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.