Grade 1/2 Experiences at Rosser Elementary
We have spent time this week looking at ourselves and sharing things with our classmates. We did a booklet called, A Book About Me. In here we wrote about our likes / dislikes, our families, things we have recently learned, and things we want to learn next. We also did initial drawings of our faces. These booklets are posted on the bulletin board at the back of our classroom.
On Monday we began our daily read aloud: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. We will read a few pages each day after Planners are done. Reading a chapter book is a great way to encourage active listening and the expansion of the children’s vocabulary through her very descriptive and rich writing. It is a great introduction to hearing stories that are longer and more involved. Novels provide the opportunity to learn delayed gratification (i.e. not having the whole story over in 15 minutes) as well as teaching reflection, prediction, and anticipation. I have a recently released special hardcover edition of the novel which has been illustrated throughout.
When we have completed the novel we will take the opportunity to watch the movie. Through this we will compare the book and the movie through their similarities and differences. Appreciating that most of the movies that we watch originally came from the written books is also a valuable lesson – and hopefully will inspire their love of literature.
It is so nice to have the class decided and to be getting on with our school year!!
I am looking forward to a great year. Please check back to this blog as I regularly post information regarding our class activities and upcoming events for the school.
This first few days we have begun some of our regular routines, and also had a little bit of time to get to know each other through exploration of our Math tubs.
Students also had a bit of time to explore some of the Centre activities we have in our classroom.
While we are awaiting the start of our Reading groups, our class will be doing a unit study on the books of Dr. Seuss. We will be doing lots of fun activities around his books. We are also going to be getting to know each other better via a few activities around the theme of “All About Me”.
Stay tuned …
We have been informed that our school license for this mathematics programme has been extended through the summer months!
This is a great opportunity for your child to keep up with, and improve, their math skills. Students may sign in via the Rosser website. They all know how to do this as we use our computer lab each Tuesday morning.
Please encourage your child to complete each lesson that they go into on their own. They shouldn’t leave lessons undone. If they get too much help they will be promoted through to levels which will become too challenging for them. You are welcomed to help them with instruction – but please do not ‘pass’ the levels for them.
Most of the Rosser teachers have applied for licensing for this programme for next year. It is being used as a supplement to our classroom math programmes – it does not replace our direct teaching lessons.
It is recommended that students spend a minimum of 60 minutes per week on DreamBox. I am able to track their progress through the teacher ‘dashboard’ which I plan to do over the summer, as well. It is very easy for me to see who is on-line using this, and who is not. There may be acknowledgements in September for those using it …
We began our lessons from this kit last week. You should have received an explanatory letter in your child’s planner.
These lessons are meant to open a dialogue with the children. The goal is to inform children of their rights and responsibilities in taking care of their own bodies. We have currently completed 5 of these 12 lessons. In these lessons we talk about feelings and the differences/similarities between people.
Lesson 3 focussed on the correct scientific names for private body parts. We approached this as a science lesson. In spite of some embarrassed giggling, most students took this information in stride.
We will continue these lessons for another two weeks. Each day that we have a lesson a half paper comes home which described that day’s lesson. Please take time to discuss these lessons with your child.
Thank you for your continuing support!
Please check the ‘Upcoming Events’ page of this blog for events over the next three weeks.
A HUGE thank you to the wonderful Rosser PAC for providing such a lovely, and welcomed, catered luncheon on Tuesday, June 7th!!!!! It was very much enjoyed by both teachers and their E.A.’s (Educational Assistants).
We all felt very spoiled by the decorations, the food, and the lovely candle gifts in flower pots!!
Thank you.
On Thursday, June 2nd Cst. Jari of the Burnaby RCMP came to Rosser to speak to the students. The Primary students had a presentation on road/sidewalk and bicycle safety. There were several small video clips on the different topics. Child actors presented the ideas in a very ‘kid-friendly’ manner.
He touched on the topic of ‘stranger-danger’ and spoke briefly about the recent incident at St. Helen’s School which is just down the road from us. This subject will be discussed in much more detail during our classroom lessons through the C.A.R.E. kit.
We had spectacular weather for our field trip on Monday, May 30th!! We went via school bus to the game farm in Aldergrove with Ms. Nazaruk and the Kindergarten class.
Students enjoyed seeing the many different animals at the zoo. Some of their favourites were: the reptiles, the monkeys, the zebras, the hippos, the wild cats, and the giraffe.
We were lucky to be able to attend three of the ‘shows’ – the raptures (birds of prey); the reptiles (touching both a snake and a tortoise); and watching the lions being fed their lunch.
We walked a great deal around the perimeter of the park. In spite of some grumbling (about walking too far) we got in some good exercise. We then enjoyed our lunches and some quick play time at the playground.
We were also fortunate to have a trip around the zoo via their train.
Thank you to the many parents who came along to help supervise a small group each. So many cautious eyes watching our group made for a much more relaxing day!
To top off a busy week of Fine Arts the whole school enjoyed a great presentation of this play on Friday, May 27th in the morning. The story line melded two great legends – one Chinese and one from our local Aboriginal history – with a modern aspect of having the story take place in our modern time.
The students enjoyed the comedy and the actions involved in this play. I had read the two legends to them the day before the show. Many of our students of Chinese ancestry already knew the legend of the Monkey King. This really made the whole experience special for them.