Category: We are critical thinkers.

Dear students and families,

What an awesome week together! First of all, thank you for arriving on time every day! Please remember to do the daily health check before sending your child to school. Thank you for your thoughtfulness in keeping us all safe!

If you prefer to watch than read, here is the update video! Click here (Sorry, it’s 8:46 min long. I didn’t realize it was that long when I was recording it!). These videos and blog posts are meant for your children too so please review and have conversations about what was learned in order to reinforce. Thank you for your investment of time in your child’s learning! Ask them to reflect and tell you from their point of view. This works on their communication skills!

Meet the Teacher Conferences are next week on Wednesday, September 23 (3:15 to 6 pm) and Thursday, September 24 (2:15 to 6 pm) with an early dismissal on Thursday at 2:00 pm. Please read the important email sent to you from our Gilmore office. In the email, you will learn about our new online booking system with attached instructions. We recommend that you create an account and add your child(ren) before the portal opens tomorrow at noon. It is first come, first serve.

On Thursday, after our Flextime, we started our morning with our Community Circle finishing this sentence, “I feel happy when… “. It was heartwarming to hear many comments about feeling happy when they come to school. After just one week, it feels like we’ve been together much longer. We are thrilled to see our classroom community show respect and cooperation!

Next, we learned about comfort zone circles. We went to the Activity Room where they were given scenarios. This was a fun, interactive way where they moved to a part of the room that represented their comfort level. It’s important to understand themselves when learning. I told them that they will be regularly pushed out of their comfort zone for optimal learning in their stretch zone.

• Comfort zone: unchallenged, bored, stable, safe, easy
• Stretch zone: This is the learning zone – excited, exhilarated, challenged, alive, willing to take risks
• Panic zone: fearful, tense, stressed

Ms. Paulich finished the STEM activity with them in the afternoon. So MUCH fun! Here were a couple reflection questions:

What about your design worked well?

• Our paper was all used up and our strips were skinny which made it long
• It was strong and did not break
• Durability and we used all the supplies

If you were to do this challenge again what would you do differently?

• Try not to overlap the edges of the paper
• Make the strips longer and thinner making the chain longer
• Use thinner pieces so you have more to make the chain longer

Friday’s theme: Celebration Friday! After our Flextime, we gathered in our Community Circle to share our celebrations from the week and cheer for each other. Again, many comments about celebrating a great first week and feelings of happiness to be in the class. My heart was so full after listening to their celebrations!

Hooray for You! We read this book that celebrates “you-ness”, all the things that make you unique, special, and different! We spent some time working on our heart maps. I loved seeing all the things that make their heart happy!

We went back to the Computer Lab and learned about how to be a good digital citizen. They are now at an age where some have social media accounts or play online games where they talk to people they have never met in person. So it’s very important to teach them to THINK before they post or say things to others in person and behind a screen. What they post is permanent and may affect their future so we want them to build a positive online presence! We practiced in Teams in the Chat feature. I imagine we will have more conversations about how we use this space responsibly, respectfully, and with integrity.

Then we logged into Epic to do some reading. I will send you the class code in an email to keep it private and not post it here. I will be adding your emails this weekend so expect to see an email from Epic to invite you to sign up. This will allow your child to have an extra two hours of reading time at home outside of the free account which gives them free access from 7 am to 4 pm.

Finally, on Teams, they worked on a reflection assignment. They were asked the following questions:

• What can I do better as their teacher for them or the class?
• What can you improve on for next week? What is your goal?
• What is your celebration from the week?

Not everyone handed in their work because they did not all finish so if you can find some time over the weekend to encourage your child to login to O365 to complete the work and to click on TURN IN, that would be so helpful so they won’t be behind starting next week. Thank you so much! If you need any support, please send me an email.

Finally, I introduced the idea of Passion Projects. We watched the video as a launch. Please have a conversation with your child and help them brainstorm different possibilities for what they might want to focus on for their Passion Project. It’s best to brainstorm some ideas first! Feel free to have them bring it to school next week! They do not need to make a decision yet. What they choose needs to be realistic given the parameters of our health and safety protocols. So looking forward to seeing what they choose!

Ms. Paulich and I feel so very blessed to be your child’s teacher this year! Thank you for sharing your child with us. Your children are happy to be back at school and so are we! We are so looking forward to meeting you later next week over Zoom! A Zoom link will be shared with you next Tuesday evening.

FYI… for students who like to bring their own device, we will visit the Computer Lab next Monday. We will be going to the gym on Tuesday and Wednesday, so please dress appropriately to exercise!

We always love it when parents reach out to connect! To parents AND students, what was your most favourite activity from this week? Please post a comment! Thank you! 

Thank you for your support at home. We appreciate you! Have a fabulous weekend! 🙂

Sincerely, Ms. Chan and Ms. Paulich

Dear families,

We had another wonderful day together! It may help you to know that Ms. Paulich is in the class on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings as well as Thursday afternoons.

In the morning, students were grouped together for a paper chain STEM challenge! They brainstormed to come up with plans. Core Competencies: I can communicate and collaborate to work together with others! I can think critically! Tomorrow, the team challenge is ON!

In the afternoon, we met in our Community Circle to share our names again and suggest an exercise for us to all do. So, we did jumping jacks, lunges, burpees, and high knees, to name a few. We used a meme check-in just for fun to help us share how we were feeling. They chose an animal to help them express their emotions! Then we ended our circle time with freeze dancing to Can’t Stop This Feeling. So much fun!

We then talked about 5 Questions to Reveal Student’s Strengths & Interests. It was interesting that writing down their personal strengths and what they are passionate about didn’t come easily to them. I am excited to witness their growth over time. I truly believe it is so important they know what their strengths are especially in character so they not only can recognize these in each other but they can come to understand their value and the impact they have as good citizens in their communities.

As for developing passions, we will start to look at the beginning stages of our Passion Projects this Friday! Please feel free to begin to have conversations at home about what your child is passionate about or would most LOVE to learn about during this independent, self-directed learning time. To learn more about Passion Projects, I was a guest blogger for School Rubric. They published my blog post just last week on September 8th! To read my blog post, click here! If you want to take a look at the projects my students did last year, click here.

Students were excited to receive their planners! The cost will be $10. You can make a payment through School Cash Online soon. Please sign their planners each night. It is best if their planners are kept in a large Ziplock bag to limit the possibility of water leakage from bottles in their backpacks. Please feel free to write messages in the planner but the best way to communicate would be via email. Thank you!

I have so loved reading the emails your child sent to me because I am learning more about them! I have thoroughly enjoyed writing my responses to continue to get to know them better. Due to the fact that I am not their teacher in class 100% of the time, this is just another way we can stay connected and build that all important relationship outside the walls of the school. Besides, this is a real reason to read and write! They practice their communication skills too!

Your children make us feel so happy and loved! Thank you for your support by reading our blog posts. We highly recommend you read these together and then have a conversation around what they learned. We appreciate you! As always, please reach out should you have any questions or concerns and feel free to leave a comment on this blog to let us know what resonated with you. Thank you for your time! 🙂

Sincerely, Ms. Chan and Ms. Paulich

Dear families,

A lot has happened since the last time there was a post on our blog. I have surely missed providing you with an update on our learning. I want you to have a full sense of what we did for the last three weeks so rather than writing one long post, you will be receiving separate weekly posts to catch you up. Enjoy!

This past week, Ms. Grewal taught the class for two full days on Monday and Tuesday as part of her SFU Education program. She will spend one more week with us after spring break.

Mar. 9 – In the morning, we read the book The Most Magnificent Thing. Click on the link to have the story read to you. This story is about a girl who tries to build the most magnificent thing but experiences repeated failure until she quits but after a break, has a renewed sense of creativity and enthusiasm to continue. Ms. Grewal stopped at the part of the story where she quit so that students could write their own ending before the real ending of the story was revealed.

In the afternoon, the grade 3’s went to Kitchener for Primary Days of Music to present their two songs and sing along with other schools that learned the same songs. This tradition is a long-standing one in Burnaby and another testament to how our District honours the arts and the love of music.

While the grade 3’s were away, the grade 4’s read a story called I Am Not a Number. The author’s grandmother told her what it was like when she went to the residential school. She felt it was important to share what happened through this book. To learn more and listen to the author speak about why she wrote her grandmother’s story, click here (2:33 minutes).

Mar. 10 – We have Music with Mr. Maroney every Tuesday. For the next while, please have your child bring their recorders to school every Tuesday. If your child still does not have a recorder, please pay online for one.

We read a story called My Mouth is a Volcano. Click on the link to have the story read to you. This story is about a boy who has a habit of interrupting. The author teaches children a creative technique to hold onto thoughts to share at an appropriate time instead. Students were given the choice to write about their own experiences or to write a creative story of their own based on this story.

Mar. 11 – To interact further with the same book, My Mouth is a Volcano, students became screen writers and actors. Ms. Grewal selected students to work in groups to create a short skit that demonstrated a scenario where the main character’s mouth was like a volcano and how the issue was resolved. Students worked collaboratively in their groups sharing ideas, recording it on a storyboard, and then practicing their acting skills. I loved listening to their conversations as they worked together on a common goal. I also loved how the audience enjoyed each skit and how supportive they were. At the end, each person had to write their “I can” statements as they self-assessed their own teamwork skills. 

I was truly touched when I came into the room after lunch break. As I walked in to a full room of students, I heard, “Surprise! Happy birthday!” with a birthday banner, a message on the whiteboard, a table set up with my favourite fruit to share, two chopsticks and a blue paper ring to play table ringette, a crown to wear, thoughtful cards, and a wrapped gift. My heart was warmed and I felt loved. My birthday is over the break. This was the best birthday surprise ever!

In the afternoon, we spent some time reviewing our reading, writing, listening, and speaking goals by reflecting on how we were progressing, what we were proud of, what we still need to work on, and whether we were ready for a new goal. I was very impressed with how everyone so thoughtfully and honestly assessed their progress. They were so focussed on this writing as this was evidence of growth we wanted to share with you during our Student Led Conferences.

Mar. 12 – During the day, we were busy preparing for our Student Led Conferences. They thoroughly enjoyed pretending to be a parent as they practiced. I am so grateful to all of you who invested your time to celebrate your child’s learning. It was so heartwarming and endearing to watch your child share their learning and interact with you. I loved seeing the smiles, hearing the laughter, and watching you do your movement break together! Thank you for continuing to be a partner in your child’s education. [Deepest gratitude to Ana for creating our “Welcome to Student Led Conferences” signs. She came up with this idea on her own, created the beautiful signs under my nose, and posted them up! I didn’t even know who put up these lovely welcoming signs until I asked around. Thank you, Ana! Such a thoughtful gesture.]

Mar. 13 – We became potato farmers and potato scientists. First, we read through the list of instructions together which was sent to me in an email from Ms. Hickman. We had to use our critical thinking skills to figure out what steps to take because this was my first time planting potatoes. Just to be sure, we quickly found a short video on YouTube that solidified our understanding. Next, we took pictures of our potato seeds. Then, to capture our observations as scientists, we took notes on what we saw, what it looked like, describing it by colour, shape, size, and smell, for example. Students were given a choice in which app they preferred to use: Book Creator or Explain Everything. I was impressed with their proficiency in using their app of choice and how quickly they were able to record their observations. When I told them we were going to record our observations, they were so anxious and motivated to get started. It was just like a child who couldn’t wait to open their present. Off they went in using their creativity for their title pages and observations. I absolutely love how real their learning is and having the iPads are a great way for them to capture their ideas in photographs and words. While they were diligently working in the class, we took turns outside putting dirt into our pot and planting our seeds!

I hope you have had a good start to your spring break. As I shared with my students, I am looking forward to staying home and spending more time with my family. Enjoy your time as well. Stay healthy and safe! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, my door is open. Please feel free to reach out and contact me by email, in a note, in person, or call the school.

To keep updated, regularly check the Burnaby School District website at http://burnabyschools.ca. For the latest post about COVID-19 including a message from our Board Office and a number of links, click here. 

Sincerely, Ms. Chan

Looking for ways to keep your child occupied? Here are some suggestions:

• Go for a walk together rain or shine. Each day, find ten new things you haven’t ever noticed before in nature or take turns discovering. It may become more challenging the more walks you take together! Bring a little notebook along to record.
• Play Math games with cards to review facts to practice fluency:
  • Making tens – Each player has 5 cards. Goal is to have combinations that equal 10. For example, if you have a 6 in your hand, say, “Do you have a 4?” If not, “go fish.” Take a card.
  • Addition war – Divide deck in two for each player. Flip over one card. First person to say the sum gains the cards. Challenge: Each person flips over two cards at the same time to add!
  • Doubles war – Flip over one card at a time. First person to call out the double gains the cards. For example, turn over a 6. 6 doubled, call out 12!
  • Doubles +1 strategy – Flip over one card at a time. First person to call out the double plus one gains the cards. For example, flip over a 6. The question would be 6 + 7  = 13. (6 doubled plus one)
  • +2 strategy – Flip over two cards. First person to call out the next number counting by two’s gains the cards. The idea is that rather than calculating, the automatic response is to count up by two’s instead. Then practice subtracting by two’s for the -2 strategy.
  • +10 strategy – Flip over one or two cards. First person to call out +10 gains the cards. Then practice -10.
  • +9 strategy – Flip over any number from 1 to 10. Each number, add 9. If they can quickly add +10, then +9 is just one less. For example, flip a 6. Think 6 + 10 = 16 but one less = 15.
  • Addition of larger numbers – Flip two cards and another two cards as random numbers to add (practice using decomposing or compensation strategy or regrouping). For grade 3’s, they are expected to be able to add to 1000 (3 digit plus 3 digit numbers) and for grade 4’s to 10 000 (4 digit plus 4 digit numbers) so using cards, they can create random numbers to add together.
  • Alternative: Go to my Symbaloo weblinks page to practice these math fact fluency strategies. To access, look on the right-hand side under Links on this class blog. Click on Symbaloo and it can be found on the bottom row. I created flashcards using Quizlet.
• Read by taking turns or at the same time together. Children at any age still enjoy listening to an adult read and vice versa. Just a few days ago, my 18 year old son read aloud a short story to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
• Keep a journal of what you did each day over the break. Make it fun by asking your child to write and then you write your thoughts afterwards on the same page! We always focus on having an opening and closing sentence with details in the middle that include thoughts and feelings. Another idea is to draw a picture together of what you did like a shared visual journal. I would love to see your shared work!
• Continue writing their creative stories on Office 365, play Prodigy or Tynker. If you need login information again, please email me. We also have a district licence to an online program, called All the Right Type, to learn how to touch type. We will be starting the program as class but if you’d like your child to have a head start, please contact me and I will pass along the login information.

Unfortunately, TELUS World of Science has closed its doors at least until April 6 for a deep clean so our field trip will be cancelled. 

Dear families,

We hope you thoroughly enjoyed your Family Day long weekend! I enjoyed a nice dinner with my family and my very first adventure in an escape room. There were many challenging tasks but it was a great way for our family to spend time together working as a team. We had great fun because the puzzles were creative and really made us think critically!

Today, we enjoyed our second session of ice skating. Thanks to our parent volunteers who made it possible. Last week, we had our first session with lessons. The instructors were impressed with our skaters overall saying that they were quick learners. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing a bit of my passion for ringette with interested skaters! I also really enjoyed playing some hockey when one of the students asked me to join their team because they needed some help catching up. Playing hockey was my first ice sport! 

Looking for more opportunities to skate as a family? Last weekend, my family and I thoroughly enjoyed skating together in North Vancouver by the Quay. If you are not aware, they have an outdoor covered skating rink at the Shipyards where you can skate for free (provided you have your own skates). They are open daily from 12 – 7 pm until March 1. On February 24-26, they also have free skate rentals from 5 – 7 pm. Click here to learn more! Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

We are writers and critical thinkers. Last week, I forgot to mention that I tweeted out something I had percolating in my mind about what our brains do and how we think critically as we write:

Created this graphic to make the writing thought process more explicit. Wanted students to periodically stop and review writing by re-reading and thinking with purpose before writing more. Does it make sense? How can I make my message clearer or writing better? Writing isn’t ever “finished”. Thoughts?

It is a work in progress. Here is Version 1, which is what I shared with students originally:

So before they write, they think about what they want to write using a variety of pre-writing strategies like talking, drawing, and brainstorming, etc. After they write a bit, if there is a natural pause in their writing or after a few ideas are recorded, they are asked to read over what they wrote so far, asking themselves reflectively, “Does it make sense? How can I make my message clearer?” Then they revise and make changes to improve what they already wrote before going back to thinking about what they want to write next so the cycle begins again. With young writers, I have noticed they often just write and continue writing without reviewing what they already wrote; there is little reflection and revision as they write unless they are encouraged to do so. I truly believe that when writers naturally follow this cycle, what they are trying to communicate becomes more clear and concise. I thought that creating a visual like this infographic makes their thought process as they write more explicit and develops critical thinking skills at the same time.

After some feedback and more thought, here is version 2:

It was interesting to listen to student’s thoughts about it. Since then, it has been great to hear them refer to what their brains should be doing as they think and compose. 

Once they feel their writing is “complete” then they are asked to read it over three times before I conference with them. They are asked, “DYRIO?” = Did You Read It Over? Each time they read it over is with a specific purpose:

1. Read it like a reader. You are someone else reading it for the first time. Does it make sense? 
2. Read it again as an editor looking for errors in conventions like capitals, punctuation, and spelling.
3. Read it a third time as a revision expert. What words can I change to make my writing sound better? For example, my word choice so instead of saying “eating” I could use “gobbled it up” or if I have used “said” numerous times, I might use “screamed, hollered, yelled, cried” instead or add an adverb phrase like, “she cried with big tears streaming down her face.” 

I shared these concepts at one of the sessions where I am teaching other teachers how to use technology to enhance student writing and some informed me that they went back to their classrooms and introduced these concepts to their students the next day! It has been so satisfying to see the improvements in everyone’s writing since the beginning of the year. Communication skills are so important to develop and communicating through writing is just a piece of it.

How you can support at home: When your child writes, encourage them to think critically as a writer: Think. Write. Stop. Read it over. Reflect. Revise before thinking and writing some more.

Please feel free to write a comment to this post to share your thoughts. I know I will continue to tweak this graphic after more feedback and reflection and would love to hear from you. Thank you.

Sincerely, Ms. Chan