been working very hard lately, and I think this is good timing. The class also has music and gym tomorrow, so it's shaping up to be a pretty exciting Thursday.

In terms of the science review, my expectation is that students will define, respond to and diagram the things I have asked them to. They had time today to create notes on some key points, and they have their texts at home as well. All of the answers are found in the text, in images, and in the glossary at the back of the book. We also went through a sample test in English today, to familiarize students with the material a bit more and practice our test-taking skills.



See? Everybody likes to read. Turns out
Darth was his father after all.

 It seems that most students are reading nightly, but I can't overstress how important it is to keep this up. I would suggest changing up the type of reading students are doing, and monitoring their understanding and enjoyment. If you feel I have misjudged their level of understanding or interest with a certain selection, please let me know so I can help them find something more appropriate. Some strategies you might try at home are:

• Reading aloud, or taking turns
• Reading your child a book before bed or when waiting for something else
• Encouraging your child to look up things that interest them in a book or on the web
• Taking trips to the library to change up books frequently and explore different types of text (comics, novels, picture books, etc.)
• Discuss things you have read or heard, or things that your child brings up.
• Refer to things I have mentioned on the blog, or encourage them to show you some of their favourite posts from KidBlog.

Believe it or not, there are only 3 lessons left in this chapter of math. my hope is to test this chapter before my reports are due on November 18th, and then focus more heavily on problem solving for a week or two. That being said, things change all the time and we never know for sure what will be coming up the next week. I will keep you up to date, and please encourage your child to tell me when they are having trouble with anything in math or other subjects.

I sent home a memo about my typing classes today, outlining what days they will be offered in November. Even if your child will not be able to participate (or is not interested, which is fine), there is an option to bring home a CD-ROM  and install the typing program I will be using in class. It went very well yesterday, and I will continue it as long as it seems beneficial.

Have a great evening, and talk to you all soon.

A day of moving and shaking

I feel like today was a very constructive day in Room 137. We got some great work done in math, everybody is pretty much up to speed on assignments and projects, and the fact that they were still coming down off their sugar high meant that everybody was very docile.

There are a few things for homework tonight, as I am trying to make sure some key concepts and processes hit home. There is a math question to answer on KidBlog, I assigned words of the week to help with math and science learning/review, and there are a few messages as well. I was very happy with the results of last night's "Halloween Math" homework.

I will be sending home a science review package tomorrow, which will focus on putting things we have learned into practice. This unit has been very hands-on and focused on experiential learning, but Mme Curtis and I feel that it is necessary to test students' knowledge of the basic concepts, terms and processes as well. Students will be tested on their knowledge of the effects of the sun, the nature of climate and weather in general, clouds, and a few other terms related to the water cycle and atmosphere. It will not be an overwhelming amount of material to know, but students will be expected to prepare using their guide.

I promised students a pizza party earlier in October, when a critical mass of them answered a question on KidBlog correctly. The toppings will be picked by those that took the time to answer the question, and we will have the party on Thursday. Students will not need to pack a lunch on this day, and we will also be doing some other fun things.

Our classes will be presenting their Beothuk/John Guy-themed projects on Friday. We are very happy with the progress and results of this project. It will be an important building block to more independent, ambitious projects over the rest of the year. If you are interested, the projects will be on display on Friday after school (except those which are performances). Videos, pictures and websites will be linked on KidBlog.

Have a great evening, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. If you wish to follow the progress of my Movember moustache, check out mobro.co/MrPaterson. mobro.co/MrPaterson

A chilly Halloween

I will keep today's post brief, since I sent home a long email today with many details that I would have otherwise posted here. I will take this space (and time) to talk a bit more about some things we are doing in class over the next couple of weeks.

Health is one of the oft-forgotten subjects, overshadowed by its siblings Language Arts, Math and Science. However, I believe it is of increasing importance as students move into Grade Five and beyond. This unit in health talks about interpersonal relationships, and proper ways to give and receive compliments and criticism. I have been talking about this at length with the class, and it will be an integral part of a project they will be doing in about a week from now.

In math we are moving right along with decimals, specifically the rounding, addition and subtraction of units, tenths, hundredths and thousandths. For those who have time, it is always worth practicing math on the sites linked on the right sidebar (over there -------->). I know it's Halloween, but I also assigned homework tonight that will ask students to use numbers from their trick-or-treating to solve a problem.

I am participating in Movember, an international movement to increase awareness of men's health issues and raise money for cancer research. I will be talking about this in class, as we address ideas about voluntarism, community involvement and social action. If you want to track my progress, go to mobro.co/MrPaterson. Should be fun!

We have a science test next Monday. Hooray!! I will be sending home a study guide this week, so no need to panic on the home front. We will start moving along more quickly in science as we finish up our busy unit in social studies.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Until next time!

Friday, Friday!

Have a great weekend.

Now to make up our minds... Front seat or back seat? Here's a favourite from last year, a song that was voted "Worst Ever" by my Grade 4 class.

Hallowe'en Fair tomorrow!

I don't have much to post today, just to remind parents that tomorrow is our annual Hallowe'en Fair and mention tonight's homework. Students who did not finish a second draft of a project we're working on are tasked with finishing it tonight, and I have asked them to read aloud again.

Tomorrow we will be participating in the usual Hallowe'en madness, with some fun in-class activities as well. I'm sure that I will see many of you around. I would suggest that students bring their bookbags and lunchbags as they normally would, since I will have things to assign for next week and they will be exchanging books, etc. Students should also bring along a few dollars if they plan on buying any snacks or playing games (like the cakewalk). That being said, I will have some treats of my own to share with the class and students can bring their own treats as well.

Have a good rainy evening, and talk to you all soon. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Things are getting a bit spooky...

I hope everybody had a great day yesterday! The kids certainly had a few stories to tell about what they had gotten up to, and seemed quite....shall we say... energized after their day off. I had a great professional development day, guided by two French program directors from Eastern School District. They introduced us to and familiarized us with two programs that I know plan to use at some point this year. One of them takes our KidBlog projects to a next level (voice recording), and the other allows students to create their own storybooks online. Both are easy-to-use, secure sites that will offer plenty of opportunity for students to share their ideas and knowledge in a fun, interactive way.

I will not be introducing these sites just yet, but here are the addresses if you are interested in checking them out:

http://voicethread.com

http://www.storyjumper.com

A couple of notes went home today, so please check you children's bookbags just in case things got forgotten. There is a reminder about the Halloween Fair on Friday, specifically the Sock Hop in the afternoon.

We are moving along with decimals in Math, specifically using money to communicate and practice some core  concepts. I sent home a sheet at the beginning of the year with ideas for helping support math learning at home, and one of them was to involve your child in discussions about money and prompting them to help calculate, count, estimate and handle money. I would suggest this as a technique now more than ever, since it will help familiarize them with what we are doing in class. This can include shopping excursions, ordering things online, counting out lunch money, etc.

Mrs. Fillier gave a presentation to the students in my class today. She spoke about a a trip she took to Boyd's Cove, and shared a number of slides, artifacts and pieces of information about the Beothuk people and her experiences there. Students took notes, and will be expected to post a few sentences tonight on KidBlog about what they found to be interesting. As always, writing it down in their Question du Jour books is also an option.

Tonight I have asked students to read aloud to somebody else. We had a read-aloud exercise today in class that went very well, so I want students to reflect on what we learned today and practice their read-aloud skills at home. They can read in English or in French, and can read to a parent, their cat, the stove, whoever! The important thing is that they practice their reading strategies (pronunciation, voice, volume, etc.). We will be going over their experiences tomorrow.

If there are any parents who would like to volunteer for the Halloween Fair on Friday, please let me know. Have a great evening and try not to get too wet tomorrow!

Onward toward colonialism!

Tomorrow we head off to Cupids, to see the archaeological dig and interpretation center. It is a great experience for the kids to have, and will be invaluable when they are working on their final project in the upcoming week or two. I don't have many more notes for today, but here are a few details.

We have moved on to Addition/Subtraction in math. There were a few memories to be jogged, but the class seems to be pretty up-to-speed with the concepts and processes we will be using. In the coming weeks I will put up links on this blog that will offer practice opportunities and fun games on this theme. One major way we will be teaching the addition and subtraction of decimals will be with money. This lends itself well to a number of fun games and activities, with our current favourite being a whole-classroom store that students have to select from to spend a fixed amount of money.

I have to leave school early today, so please check bookbags for a note I sent home with additional information. Wish me luck for tomorrow!

What a commotion

Today was our school's Healthy Commotion day. It is a day when students are encouraged to reflect on practices that help them stay healthy, and participate in a variety of healthy living-themed activities. Today many students brought extra-healthy snacks (which we compared and sampled), and spent the afternoon engaging in trivia games and a lengthy period of dancing/walking/running around the school. Our class made a great effort, and they all kept moving for twenty full minutes of intense activity. Way to go!

We will be touching on topics about healthy living throughout the year. It comes up in our health and art curricula, and it is also something I will be personally focusing on in a variety of my in-class activities. The class already seems to be very conscious of things they can do to stay active, and most are participants in martial arts, hockey, dance or some other activity.

Our next unit in math is Addition/Subtraction, but I am taking a few classes to touch on some other interesting topics. The first was patterns, which we explored using several techniques. One way is by starting a pattern or writing numbers following some rule (adding 1, going in a circle, etc.), and then trying to pick out patterns that emerge without even trying. Another way was by starting some repeating geometric or mathematical sequences, then looking at what characteristics they share.

The second topic I touched on was graphing. Today we started a graph in each student's math book that will help them track their team's progress in our hockey pool. This is just the first such activity we will be doing with graphs; as I type, Mme Curtis is developing a graphing project to go with our weather observation data that was collected last month. If you (or your child) are ever looking for more fun games/activities to explore math at home via doodling, solving puzzles or creating questions for the class, please let me know and I can direct you to some relevant websites.

We received a very interesting package from The Rooms today, containing 40 prints from their permanent collection. It includes well-known works from artists like Mary Pratt, Gerry Squires and David Blackwood, as well as more contemporary pieces and some beautiful aboriginal art. We did an art-response activity, and I have assigned another small activity on KidBlog as well. I was impressed by the how in depth students got into their work, and how profound many of their observations were.

Students' work on their Social Studies projects (The Colonization of Newfoundland/The Beothuks) is continuing at a good pace. They have begun to work on their projects, and will have some homework relating to the project over the next week. We will send home more detail as it becomes necessary to do so.

Some housekeeping notes before I sign off:

• "Family Night" at the book fair is on Monday, October 17th. Please note that this is different from the previously announced date.
• We will be going to Cupids this Friday, but students will be able to take buses as they normally would to and from school. We have enough volunteers, so thanks to all who responded.
• Some students in Band and Strings will start bringing home extra work at night to make up for missed time in class. If this causes any issues, please let me know so I can make arrangements.
• Tutoring for Tuition is starting up again soon, so please let me know if you are interested in your child  participating. I am also considering starting a typing program if people are interested, so please let me know.

Have a great evening, talk to you all soon.

A short (but busy) week in Room 137

Sorry for another short post; things have been very busy in my family over the past few days, but I will be back to long-form, daily blogging tomorrow. For today, just a few pertinent notes.

• I gave back students' math tests today. I was very happy with their performance, and I think they were quite happy with the results as well. Mme Curtis sent home her tests with a rubric attached, and while I did not send one home I am happy to supply more specific detail if it is required.
• We are looking for a couple of volunteers to accompany us to Cupids on Friday, so please let me know on the form I sent home if you are available.
• Tomorrow we are having a healthy living day. This involves exercise and hopefully healthy (or healthier) eating as well. I have encouraged students to make a special effort to choose healthy options for their lunches tomorrow, and I will bring in a few things for them to try as well.

Thanks for all your help; I will post a longer entry tomorrow when time permits!

A mighty wind is blowing...

Today was blustery, inside AND outside the classroom! A fair bit of time was taken up with the Sweat-a-Thon assembly, and a fire drill interrupted our Hockey Pool draft in the afternoon. We finished up our work with decimals, and students had 1/2 hour to work on their practice test. I will update more later, but a few notes for now:

• Students must finish their practice tests tonight. This test follows the exact same format as tomorrow's test, so if students feel comfortable with this material they will do just fine. If your child has trouble with a question, please look through their DuoTang de Maths with them (or their exercise book), and find other examples that mirror those on their test.
• I will help students with any remaining questions they have in the morning. However, I am disappointed when students ask how to do something, but haven't done any workings in an effort to solve it themselves.
• 8 students successfully answered the question I posted on KidBlog yesterday. This meets my requirement for the activity, and therefore students will get a pizza party before the end of October. Good job, everybody!
• The school raised nearly $20,000 in the Sweat-a-Thon. This will be a great help in our fundraising efforts, and I wholeheartedly appreciate the huge effort you all made to help us out.
• Tomorrow I will be assigning new "Words of the Week", as well as giving out a new book and testing students on the book they read this week. We will also continue working on our Social Studies project and have our Math test in the afternoon.

Today's Hockey Pool draft was lots of fun! The kids picked their respective teams, and I created them online. Students can now go look at this pool, which will update daily.

The address is www.onlinepools.com
The username is 143530
The password is Paterson

Have fun! I will be upgrading to a Premium package tonight, which will allow even more features within the next week. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

October is here with a vengeance!

We're really moving along this week, easing into new routines and getting used to new responsibilities in class. I have reminded students once again to make sure they check their schedules at home to know what they are responsible for each day, since it makes things move so much more smoothly.

First off, a bit of fun as we head in to fall. My wife posted this on her blog this morning, and I had to repost. The original can be found at modelcitizensvintage.blogspot.com, and here is the video:



Ah, the Swedish Chef. Never gets old.

Back to real things! We are having our math test on Friday, not Thursday. This will allow time on Thursday for a practice quiz (in the same format as the "real" test on Friday). I am happy with students' progress, and I stressed to them today that their best means of studying is to PRACTICEPRACTICEPRACTICE. This can be done by re-doing questions on their review sheets, visiting sites that I have posted for them to visit in the past few weeks, or having a family member write out other example questions for them to solve.

Students were split into groups of 3-5 today to begin working on their project that will draw our unit on the Beothuk and early Newfoundland colonization to a close. Students were given a medium to use (Video, diorama, written text, etc.) and were asked to think it over at home tomorrow and come back with some ideas on Thursday. They will be given ample time to complete these projects in school over the next 2 weeks, but several students have already asked to work on them at home.

We had lots of fun in Art class today. I taught students a few doodling techniques that reflect some mathematical theories related to patterns, graphing and other concepts. Perhaps your child can show you the theory of what we did, and if not here is a video that has a humorous explanation of some of the techniques.



The class is full of energy these days, so I have had to ask them to remember our rules about taking turns and taking care of our own business first. I am excited to see the enthusiasm, but feel free to reiterate my desire to have students stay in control of themselves at all times and focus on the task at hand.

On another fun note, we will be having our 2011-2012 NHL fantasy draft tomorrow. This was a great way to get students interested in numbers, data management, and a variety of other topics last year. This year we are using an online pool that will reduce the amount of work involved, as well as smaller rosters. We will use this data for a variety of things in class throughout the year, and many students enjoy the competitive spirit of the activity. Even if students are not interested in hockey, I will help them pick a team and they will be able to follow along throughout the year. Mme Curtis' class will also be participating in a similar pool. Today I sent home a cheat sheet for students to look over if they are interested. These are pre-draft rankings to help students think about who they would like to pick.

Enough for today! Havve a great evening and let me know if you have any questions. Keep an eye on KidBlog tomorrow afternoon!

Another interesting video and a new link

Last year in Grade 4, we spoke at length about different ways of producing light. Students found out about how light can come from the sun, from a burning substance and from electrical devices to name a few. It was a very hands-on, interesting unit that students enjoyed very much. More than any of these ways of producing light, students were fascinated to learn about bioluminescence.

This is a phenomenon wherein light is generated chemically by living things. The most easily-relatable example would be the Angler Fish, aka "the one with the glowing thing on its head that almost ate Nemo". Plankton can also show bioluminescence, and can make water glow brightly when they are disturbed at night. I found this link on a teachers' resource site, and was amazed by what it showed.

During a time of high plankton levels (a Red Tide), surfers spent the night riding waves filled with bioluminescent creatures. The results are.... well, I'll let you see. Click on Full Screen to get the full effect! Remember that there is almost no artificial light, just plankton!

 
Red Tide Surfing San Diego 2011 Bioluminescence from Loghan Call on Vimeo.

I was amazed by the range of colours! As promised, here is another curriculum-related link. This link goes to a game that will help refresh some of the knowledge your child acquired last year about mapping. It is quite simple, but has some good reminders and is very interactive.

http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/toolsforadventure/games/adventure.html

It pays to become a noun!

Wanna Live Forever? Become A Noun from NPR on Vimeo.

Weekend Update

Happy weekend, everybody! Hope you're all enjoying this unexpectedly sunny fall day, and on a weekend no less! Hopefully this isn't just the calm before the storm (uh-oh, Ophelia), but let's enjoy it while we can.

As our first month has now come to an end, I'm reflecting on some of the things we have done so far. Lots of projects, some fun role-playing and plenty of writing projects so far with lots more in the pipeline! I'm very happy with how homework is going, and students are more and more prepared for work every day.

Things are getting very busy now with the onset of Intramural sports, Prefecting, Band, Strings, Environmental team and other activities, our days are now very full. This means added expectations on students to be organized, on-time and informed about what is going on in class to make sure they don't fall behind or miss out on things. I will be making an even greater effort now to let parents and students know about things ahead of time, so work can be started on early. Especially when students have busy home lives/practices/rehearsals etc., I don't want to heap any surprises on you.

The students' use of KidBlog has been very impressive so far. I like the initiative I am seeing, and I am happy with student's efforts in French. Students have been informed that they can post any homework they want on KidBlog (it's a great way to share and archive their work), and likewise they can create any "KidBlog assignments" with pen and paper if they would prefer.

Our Beothuk-themed Drama in Education project is ticking along very well. The classes (mine and Mme Curtis') split into groups this week to brainstorm, pose questions about, and think of presentation ideas for a number of topics. These included language, interactions with Europeans, transportation, housing and other topics. On Monday we will split into different groups (a technique called Jigsawing) to start working on projects that use all the information they have generated so far. The focus will now shift to online research, discussion and the creation of a final project.

I will post some links tomorrow, so check back. Have fun in the sun for as long as it lasts, and maybe suggest that your child check out this link to keep tabs on our next big weather concern:

http://www.stormpulse.com/

Notes on a humid Friday

We had a great time at Holy Heart today: the production of Annie was exciting and very well-performed. Students were excited to see the live orchestra accompaniment, especially those who are just starting to learn instruments themselves!

By popular request, here is a link to a site we revisited today. It lets students generate music themselves. It loops forever. I apologize in advance. (note: Sorry, the link didn't insert the first time. Here is the site!

http://inudge.net/

I will post at length tomorrow about what we are doing in the upcoming couple of weeks. Students have some math review sheets to start working on this weekend (no further than Leçon 6, s'il vous plait), for our test next Thursday. October schedules have already been placed in their homework DuoTangs. I would ask all students to please bring their weather monitoring sheets to school with them on Monday.

Have a great weekend, and check back tomorrow afternoon for more info.

Today's blog post contains important information in French! Please ask your child to translate.

Aujourd'hui, c'était le premièr jour pour Band et Strings. Nous avons plusieurs élèves dans notre classe qui vont participer dans ces programmes cette année, et c'était très excitant. Aussi, un élève dans notre classe va jouer le role d'un oprhelin dans Annie demain, et elle nous a expliqué quelques détails a propos du spectacle.

Demain est notre Sweat a thon, un activité très important dans notre année à Beachy Cove. Nous essayons de mettre plus d'importance sur l'activité physique cette année, est c'est un bon façon de lever les fonds pour acheter les choses pour l'école. Si vous lisez cette phrase et vous êtes dans la classe de M. Paterson, disez le mot "Cornichon" à moi demain pour reçevoir un prix. Ne dit rien à les autres élèves.... c'est un sécret!

Back to a more familiar language, for a few more notes. I will be scheduling a math test officially for next Thursday; a review guide and sheets will go home tomorrow. Students can work on these sheets (up as far as we have covered so far) over the weekend. I expect them to be complete by Wednesday when we will do our final review for the test. These sheets will not be evaluated; they are a way for students to find out what they need to study more, and what I need to re-teach.

Students took home a new book today. If there are still problems with reading level or length of book chosen, let me know so I can help them find a new one tomorrow. Tonight's only "homework" is to create a second copy of a poem they wrote today. If students had Strings practice, they may not have finished their first copy. If that is the case, they can just do 1 draft on the piece of paper I supplied. They are to create a Colour Poem, a format they are very familiar with. If your child needs a refresher, the instructions are available here:

http://courses.missouristate.edu/shaejohnson/colorpoemexamples.htm

If you haven't been on the blog in a few days (or even if you have), I would suggest you and your child look at the links I have posted recently. They are a good way to review for math and a few other subjects. I also posted a dozen links about a week ago, in this post: http://grade5beachycove.blogspot.com/2011/09/some-links-and-tips.html

Let me know if you have any questions, and please check book bags for some notes that went home today. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Two live shows in one week!

We are getting very excited to go see Annie on Friday at Holy Heart Auditorium, but we had a special treat today with another show. This one was put on for us by Mme Curtis' class, entirely in French. Students had written a script about Rosa Parks, and acted it out for us. It was very well-written and performed, with a number of very touching and insightful moments. It really gave the class something to think about. When we got back to class, the students wrote reflections on how seeing something in a play (or for real) can make the message even more clear.

Your child may mention that I have started giving grades on some of the work they pass in. I will start marking more and more of their submitted work for them to review, especially when it is a task that reflects a number of concepts we have been working on. I won't be evaluating "pure homework", but anything we do in class is fair game. I have been taking more time to review verbs, spelling and grammar in class, so I will start to expect a higher level of each in their writing.

I am very happy with how the class is progressing, especially in terms of their questioning and reasoning skills. As we move along in the curriculum, these skills will serve them very well. Their answers are generally very well thought-out, and they are showing a much greater willingness to contribute to discussions and ask questions of me and their classmates.

I have placed a Band/String Ensemble schedule in students' Homework Binders. They highlighted/underlined the slots that they are practicing in, so I expect them to be prepared when they come to school each day. I will do my best to work around the band schedule, but there will be times when students will have to complete work or reading at home to make up for missed time. The class is aware of this, and they have all accepted this as a "necessary evil". I wish I could take band again.

That being said, I expect all students to be this good by the end of the year:



Students continue to bring in interesting items, stories and news from home and their communities. I try to give everybody a chance to present, even if it is for a brief amount of time. If I don't get a chance to let them present (in French, of course), I usually try to make time the next day. I would suggest that if your child has something they want to bring in (News, a curriculum-related item, trophy, etc.), they should prepare a small paragraph to read along with it. This will make is much easier for me to find the time and they presentation will stay on-topic.

Today I sent home a note from the office that details some changes in our technology acquisition strategy at Beachy Cove. The provincial government (what timing, eh?) has dedicated 14 SmartBoards to our school as part of a new initiative to get more technology in schools. We will also receive new classroom computers. This means that money gained at our Sweat a thon will be dedicated to acquiring an iPad 2 for each classroom. This will allow us great mobility of technology in the class, as well as a media platform, access to useful programs, and an interface that students are excited about.

If your child has pledges for the Sweat a thon, please send them along tomorrow. We will be absent in the morning on Friday, so I would like to have them into the office by tomorrow if possible. If a form has been lost or you need until Friday, please let me know tomorrow.

I am going to schedule our first Math test for later on next week. Yay Math Test! Students who were in my class last year that we always have some fun on Test Day. For that reason, today's Question du Jour is math-focused and includes most of the skills they will need to know from the first half of the unit. Please encourage your child to take their time with the question, and explain it fully. I will send home practice pages for the weekend, to serve as review for the test.

Here is a link to help students practice converting fractions to decimals:

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/death_decimals/index.html

Here is another that deals with decimal place value, which we will focus on the most. Experiment with it a bit, if your child is uncertain of all the terminology.

http://www.aaamath.com/plc51c-placevalues.html

I would encourage students to explore KidBlog a bit tonight, if they get a chance. There are several posts about our Beothuk project, as well as some weather-related items. I encourage anybody to share their Question du Jour answer if they would like to, or comment on another student's post.

What a fun day!

Today we had a chance to do some really fun activities, two of which included Mme Curtis' class as well. We also continued a read-aloud I started the other day, a book that the students are really enjoying. It is called The 13th Floor, written by Sid Fleischman, and it is a ghost/mystery story about a boy approximately their age. Exciting stuff!

This morning we took the first steps on our Social Studies research project. Students from both classes teamed up to start researching and asking questions about a variety of topics concerning early NL settlement. These topics range from Shelter and Transportation to Religion, Language and Arts. The class is very excited to be participating in the project, and I think they are already learning a lot. Most importantly, they are developing the important questioning skills that will allow them to learn even more!

In today's religion class we talked about the concepts of Loyalty, Honesty and Justice. We read a story in our book about students who find a coin purse, and how they deal with it. The class split up into groups to  write an ending to the story, and acted it out for the rest of us to watch. We reflected on these pieces, and discussed how challenging it can be to try to balance all three of these things in a situation. Some reactions showed great loyalty and justice, but not honesty. The class realized that displaying all three was very challenging, and was not "taking the easy way out"!

In the afternoon we went outside to do a science experiment. We measured the temperature of soil, sand and water over a 50-minute period to see how each absorbs heat over time. The students made their predictions and observations, and we filled in the time in between observations with some math and spelling games on the games court.

Band starts tomorrow; the flutes will be practicing with Ms. Shortall. String Ensemble has their first practice on Thursday. The class was also briefed on the Intramural setup, which will start soon. Students who prefect as well as play Intramurals must make sure that they have someone to cover their shift if the two coincide.

Talk to you all soon, please let me know if there are any problems or questions!

A quick note before my Grade-Level Meeting: More details tomorrow!

I have a 3:20 meeting, but here are a few notes to get everybody up to speed.

• I was very happy with the effort put into this weekend's assignment about the Beothuk and the early settlers of Newfoundland. A special thanks to those who drew pictures, found videos or pics and posted links
• Please keep monitoring the weather, this will continue to be a great tool for teaching vocab and material in Science.
• All students should now have an appropriate book for home reading in French
• Keep reviewing Mots de la Semaine, we will be doing review activities in class throughout the week, and I hope to see continued improvement.
• We will be having our Sweatathon this Friday (we will participate in the afternoon). If you have pledges or prizes to donate, please send them along with a note. Thanks!

Last-period gym anyone?

This year we have gym at 2:10 every Day 5, which leaves a bit of time to get my blog update done early. It feels a bit like they've just gone to the grandparents' house and I can take a minute to catch up on emails...

Today was another wild day; I'm not sure what's in the drinking water, but it's really upped the energy levels. As can be expected this time of year, I am having to remind students fairly often to speak in turn and not speak English when we are learning in French. These are both improving steadily, but it certainly is worth reinforcing as we go along.

I also talked to students about the French work they are completing at home, since some students are resorting to online translators and other such tools when working on homework. While these tools can be very useful for "one-off" searches for a particular word, we talked about how they are no substitute for generating your own work. I gave a demonstration of the shortcomings of these engines, and we looked at my correction criteria to see how work completed in this way is not something I can evaluate properly.

As mentioned at Curriculum Night, my focus with homework is to get students thinking and practicing in French. If there is a lack of time or your child is unable to complete a task, the best solution is to try their best and come and talk to me the next day. Taking a shortcut to "get it done" is never the best option, and I will not penalize anybody for taking their time and making a good effort.

That being said, I am very happy with the work being done at home. Students are coming to school on-time and prepared to work, which is as much as I can ask for! Many children in class have taken a particular interest in some of our projects and concepts, which has lead them to complete extra work and push their learning even further.

Mrs. Shortall gave out the band assignments today! Students who had band interviews are very excited to find out their instruments and get playing next week. Envelopes are going home today with all the necessary information. Also going home today is a newsletter and a form to update student information. This form is for the Eastern School District, who has a new piece of communication software that they are updating. It should be returned (signed) tomorrow, whether there are changes or not.

We also started our project on the colonization of Newfoundland. We had an exciting letter from an archivist at The Rooms, asking us to participate in a project. The class has accepted the challenge, and will begin preparing materials immediately. They will bring home a small project for the weekend/Monday, and have time to work on it in class as well.

Students can keep their weather-monitoring sheets in their bookbags, so we can use them in school and  they can monitor weather at home. I went through the sheets with them this morning in class, which should clear up any questions. Tonight's Question du Jour is about their Book of the Week. I showed the class today that many of the books have a useful glossary in the back that they can use to look up words that are complicated or new. This is also a great way to use online tools like Google Translate or Babel Fish.

Have a great evening, and talk to you tomorrow.

A quick update

Hi gang, just a quick update today. Staff meeting blended into KidBlog updating, which found me getting home at about 5:30... All good! Here's a few updates to make sure everybody's up to speed. I'm going through the rubrics for the Homework DuoTang I will send home later this week, but I will update a bit more later if I get a chance. Some notes:

• Students brought home their weather monitoring sheets today; these can be kept at home to monitor the weather throughout the next couple of weeks.
• Today's Question du Jour is about the upcoming Provincial Election. If students are having trouble finding information, try this site:                                               http://www.electionalmanac.com/canada/newfoundlandandlabrador/
• We start our Drama in Education project about colonial Newfoundland tomorrow. I think students will be excited by a letter we have to show them!
• We're having a lot of fun with place value. I have added some good links to this blog's right sidebar.

Sorry for the brief update, but I know that Mme Curtis has posted some updates as well. Her blog is linked on the right sidebar as well.

Is there a full moon?

There was a real hum of energy in class today; I guess a critical mass of students opted for Coco-Puffs over Shredded Wheat today. Days like this always have the potential to fly off the rails, but thankfully today it got channeled into some real productive energy. I am starting to notice that most students are speaking more French in class, which I am happy to hear. This is something I will get more picky about over the coming weeks. We got a lot of review accomplished in math, as well as additional practice writing out numbers and brushing up on place value. We played a fun game, one of the ones linked in my last post.

Students' homework tonight is to finish up a drawing they were working on in Health class. The idea is to represent themselves at age 5, age 10, and in the future. Students brainstormed lists of their interests (or projected interests) at each age, as a means of comparing them and seeing how things change over time. Each of the three panels on their drawing is meant to represent one of these ages, with all of their interests somehow represented.

We also got time to prep for our Drama in Education project about the Beothuk peoples and early colonization of Newfoundland, which will start tomorrow. I think the class will really enjoy this project. Tomorrow the class will bring home a letter that outlines what we will be expected to do by the project's directors.

I worked with the class on developing rubrics today as well. We took some existing rubrics that I found online and adapted them as the students saw fit. The topics they are meant to evaluate range from oral presentations to health class, and everything in between. I will finish altering these projects tonight and tomorrow, to include in their homework DuoTangs this week.

Tomorrow we will start a 2-week weather monitoring project. Students will bring home two sheets on which to record weather information. Some of this will be observable trends and conditions, and other elements will require listening to the radio or TV, or checking on the Internet. I would strongly suggest that you push them to work independently on this project, as the content is quite straightforward. It should be a neat opportunity for them to take ownership of the project and see it through over a period of time.

Please check out the post from Monday (yesterday) and feel free to explore some of the links. Students were especially interested in the Place Value math games on Gamequarium. Have a great night, and let me know if you have any questions.

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.

Storming out of the classroom

Not much more to add here! Today was obviously cut short because of the imminent storm. I will post with some links and notes on Monday to help with the next couple weeks, but here are a few notes for today.

• Lunch money was not refunded; any lunch orders from today will be honoured on Monday, so there is no need to send money.
• This weekend's homework is to post on KidBlog about the hurricane. I also posted about the new "Rules" we will be following for posting on KidBlog. I would suggest that students review these by logging in and clicking on my name to see the post in question.
• Scholastic book orders are due on Monday.
• I would like to have all permission forms and money in for our "Annie" field trip by Wednesday. Thanks to those who have already done so.
• Thanks you very much to Doug and Susan for hooking us up with (sorry for the pun) a wireless keyboard and mouse for the class. It was already put to use today. 
• I hope everything worked out today in terms of getting the kids home without too much hassle. If there is anything else we can organize to help with these plans in the future, just let me know.

Hope everybody weather the storm well (the sun just came out in St. Philip's), and please check back in tomorrow for some updates.

How do you solve a problem like (Hurricane) Maria?

Whew, what a busy day! Until we get the library rolling (starting Monday), Day 7 is a full day of uninterrupted class. This is a great opportunity to get some larger-scale projects completed, but can be exhausting for students. That being said, the class got a lot accomplished today. We are "face and eyes" into our curriculum now in all subject areas, and have laid most of the groundwork for our classroom rules and expectations. I prefer to keep these class guidelines flexible at first, since they seem to have greater effect when students are involved in their development.

Thanks to all those who came to Curriculum night! There's nothing like getting to meet you face-to-face, showcase some of my plans and let you see where your children spend their days. The children were very excited to see the notes left for them by their parents, and it seemed as though some had chatted with their parent(s) about what we were going to be doing this year.

First off, here are some links to sites that I showed you the other day. Many of these are also available in the PowerPoint, Word documents and on the sidebar of this blog.

• kidblog.org : The site we are using for student blogging. Students can play around with it for now (preferably in English), and I will be assigning specific tasks as we go along.
• http://www.glogster.com/ : This site is used to create projects and other fun presentations.
• grade4beachycove.blogspot.com : My site from last year; many pertinent links and tips
• http://www.stormpulse.com/ : This is the site students should use for today's Question du Jour
• The Strangest Sights on Google Earth : A gallery of crazy sights (and sites) as seen via satellite
• http://p4c.org.nz/ : The homepage of Philosophy For Children, a site that has many great ideas and lesson plans for helping students become more critical-thinking and analytical
• Bob's Educational Links : Just one of the many SmartBoard sites I take advantage of

I will continue to add sites throughout the year. Last year, some parents found it useful to create a Favourites folder to keep these links in for quick reference. They are also available (if you use the search tool) on this blog.

Today we spent time talking about weather at length, based on the reading the completed last night. I was happy to see that students had absorbed a fair bit of information and seemed very comfortable with some of the vocabulary we were learning already. We used some sites to track hurricanes and other weather patterns, and watched a video about how tornadoes form. Kudos to Erica, who notice that the direction of rotation is different depending on what type of storm we are looking at.

In Religion, we continued to talk about "Peace Makers". This unit looks at those in our current society and in history who have made extraordinary efforts to create peace and are good examples of how we all strive to participate in our communities. As an intro to the American Civil Rights hero Martin Luther King Jr., we talked about Rosa Parks and wrote a 1st person journal entry. These were very well-done and thoughtful.

We started a fun project today, called Global Children's Challenge. It is a healthy-living initiative that focuses on the use of pedometers to monitor activity in an effort to track and increase our healthy living habits. We will monitor these pedometers as a class and individually, and compare online to the other 120,000 students participating around the world. For that reason, they need to bring these to school each day to record totals.

Tomorrow marks the first turnover of home-reading books and "Words of the Week". Students should bring in their French books that I assigned last week, and I will chat with them and give them a new, more appropriate one. They will have a little assignment for the weekend/Monday that will relate to the book they have just finished.

One last note: I will be preparing a comprehensive Homework DuoTang to go home next week. This will contain details from rubrics and homework policy to schedules, weekly tasks, important dates, etc. I hope this will help students stay organized and avoid unnecessary confusion. Have a great evening, and don't leave your deck chairs outside.

Curriculum Night at BCE

To prepare for tonight's Curriculum Night festivities, I will not be posting a full blog entry. Here are a few relevant points for the next couple days:

• There is a field trip planned for September 30th. Details will go home tomorrow
• Scholastic orders are due on Monday the 19th.
• I have assigned a specific book to be read in French tonight, with no "Question du Jour". It relates to our unit about weather in Science.
• Keep the posts coming on KidBlog! It's great to see the enthusiasm. If your child is less inclined to post until they know a bit more, that is perfectly okay. I will assign a specific task on Friday.

See you at Curriculum Night!

The class who love school so much they skipped part of Gym



Just one of the fun activities that the class
graciously sacrificed today...

 Okay, so the title of today's post is sort of misleading. I'll explain more later in the post. That being said, we had a great time today as we start to get into the swing of things. Each day I notice that the students are getting more and more eager to participate and involve themselves in their learning and that of their classmates. Exciting times at BCE indeed!

We did our first Science experiment today, as an introduction to atmospheric science in our weather unit. The goal was to show that the air around us takes up space, so we used cups held underwater to show how air can displace water in another cup. The students really enjoyed the activity, so you may see this demonstrated at home tonight. It also bears mentioning that while I mentioned how air being trapped under a submerged vessel can be useful when a boat flips over (to help you breathe underwater), I in no way endorse the intentional sabotage of aquatic vehicles of any kind.

We also repeated and elaborated on an activity from last year. This involved viewing 2 videos, listening to a piece of music, and listening to a poem. The idea was to show students how to actively respond to something they hear, see or view in a meaningful way. We discussed how it is necessary to listen/watch/read carefully, then to think about what our reactions are in detail and record them. We shared these reactions, observed again, then reached final conclusions.



Yet another way to respond to videos?

 Responding is a key part of their evaluation this year, since it tends to indicate understanding very accurately. I impressed upon students that paying attention in class is their responsibility in the end, and how much they pay attention has a real effect on how well they can complete tasks later on. I was pleased with their responses, and I will give out French Duotangs before long that contains the information we discussed today. This should help when working on projects as the year goes on.

This afternoon we had several members of the Lion's Club visit to see a SmartBoard in action. We ran over into Gym class a few minutes, but the students were very courteous and waited patiently while I finished presenting to the group. I will try to sneak in a bit of outdoor fun later in the week.

I didn't assign any homework as a result of their actions, to thank them for being so patient and considerate. However, I can already see that some students have gone home and started using KidBlog! Great to see the enthusiasm in this new way of communicating. I encourage students to keep experimenting and posting throughout the week. I will start assigning specific tasks by the end of the week, but in the interim I encourage students to keep experimenting and posting things with French commentaries.

I hope to see you all at Curriculum Night, tomorrow at 7pm. Even if you are only able to attend for a short period of time, it would be great to touch down with you and pass along some important information. If you can't make it, please let me know.