A short week, but a very busy week. Sorry for this very brief update.

In math, we had a short test on subtraction, addition, and word problems. Word problems continue to be a challenge, so we'll keep incorporating them into our weekly activities. We've always incorporated some multiplication, but we will start it in earnest next week.

In science, we are wrapping up rocks and minerals. We will have a unit test on Monday. The students have been given a study guide to help them. We have gone over practice questions and acceptable answers in class. I'm hopeful all will be prepared and do well. Next week we will begin our unit on building and simple machines.

In literacy, we are working on our Rats of NIMH project. We are focusing on making sure we all have a strong thesis statement. The students are developing their skills on focusing their thoughts and ideas into well constructed, clearly written statements that summarize what they are trying to communicate.

Report cards came home this week.

Welcome back to another week.

In math, we worked on estimation and subtraction, as well as word problems. We combined our developing skills at regrouping, especially across zero, and applied them to word problems. We looked at a few strategies for tackling word problems, but I also wanted them simply to tackle them on their own. Part of learning how to tackle word problems is NOT simply learning how to break them down into their parts, but to read the whole problem and realize/figure out what is being asked in the first place. For a better explanation of what I mean, watch this video (which I hope remains viewable): 

In other words, a good chunk of solving word problems is having good reading comprehension skills, along with number sense. In class, I use the following website to generate random word problems: Word Problem Generator. We play it as a game on occasion as a quick way to jump in and try new problems. The children enjoy it. We talk about the question, look for clues, but also simply try to read the problem and figure out what it is asking before resorting to underlining "key" words and circling any numbers we see. 

In language arts, we have begun our Rats of NIMH project. Students chose their groups, and then began talking about what they wanted to analyze from the book and film. I let them brainstorm for one period. The next day, we came back as a group and began examining our ideas. All the groups had great ideas about what they wanted to look at. We then looked at the why. Why did they want to examine that scene, character, or plot point? How would they tie that in to what we had looked at with our rubric and the Program of Studies?

Several groups wanted to create a skit re-enacting a sword fight from the film, but which was not in the book. We had to really examine that scene to show how that was a legitimate scene to look at. What were they going to compare and contrast? How were they going to do it? Were they simply thinking they would have a sword fight at the front of the class and be done? We went through the same process with each group and tried to nail down our topic to a very specific point. We'll spend the next week or so working on this, and then present our ideas to the class. 

In science, we pretended we were astronauts on a newly discovered planet, X-97a. One of our first jobs was to collect and examine rocks and minerals from this planet. We had to use scientific techniques for categorizing minerals (lustre, colour, etc.). They had to perform hardness tests by trying to scratch their mineral and then try to rank it on the Mohs scale of hardness. They also had to perform acid tests with vinegar to determine if their sample contained carbonates. It was fairly chaotic, but it was a fun time, and I believe the kids both really were engaged and got something important out of it. 

On Fridays, we have a chess club for our Try Something New sessions. We had fun this week practicing our chess skills and playing games. Overall, it was a great week! Have a fantastic weekend. 

Well, we had a real hoot this week....ok, sorry, that was a terrible pun. But we did. The Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society visited rooms 16 and 17 on Monday. They brought with them Ophelia, a rescued great horned owl. Having damaged her wing in a collision with a car, Ophelia now spends her days educating children. The society also provided a number of sterilized owl pellets that the students were able to dissect.

The children had an amazing time. It was truly fantastic!

In Math, we focused on regrouping in subtraction, working up to borrowing across zero, which proved a real challenge for many. We worked through it by using expanded form to show how the borrowing works, and that despite the borrowing, we still in fact have the same number (we've simply rearranged it). We'll do a bit more on this, and then move on to multiplication (though I'll always keep bringing up all we've previously studied to ensure it doesn't slip away).

One thing I have noticed in my class is that many students are still developing automaticity when it comes to addition and subtraction facts with numbers from 0-10. When asked what 9 + 7 is, many students are still using strategies such as counting fingers, using our number line, or trying to count it out loud, or use tally marks. So we've been playing some games to try and make these facts more automatic. This is, I believe, a key to success in math. Studies have shown that students who have automatic recall of simple facts show much less brain activity, meaning their brains are free to focus on the more difficult aspects of problems. Children who struggle to recall simple facts devote more brain energy to those tasks, leaving less 'room' for more complex elements. The video below speaks to this, and I really encourage you to watch it. 

Below is one of the games we play to help build that automaticity and fluency with facts. Students take turns turning over 2 cards out of 12 placed face down. The goal is to find cards that can give you 10. The cards remain turned up until you can make a 10 from some of them, at which point that student takes the cards with which they made the 10 and replaces them with new ones from the deck, face down. 

Getting a 10 could be as simple as 3 + 7. And for some of my students, this is where they are at. However, for students who have those facts, this is still a fun game because they can make it more complex. For example, a number of cards could be turned over, none of which seem to give you 10, until one student realizes (6 X3) - 8 = 10. They then get all three cards (6, 3, and 8). So, this type of low floor/high ceiling game allows an entry point for all my learners. (In the video below, the students below were turning the cards back over, but that's ok. They were still playing and having fun)

In language arts, we have begun talking about our novel/film comparison. We have finished Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and we watched the film version, The Secret of NIMH. We spoke about the differences in plot, characterization, and other things. We then looked at the Program of Studies (I simplified it for them) and talked about what we should be seeking to learn from comparing the novel and the film. We're building a rubric (grading scheme) now and deciding what is acceptable for showing our learning. We'll spend the next two weeks working on this project in small groups, and then we'll present our findings.

In social studies, we've left Peru and have flown 14 hours to Tunis, Tunisia. Our passports were stamped, and we've arrived. Over the next month or so, Mrs. Wilson will guide our two classes as we learn about the people, geography, flora and fauna, culture, food, etc. of Tunisia.

That's all for now. Have a great week. And remember, report cards are coming home soon!

Aaaannndddd we're back!

A busy week as we got back into the groove. In math, we picked up where we left off, practicing adding and subtracting. We focused on subtracting, especially looking at regrouping/borrowing across zero. I think we'll need some more practice on this as we keep going forward. We'll be starting multiplication next week, as well. As always, we continue to do activities that help us build our number sense, as well as learn the algorithms and more "traditional" math elements.

As I've mentioned before, we like to go to this site: estimation180. It's a great site for building students' skills in estimating. Of course, it's also a great way to get a sense of student number sense. As an example, we looked at the following picture and I had the students share some strategies for estimating the quantity of candy corn, as well as some of their guesses. Their guesses for the bag ranged from 30, 40, 60, 300, up to 1000. As you can see from the guesses of 30, 40 and such, concepts of number and quantity are still developing.

The answer was 893. Some students got fairly close. One student remembered our previous challenge with almonds, thought they were about the same size, and guessed a similar number to the almonds. He was not too far off.

In science we continued with rocks and minerals, beginning an examination of the rock cycle.

We also worked on a small research project on the great horned owl. We did so because we will be having a great horned owl visit our class on Monday. We are all super excited for this. For not only will be get to see the owl, we will also be dissecting sterilized owl pellets to learn more about what owls eat and their role in the ecosystem. This is a part of our ongoing study of plant and animal life-cycles. I'll be sure to get some good pictures and video of the visit for next week.

In literacy, we talked about the Program of Studies for literacy, examining the different things we are supposed to be learning. We did this as part of our approach to our Rats of NIMH project, wherein we will be comparing and contrasting the novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH with the film version, The Secret of NIMH. We will use our discussions to create a rubric (grading plan) for our project, as well as to decide what would be acceptable for showing our learning.

Have a great weekend!