Update Wednesday, March 7th!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry it has been a bit of time since the last entry! We have been busy at work in class on our projects and tidying up the last few things for the end of term two. Congratulations to everyone on some awesome work! We have amazing tiny house models, Puppet Pal presentations on migratory animals, and historical character speeches telling the story of Canada. Fantastic creativity!!

We will post some pictures during the next week catching us up and letting everyone at home see our work. Some of this will happen through the E-Portfolios, as I will be introducing those and how to work with them on Friday.

In the meantime, we have started our new unit! My last entry talked about how our new focus is on needs/wants, resources, economics, money, rocks and minerals, and more! 

For socials, we are focused on the definition of needs and wants, and we will investigate further the resources we use and how we find those resources. Yesterday, we all pretended like we were being sent to Mars by Mission Control and that we were only able to take a certain number of given items. We had to figure out which ones were the MOST essential for our journey. 

For science, we began talking about ROCKS! Ms. D brought out a variety of rock samples to touch and observe, we drew pictures of the samples, and we began talking about the adjectives a geologist would use to describe them. What is the difference between a rock, a mineral, and an element? Please find a rock by Friday to share with the class, and bring a jar on Monday so in the future we can make crystals together (wide-mouth, tall jars preferred.)

For math, we are continuing our talk around multiplication and will practice decimal multiplication as related to money. We also brainstormed today all of the vocabulary involved as we learn about financial literacy. Students will be creating their own products and selling them in a mock Mini-Mall, so I look forward to that simulation after we learn the tools we need to ensure everyone can track expenses, budget, and make a profit!

For PE: We will be doing a series of games I think the students will enjoy. Today was Connect Four Relay! Thank you for your strategic thinking and quick running! We will also take a class vote on whether we are interested in doing a dance project or not.

Due Dates:

  • Many students are done with their creative tiny house models! They are due end of day tomorrow, so some people took it home today to finish up if they had fallen behind, as we have had a lot of class time and Ms. D can’t offer more than 50 minutes tomorrow.
  • Thank you everyone for recording your Puppet Pal presentations! They are looking great! To the few who haven’t, you can have time tomorrow morning.
  • Everyone has finished their historical character speeches and marks have gone home; however, we are still thinking as a class about how we want to share these with the greater community. We will decide in a class vote by end of week. I was impressed with all of your creative props and costumes!
  • French Dialogues: We are writing these in class, but they don’t have to be memorized. So, we will continue doing work on them tomorrow and presenting out loud for others. You were doing a great job today of finding phrases to use between a customs officer and a traveler.

Upcoming Dates and Fun:

  • We have been approved for Dragon Boating, with a notice to go out after break. We will be doing three morning sessions, from 9:45-11:45 (includes driving time) on May 23, May 28, and June 1. Cost will be $25 per child and lessons will take place at Burnaby Lake with the Burnaby Canoe and Kayak Club. I have been a long-time participant in school dragon boating programs, so I know everyone will have fun. We need parent drivers, though! So, please, mark the dates and let me know if you can drive. Again, formal notice after break.
  • Student Led Conferences will be on April 11th
  • Report Cards will be handed out on March 16th. If you are leaving early, I will give it to you after the break.

Have a great night!

Ms. D