Student Led Parent E-Port Questions

After you have attended your child’s student-led conference, please make an e-port on their e-portfolio website. You can get their help logging in!

If you would like to post a picture of you and your child at student leds, that is great!

Title: Student Led Conference Parent E-Port Reflection

Questions:

Which activity at student led conferences was your favourite?

Did you learn something new from your child during student led conferences? If so, what was it?

What question did you ask for our wondering wall?

What is one thing you would like to share with your child about something they created or shared with you during student led conferences?

 

New Unit: The Way We Move

Hello Everyone,

We are in the process of finishing up our last unit projects, so now we will begin a new inquiry unit called The Way We Move!

Unit Focus Statement: Migration is a response to challenges, risks, survival, and a natural need to explore.

Concepts: EXPLORATION, IDENTITY

Core Competency Focus: Positive Personal & Cultural Identity

Areas of Inquiry:

  • The nature of exploration
  • The reasons people move throughout the world
  • Human migration and its impact on Canada, indigenous cultures, and the world
  • The similarities between humanity and other animals as related to migration
  • Our own personal and cultural identity as a result of migration
  • Geography and maps
  • Multiplicative Thinking & Tiny House Math Projects (Area, Perimeter, Multiplication, Division) related to how a home can represent what is most important to us

We look forward to….

  • Doing exploration of our identity, of our outside spaces, and more through the use of careful observation and documentation skills
  • Studying migratory birds and other animals and tracking their journeys
  • Presenting our personal TED Talks about our passions and continuing our language arts work on paragraphing, using descriptive vocabulary, and writing clear sentences
  • Creating a class map of our own family’s migration paths
  • Interviewing community members about immigration stories
  • Doing a group research timeline on how we all came to be in Canada, then writing mini monologues to present some of the key figures and events from our history
  • Making a Quilt of Belonging piece representative of our Cultural Background/Identity
  • Reading and analyzing books/stories related to immigration and refugees
  • Discussing immigration policies in Canada, and then making our own immigration policy for a made-up location
  • Doing activities and games related to multiplication, division, and geometry

Plans may change depending on time. We will do as much as we can in February and early March, and finish this unit before we go to Spring Break.

Next unit will be on NEEDS and WANTS, talking about resources, geology, economics, trade, and more.

Our independent project research and work will start now and be ongoing from now until June.

More to come!

Ms. D

Continuing the Unit on Creativity and Change – January 2024

Hello Everyone!

Before the break, we introduced our new unit and did quite a bit of work on the concept of creativity. Here’s what we discussed, for those who are catching up:

  • We did many alternative uses or creativity tests, to help us have discussions about the nature of creativity and how to cultivate creative-thinking skills.
  • We completed maker projects designed to exercise our creative-thinking, fine-arts and ADST skills, such as making mini snow globes, painting snow landscapes, designing mixed media snowflakes, and doing wool needle felting of winter objects.
  • We read articles from Time Magazine’s Special Issue on Creativity, discussing how creativity is best cultivated and debating whether or not creative thinking can be improved over time. Each of us read an article in detail to find out its key messages, so we could share this information with others.
  • We did activities with our buddy class to study creativity! We invited them to do our marble roller coaster ADST activity we completed earlier this year, and then we made observations about their building, as younger students, differed from our own. What difference does age make in creativity? What kinds of conversations happen when we are being creative?
  • We defined what technology is, talked briefly about whether its impact has been positive or negative on humanity and the world, and began discussing how humans have used scientific knowledge to create things they need or want to live. We will continue this conversation this week!
  • We looked at some old tools belong to Mr. L, Ms. D’s husband, who is a shop teacher. We had fun trying to figure out what they would be used for, as some of them were new things we hadn’t seen before!
  • We identified the basic simple machines and in our journals took notes on each type. This will be turned in to Ms. D. The research was done on books in the classroom provided by our school library and the District Learning Centre.
  • We watched Bill Nye’s Simple Machines along with several other videos. For those who were absent, here you go.
  • Discussion about simple machines definitely involves some math! Using the book You Do the Math Build a Skyscraper, we did math problems from grades 4-6, involving many areas of the curriculum — operations, graphing, coordinates, area, perimeter, word problems, measurement, and basic integers. All of the problems involve applied math. We are still finishing this, but should complete it in the next week. Students can only work on the Skyscraper Math at school, so those who were absent can do this during silent reading and free choice times.
  • After Skyscraper Math, we will be moving on to Multiplicative Thinking. More to come on this soon, but our emphasis will be better understanding multiplication, the math properties involved, area, and perimeter. All of this will lead to us building a fun model for ADST later this term.

Upcoming:

  • Field Trip to Reifel Bird Sanctuary on February 23rd. Notice to come next Monday, January 15th.
  • Catapult Building
  • Rube Goldberg Building
  • Timeline Project
  • Ted Talk
  • French Poster – Country Research
  • Machines PowerPoint Project
  • Tiny House Models
  • Migration / Exploration Unit before Spring Break
  • Deciding Independent Project Topics and Learning How to Ask Research Questions

New Unit Term 2 December to January: Our Human Creations

Hello Everyone!

Now that we have finished our first unit on SYSTEMS, we are moving on to discussing the concepts of CREATIVITY and CHANGE!

UNIT TITLE:  Our Human Creations, Running Mid-November to Mid-January

CONCEPTS:  Change and Creativity

Unit Focus Statement: We use creativity and knowledge together to make innovations that change our world.

An Inquiry Into:

  • Our learning and use of creative thinking or creativity
  • The design process and being a “maker”
  • The impact of technology on humans over time
  • Scientific forces and mathematical thinking behind our creations
  • How innovations make change
  • Change in our lives, perspectives, thinking, and abilities
  • Indigenous technologies and their connection to us
  • How we can share our creative thinking with one another and the community

Some of the Specific Topics Covered In:

All of this is subject to change or additions as we go, as needed for time and the direction students take it!

Science: Simple machines, Work, Center of Gravity, Technology, Early Indigenous Tools, Deciding which machine has had the greatest benefit/use, making catapults, creating hydraulic devices, Rube Goldberg devices
Socials:  Technology and Society — Positive and Negative Impacts, History of Technology, Timelines, Critical Thinking About Our Technology Use, Creation of a Timeline, Debate on Technology
Math:  Deeper Conversations around multiplication and division, Use of scientific formulas from physics around work and rate/distance/time, Basic Variables/Algebra, Area/Perimeter, Tiny House Creation, Math Used in Creating Buildings/Skyscrapers through the book “You Do the Math: Skyscrapers”
Language Arts: Ted Talks, Creative Writing, Careful editing, use of non-fiction features in books to do research, organizing notes for research, using key words for internet searches
Applied Design: Hour of Code, Design Process steps used in the creation of catapults, Alternative Use Tests of Creativity, “Perfect Square” structures, as well as further discussions around how creative thinking can be observed, learned, or measured.
French: Selection of one French-speaking country other than France and looking at history of how it came to have French-speaking peoples. Use of French Games. net for French Vocabulary on Greetings and Other Basics
Arts:  Maker Projects, Creative-Thinking Challenges, and continued talk about elements and principles of art.
Physical Education and Health: Brainstorming together creative options for cooperative play on the playground. Further Social Thinking discussions. Creating our own games for outside play to share.

Overview Division 5 MACC Grade 4/5, Term One Fall 2023

Hello Everyone!

Report card time! Before we go to Winter Break, you will be receiving the term one report card. In December, we will begin working on term two units — one on CREATIVITY/CHANGE, and the second on EXPLORATION/IDENTITY.

Here is an overview of the many things we did during TERM ONE, FALL 2023. 


To tie the big ideas from our curriculum together into a larger, enduring understanding,
we studied all subjects through the lens of a universal, conceptual theme.

We focused on the concept of SYSTEMS
in our unit BODY WORKS. 

Unit Focus Statement:  

Our personal choices play a role
in how the interconnected system of the human body works.

Core Competency Focus:

Personal Awareness and Responsibility
Critical Thinking


What is the SYSTEM for a great learning community?
(Core Competencies, Socials, Science, PHE, ADST, Career Education)

We spent the first two weeks creating the foundation of a great learning community!

We worked in small teams to design marble roller coasters all over the classroom, discussing both science concepts and what great collaboration looks like during projects.

To get to know one another, we created Six Word Memoir Pictures, to communicate some of our interests, strengths, or thoughts to our new classmates. We also did a variety of games and collaborative math challenges and puzzles. We learned how to have class meetings to voice our preferences, concerns, and ideas about classroom activities.

 

We brainstormed what makes a classroom SYSTEM work well, relating it to the UNIVERSAL SYSTEMS MODEL, an important part of our unit discussions. What do we want to get out of our learning? (output) What do we need to put in to our learning experiences to accomplish our desired output? (input/process)

To better understand this, we analyzed other systems we know, such as our community and ecosystems. We debriefed our roller coaster activity: What makes an exciting roller coaster work well? (physics, clothoid loops, creativity, speed, etc.) We identified what our classroom would need to be a successful system. Students brainstormed essential agreements and values, which we refer to every day in our work together. What kind of community do we want to build together?

Throughout the term, we focused on the core competencies of personal awareness and critical thinking, which were embedded into each activity and lesson for the unit.

Each week we engaged in social thinking activities as part of our morning Recalibrate Time. This is an opportunity to recalibrate or prepare our thinking as the day starts, so we can have positive relationships and learning experiences at school. We discussed how:

  • Looking carefully for social cues helps us find out the expected behaviour in a particular situation,
  • Our unexpected behaviour can cause others stress and affect our relationships,
  • Our reaction to a problem needs to match the size of the problem,
  • Active listening is important to building relationships and involves critical thinking and specific body language,
  • Stepping outside of our comfort zone, taking a risk to try something new, is when our best learning happens, and
  • Everyone is learning something, we can’t be perfect at all of it, and it is okay to make mistakes or to not know something!

THE HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS!
(Science, Socials,  Math, Inquiry Processes, LA)

What do you already know about human anatomy? We created life-sized drawings of classmates to identify the inside parts we already knew from our many body systems. We already knew quite a bit, but we needed some more specific information.

So, we did independent investigation stations! We gathered facts from non-fiction books and online resources like Kids Health, and completed fun experiments about our heart rate, the digestive system length, and the role of saliva in breaking down food, among others.

We then pretended the Human Body Corporation was having money problems, needed to make budget cuts, and planned to fire one of the many organs in the body! After learning about paragraphs and business letter format, each student chose an organ to research further and wrote a letter to the Corporation with detailed reasons their organ should not be fired!


We did experiments to expand our knowledge of germs and how they are spread, and about how blood typing works!
Students learned to use the scientific method, to gather data through careful observations, and to analyze results using math and critical-thinking skills.

We discussed genetic traits and extracted strawberry DNA, a process which allowed us to learn the role soap plays in bursting the cell membranes of pathogens. There’s a reason to use soap when washing hands!

Then, we had discussions about herd immunity, vaccines, epistemology (the diagnosis of diseases), communicable and non-communicable diseases, and some of the personal choices we can make to help prevent disease.

Our lab on “patient zero” allowed us to see how germs are spread quickly in a group!

Finally, we tested a variety of sites in the school and grew germ colonies in petri dishes. We made careful observations, gathered and analyzed data, and crunched the numbers to determine the probability of having touched a bacteria, yeast, mold, or fungus. We used math to help us make some positive personal choices to prevent the spread of germs.

During all experiments, we used critical-thinking to ask questions and make conclusions, and we used personal awareness to work with others collaboratively and safely.

At the end of the unit, each student chose a disease to investigate further with a partner. They learned how to find information, take research notes, and present their information to the class in a PowerPoint presentation and speech. Afterwards, they used their new found knowledge, pretending to be a group of doctors with other students, and helping diagnose mystery diseases presented by Ms. D.

What helps the body system work well?
(Socials, Science, PHE-Health, Math, Career Education, Language Arts):

To make our SYSTEM of the human body function effectively, we need to be aware of the INPUTS we put into our body. What are the personal choices we can make that help us to be healthy? Students looked at informational graphs, watched TED talks, and listened to a variety of perspectives about good health to learn how to make positive food and environmental choices.

This included exploring the Indigenous Health and Wellness Model to discuss holistic aspects of health, such as the relationship between good health and your connection with family and community. Students looked at Indigenous Medicine Wheel models and reflected on the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual things that contribute to our good health.

How does what and how we eat affect our bodies and health?  We discussed mindful eating during lunch, which means having presence while eating and becoming aware of the eating experience. If we slow down, we taste more of the food and allow our digestive system time to do its job properly!

Students also brought in some favourite snacks and analyzed ingredients lists and the math on food labels to better understand the nutritional value of processed foods. We sorted foods into categories of GO, SLOW, and WHOA to better understand how much of certain foods we can have based on their nutritional content.

We also studied the impact of vitamins and minerals on the body. Each student chose and conducted research about a vitamin or mineral and its impact on the body. They then created informational posters with facts to share with their classmates.

 

Gut Bacteria and Artificial Intelligence!
(Science, ADST, PHE, Technology, Math Computational Thinking)

As we explored nutrition, we learned about our second brain located in our gut! Ever feel “butterflies” in your stomach or lower guts before you have a test? That’s your gut brain! Inside our gut are many healthy bacteria helping us with the digestive process. We discussed the strong connection between having a healthy gut microbiome and our overall physical and mental wellness.

Through Science World’s Tech-Up Program, we had an in-class workshop about gut bacteria! We learned about the different types of gut bacteria, what conditions in our gut cultivate healthy bacteria, and how we can take care of our microbiome by getting proper sleep, managing our stress, only taking antibiotics when needed, and eating healthy foods including fibre and green, leafy vegetables.

Then, we learned about the language of artificial intelligence chatbots, natural language processing. As a class, we programmed an AI Chatbot to answer questions as if it was a specific gut bacteria! This involved some basic coding, computational thinking, and identifying the specific information the AI would need in order to respond. We had great discussions about how AI could be helpful, as well as the ethics needed to use it responsibly. We look forward to doing more coding in December as part of the Hour of Code!

Mental Health & Self-Expression
(Socials/Science/PHE/Career Ed/Fine Art/LA):

Students explored the connection between our mental health and physical health.

As we played a variety of active games in the gym, we explored how to monitor our heart rate and identified the value of daily exercise and getting the appropriate amount of sleep!

We discussed brain structure and how emotion impacts higher thinking, so we can better understand how we self-regulate in times of stress. We learned the function of the main parts of the brain, including the amygdala, pre-frontal cortex, and hippocampus.  We had great discussion about how it is hard to make rational decisions when one is emotional, so it is important to find self-regulation strategies to calm the brain before taking action.

We tried many self-regulation strategies in class, including daily mindful breathing, practicing gratitude, taking time outside to get fresh air or take a walk, and using the class break board to reset our thinking and bodies during longer work periods.

We watched the TED talk “How to Make Stress Your Friend” and discussed how not all stress is bad. We learned that managing stress and being connected with your community contributes to long life. In gym we did yoga to explore how stretching and focusing our breathing can help with stress management. We surveyed our peers and made graphs to represent all of the ways we manage our daily stress in positive ways.


Part of mental health is building connections with others
. We practiced this through class meetings, free choice times, playing games, organizing classroom decorations for holidays, and doing Suncrest activities together such as the Pumpkin Patch!

Many students also chose to be involved in Suncrest extracurricular activities, such as the Cross Country team, Chess Club, Intermediate Choir, or our Family Math Games Night. Thank you Division 5 for all of your contributions to the greater community!

 

Creativity is an important tool for mental health, and we had many conversations in the classroom about the positive feelings we have when making something!

 

We created beautiful poppy paintings for Remembrance Day, applying elements and principles of art such as colour, emphasis, and negative space.

 

We also created HIVE art, using mixed media to represent people, places, and things that bring us strength and help us thrive. A bee hive is strong, and so is the community we build around us!

           


Gathering and Communicating Data

(Math, Science, PHE, Career Education, Language Arts):


We played many probability games, read the entertaining book It’s Possible, discussed the language referring to probability, and through experiments discovered the difference between experimental and theoretical probability. This involved discussion of basic fractions, decimals, and how to find percentages.

We applied this math to our germ lab to express the probability of touching pathogens in locations throughout the school. This is an example of how math knowledge can help us make personal choices that impact our health in positive ways.

We used the NY Times Learning Network to look at different types of graphs about nutrition, climate change, and blood sugar levels. We practiced two questions to increase our critical thinking and observation skills, “What do you notice?” and “What do you wonder?” We identified essential parts of a graph and how graphs communicate data.

We also practiced gathering data, whether about ourselves, genetic traits, or class preferences.

We learned to analyze data using measures of central tendency such as mean, median, mode, and range, then applied these skills as we pretended to be consultants analyzing Halloween Welch’s gummies packages for a fair distribution of colours and shapes.


There are SYSTEMS for communicating, finding, and documenting information! 
(Language Arts, Socials, Science, French)

Throughout all subjects, we used language arts curricular competencies, whether it was to analyze news articles and non-fiction resources, to communicate information in graphics and speeches, or to do research on diseases or nutrition.

We read a variety of non-fiction articles from Kids Health, learned to take research notes by identifying key ideas, identified criteria for finding appropriate resources online, and discussed ways to better present our ideas in clear, organized, and/or persuasive ways.

We learned about personal and business letter formats, and we discussed how to make a strong, organized paragraph. We strengthened our writing by adding creative vocabulary and looking for ways to express ideas in ways that inspire others.

We talked about what makes an effective speech, and how to be a respectful active listener in the audience. We also discussed how to add detail to our e-portfolios to better communicate ideas and our learning.

We also looked at the SYSTEM or CODE behind all human languages, and began the process of creating one of our own for fun!

We look forward to continuing our learning about writing in term two!

French:

As part of this discussion of the system of languages, we began our French studies for the year. We practiced some basic French with one another using songs and conversation with peers.

Students were encouraged to learn basic greetings, colours, and numbers, as well as some basic vocabulary for parts of the body in connection with our unit. They also created small posters to show their learning and did mini dialogues with peers to practice.

Students with French fluency were encouraged to read French articles in magazines we have in the classroom, and to write information about them in their journals.

 

Putting Learning Together in a Creative Way!
(ADST, Science, Socials, Math, PHE, Language Arts, Core Competencies)

We ended the term synthesizing our knowledge of SYSTEMS, and then showing our understanding of how personal choices impact the human body through the creation of a fun game to play with peers.

The goal was to include material from all of the subject areas we discussed as part of this unit on SYSTEMS and PERSONAL AWARENESS.

Students had a lot of fun using applied design skills to create unique and interactive games! We plan to share our games with our buddies in Ms. Silva’s class.

Overall, it was an amazing term! We invite you to see student reflections about their work, documented in their e-portfolios and report cards.

       

Size of My Problem! Being Independent Thinkers!

Hello Everyone,

Today we had a discussion, which is also worth having at home, around social thinking and problem solving.

As we work toward finding the confidence to solve our own problems that come up during a school day, it is important to know the size of the problem. If I know the size of the problem, then I can know the size of my reaction!

First, we defined what is a Small, Medium, and Big Problem:

Small Problems are:

  • Unexpected situations. — For example, someone does an “unexpected behaviour” which we talked about before, or the schedule of the day changes.
  • Quickly fixed. — Generally, these problems have a quick solution if we are calm and think about it.
  • A GLITCH, no BIG DEAL! — This came up randomly and isn’t an all the time problem. You made a mistake, you didn’t read instructions, you can’t find something!
  • YOU FIX — Typically these problems can be fixed by YOU. You don’t need an adult to do it.

Medium Problems are:

  • Didn’t expect this at all! — The unexpected event is bigger and goes beyond a small change in the schedule.
  • Can be fixed, but may take time. — There might have been a conflict and we need to talk about everyone’s perspective as we solve the problem.
  • Fights, being mean. — While no one was physically hurt, there were mean things said, words exchanged, and it needs to be resolved so we can all work together well.
  • Losing something important — While you won’t melt from losing something, losing this item makes you feel upset as it was important to you and you really want to find it.
  • Make you and someone around you upset. — These problems usually involve more than one person.
  • ADULT + YOU FIX — Typically, you need an adult to work with you to solve this kind of problem, but you are involved in coming up with solutions.

Big Problems are:

  • Someone is hurt or sick. — Someone hit their head outside, someone is sick and needs assistance, or someone was in an argument that resulted in the two people getting physical and hurting one another.
  • Affects lots of people. — Usually, these problems are serious and definitely involve more than one person.
  • Complex and hard to solve. — These problems can be long-term and involve complex situations or emotions that need to be considered carefully to help find solutions.
  • Emergency! — There is a situation where everyone is in trouble, someone is being hurt, or we are having a natural disaster!
  • ADULT TO FIX! — Generally, these situations do require an adult to be your guide in addressing the problem or following emergency procedures.

In class, we discussed different situations and sorted them. You might try this at home!

  • What is the problem?
  • Is it a Small, Medium, or Big sized problem?
  • What is your reaction to the problem?
  • Did the reaction MATCH the size of the problem?
  • Who helped you solve the problem?
  • Was it a problem you could have solved on your own, even though you asked the teacher or your parent for help?

All questions are good, but try to do some independent thinking, too!  In class, if you have lost something, forgot your journal, can’t remember the instructions, are feeling frustrated you don’t know something, need supplies, have technology that isn’t working, were not listening and didn’t hear instructions, or were absent and are trying to catch up, then know — these are all small problems. And YOU can do things to solve them yourself before asking for adult assistance:

  • Take three breaths in and out through your nose at your chair. Or, go do it out on the porch to get some fresh air. Get a quick drink of water. Recalibrate and reset if you are not feeling calm enough to solve the situation yourself.
  • Ask a peer for help.
  • Use your eyes, ears, and the body language you see in class (social cues) to pick up on information to make decisions or to find out things on your own.
  • Tell yourself, “This is a small problem, I will breathe and stay calm and find a solution on my own.”
  • Read the board,the GROUP PLAN schedule, the white posters showing the steps you need to take each morning, the signs on the building supply boxes, and other visual cues to figure out where things are or what you need to be doing.
  • Say to yourself, “Technology sometimes glitches, and I will ask a partner to help, then try another device if my iPad or laptop is not charged up.”
  • Read the instructions a second or third time — maybe you went too fast. We are great readers, but sometimes we go so fast we are poor absorbers of information.
  • Watch your peers. What are they doing right now? Do you need to be doing that, too? Social cues!
  • Ask yourself if what you are doing is SAFE and FRIENDLY?
  • Tell yourself, “It is okay to not know this. I just haven’t learned it yet.” Be okay with sometimes not knowing.
  • Tell yourself, “I will try this even if I make a mistake. It is okay if I make mistakes. Making mistakes is learning!”

Thank you,

Ms. D

Doing Research and Taking Notes

Hello Everyone!  We went over some of these things today in class, as we start our research on HBC. I am posting them here so you have it as a reference.

When we take notes for a project, here are some tips!

  • Record your notes in your journal.
  • Write down the resource you are using first, then write notes.
  • Make sure you know what information you are looking for before you start.
  • Read the instructions for the project to make sure you are asking the right questions about the thing you are researching.
  • Use a T-Chart OR organize your notes by question. On one side of the T chart, write down the question. On the other side, write down the answers you find.
  • Don’t copy down everything you read. Only write down key points! Do write down enough so you can remember what you read.
  • Use your own words to summarize what you read, rather than copying.
  • Keep your notes neat so you can find them and use them for your project later!

When you find resources for your research, here are some tips!

  • Use information that is more recent. For books, in the last 15 years, and for websites in the last five years are general guidelines you could use.
  • Use books first if you can. They have well-research and well-presented information.
  • In books, use non-fiction features to help you get to the info more quickly (index, table of contents, headings, captions)
  • Use websites that are REPUTABLE, where you know the information is true. Avoid .com endings, and look for endings such as .edu, .gov, and .org that represent better websites.
  • When you go to find a website, start by using websites suggested by Ms. D on the Articles of Interest or during class. After that, you can use Google to search.
  • When searching on Google, remember to think of synonyms for what you are searching for.
  • When you get Google search results, be careful not to use results that say AD next to them, as those are ads. Also, don’t use the first website that is there — scroll down a bit to see what you find, and only use websites with reputable endings.
  • Avoid wiki websites as those are group edited and not always reputable.
  • If you get stuck, as for help! Be a good communicator!
  • If a website doesn’t have what you want, don’t spend much time on it. There are many other websites out there.
  • Don’t get distracted by videos — stick with reading rather than just going to YouTube and watching videos.

How do you record a resource?

For a book:

  • Title of the book
  • Name of the author or group that wrote the book
  • Name of the publisher
  • Where was it published
  • Copyright date

For a website:

  • Title of the Website
  • Name of the article in quotes
  • Name of the author (look at top and bottom of the article, or in the About Us section of the website)
  • Date of the article (look at the top and bottom of the article — sometimes it will just say ‘last updated on….’ and that is okay to record for the date.)
  • Date you were at that website (websites change all the time.)

Good luck researching!

Ms. D

E-Portfolios and How They Work

Hello!

Soon, each student will be given their e-portfolio!

What is an e-portfolio?

It is like a mini version of the blog you are reading, created using WordPress. On the e-portfolio, students will post pictures, reflections, and answers to assessment questions, which will allow us all to give them feedback about how they are doing.

Who can access the e-portfolio?

The e-portfolio access point is on the blog, but requires a password, which I will send in e-mail to everyone. Each student’s e-port is only accessible by the teacher, student, principal, and parents. It is not public, nor is it accessible by other students. Parents use their own access user ID and password, and students are advised to keep their passwords private.

How often will students put something on the e-portfolio?

Typically there will be something once per week, but it depends on what we are doing and whether we have a long or short week.

Where do we find the questions for e-portfolios?

Students will find the questions on this blog. That way if they are absent, they can still find them.

When are e-portfolios due?

I tell students to try and finish the e-portfolio entry by one week from the time it is assigned.

When I go to assess entries, if I find one is not done, I will go ahead and publish it in its incomplete version, so parents and the student can see there is one not finished. If a student were to have many entries not complete, I will also email home. E-portfolios are an important part of assessment, so please make sure they do get done.

Can a student get help for answering e-portfolio questions?

Students can use their journals and blue binders to answer questions. They are not to use the internet, nor are they to receive any help from parents at home. Parents CAN answer questions about spelling or grammar, of course, but they shouldn’t be writing the answers by dictation for students or editing the material for them prior to posting. Both parents and teacher can give feedback, though, in the comments, after the entry is posted, about how they can improve either their content or communication skills.

Students are not to cut and paste from websites, nor use any other digital tools, to create or to copy content.

The questions are often personal in nature, so I am really asking students to do their own thinking about the connections they are making with the curriculum.

I also collect writing samples in class so I can see how their writing in person matches with what they are producing online, so it is best if they do not cut and paste or get writing help.

How does a student get feedback?

Both teacher and parents can give feedback by making a comment directly on the e-portfolio. It is important it is STRENGTH-BASED FEEDBACK. Start with what you notice is done well, and then choose one to two things maximum to comment on that they could develop for next time. This may include things like language arts writing skills or organization of their response.

When the teacher provides feedback, you will see a reference to the PROFICIENCY SCALE.

Take into mind e-portfolio entries in our class function for assesment of multiple things at the same time, given the integrated nature of subjects. For example, on a single entry, I may be able to look at understandings of socials and science, while also looking at language arts sentence structure.

How should answers be given?

Answers need to be in complete sentences or paragraphs as appropriate. If it asks for a list, then give a list, otherwise, please use complete sentences.

How long should answers be?

Answers need to answer the question. But, more writing does not equal higher quality. I will read whatever they post, but they do not need to write a novel! They also need to be aware of their time. Set aside the 30-40 minutes after school each day to catch up, and use the time wisely when given in class. Focus on giving the answer, not on writing a long story. I will provide examples in class of what I mean, so they can see what I mean before we start.

When will this begin?

Soon! I plan to get e-portfolios out to students by end of week, and then parents will receive their passwords at some point over the next two weeks, as I have to go in to each of the 24 e-ports individually to set that up, and it takes time.

Stay tuned for more information!

Ms. D

 

Recalibrate & Social Thinking: Some new tips!

Hello Everyone,

As we are getting to know one another, we are working on tools and strategies that help us get along well together.

Expected and Unexpected Behaviour:

Expected behaviour is what one would generally expect in a given situation. For example, what kind of behaviour is generally okay at school? In the classroom? At the dinner table? In a library?

Unexpected behaviour is something we do that falls outside of the general norms of behaviour. For example, a person talking during the movie in a movie theatre full of people watching the film is unexpected. What happens when we do unexpected behaviour? Generally, people don’t like it, or they can feel stress.

The reality is, when we do expected behaviours in group situations, it makes the group feel less stressed, and people get along with us better! This doesn’t mean we can’t be ourselves, or that we can’t make mistakes sometimes. It just means when we follow certain norms in group situations, the SYSTEM of getting along just works better.

Examples: Not yelling when you don’t get your way, using your words to communicate needs, waiting your turn in line ups, not touching one another and respecting personal space.

We did some skits together as a group to practice recognizing and naming expected and unexpected behaviours so we can become more aware of them.

Don’t Hug Doug!

We read a very funny book called Don’t Hug Doug about being aware of everyone’s personal space. We went over many situations in which we do not need to be physical. Give one another space when working together in groups. Don’t get aggressive during tag games. Don’t ever hug someone or put your hand on someone without permission — give a high five instead of a hug if the person is okay with that!

Five Ways to Respectfully Disagree:

As part of our human body studies, we are using KidsHealth.org to look at all types of information about body systems and how they work. On this website are also helpful articles about social-emotional learning and communication strategies. One of them is Five Ways to Respectfully Disagree, which I went over with the students today.

Students have Free Choice Time twice a week at the end of the day (Wednesday and Friday), which is directly connected to our Physical & Health Education, Career Education, and ADST curricular competencies, as well as the core competencies. It gives an opportunity for students to practice, under supervision, social thinking strategies. It is also a great time to catch up on work, read, build, and practice creative and critical thinking skills.

I noticed during Free Choice on Friday how we are still working on how to play games respectfully and how to use our words, so we don’t end in conflicts or misunderstandings. So, we went over these tips. When you disagree with someone, or you don’t see eye to eye about anything — particularly rules of a game — here are some things to do:

  1.  Don’t make it personal. If you get upset, remember you are mad about the idea or the situation, not the person.
  2.  Avoid putting down people’s ideas, beliefs, or personal characteristics. Don’t yell, scream, or taunt the person. Take a breath. Stay calm. State what is making you feel bad. Use the phrase: WHEN YOU ________, I FEEL __________.  Make it about how you are feeling rather than attacking the other person.
  3.  Use I statements to communicate how you feel, what you think, and what you want or need. Try to do it calmly after taking a breath. Using YOU statements can sound attacking and argumentative.
  4.  Listen to the other point of view. Being a good listener lets the other person know you respect their right to another perspective even if you don’t agree. Try to use the HEAR method. Use body language that shows you are listening. Be quiet and give the other person a chance to say their part.
  5.  STAY CALM. If things get heated, things are not going to get resolved. Take a breath. If you can’t stay calm, walk away for a bit or get some help. Remember on the playground to use the STOP, WALK, TALK method for avoiding more serious conflict.

Okay, let’s work on these things at school and at home!

Thank you,

Ms. D

WHAT IS “RECALIBRATE TIME”?: Being a Lifelong Learner, Mindfulness, Active Listening

 

Hello Everyone!

We had a great first week in MACC 4/5, and I am looking forward to our year together!

 

A reminder, here is what I use each type of communication for. There is no guaranteed frequency or times of the month for each. I post when it is needed and appropriate.

EMAIL:  Important reminders about events, things to bring, field trip details, etc. Communciating with you about your child and setting up appointments.

TWITTER (X):  Posting of pictures from class or forwarding interesting posts if appropriate. Students are not to have accounts on this, please.

CLASS BLOG:  Information explaining our unit, criteria and instructions for larger projects, and discussions we have had in class. All parents are subscribed and will receive blog updates via email when I post.

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What does it mean to RECALIBRATE?

Students come into MACC with high levels of understanding of many academic areas. Where we need the most support is with social-emotional learning skills, so we can learn to work together well and be the best people we can be!

Last week, we discussed together as a class what the word RECALIBRATE means, as it is written as a part of our daily schedule together. It means to “get ready to learn.”

We come in with a lot of different emotions as we start the day. We are making a transition from the busy rush getting out of the house with our smaller family unit, to the classroom environment where we need to be more calm to learn and get along with 23 other people in a single space.

To be the best LIFELONG LEARNER (a poster I have in my classroom), we need to learn to become a great contributer, communicator, thinker, collaborator, researcher, and self-manager.

To learn to be these things, we need some explicit instruction on how to manage ourselves and our relationships with others. Thus, RECALIBRATE time will introduce ideas behind Social-Emotional Learning, Mindfulness Practices, and Social Thinking, so we can integrate them into our daily interactions AND be ready to learn.

I encourage you to follow along with us, as I will occasionally post information on the blog about what we are doing. If you can use some of the language or tools at home, this is very helpful for your child to make connections in their whole life, rather than just in the school environment. As a team, we can help make it STICK, and these tools can help them into adulthood. That is the ideal!

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30 Days of Mindfulness:

Over the next month, we will practice a variety of mindfulness tools to help with getting ready to learn and to help us manage our emotions and feelings as they come up during the day.

We are using resources from the CALM app, which is a great tool for calming music, mindful reminders, and meditations when we are in a fight or flight moment, for example. CALM is free, although some parts are subscription only. I also recommend the INSITE TIMER app, although it requires an adult to navigate and find mindful music and meditations appropriate for this age.

We are spending a quick moment each day to explore a different tool. I told everyone, you don’t have to like all of the tools, but we will experiment and then reflect, so they have something to use when they are feeling anxious, out of balance, over angry, or having any intense emotion and have a need to RECALIBRATE.

On Friday, we tried BREATHE BUBBLE for 1-3 minutes. Please go to the link and try this with your child at home. We talked together about how to position the body so we can actually breathe well. We also discussed the benefits of having more oxygen. Some students found it very calming, and it is easy to follow.

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What is ACTIVE LISTENING?

We talked about our first concept of the year, SYSTEMS. Every system has universal parts, including INPUT, PROCESS, OUTPUT, and FEEDBACK.

We have a classroom system, and the goal our output we would like to see is a learning community that works well together to learn new things! What do we need to input into that SYSTEM to reach our goal? One of the things is ACTIVE LISTENING.

We can use the H. E. A. R. Strategy to be better listeners, to do more effective learning, and to make friends, which we all want.

H
HALT. Stop everything you are doing. No smart phone in your hand, put it down. No fidgets. No multi tasking. Just stop and focus on listening.

E
ENGAGE. Focus on the speaker. Put your body in the direction of the person you are listening to. Tilt your head in the direction of the sound. Show you are listening.

A
ANTICIPATE. Look forward to what will be said. Say in your head, I am likely going to learn something new and interesting.

R
REPLAY. Think about what the person has said. Sum it up in your head. Ask a question about what was said.

Try this at home!

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Is it SAFE? Is it FRIENDLY?  STOP, WALK, TALK

Ms. Sakic, our new principal, gave us two great tools to use when playing with one another, especially outside on the playground. We will refer to these all year long!

Ask yourself as you play with others: Is it safe? Is it friendly?

If someone does something you don’t like, take a breath, then:

  1. Ask them to please STOP what they are doing. Be specific about what you want them to STOP. And try to say it in a calm way, as you will get a better response.
  2.  WALK AWAY.  If the person does not stop, walk away. Go play with someone else. Go to a different part of the room or playground. Get some space.
  3.  TALK. If the person follows you, or the other two strategies are not working. Get some help. Find someone with an orange vest outside. Don’t wait until after recess if possible — go find someone to get help in the moment.

Okay, we will keep reviewing all of these ideas during the weeks to come. More again soon!

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