Students had a fantastic time exploring Barnet Marine Park last week. They spotted crabs, jellyfish, seagulls, and sea stars. While it was high tide, Division 10 was nevertheless was engaged in exploring throughout the day.
We used field guides to try to identify different shells. Could it be oyster, mussel, limpet, or clam? Some students noted the foam at the seashore and we learned it was from decomposing algae. Others noted the different types of seaweed that had washed up. (Check out this blog if interested to learn more about seaweed!)
They learned important lessons on respecting nature, such as trying not to disturb tidal pools too much or take home too many shells or rocks that may give shelter to some animals.
Students also learned from each other, swapping facts that they knew about local plants and animals. “It was actually a fun field trip,” said one student the next day. đ
Tima measures the length of her table with playing cards.
We wrap up our measurement unit this month. This week, we practiced measuring length (la longueur)Â with non-standard units of our own choosing.
Logan measures the length of a stool with snap cubes.
Students learned that they need to use multiple copies of the units for the measurement to be accurate. For example, if choosing markers as a non-standard measurement unit, they needed to use the same markers.
Vienna and Allie measure the length of a glue stick with dice.
Students were asked to first estimate the length of a given object and then measure it out. It’s been a fun math activity!
Division 10 has been practicing to read well with a partner. After the holiday break, we’ve needed to review basic rules such as sitting next each other or choosing one book to read together.
During these sessions, students practice important life skills like turn-taking, listening, making compromises, encouraging others, and even teaching.
Maia demonstrates flexible number sense by considering different ways to get a sum of 14. She can show her math thinking symbolically using drawings and equations. Students are learning that they need to be precise in math, whether in properly printing digits or including symbols. Sometimes, students forget to include the ‘plus’ or ‘equal’ sign, so we’re trying to review our work too!
In Term 2, we continue to develop our number sense with a strong focus on addition up to 100.
Our math learning takes form in different ways – worksheets, open-ended morning questions, picture books, games, drills (Chrono Maths), and number routines.
One such number routine is the ‘problem of the day’. This week, students have been reflecting on their addition strategies.
We’ve been using Carole Fullerton’s Good Questions: A Year of Open-Ended Math Problems for Grades 2-4 for daily discussion.
Open-ended questions are low-risk and inclusive to all learners. They invite multiple solutions and rich discussion. The class understands that so long as the answer ‘makes sense’ (ie. is logical), it is up for group consideration.
Students practice both creative and critical thinking skills during this activity, helping make math more dynamic. They also develop their communication skills as they might be asked to share their math thinking in different ways – symbolically, concretely, and/or verbally.
Open-ended questions include more students in the act of problem-solving. The more often we expose students to these key math ideas the more fluent they become; the more we recognize and celebrate different problem-solving approaches, the smarter the collective becomes. (Fullerton)
As the school year progresses, we’ll continue to build on this and other number routines.
Students practiced some metacognition today. We discussed the various core competencies that we use at school every day: communication, thinking (creative and critical), personal and social responsibility.
From the Ministry of Education website:
The Core Competencies are sets of intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need in order to engage in deep, lifelong learning.
Students worked in groups, studying photos taken since September. In making our learning visible, we realized just how much we do at school!
Students had a fantastic time exploring Barnet Marine Park last week. They spotted crabs, jellyfish, seagulls, and sea stars. While it was high tide, Division 10 was nevertheless was engaged in exploring throughout the day.
