Today the class took to the outdoors! They created some beautiful artwork using only items found in nature. They were asked to work together and create a design that showed pattern and contrast. The kids did a great job and were focused and on task the entire time. Please have a look at their finished products.
September has flown by! It was a great month. The focus for the first two weeks was on getting to know each other and the routines and expectations of the class. The kids are extremely receptive and adapted quickly. Division 6 is filled with wonderful students.
We have also started all of our academic subjects. Here is a brief summary of some of the themes and work we have done thus far.
Language Arts
Sentence of the Day: Each morning we will edit one sentence for conventional mistakes to start our day. This 5 min activity will help activate their minds early and help them master the basics of correct sentence structure.
Weekly Paragraph editing: Every week we also work together to edit an entire paragraph. Students carefully proofread each passage and hunt for mistakes in capitalization, spelling, sentence structure and grammar. I use this as a teachable time and we review each paragraph together.
Spelling program: Every week the class will be given a unit of exercises and a list of 20 words. Each unit has a specific focus. Rather than just memorizing 20 words, the program emphasizes recognizing patterns in words. The exercises are introduced on Monday and the class has about 50 minutes of class time to work on them. The exercises are due every Friday (unless a holiday or school closure occurs). I encourage and ask the students to bring their folders home so they can study for the test on Wednesday or Thursday. On Friday, the students self correct their exercises, fix any mistakes they might have made and then I dictate their test.
Write Traits lessons: My favourite part of writing! Each week I will teach a lesson focusing on one of the 6 write traits (Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency and Conventions). We are starting with ideas. Students take part in a guided lesson and then practice independently by writing in their red journals. They impressed me with some great writing already! I will attach a small rubric to certain pieces. these rubrics give specific feedback on the writing for each traits.
Samples
Reading: We have begun a unit on heroes. That is also the title of the resource we are using. We will be using this book to practice our reading strategies and learn about heroes from around the world. I hope the students are inspired by the amazing people featured in this book!
Math
We are using the JUMP math program this year. Our focus for September has been on Number Sense and Place Value. Students use their purchased workbooks for practice. They can bring these home anytime to show their progress to their parents.
Science
We are using an online resource called Mystery Science. This is an amazing resource. Each “mystery” is hosted by Mystery Doug. It begins with an inquiry question that we investigate together. The lessons contain videos, discussion questions and guide the students through hands on activities and experiments. In our first mystery each student made a robot finger! Our focus is on the human body, sense and brain. I hope your children can answer the question “Why do our biceps budge?”
Social Studies
We have started a unit titled The Resourcefulness of the Inuit. It is a critical thinking unit about how the Inuit people use their environment to meet their needs. We have a lot of discussion in these periods. Students will also learn note taking and research skills while learning about this amazing culture.
Fine Arts
Check out some of our first projects! The students produced some great artwork and had fun in the process.
Hamburger Collages
Good Fish, Bad Fish drawings
Career
We have been integrating this curriculum into our daily routine. We are working on using self-assessment to drive our learning forward, setting small goals and personal organization. The student planners are a part of this area and the students have been using them well so far. They record their assignments, check them off when finished and are being encouraged to use this for reminders and events outside of school. We will also begun using the myBlueprint platform to support the Career curriculum. Reflecting, goal setting and exploration of ones values, attributes and interests are all a part of this platform.
Core Competency – Positive Personal & Cultural Identity
As a part of helping the student’s show their learning of this core competency they created “Personal Pan Pizza’s”. Each slice on the pizza represented a little about who they are and what values and interests they have. It was very fun to read these! Here are a few samples:
Hello everyone! Due to heavy rains today we will postpone our Terry Fox Run at Douglas Park. We will run Monday September 28 at the same time (9:50-10:30) if the weather improves. Thank you!
I am looking forward to this year and can’t wait to get started. Please check in with this blog as frequently as you can. I will update families on the learning that is happening in class. Consider this your “window in the class”. Each month I will post a “Mash-Up”. A mash up is a small summary of what the students have been doing. It may include photos, highlights and a brief description of the activities we have been doing.