How is it already the end of June? It feels like the first week of June was just yesterday!
This week, we read, or rather observed a wordless picture book called Fossil by Bill Thomson. The students were practicing their skills in making logical inferences. When making an inference, you are using clues that the author has given you, as well as accessing your prior knowledge to try and make meaning. The students loved how the story unfolded and found it great fun to pause throughout the book to make an inference. Great conversations and “I wonders” organically flowed from this book. To the students surprise I was able to pass around some real live fossils for them to examine. The connections, the amazement and the curiosity was flowing throughout the classroom.
ADST:
This week’s challenge was to design and create a marble maze using straws and tape. Let the creativity and critical thinking BEGIN! Students had a choice to either work independently or in small groups. Some immediately found the task exciting and an opportunity to be a risk taker, while trying out new things, whereas others quickly discovered that it was not as easy as they anticipated and experienced some frustration. Although some of us may be frustrated with the process of creating and designing, we remember to rely upon our GRIT and perseverance to help us work through those difficulties.
Writing:
We are relying upon our strong Instructional Writing skills to support the younger grades in surviving Mrs. Ralph’s class. Students are focusing on instructional writing as our genre and are encouraged to use clear and specific examples with reasoning, on how to survive the wacky class of Mrs. Ralph!
I hope that everyone has a beautiful and COOL weekend during this heat wave. Looking forward to Monday FUN-day! The students worked together to generate a plan for our last full day together, although I also have a few tricks up my sleeve. Again, I’m savouring these last wonderful moments with your child before the summer break and
Today when a student finished his work he asked if he could build straws for a quiet activity before moving onto our next activity. Suddenly, when students were finishing up their work, more and more students were going over to the corner to work on straws. Sooner than later the entire class was finished their work and all working together in building this straw tower. Believe it or not, but it was quite quiet, everyone was working together in harmony.
This afternoon we blended ADST and Science together by trying to make a flying saucer and experimenting with different ways to make our saucer aerodynamic.
It was another refreshing afternoon as we got to sneak outside for some sunshine, shade and fresh air!
In writing we revisited Persuasive Writing and were trying to convince my husband and I what to name our baby boy who is due in August. We received quite a few interesting name suggestions. A student may or may not have accurately guessed our son’s name! Stay tuned for an update in August/September for the reveal of baby Ralph’s name!
Based on the most recent news from the past weekend’s tragedy of the findings at the residential school in Kamloops, BC, we had a meaningful and insightful conversation discussing part of our country’s history. Many of us recognized the significance of residential schools and the impact that it had upon Indigenous culture, communities and families. Although the history surrounding residential schools is difficult to think about and hear, we discussed the importance of not shying away from something that makes us sad, as this is part of Canada’s story and it is a truth that needs to be discussed and reflected upon. Ask your inquisitive citizen about the three stories that were read, Not My Girl,When We Were Alone, and When I was Eight, what did we take away from these stories? What were the teachings of these books? In conjunction to the stories, students selected an illustration that they connected to. We took on the perspective of a young Indigenous child, at the age of 8, which is the age of many in our classroom, and reflected upon how we think many students would have felt. For example, in Indigenous culture, long hair represented strength and pride. Once children arrived to at the residential schools, many children had their hair cut off. Furthermore, children were forbidden to speak their native language and were forced to learn and only speak English. As students took upon their new perspective, they shared their thoughts and feelings on what many children may have experienced emotional.
In two of the written pieces above, you can see the students’ reflection on the negative impact that residential schools had. For example, one student reflected upon what it may feel like if they were forced to learn English and forbidden to speak their native language, “I would be heartbroken if my language was taken away from me. It is a sign that I am proud of my culture! It would make me feel so distant from my family. It would be like I wasn’t me anymore, and I love myself so it would break my heart!” Another student reflected upon what it may have felt like having their long hair cut off, “I do not like it if my hair was cut short. I would feel mad and sad.”
How would you feel forgetting your spoken language that you speak with your family? If reunited with your loved ones, how would it feel to no longer be able to communicate with your family? How would it feel to no longer recognize or enjoy the food you once loved, your once favourite foods are now unrecognizable and no longer enjoyable? Would you feel like a stranger? Would you feel disconnected and an outsider? Could you ever feel whole as a family again?
Below is a link to one of the Indigenous picture books that we read that highlighted a little girl’s experience at a residential school, and the grit and determination that she had within herself to persevere and rely upon her inner strength to make it through such a difficult time in her life.
Here is another link to an Indigenous story that we listened to. How did you feel after hearing this story. What is a take away that you have from this book?
As Artists this week we combined our artistic and written skills to reflect upon our DNA. As Scientists, many of us recognized the word DNA, as the tiny molecules that make each of us unique individuals. This week I put a spin on DNA and had us reflect on our DNA as our own and unique Dreams, Needs + Abilities. Dreams are important to have, they are goals that we can set for ourselves, we can have both short-term and long-term dreams in our life. As we reflected upon our needs, we thought about something that we need in our lives (we discussed the importance for our needs for survival, but what is something else you may need to feel safe, to feel loved, to get through each day?). Our abilities reflect what we are capable of doing. Seen below was our first step, painting our backgrounds for our portraits. Keep reading and you will find some examples of our finished product that we completed by the end of the week. I hope you and your families continue to discuss your DNAs – what are your dreams, needs and abilities. For example, I dream of one day travelling to Greece and exploring the world with my children. I need a goodnight hug and bedtime story with my son before he goes to bed each night. I have the ability to take risks and try hard things, like going skydiving!
In Science we continue to investigate the states of Matter through exploratory experiments. On Thursday, we were introduced to the following ingredients:
1/2 cup of milk
1tsp of vanilla
1tb of sugar
1 small zip lock bag
1 large galloon zip lock bag
4 cups of ice cubes
The ingredients were mixed together in a small ziplock bag. This small ziplock bag was then placed in a larger ziplock bag that contained 4 cups of ice cubes and 1/2 cup of salt. We wrapped the bag of ice in a tea towel to protect our hands from the cold while we took turns shaking the bag vigorously.
Ask your young scientist what occurred next. At the start of our exploratory lab our small ziplock bag continued a liquid – it had a fixed volume, but not a fixed shape. After 6 minutes, we unwrapped the ice cube bag to discover that our liquid had turned into… ICE CREAM! As seen in the photos below we were THRILLED with the results. Why and how did our liquid change states of matter into a solid? What are characteristics of a solid that lead us to this conclusion?
Our hallway now has a splash of colour with our story map kites. Our story maps served as our graphic organizer where we collected our brainstormed ideas for our original story. This includes identifying our characters, setting, problem and solution. Once our story map kites were complete we moved onto our stories, from there we moved onto the editing stage. Seen below you can find our editing checklist that all our authors referred to in order to ensure that their finished writing displayed their best efforts.
3, 2, 1 EDIT IT!
Fix 3 spelling words
Replace 2 words to become triple scoop words
Upper case letters to start each sentence
Period at the end of each sentence
Rewrite 1 sentence to become even better!
In P.E. we have begun another unit, BADMINTON! The students were thrilled with the new skills that they were learning and it took a lot of persuasion on my end for us to exit the gym as they were all having such a great time!
Have a restful + beautiful ‘long’ weekend. Enjoy your Monday off! I will see everyone bright + early Tuesday morning.
Although it was a shorter week, our week in Division 7 was still jam packed with fun + learning.
In Language Arts this week we focused on creating a story map, outlining our characters, setting, problem – events and solution to a story. As authors we focused on generating our own ideas to create a complete story. Once our story map was complete we then began to develop a complete story by expanding upon our graphic organizer and putting our ideas in full, complete sentences. Currently, our work is still a work in progress, stay tuned for the finished products. Next week we will be working on the editing stage. As authors, we will read through our work, read our work to others and be open and receptive towards feedback to make our writing even better.
Social Studies + Language Arts: We continue to explore various First Peoples’ traditional stories and legends. We continue to show awareness that First Peoples’ history was not recorded in written form, and thus, history was shared and pasted down from generation to generation through oral language in the form of story telling, traditional dance and ceremonies. As we explore these stories, we discuss the teachings, lessons and history that is conveyed in the story. This week we read “The First Mosquito” by Caroll Simpson. The students were fascinated with the history of how the first mosquito came to be. What were the teachings that you took away from the story?
In Math this week, many mathematicians finished up their addition and subtraction unit that focused on regrouping. This is an imperative mathematical skill so we will continue to focus on these foundational skills. Coming up next is our ability to estimate. When estimating, we are making a thoughtful guess to make a strong and approximate guess. We are focusing on rounding to the nearest tenth and or hundredth place to accurately form an estimate. For example, 87 + 43 = ? ; 87 is closer to 90 than 80, and 43 is closer to 40 than 50, therefore, we are looking at adding 90 + 40 = 130. Our estimate for 87 + 43 is about 130. Can you practice estimating the sum and difference for 2-digit and 3-digit numbers? What is your estimate for the difference of 96 – 23 = ? ; what is your estimate for the sum of 37 + 88 = ?
As Scientists, we finished working on our Root Beer Float Matter Posters. Our posters focused on the properties of gas, liquid and solid. We identified that gas does not have a fixed volume, like carbon dioxide bubbles; liquid has a fixed volume, but not a fixed shape, like root beer, and a solid has a fixed shape and fixed volume like ice cream. Our Matter Bulletin board is still under construction as we compile different examples to identify the various properties of Matter. Today, we used our investigative skills during another scientific lab exploration. We explored the hypothesis for how a balloon can change states of matter.
Prior to beginning our experiment, we identified the materials that we would use and then recorded our prediction and our observations throughout the process. We observed that the balloon was able to inflate because when the baking soda and vinegar mixed together, the mixture created a gas, carbon dioxide or CO2. The gas then filled the empty bottle, eventually inflating the balloon! TA-DA!!
Our marble runs were a HUGE hit. Students worked on their communication and problem solving skills while simultaneously respectfully and diplomatically navigating their group’s dynamics. Students worked on respectfully listening to one another’s ideas and insights, and building upon each other’s ideas, ensuring that all members agreed to the proposed plan.
Check out your child’s blog for their ADST reflection on the process. What worked well? What was challenging? How did they problem solve? What would they change if they were to do this challenge again?
Our Pointillism artwork has brightened our hallways. They all turned out great – colourful, original and unique!
Language Arts:
This week we participated in our independent school-wide-write. Students worked on their composition skills independently. We read several picture books that inspired class discussions that reflected the topic, how to make the world a better place. As a gradual release, I modelled and orally discussed ways that we can make the world a better place. The following day, students generated their own brainstorm reflecting on their own generated independent thoughts. Our next step was referring to our graphic organizer (brainstorm web) and expanding upon those ideas into full sentences. You will be able to find your child’s independent school-wide-write up on their blogfolios in the coming days.
This week in Art, students created their own vegetable/fruit water colour wash portrait. Our intention was to create a portrait that showed the perspective of vegetables growing in the soil and the variation in their roots, and what is visible above ground. In my modelled example, I grew a carrot, beet and garlic. It was great fun to see the ideas that the young budding artists came up with. Some examples included, eggplant bushes, cabbage, spinach, radish, potatoes, purple carrots, watermelon, cucumber and avocados. Our steps included, sketching our image first, colouring in the vegetables/fruits with crayons and then applying a watercolour wash over the portrait.
Have a wonderful, safe and restful long weekend everyone!
