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!

Wow, what a week! And now we're almost half way through the year. I can't believe it. We had a fun week.


In math we took a little break from adding/subtracting and we worked on writing songs that could help us remember how to skip count every number from 1-10.  Everyone felt comfortable with 1, 2, 5, and 10, so we broke into groups and focused on the remainder: 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. For the number 3, I shared an old song from my childhood: 3 is a Magic Number from Schoolhouse Rocks! The kids loved it, easily memorized it, and were excited to try and write their own songs. Here's the one I shared:

We came up with a grading rubric to decide how to assess this project, so everyone is on board and knows what they're doing and why.

In social, Mrs. Wilson gave the students a test on their knowledge of Peru. The tests were returned. Ask your student how they did.

In science we had a great time. We created a dichotomous key (a fancy word for a way of sorting objects) on our tables. We used these to sort a collection of rocks. The students had to decide what properties they wanted to use to break the rocks into different groups.

We also somehow managed to squeeze in a crystal-making session. We then examined them under microscopes and got some really cool views of their formations up close. 

We ended the week watching The Secret of NIMH, based on the book we read this term as a class. Next, we'll be doing a project on this, comparing and contrasting different scenes from the movie with the book and discussing why these differences might exist. 

Well, that's it for now. Have a fantastic holiday with your families and friends. Rest, enjoy, and have some fun. See you soon!

Hello everyone.

This week I revisited a topic we had discussed on several occasions. We looked at the = sign. We discussed how it is not simply a symbol that tells us where the answer goes, but rather is more like a balance. I used a teeter-totter analogy.

Revisiting concepts is important in math. Too often a topic is covered, and then we simply move on. I wrote on the board:

I took a poll for the answer, and it was overwhelmingly 12. I asked what happened to the 3? That was the lead-in to our conversation. We looked at several more simpler examples, talked. Did more challenges. Talked. Eventually we worked up to more challenging questions.

The children really enjoyed the challenges. We'll step back a bit, combine these ideas into word problems and make sure we're really understanding the questions. These algebraic/equation-balancing questions were a lot of fun, and some of the kids saw that we had already been doing them in our word problems. They were excited to see the links and relationships.

In science we continued with our examination of rocks and minerals by exploring the difference between the two. We did an activity where I gave them a variety of descriptions (contains fossils, has a crystalline form) and they had to make an educated guess about whether it was a feature of a rock or a mineral. They did this in small groups, sharing their background knowledge and making inferences and guesses. We then came back together and figured it out together. Once we had our information correctly assembled, we created a chart that we can use as we go forward in our work.

This coming week we will take a large group of rock samples and begin looking at how we could categorize them. We'll build a dichotomous tree, like the following image.

This taxonomic activity will let the kids handle and closely examine a large number of rocks and get them thinking about how scientists do this type of work, what characteristics they could be looking for, and how they can do it with their own background knowledge and observation skills.

I also asked for them to start bringing in glass jars. I hope to make crystals. It is unlikely to happen this coming week, but if you have any extra jam, pickle, etc. jars, please send them in.

In literacy we worked together with Mrs. Wilson's class on a writing prompt of a Norman Rockwell painting.

We discussed what we thought was going on in the picture. We then had to write a short story, using descriptive language, similes, metaphors. Our goal was to create an interesting story that hooked our reader.

In social studies, your children should have brought home a study guide this week for a test on Peru on Monday with Mrs. Wilson. Please help them to study for this test.

Hello again.
In math we held off on starting the pet budget project as our addition and subtraction skills needed a bit more of a focus. We should start it next week. We also continued to work on word problems, adding complexity in the wording if not the actual required operations. We really dug in and broke down the questions to find out what they were truly asking. This is an important skill, but it also speaks to number sense. As students develop their number sense, many word problems will resolve themselves as the students begin to see the relationship between numbers and so can more easily discover what is being asked.

We also practiced our estimating skills, examining the number of beans in a jar as well as the heights of various objects and people. This is also a great exercise to build comprehension not only of numbers and amounts, but to develop the students' abilities to visualize numbers in their heads, to do mental math, and to work with different units. They learned that once they reached a certain height, for example, that centimeters were no longer the best unit, and switching to meters was perhaps a better option.

They used a variety of strategies to estimate height. Our multiplication skills will be developed more in the new year, so it was not a big surprise that many students opted to count by grouping numbers together instead of multiplying them. After estimating one element to be 4 feet tall, students estimated how many 4-foot objects you could fit in the object to be measured. Some students simply wrote out the number 4 over and over and then added them up.

The site I like to use is estimate180. It has many pictures and examples you can use with your child to practice their estimating skills. And it's fun! The students really enjoyed trying to figure out how tall a lamp post was, or how many jellybeans were in a jar.

In science we began our unit on rocks and minerals. I brought in some rocks we have at the school, along with a few of my own, and the students took some time to examine them. They quite enjoyed this hands-on activity. We then moved on to the composition of the earth, examining the different layers from the inner core to the mantle and crust. We'll continue with this unit for at least the rest of this term before the winter break.

Our eco-columns are still up and running, and we're still taking a look at them each day. One is now growing mushrooms, and another pupa has formed. We hope this will make it to beetle! The children are still fascinated with these, and it has truly been a great project that has inspired their curiosity.

In literacy, we are now using laptops to write stories and work on our Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of Peru. We're learning how to type, a useful skill that also helps build muscle memory and strength, as well as endurance. We'll be designing a website and placing our research on it to share with the world. We'll add new animals and plants as we expand into Tunisia, India, and Ukraine. We'll choose colours, backgrounds, photos, and videos to share. Development of these multi-modal literacies is very important in the 21st century classroom.

We also continue to read our novels in our groups. Our class read-aloud, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is coming to a close, and in the new year we still plan to begin our project.