M. Paterson's Class Blog

New Blog!

2011-09-10T12:49:00.002-02:30

For those still following my Grade 4 Blog (where you are right now), I would suggest that you also add my Grade 5 Blog. The address is grade5beachycove.blogspot.com, and it will provide more of the same as I embark on a new year at Beachy Cove Elementary. There will be plenty of useful links, updates, hints and musings in the fashion you came to expect on this blog.

Thanks for your support, see you in Grade 5!

The school year is running on fumes...

2011-06-21T19:59:00.000-02:30

Well, here we are close to the end of the year! Just a few loose ends to tidy up and the kids will be ready to trot off into their respective summer vacations. It's been a real pleasure to work with this class throughout the school year, and I'm amazed by their growth and current maturity.

We have had a few fun days, while still getting things done over the last week. We have built a robot, worked on SmartBoard skills and techniques, finished up our hockey pool and done lots of written work to get the kids tuned up for grade five. We have a couple more events and activities coming up in the last few days, so here's a heads-up.

Tomorrow we're watching a movie in the afternoon. We will be watching it on the SmartBoard with Mme Natalie's class, with snacks and drinks provided. I have invited students to wear their PJs, bring a cushion or pillow, and bring their stuffed animal along for the ride if they wish.
Several students are bringing in things to show the class tomorrow and Thursday. This is welcome, just let me know first.
One student has already sent me a sound file that they created using iNudge (see my last post). Great work, Robbie! I welcome any feedback or creative output like this.
I will be trying to get the class outside at some point in the next few days, to make up in small part for the lack of a Sports Day this year.
Most students brought home at least some of their year's work today. I have asked students to bring in a fabric/reusable plastic bag to aid in the transmission of all this material. Trust me, they kept busy this year!

Thanks again for all your support this year; I can't wait to see the class back at Beachy Cove next year. I'll post again tomorrow, but feel free to email if you have any questions or comments.

Some fun sound experimentation programs

2011-06-20T15:39:00.000-02:30

We had some fun today with the SmartBoard, particularly with two sound manipulatives. Here are links to both.

http://inudge.net/

http://seawitchery.tumblr.com/post/4070384205/i-started-out-clicking-strategically-and-by-the

Hope you have headphones for your child to use, and if not I apologize in advance.

Canucks Waleyan Ne

2011-06-15T18:07:00.000-02:30

We watched this at the end of the day today, as a way of cheering on the Canucks. It was created by 3 Punjabi Canucks fans from Vancouver, and shows just how popular and cross-cultural hockey can be! The kids had an impromptu dance party, something that I imagine will repeat itself if the 'Nucks win tonight.

If they don't, I will have to eat my words but at least I'll get to see the cup when it comes to Bonavista with Michael Ryder!

Another sunny day

2011-06-14T16:29:00.000-02:30

Hi parents and kids! I won't interrupt your sunny Tuesday for too long, so here are a few notes;

I reference a site in today's Agenda notes. This site is also linked in my last post. Please have your child practice their division estimation and calculation techniques. If you notice any particular issues, please let me know.
Tomorrow afternoon we are making "Fraction Pizzas", so I have asked students to pack a lighter lunch than usual. This will fill prevent them from crashing, but leave room for tasty, tasty pizza. They can also bring an apron or other cooking attire if they would like (yes Abby, you can bring your chef's hat)!

2011-06-12T10:27:00.001-02:30

Here are a few sites to try out today!

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-5/estimate-products-word-problems

http://www.mathplayground.com/multiplication04.html

If you need a reminder of how to multiply 1 number by 3 numbers, this site will help.
http://www.aaamath.com/g5_310x3.htm

News in brief

2011-06-09T18:55:00.000-02:30

Today was another whirlwind, as we get things wrapped up before the year-end shenanigans. We were slightly sidetracked for the morning, but it was okay because THEY FINALLY INSTALLED OUR SMARTBOARD!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After I ran the necessary cables to connect it, we were able to do some fun work for the afternoon that built on our Canadian Geography and Math work. The kids were very engaged, and excited about the new element to our classroom experience.

Tomorrow will be another busy day, featuring presentations of our "Provincial Tourism" projects. Students will be using our new SmartBoard to highlight important geological, geographical, political and social elements of the province they were assigned. I can't wait to see the results.

Geography tools/games

2011-06-07T13:25:00.001-02:30

I have assigned some online work for homework tonight, as we get further into our Canadian/World geography unit. This site has many games and quizzes about world and Canadian geography, some of which will be too challenging, and other very easy. I would encourage you to explore the site a bit and play some games, since we will be talking about this more in class tomorrow.
I would suggest scrolling down the page, as well as clicking on tabs such as "Quebec" or "Monde" on the top of the page.

http://www.jeux-geographiques.com/

This site is more geared toward open-ended exploration, and will help build students' understanding of vocabulary related to landforms, places and regions as well as their mapping skills. Click on "Click here to use the map" to open the necessary window.
Please have your child play around with the map a bit, since they will need to be familiar with it for our upcoming activities.

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/info.aspx?item=map&lang=En#

Hello public!

2011-06-06T17:43:00.000-02:30

Hi gang, just a short post so I can get back out into the beautiful sunshine. First, some notes:

The school calendar was supposed to go home last week when I was out for a few days, but apparently didn't get distributed as intended. I will rectify this tomorrow!
Students performed very well on their Measurement test in math, so I will not bother sending them home. Full evaluations of students' Personal Projects will be available by the end of the week.
We are participating in Math Day early next week; I will be sending home a notice to let you know exactly when (although it looks like it will be Monday morning)
I will be posting frequently for the rest of the year, with a particular focus on websites and activities that will help students study material related to Canadian Geography and Multiplication/Division

In other news, our SmartBoard should be installed shortly. Yay! In an intentionally ironic move, I have been using the still-boxed SmartBoard as a bulletin board. Such amazing technology.

We had a great chat today about moving on to grade 5, mostly focused on the added responsibility students will have next year. To that end, I stressed to students that they should keep their foot on the accelerator until the end of the year, and to try even harder to take responsibility for their own learning and achievement. They have all come so far, and I would love to see them close out the year with a bang. Speaking of which, I have several commitments that I still need to live up to. This includes a small hiking field trip, building a robot and having a pizza-making party. The latter will be tied to our recently-finished unit on fractions, and all should be done by the last week.

Have a great day, talk to you soon!

Satuday Update

2011-06-04T20:49:00.000-02:30

So, here's a quick update to fill everybody in on the key things we will be hitting on over the last few weeks of the year:

I will be giving students a chance to earn their "SmartBoard" licences. Because of Beachy Cove Elementary's admirable focus and drive toward enabling this technology across the school, I believe most of the grade 5 classes next year will have SmartBoards in the classrooms. (A big thanks here is also due to parents and community partners, who have been infinitely generous and encouraging in the whole process of acquiring this technology). To that end, I will be spending time with students to give them a good base in SmartBoard hardware and software use that will help them become more comfortable when the start to use it in-class next year.
We will be moving through 3-D geometry in the next few days (this is only a minor extension on work we have already done on geometry earlier in the year), and will then move into multi-digit multiplication and division. This will require some work at home, so I will send home some sheets to work on to support this learning.
The "homework DuoTang" concept seems to be working out very well. I am happy with students' progress, but would like to stress that it is very important to check agendas and make sure that your child is able to take the time to read the assigned article and highlight any things they do not understand.
Thanks for your help with the class's Musical Instruments projects
We will be focusing on landforms, geology and political divisions within Canada in social studies. The class seems to enjoy this type of material, and I have lots of fun activities to go with the subject matter.

Have a great weekend, and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments!

As the year winds to a close...

2011-06-03T13:24:00.000-02:30

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post, since I have been relying more heavily on email and personal contact as we move into the final hectic weeks of the year. This being my first time going through the year-end process, I'm amazed at the amount of work that has to be done to wrap things up. We have picked up the pace in a few areas of the curriculum, and brought some very interesting ongoing projects to a close. I am participating in an External Review today, so thought I would catch you up on a few things while I'm off for lunch.

We wrapped up our Personal Projects 2 weeks ago, with a grand day of presentations in our classroom. It was a chance for students to showcase all of there hard work, and to see what others had been up to. Although I had been quite involved in the classroom/conceptual side of the project, I hadn't yet seen what students were working on at home. I was, to put it simply, amazed by what I saw. The projects ranged from written texts to movies, with everything in between. There was a Japan-themed boardgame, a model CN Tower, a scale reproduction of the invasion of Utah Beach, and even Viking lemonade!

It was open to the whole school and parents, and the most frequent comment I got was that they were amazed that all students had started off with the same assignment. Each set goals, planned carefully, reflected and altered their ideas when necessary, and ended up with a very cohesive project that was a reflection of their interests, skills and expertise. Since the intent of the project was to maximize the use of students' abilities and differentiate my own assessment models, I think it was a great success. Students and parents embraced the idea, and I look forward to doing it again next year.

We had a great trip to the GEO Centre earlier this week, as an introduction to our final unit in science. We had a great time, and I think that the pace and focus of the lessons they taught had great effect on the kids. So many children in the elementary grades react very well to hands-on learning, and this was no exception. I wish I could do something like this for every unit, since it makes it so easy to reference concepts and topics when they have already seen and manipulated them first-hand.

Lunch is drawing to a close, but I will give a further update and an idea of things to come when I can post again later.

Good geography game

2011-05-16T11:10:00.000-02:30

We're currently working on an activity related to continents and oceans, so I thought I would repost this game I linked to earlier in the year. Other than leaving out the Antarctic Ocean (a small detail), it is accurate and uses the terminology the students need to be familiar with. I would suggest using it to build familiarity with the continents and oceans over the next couple of weeks.

http://www.learningtogether.net/continents/

The weekend is upon us

2011-05-13T16:56:00.000-02:30

After another week of fun and learning (although you'd have to ask the kids if that's accurate or not), we find ourselves at Friday once again. Some students are fairly ambivalent toward the onset of the weekend, others count down the minutes, and small group are actually disappointed that school is over for another week. I guess that means I'm doing my job, right? I am personally looking forward to getting in a good weekend of spring cleaning and socializing as we move into what promises to be a fairly hectic last month of school this year.

I was reflecting with some other teachers earlier in the week (as we are prone to do), and the discussion turned to what effect having such a small class (14 in my case) has on the students' attitudes and dynamic with one another. It made me think, and I have really been paying attention to this over the last few days. My first conclusion was that there are probably positive effects in terms of the physical space we occupy. By not being able to run away or isolate themselves or others, students are compelled to work things out more often, and accommodate others in class. There is also a tendency to break down pre-existing cliques, and expose students' strengths and weaknesses as friends and "co-workers".

I think that the end result can be a more cohesive, focused group than in some larger classes. The added bonus of my being able to pay more attention to specific situations and students probably helps here as well. It allows me to direct conversation and activities in a way that help students gain a deeper understanding of each other an themselves, and become more comfortable with their abilities to share, interact and learn together.

I attended an interesting seminar at the ACPI (Association Canadien des Professeurs d'Immersion) conference I attended last October. The speaker's main idea was that students in contemporary North American classrooms stand to benefit most in the long term if they learn to work collaboratively in a way that benefits themselves and others equally. The jobs of the future, as he put it, will be filled by people with a wide array of skills, good leadership abilities and the ability to solicit and assimilate information from other people and sources. I think that this end is served well by the small class size we have enjoyed this year, because students' physical, mental and emotional comfort zones are pushed frequently and they are forced to adapt if they would like to succeed.

Continuing on that last point, my favourite thing (so far) about this late stage of the year is the personal and collective growth of the students in my class. Through the rich experiences they have at home, in the community and at school, they are quickly turning into very conscious, aware individuals. The speed with which they are now able to make decisions and find things out for themselves is staggering to me, and makes me very optimistic about all of their prospects in upcoming years. I was apprehensive at the beginning of the year, as I'm sure many new employees are. My pervasive concern was "What if these kids get to the end of the year and aren't ready for Grade 5?". I realize now that they would have been ready with or without my aid, but that their degree of readiness has been increased by their hard work and the efforts of their home and community networks.

Have a great weekend, and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Things will stay very busy up to the end of the year, so let's not slow down now!

Some Wednesday fun

2011-05-11T16:02:00.000-02:30

A bit of a time-waster here, but this game is really fun and requires some serious thinking and experimenting. Hope you enjoy, and just a warning; don't start playing it too early in the day, or you might not get anything done...

http://www.vectorpark.com/levers/

More busy days at Beachy Cove Elementary

2011-05-11T15:49:00.000-02:30

The morning was taken up by Spring Concert practice again today, which seems to be shaping up nicely. I have been trying to sit in on the last 20 minutes or so each time, just to see the progress and the excitement of the students involved. The parts from our Earth Day Assembly have been reassigned, and several exciting new elements have been added. The end result is a more detailed, coherent presentation that provides entertainment and information about water supply and conservation.

Because the students missed their gym class to practice, Ms. Tapper was kind enough to take all the grade 4 students outside after recess. This left enough time to go to the library, then lunch! After lunch, we did manage to get lots of good work done on fractions, health and social studies in particular.

To evaluate this unit on Summer Safety, I will be asking students to create a pamphlet on some element of staying safe in summer. This will require them to pay attention to formatting, content and composition of an informational text, something we have spent plenty of time on this year. Each student will have to discuss an activity, then outline possible dangers, preventative measures, examples they are familiar with and other important details. I will also be asking them to include pictures and diagrams as they see fit. More information will be sent home on this in the coming weeks.

As the playoffs move on, the disparity between the leaders and the rest of the pack (where I find myself) is growing larger. It is still causing some excitement, and stirring an interest in math which was the idea. I'm getting over the loss of my beloved Habs day by day, and am somewhat consoled by the fact that Ryan Kesler has started to accumulate some points for me.

Here are a couple links to sites that have ideas for activities and experiments related to the properties of sound. I mentioned last week that there will be an assignment requiring students to create a project that demonstrates the principles of sound in some way, so this might be a good starting point. Most are relatively inexpensive, straightforward and tidy (something I know is valued), and results are usually easy for students to see. Let me know if you try any at home!

http://homepage.eircom.net/~kogrange/sound_experiments2.html#tablethunder

Enjoy the rest of your day!

A second post

2011-05-10T21:01:00.000-02:30

Hi gang, just a few more notes before I tune out (ie. tune in to hockey) for the night. The class is really humming this week, with a different dynamic since we are missing 3 students (in Florida). This makes it more challenging to keep things moving at our usual pace, but opens up some opportunities for more one-on-one work. On the other hand, it will be fun to see the presentations our "missing" students will have prepared after they return.

Students that have taken time away so far this year have returned with a wealth of stories, journal entries and other information that has proven valuable to other students' learning and enjoyment. I generally encourage students to take the time to engage in extra-curricular activities and travel, especially when they are able to take these opportunities to enhance their learning and elaborate on things we are doing in class.

Another note: the presentation of our Personal Projects will take place on May 25th. The exact details are yet to be finalized, but it will be open to parents and other family members as well as other students in the school.

Take care, talk to you tomorrow!

Here comes spring...

2011-05-10T14:59:00.000-02:30

Not much to post today, as we move along with numerous preparations. Here are a few notes for now, with another post to follow later (when there isn't as much sun to enjoy!)

I have been asking students to bring in/email things they are currently working on for their personal projects, since I will be giving them additional support and time to work on them this week. If you have any questions, please let me know.
We are preparing for the Spring Concert, which will take place at 7:00pm on Thursday, May 19th. Tickets cost $5, and will not be available at the door. For that reason, please send along money soon if you would like tickets.
A newsletter went home today, with lots of important information.
Students are going to start working toward gaining their "Smartboard License", which will require them to complete tasks and demonstrate knowledge of Smartboard software, techniques and terminology. We will be starting this soon, since we have a new computer with the Smartboard programming installed. Hopefully, our Smartboard won't be far behind.
Anticipate a math test in the next couple of weeks! We will also be carrying out a pizza-making activity that will wrap up our fractions unit.
Social Studies has now moved into the Physical Geography unit (much to the joy of the class). This will involve more hands-on work and possibly some additional tasks to be completed at home.

More later, but enjoy the sunny day!

What a literate bunch!

2011-05-04T16:55:00.000-02:30

Today was dominated by the PIRLS test, as mentioned in previous posts. It is a test that is administered every 5 years, to assess literacy levels, skills and preferences in English-speaking nations around the world. The test took about 2 1/2 hours from end to end, including a questionnaire similar to the one that was sent home to be completed by parents.

This was a more formal test than I would usually administer, so was good practice for students. Everybody complete it to a satisfactory level, and seemed to have a good comprehension of what they were reading and expressing. Since there is a lesser focus on levelled readers know, it was interesting to see students reactions when confronted with texts that are (theoretically) right on reading level. I kept some of the resource materials to extrapolate on these tests during class.

This afternoon, we completed most of the remainder of our ArtsSmarts projects. These will be presented at a school-wide Art Day celebration, something that the class seems excited to participate in. Today we attached pictures and decorated the covers to reflect the content in their project. As usual, it was neat to compare and contrast the finished projects as reflections of their varied understandings of the project. Fun stuff!

As a lead-in to our next unit in health (outdoor/summer safety), we went outside to brainstorm and explore some situations that can present risks during the summer. In groups, the class spotted possible activities that they could be involved in (boating, swimming, climbing trees, playing sports, etc.) and wrote a list of precautions they might take to make sure they can complete the activity in safety. This was a great way to assess their prior understanding.

I have decided that part of the assessment for out science unit on sound will be to create a simple demonstration of a noise-maker or contraption that uses sound somehow. This will be complimented by a very straightforward quiz, which should take place by the end of May. I will give plenty of examples, but some students are already thinking of instruments, noisemakers or demonstrations that they might be interested in creating. They will be accompanied by a short write-up/illustrations/presentation as usual.

I made a couple of omissions and errors on the revised player lists for our hockey pool, which will be rectified by tomorrow. As we stand now, everybody is within 25 points of one another and things seem to be getting closer by the day.

Have a great evening, and let me know if you have any questions.

The golden rule and other light reading

2011-05-03T16:15:00.000-02:30

We kept moving right along today, in an effort to get a good jump on the material we will be covering over the next couple of months. The main activity today was in social studies, where students worked in groups to compare and contrast the positive and negative consequences of exploration. Building on an activity from yesterday, students broke into different groups and made some tables that organized the information from 3 different case studies.

The groups each had to conclude by making a statement about which case study had the greatest net positive consequences, and which had the most negative. It was interesting for the students and I to see how different people took the same information and interpreted it. I think that this is an important lesson, as it was a great demonstration of bias, decision making and the difficulties of comparing information. It was also a good illustration of how searching for MORE AND MORE information (ie. online, etc.) isn't always necessary; what is most important is to process the information we have and use that to form well-rounded opinions.

The class presented their findings in front of the class, then carried out a group self-evaluation. This is a key part of the grade 4 curriculum, but is something I haven't focused on too much. I had students evaluate themselves and their group mates on several criteria, then submit it confidentially with their individual write-ups. I know that not all students like group work (understandably), but I feel like this gives them the time to reflect on their own contributions and share any frustrations they have about how the exercise went in general. It also allows me to tailor my instruction to address any persistent issues.

This afternoon, we had a religion lesson about The Golden Rule (do unto others...). It sparked some great discussion and questioning, which made me very happy. Discussion on the basic principles of morality that span religions, philosophy and other belief systems will be the foundation of our religion curriculum over the rest of the year. It was also particularly relevant today, as I fielded several questions about the recent assassination of Osama bin Laden. Students were generally either very resolute or confused in their opinions, so it was useful to talk about it in terms of our basic moral code. If your child has questions our concerns about any of the things we discussed today, I would encourage you to ask them questions and get them thinking about it.

Take care, enjoy the sunny day, and I will talk to you soon. Tomorrow we will be writing the PIRLS test and finishing up our ArtsSmarts, so hope to see all students in class for those things and a few surprises.

Back to school

2011-05-02T15:44:00.000-02:30

We got right back at it today, with a flurry of activities designed to get the class immediately back into our daily routines and re-establish the patterns, roles and practices that they had been helping us progress greatly in the weeks before Easter. We carried out a small research project, some individual and group writing exercises, and an Easter Egg-fuelled "Math Blitz" to review and expand upon our work thus far on fractions.

For a first day back, not too bad! I was impressed with students' willingness and ability to pick back up on what we had been doing before the vacation, so thanks for helping your children stay in practice over the 10 days we were off. I did not collect students' Journal reflections today, but will take them in tomorrow to discuss with each child individually.

Corrected health tests were sent home today, and should be signed and sent back ASAP. I was happy with the results, but I did mention to the class that I see a very high correlation between "Time spent paying attention" and overall marks. There is also a very clear divide between occasions when students take their time and give good detail in their written and oral responses, and occasions when they rush. The resulting marks are never a coincidence!

A few other points on upcoming events:

I sent home a survey to be completed in advance of the PIRLS literacy test that the class will be writing on Wednesday. This is to be completed by each student's primary caregiver(s), and sent back in tomorrow (May 3rd). It is a confidential survey that will be sealed anonymously, only identified by a barcode that corresponds to each student's test.
It seems as though many students have finished their Personal Project, and others are quickly nearing completion. I was glad to hear that students were able to find time to get some things done over their holiday. They were very eager to share their developments. If there is work left to do or things that you are unsure of, let me know and by all means send things in for review.
We are starting a new unit on Summer Safety in health, and moving on to Sound in science and Geography in social studies. I will (I promise) post a few helpful links and resources relating to these topics in the upcoming days.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments, and lets have a great final couple of months!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T21:19:00.000-02:30

Hope everybody had a great day today! I will be posting an update tomorrow with some useful info and links, but having spent the day painting I will now proceed to watch hockey and eat chocolate.

Have a great vacation, and if you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Some bloggy math

2011-04-19T23:02:00.000-02:30

I've been crunching numbers while watching the 'Nucks/'Hawks game, thought you may be interested. Since I started the blog last fall...

I have posted 166 times (with 9 unpublished drafts). This breaks down to:

57,608 total words
244 total pages in MS Word
An average of 347 words per post

The blog has been viewed a total of 10,928 times. This breaks down to:

A previous monthly high of 2037 "hits" in March, 2011
A current total of 2782 hits in the last 30 days

The #1 post in terms of total views is "Tomorrow's Forecast: Sunny with a chance of wildlife", with a total of 366 pageviews.

The top 6 countries, ranked by # of pageviews, are:

Canada
USA
United Kingdom
Slovenia (???)
India
Australia

The top Internet browsers used to access the blog are:

Internet Explorer: 57%
Safari: 19% (trending upward quickly)
Firefox: 14%
Other: 10%

The top Operating Systems used to access the blog are:

Windows: 76%
Mac: 17%
iPad/iPhone: 4% (that didn't take long...)
Other: 3%

The top referring sites (sites that people get directed here by) are:

www.beachycove.ca
www.google.com
www.google.ca

Interesting stuff! I hope you've all been enjoying it as much as I have. Thanks to all the parents, students, teachers and other educators that have given such constructive feedback and support over the last months.

The last gasp before Easter

2011-04-19T22:06:00.000-02:30

Mr. Bunny! I had no idea....

Hey gang! Today was another busy day in class, trying to get things prepped in the leadup to Easter vacation. Just a few notes, with another post tomorrow when time permits more detail.

Tomorrow we have Music, Gym and ArtsSmarts. Also included in the mix is an Art activity that we will be doing as part of a Student Council competition, and some work on Personal Projects. Needless to say, the time leading up to Easter will not be Status Quo as far as schoolwork is concerned. I think we all remember these times from our schooling! Thanks though, to parents who have volunteered to help with ArtsSmarts tomorrow. I developed the pics tonight and they look great!

We had a chance today to start some work on the finer points of writing (in French of course). My approach has been to introduce process writing in more meticulous detail, then start taking a closer look at elements like grammar, word selection, voice, genre, plot and action. If you are looking for more information on process writing and specific conventions, please search old posts for helpful links or look at the curriculum links on the right sidebar.

Today, we carried out a tiered activity to start our brainstorming. First, each student had a chance to pick a broad topic (action, verbs, adjectives, characters, nouns) and brainstorm for a few minutes. Then we shared some ideas, and students solicited suggestions to elaborate on their work. The next step was to pair up, and do some more focused brainstorming on some key points like the use of descriptive words, key verbs and means of creating action.

The result was a number of great lists based on these broad concepts. I collected these, and will use them to guide individual lessons with the end goal of creating a folder for each student that has these ideas sorted out. This should help when writing, by giving relevant information on focused parts of their writing.

Portugal Cove, 1908. Picture courtesy McCord Museum. For more interesting Portugal Cove pictures, search "Portugal Cove" on Flickr.

Finally, students worked on their ArtsSmarts project in the form of a journalling exercise. In the same spirit as the interview they conducted at home, students reflected on their impressions of life in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's. They talked about their favourite things, possible improvements, future goals and other key points. I think that parents will be very interested to see these finished projects; they will be a very interesting artifact to keep around. Students were excited to think, that, in 20 years their work will be seen as a real history of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's in our day.

Drop me a line or leave a comment if you have any questions.

46 to go... unbelievable!

2011-04-18T15:40:00.000-02:30

I was making up my plans for the rest of the year over the weekend, and was shocked to find out that there are only 46 days of school left in Grade 4. I was a bit taken aback, for two reasons. First, it seems like the beginning of school was just a few months ago. Second, I'm not entirely sure how everything is going to get finished! After some hyperventiation and a chat with another Grade 4 teacher, I was satisfied that I was going to be able to take care of business and get things to where they need to be in plenty of time. That being said, things are advancing quickly for sure.

We are moving along quickly in our Fractions unit, since there is a lot of crossover with the previous unit on grouping and multiplication/division. The class is enjoying fractions, particularly because it is a topic that lends itself well to visual and tactile examples. I think we will get an opportunity to do some fun activities later that incorporate food - Pizza anyone? That being said, it is still worthwhile to keep looking over things at home. There are a number of links on the sidebar (to your right) that have fractions quiz/study/practice pages, all of which will provide your child with valuable practice on which to build their projects and in-class work.

Another interesting things we have coming up is an International literacy test. We were randomly selected by the Council of Ministers of Education (Canada) to participate in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). This is a test given every 5 years around the world, meant to measure trends in reading, as well as school policy on reading and literacy. I have decided that the class will write the test on May 4th, in the week after we return from Easter Break.

This test is not an evaluation, and will not count toward student grades. It will be confidential and goes directly to an international evaluation committee, with no results available that would reflect school/student/school board achievement. Even though it will take some class time to administer, I think that participating in research that will increase our understanding of literacy trends worldwide is incredibly valuable. This is information that I use frequently, and helps us make better decisions about how to increase literacy and refine students' reading, writing, speaking and viewingn skills.

I will be sending home a pamphlet that explains more, as well as a survey to be completed by parents. Again, this will be confidential. If you have any questions, you can let me know.

In other news....

I have rescheduled the health test that was originally meant to be written tomorrow. It will go ahead Thursday instead, and students have already brought home a study guide to help them review. This will be a short, fact-based test on legal and illicit drugs. There are a few opinion-based questions (to be supported with fact) that I have already given them to study.
I am very happy with the progress students are making in their personal projects. I will be giving another block of time to work on them tomorrow, and I am still helping many students make final revisions on their written work. Some students have made it clear that they want to work on them a bit over Easter, which I encourage. I will be available by email over the break, so please contact me with any questions.
For the parents of children who are going on vacations during instructional time: Please double-check that I have exact dates, so I can assign relevant tasks to be done while/before they are absent.
I will be assigning some light reading over Easter, with the expectation of them doing some reflection as they read daily. If this will be a logistical problem, please let me know.
ArtsSmarts projects (interviews/memory maps/pictures) are due TOMORROW! Also, I am looking for a few parent volunteers to help us out on Wednesday afternoon. If you are interested or available, please let me know. Sorry for the short notice, but I was only informed of this today.

Talk to you soon, and please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

What a day!

2011-04-14T17:29:00.000-02:30

I checked in at school after I finished up my session at 4:00, just to see how things had gone today. Looks like the science test went really well, and I'm glad to see that students are already racking up points in our NHL Playoff Pool!

My session today was intended to get teachers' ideas for the ongoing development of the Grade 4 English Language Arts curriculum. It was a great opportunity to look into some of our curriculum outcomes in greater detail, and to get the input and ideas of some very dedicated teachers with a great deal more experience than I.

I will post more over the next couple of days, including some more links and hints for the upcoming weeks. If you have any questions or concerns about our ongoing/upcoming tasks, please let me know.

Getting everything together

2011-04-13T19:18:00.002-02:30

Today was very busy, as the class carried out its ArtsSmarts activity, and had gym and music to boot. This made it challenging to get much else done, but we succeeded in moving ahead in Math and our Personal Projects, as well as putting the final touches on the "Hockey Pool" activity and finishing up our studying for the science test.

Students will start recording their players' point totals tomorrow, using their French exercise books. They will have a chance to do this in the morning (in place of Saviez-vous que for the time being), but I am sure many will be interested in finding out before they get to school. To that end, here are some links to a few sites that will help students find these stats:

http://www.rds.ca/hockey/stats/lnh/meneurs/joueurs.html

This is the RDS player stats site, and is a great way for students to work in French as they complete the project. This is the site we will be using in school.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/statistics/

If using the French site proves too difficult at first, students can use this TSN page. The link http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/scores/ should also have all the info you need.

http://www.nhl.com/cup/round1/index.html?intcmpid=nhl-pc-mast

If all else fails, this is the official NHL Playoffs page. Also, if you go to the "Stats" page and look under "Individuals", you can specify exactly what information you are looking for.

The science test is tomorrow, and most students seem well-prepared. I will stress again that ALL MATERIAL ON THE TEST is taken directly from students' study guides. For that reason, there will be no need to ask for help or clarification during the test. Good Luck!

I'm off to prepare for the next couple of days, but if you have any questions about anything (ArtsSmarts interviews, Personal Projects, etc.) please let me know via email.

A late post

2011-04-12T20:28:00.000-02:30

Hi gang! After a few busy days, here's a quick update of where we're at. I will have a more complete update tomorrow as time warrants, since tonight has been dedicated to preparing the class for my absence later in the week.

Personal Projects will not be due until after Easter. This will allow students to keep "puttering" over the Easter vacation, and I don't want to rush some very promising projects to their conclusion before necessary.
We had our hockey draft today! There was a great deal of excitement, and evidence of much preparation. I filled out the teams to 8 players each rather than the 10 I had suggested before, just to avoid thinning out talent too much, and to leave some players for pickup later on.
Thanks to parents who have been sending in their childrens' personal projects for review and elaboration in class. I love to see their project, and I think they benefit from a maximum amount of feedback.
We will be carrying out our ArtsSmarts project tomorrow; thanks to all who sent in cameras. The take-home part of the ArtsSmarts project went home today, but is not due until next Tuesday.

In tomorrow's post, I will link to sites necessary for monitoring players' scoring in our hockey pool, and wrap up my preview of upcoming material, concepts and resources. Off to watch the English-language debate while I plan for the home stretch up to Easter vacation! If you are interested (especially if your child is interested), the debate is on CBC TV, CBC Radio 1, and also CBC's Facebook page.

Weekend Update continued

2011-04-10T17:35:00.000-02:30

I don't have time to finish up what I started yesterday, due to renovation commitments! It's such a sunny day, there is painting that can't wait until next weekend. That being said, I hope to outline our upcoming projects and information in Religion, French, Language Arts and a few other areas in the upcoming days. The work in these subjects will remain consistent until the week after Easter vacation, so is less pressing.

Hope everybody is having a great weekend; I'm off to finish painting, then put together the draft lists for our Playoff Hockey Pool. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Another Weekend Update

2011-04-09T20:34:00.000-02:30

In the interest of keeping ahead of things, I thought I would create a post with some useful links, ideas and information about upcoming and ongoing topics we are working on in class. As with other times I have done this, I will break things down by subject. For parents, this might be a good post to bookmark for future reference.

Math

Our next topic is fractions. This is a logical next step after the grouping activities in our multiplication unit. My approach to this unit will be very hands-on, and will also incorporate a lot of problem-solving techniques. One good resource to help with review and practice can be found on the right sidebar of this blog. It is called "Visual Fractions: Activities and Extra Work" and is a great resource. I have used it when tutoring students in the past, since it provides very concrete examples and activities.
Another useful link that is permanently on the blog sidebar is called "Virtual Math Manipulatives". This site provides digital renderings of many of the tools we will be using in class, including blocks, fraction disks and other manipulative materials. Throughout this chapter, I will be directing students to use this link to help them with homework and review.

This next site is not permanently linked on the blog, but will be very useful for this unit. It has a wide array of review activities that students can use to evaluate their understanding and get ahead of the game if they would like to.

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skill_builders/fractions_math_fourth_4th_grade.htm

Health

In health, our ongoing discussion of drugs and medication will be tested on Tuesday, April 19th. We have had many good discussions on the topic so far, and I know the class is curious to know more. I think that anything beyond discussion and communication of basic details lies outside the scope of what we can discuss in class, but I would encourage you to talk more about this important topic at home. So far we have discussed the effects of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. We will go on to discuss illegal drugs in some detail next week as well.

That being said, here are a few links that have information about drugs and other similar substances. These sites cater to children and their parents, and provide information in a way that is age-appropriate and accurate.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/talk_about_drugs.html

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/docas-ssdco/guide-kid-enf/page4-eng.htm

For students reading the blog, I am happy to see how interested you are in getting the information you need to make good decisions, and I encourage you to keep asking great questions at school and at home.

Science

Our science test is on Thursday, April 14th. It will assess the students' understanding of the important elements of our unit on Light, and will cover material that the students generated during an independent review session earlier in the week. Students will be bringing home their notes and text books on Monday to help study for the test, as well as a comprehensive study guide. We will be doing some light-related experiments in the time leading up to Easter, and starting our next unit after the vacation.

Social Studies

Our next unit in Social Studies opens up to a focus on global landforms, continents and weather. It sticks with the processes we have been learning, as well as our focus on Exploration. Along with the other grade 4 teachers at BCE, I have been developing a unit that focuses on the use of Choice Boards to pick a means of presenting what you are learning/have learned. We have already used Choice Boards in the Personal Projects, but the board we will use in Social Studies is very comprehensive and should provide some challenges as well as helping students express their skills and interests.

For help with this upcoming unit, I would direct students and parents to several useful sites that focus on many facets of Geography. The first is Geography for Kids, a site that I have already linked this year. It has lots of fun things to do, with a particular focus on political geography rather than landforms.

http://www.kidsgeo.com/

National Geographic Kids is perhaps an obvious choice, but bears mentioning because it is such an exceptional website. It has the basics you would expect from National Geographic (great pictures and content), but really makes an effort to address things kids find interesting in a meaningful way. A lot of sites tend to "dumb it down" for kids content related to math and science, but this site is at once fun, engaging and challenging. When confronted with projects or assignments that ask them to pick a topic or find information, I would highly suggest using this site as a primary resource.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/

Since a familiarity with the Continents and major Oceans is a necessity for the upcoming unit, I thought I would link the following site. It has some quizzes and activities to build familiarity with the location and names of the continents. The activity is in English, but will help nonetheless.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/World_Continents.htm

To follow up on these activities, students can complete some similar familiarity activities in French.

http://www.purposegames.com/game/continents-et-oceans-quiz

I will post links about the remaining subject areas tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend!

Great job, everybody

2011-04-08T17:20:00.000-02:30

Today we had our Earth Day Assembly, which was well attended by parents and students alike. The class did a great job in their retelling of a traditional Australian folktale that cautions about water use, and sang some beautiful songs. It was a very funny, upbeat presentation that was enjoyed by all!

I haven't assigned much work for the weekend, just keep going on the personal projects and read a few French books. If students are interested, I would suggest they start thinking about what players they would like to pick for our NHL Playoff Draft on Tuesday. As mentioned in an email I sent home on Thursday, I will send home the kids with a full draft list on Monday for them to review. Should be fun!

Have a great weekend, and I'll post again on Sunday with some useful links.

The glory and misery of the Hockey Pool

2011-04-07T15:28:00.000-02:30

John and Kyle, this picture's for you...

As the title alludes, we will be starting a class hockey pool in the next few days. I plan to have the draft on Monday, so will be sending students home with lists to choose players from over the weekend. It will be a neat way to teach media skills and work on some math concepts, and since it's just about all the class talks about it should engage them fairly well. I will send home full details with their "cheat sheets" tomorrow.

I have decided to push back the health test until the 18th at least, since we are not finishing the chapter before the end of next week. Also, the science test will be moved to Thursday, April 14th. We began our review today, in an activity that had students form an "anchor"group to brainstorm topics, then "jigsaw" with other groups throughout the class to fill out their list of terms and concepts. The last step was to return to their anchor group and finally share their ideas with the class. I have found that this helps the students take ownership of the information, and gives me a good idea of what might need elaboration.

Math tests went home today, with a complete answer key attached. This answer key also has hints about what steps they should take next in order to keep improving their understanding and results, which I think will be useful going forward. After the test comes back signed, I will give each student a copy of the answer key to use when studying for future math tests. The idea is to model a good answer more effectively, so that students will be 100% clear of the expectations I have for them. If you have any questions about test results, please let me know. Also, if your child isn't happy with their result I am willing to spend some extra time reteaching and offer a makeup activity next week sometime.

A note also went home today about a dance on Friday night. It is another benefit for the PCSP youth soccer team, and several students expressed interest in attending. All relevant details can be found on the slip in your child's "sac plastique".

In addition to the photography element of our ArtsSmarts project, we will be asking students to interview a senior member of the community and pose several guided questions. This assignment is not due for a while, so I will probably send it home on Monday. However, students may wish to start thinking of who they would like to interview. An accompanying letter with full instructions will be sent home with the project.

Becoming an Expert projects seem to be moving along well. A few more students handed in drafts for me to correct today, as I requested earlier in the week. The correction process is very fruitful for development of good editing, spelling and grammar habits, and has resulted in some great final products so far. I will also reiterate that students are welcome to stay after school if they need help or technology to work on their project. I need advance notice, but this process has been going well so far.

I thought it might also be interesting to list some of the cool things students have made so far, for inspiration and for interest's sake!The list includes:

A recipe for Viking apple juice
A Mexican "Ball and Cup" toy
A model of the CN Tower
2 stop-motion videos
PowerPoint presentations about Australia, Building Techniques, Minor Hockey, Vikings and Animation
A virtual tour of China
A travel brochure
Hockey cards
Interviews with builders, animators, professional hockey players and their mothers
An SPCA-themed Bingo Game
A diorama of the D-Day invasion at Normandy
WW2-themed poetry
Texts about the history of Tokyo and China

This is a partial list, but gives an idea of the breadth of scope of this project. Sharing ideas each class has been a very useful enterprise, so hopefully posting them here will inspire some feedback and encouragement as well.

Have a great sunny day, and please contact me if you have any questions.

Another math test bites the dust! (Part 2)

2011-04-06T19:55:00.000-02:30

Just to follow up on what I posted earlier today...

The math test went very well, and this time I offered several bonus questions. They were all on topics that relate to the content the class covered during this chapter, but took things to the next level. Everybody in class attempted them, and everybody managed to get some of them right. As mentioned before, I am going to give more feedback on this test than I have on others; multiplication is a very important concept and will be coming up over and over throughout the rest of the year.

Several of the girls in class are part of a new basketball team that has been organized this year at BCE. They are making huge progress already, and competing very hard against some very experienced teams. To that end, we will be creating some posters this week to support them in their upcoming games against teams from Mount Pearl and St. John's. I will be posting results and progress reports about the team on upcoming blog posts, and hopefully some pics as well.

Also, I hope to have some new videos posted by the end of the week. For the first half of this chapter in health, we talked about medication. The culminating activity had students divide up into groups and present sketches that discussed a variety of topics such as Prescription Drugs, over-the-counter medication and drug safety. It was fun to see the progress from the last videos we created, especially in terms of scripting and presentation.

Have a great evening, and let me know if you have any questions about upcoming activities.

Another math test bites the dust! (Part 1)

2011-04-06T15:30:00.000-02:30

We persevered through another math test today, and I am very happy with the overall results so far. I have decided to give more feedback on this test than usual, so I will be taking them home tonight to work on. Each will come back with a list of suggested things to work on, which will range from specific concepts and topics to review to more complicated topics that they can move onto.

I will post more later, but I just wanted to mention a few key points in the meantime.

The Earth Day Assembly is this Friday. Grade 4 parents are welcome to attend (you can arrive just before 1pm), and I have asked the class to dress entirely in blue, green or brown
I have been stressing to students that they should submit any written work from their Personal Project to me for revision at some point. This will allow me to monitor progress more effectively, diagnose and correct any difficulties students are having, and result in a higher-quality project.
I am planning to push the presentation date for Personal Projects to the week after Easter. This will allow a bit more time to polish things, and avoid scheduling it in the pandemonium-filled week before Easter. I will talk more about this with the class tomorrow, and let you know a final decision later.

Quel heure est-il?

2011-04-05T17:07:00.000-02:30

Today was just as busy as anticipated, but was very rich in learning experiences. We worked on the presentation for Friday's Earth Day Assembly, and I have to say that it is a very polished, well-executed show they have put together. It deals specifically with the protection of our water supply and careful water use, incorporating a traditional Australian folktale with songs and interesting facts.

I also noticed today that students are spending an inordinate amount of time watching the clock as they get close to recess and lunch. I understand why this is tempting, but there has been a tendency lately for students to miss information or not complete tasks because they are too busy anticipating the end of class. My solution today was to cover up the clock!

Even though it caused some initial anxiety, we got a remarkable amount of work completed. My goal in doing so is to impress the idea that it doesn't matter whether the time is 2:30 or 8:45, because we've always got to be doing our best work and keeping on task.I don't plan to continue with this full-time (sorry for the pun), but I will do it when it comes in handy.

We also had a discussion about using social networks such as Facebook and online gamerooms today, since this is becoming a pervasive element in our class and throughout the school. We talked about the complete absence of privacy online, and how people (especially kids) can be very vulnerable. On the other hand, I also talked about how they are liable for the things they say and do. I think that it is important to communicate to students that the things they do, say and share online will follow them into school the next day, so they have to conduct themselves appropriately at all times. This was well-received, and is a discussion that we will certainly continue as we incorporate more online elements into our class routine.

The math test is tomorrow afternoon, so I have asked students to review their math sheets and have anything they are uncertain of prepared for tomorrow morning's review session. I think students are generally comfortable with the material, but please don't hesitate to bring anything to my attention. Have a great evening (in the snow, unfortunately) and talk to you soon.

The busiest week ever?

2011-04-04T15:46:00.000-02:30

Things are really starting to accumulate quickly around here, as we move into the final push before Easter. The class (along with the rest of the Grade Four students) will be presenting an Earth Day assembly this Friday, for which we are still preparing. They also have a math test on Wednesday, and science and health tests next week.

We didn't get much chance to work on Becoming an Expert projects today, so I just did a quick check-in with the students. Most seem to be meeting their time lines, and many are moving on to work on things that they didn't even plan to in their original outlines. Great job, everybody! Tomorrow I will give ample time to keep working on things, and several students are staying after class to work on elements of the project that they can't accomplish at home due to technology/software restrictions, etc. If this is an option that you think would work for your child, please let me know.

Today in health, we moved into the "Drugs" section of our unit on Medication and Drugs. Today we talked about Caffeine and other common substances, but the discussion (inevitably) meandered into the myriad of questions they had about other substances. I make a point of treading lightly around this issue, trying to stick more to the scientific facts and legal information than any moral/ethical aspects at this point. The students obviously have a lot of constructive information from home already, since they seemed fairly well-informed. The main point the text book makes is that whether we are talking about alcohol, caffeine, tobacco or Advil, all substances have some effect on our bodies. I imagine some of your children will want to discuss this further tonight, so just a heads-up!

A few notes went home in Agendas today, so keep an eye out. ArtsSmarts starts up for us next week, and students have been asked to bring some tools for this. There is also information about the Book Fair, and April calendars went home on Friday. Have a great sunny day, and talk to you soon.

Ending the week with a bang

2011-03-31T21:39:00.000-02:30

I had some great experiences today at our PD session, as well as at an Early French Immersion Resource Working Group at ESDNL district office. It was a great chance to pick up some new ideas and resources, as well as to share what we have been up to in class. That being said, it will be nice to be back in the classroom tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will be putting a big focus on students' Becoming an Expert projects, all of which are well underway. The class will have ample time to work on things, and I will be consulting with them and giving tutorials on PowerPoint and a few other tools they would like to use. I will also be giving back some first drafts that have been edited. As I mentioned during the Parent-Teacher meetings last week, I will be sending home support documents to help you with the writing process.

More notes tomorrow, and have a great lead-in to the weekend.

Google AdSense

2011-03-30T23:32:00.001-02:30

You may notice that I have added Google AdSense to my blog sidebar. While I am normally averse to adding advertisements to a blog or personal website, I am curious to see what type of revenue could be gained through my current 2000 hits per month.

All money gained through adding the Google AdSense function will be dedicated to my classroom budget, with the principal goal of finding out whether or not I can get enough advertisement income to finance a wireless Internet account/router for the classroom. If I can accomplish this, I would be an interesting experiment in DIY tech support! If not, my hope is that there will be at least some contribution to our classroom resources.

I did a quick survey yesterday, and found out that we had a potential total of over 250 gigabytes (250,000,000,000 bytes) of computing power between the 14 students in the classroom. This includes iPods, DS's and other personal devices as well as my own computing tools. This is a staggering capacity, most of which has Internet access. To put his in perspective:

The first personal computer had a 256-byte memory
In 1977, the first Commodore home computer boasted 8000 bytes
IBM made a commercially available computer that had 1GB. It cost $140,000
In 1982, Commodore 64 upped the ante with 64,000 bytes in a home computer
In 1994, the first Zip Drive showcased a staggering 100,000 bytes
Since 2000, computing capacity has increased exponentially, from 1-GB iPods in 2002 to our current 32GB iPod Touch models, but...

(And quite remarkably, when you consider our in-class capacity)

Our entire computer lab currently has less than 1000GB total capacity (which is really pretty good!)

It seems negligent to do anything but take advantage of this computing power! Can't wait to see the results, especially with the upcoming arrival of our SmartBoard.

Let me know what you think!

Another 2 days in the competent hands of Ms. Bishop

2011-03-30T17:17:00.001-02:30

From what I can gather, the students had a great time over the last couple of days when I was gone. They seem to have gotten lots done under the tutelage of Ms. Bishop, a former MUN classmate of mine. Personal Projects are ticking along, students continue to improve the quality and quantity of their written and oral French output, and my desk has never been tidier!

As I mentioned in Monday's post, we are moving into a time of the year that will require several pieces of formal evaluation. The first of these is a math test, scheduled for next Wednesday (April 6th). This will incorporate elements from the whole unit on multiplication, and I think the class is well-prepared. As usual, I have sent home the requisite review sheets to be completed by next Tuesday. Many thanks for doing so much work with your children at home to get their multiplication "mental math" skills up to and beyond par. This has been a huge help in class, and allowed them to move into very interesting and stimulating activities over the last couple of days.

Today for example, we worked on a big multiplication table. This was completed individually and as a group, and showed all products from 1X1 to 9X9. I have included a blank version of this table in students' Math DuoTang, which they should be able to fill in themselves. Seeing the table in such a large, coherent format allowed us to pick out dozens of patterns that emerge when multiplying, which helps the information on multiplication "gel" much better.

After we had time to mull over these ideas together (for example that products of 9 always have digits adding up to 9, or that the pattern of "ones" digits in factors of 8 repeat every 5 factors), students carried out a "Mystery Number" activity. They had to give increasingly specific clues about a secret number, until we could guess it.

Let's say the number was 28. The first clue might be that the 2 digits in the number add up to 10. This eliminates many numbers, leaving possibilities such as 28, 55, 64, 46, 82 etc. By removing all that are not products on our multiplication table, it gets down to only 28 and 64. The next clue was that the number is even, which is no extra help. However, after getting the 3rd clue that 7 is a factor of the number, students were able to identify the number as 28. The class wanted to keep playing this game all day (Mission Accomplished), so it might be fun to try it out at home. It requires solid observation, recall of rules and lateral thinking, which are all important problem-solving skills we are currently working on.

On Friday I will be taking ample time to work on students' Personal Projects with them. Several students need help with specific tasks, and others need help proofreading or planning their next step. For that reason, please make sure your child brings all Personal Project materials on Friday. This may include a USB storage device, a video, pictures, etc. If something is stored digitally, you can also email it to me. The projects are going very well, and again, thanks for all the support at home.

One last note; on Friday I am meeting with a French Immersion Program Specialist from Eastern School District. If you are a frequent reader of this blog, whether a student, teacher, parent or friend, I would love to have some feedback to pass along during this meeting. You can either leave your thoughts as a comment on this post, or email me at sampaterson@esdnl.ca . I would love to have your feedback on things you enjoy, improvement I could be made, what the blog is useful for, or anything else you can think of.

Have a good PD day off tomorrow, and speak with you all soon.

Back in the swing of things

2011-03-28T21:40:00.000-02:30

After another very constructive Professional Development session today, I will be back in class tomorrow. The session gave us lots of time to reflect on our practices and ideas as first-year teachers, and it was also a great chance to share what we have been up to.

Tomorrow, I will be scheduling a math test for the beginning of next week. We will be checking in on the class's Becoming an Expert portfolios as well, and starting a new read-aloud book. As I alluded to in the Parent-Teacher meetings, we will also be starting to gain greater familiarity with the intricacies of process writing as the week continues.

Let me know if you have any questions, and sorry for the gap in blog posting over the "Parent-Teacher Long Weekend".

We are getting a SmartBoard

2011-03-23T19:02:00.000-02:30

The title pretty much says it all! Very excited that I will soon be able to expand my resources in the classroom! Tomorrow is Parent-Teacher, so see some of you then. Kids, have a good afternoon!

Also....

We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard! We're getting a SmartBoard!

Have a great evening.

Tuesday... Aaaaafternoon.... 2.0

2011-03-22T17:21:00.000-02:30

Today was a very busy day in our class! I don't have much time to write at the moment (basketball at 7:30), but I wanted to pass on a few messages.

First off, we made some great progress on the kids' Becoming an Expert projects. The class seems to be generally on task and on track, so it was great to give them a chance to make some progress during class time. Thanks so much for all the home support; I think it is really paying off. The next big step will be setting our Week 3 goals tomorrow, and spending some time in the computer lab. Some students have started to bring a flash drive back and forth to school with them, which I would encourage because of the tidiness and simplicity factor.

I will be sending home the customary math review sheets soon, as a test will be coming up by the end of next week. A science test is also looming in the next couple of weeks as well, as is a health project about medication and drugs. I will post more info on this later in the week.

A note went home today about the school rezoning decisions that have been made recently at the School Board level. The letter contains all the information we have at the moment, and we also discussed it in class at some length.

If you have any questions at all, please let me know.

Out around the bay.

2011-03-19T18:23:00.000-02:30

Just wanted to check in with a few messages for parents and students, since I didn't have a chance to post last night before leaving St. John's. I'm out in Amherst Cove for the weekend, spending some time in the workshop with my dad. A day in the workshop out around the bay never gets old, that's for sure.

I had students write in their agendas that they should review their report cards with their parents/guardians and discuss things they did well and things they would like to improve. We did the same thing last term, and it provided lots of good food for thought as we moved forward. All the kids in class will have a chance to review their running portfolios next week, and make some reflections in advance of Parent-Teacher meetings on Thursday. I would encourage you to sit down together and make a few notes if possible, in order for the students to be prepared for our discussions this week.

Have a great weekend, and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Day 1 = Day Fun

2011-03-17T15:45:00.000-02:30

Wow, the puns are really going downhill these days. Seriously though, Day 1 (as today was) is a great opportunity to have fun and get some things taken care of. We have no out-of-class activities, so we can really get into a project or lesson and have some fun with it. Today that included math, social studies, french and English language arts, and a fun trip to the Learning Resource Centre.

In the LRC, we went on the computers to start building a database of useful websites and resources for our personal projects. This was a great way to teach about techniques when navigating the Internet, something that is becoming an increasingly important part of kids' skill set. Many students already have extensive experience with computers, but others are still getting the hang of it. I heartily share the school board's philosophy that teaching students to process, evaluate and use information is becoming every bit as important as having the knowledge in the first place.

The class also took some time to set their Week 2 goals for their Becoming an Expert personal project, so they can get back at it tonight. All written and organizational materials should be brought to school each day so we can work on them, and I will keep them one day a week (usually Wednesday) as part of my ongoing evaluation of the project. Great work so far!

We had a good discussion today about what students heard on Radio Bell Island, which branched off into a writing exercise and a discussion on the importance of local tradition, history and knowledge. I know there were some bandwidth problems and time constraints last night, but I have encouraged students to listen in again tonight. This will help us compare different episodes of the show, which is an important part of our critical literacy programming.

Report Cards go home tomorrow, so I will have a couple fun little things scheduled for the class during the day to take the pressure off. The class is generally pretty laid back about evaluation, which I hope is a result of the time we have spent talking about authentic assessment and goal-setting. Regardless, I remember the tension of Report Card time quite well and certainly empathize with students and their families. In advance of Parent-Teacher interviews next Thursday, we will be reflecting on each student's portfolio during the week. To that end, I would encourage you to discuss your child's report in as much detail as you feel comfortable, focusing on what they feel their strengths are and what goals they would like to set for the rest of the year. They are certainly in full swing now, and I can't wait to see what they will come up with next!

I am out of town this weekend, but can still be contacted by email if you have any questions. Take care, and here's hoping we've seen the last major storm for this year.

Live on the air: Radio Bell Island

2011-03-15T18:53:00.000-02:30

If you have a few minutes at home tonight (alone or with the kids), why not tune in to Radio Bell Island? It is broadcasting this week from 4PM to 9PM, featuring all-local content and addressing many local issues. You can find it at 100.1 FM on the dial, or go to

www.ruralcommunities.net

It is very rare to find truly local radio these days, so please give them your support! The radio station has a great Facebook page with lots of information as well.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_129069237161010

Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!

Tuesday Post #2: Relevant website

2011-03-15T16:28:00.000-02:30

Today in class, we read in the Telegram about a Newfoundlander that runs an animal rescue centre in Japan. Her name is Susan Mercer, and she runs HEART Tokushima. In the article, she talked about their efforts and how the tragedies in Japan have made her work more challenging. I thought I would post a link to the HEART Tokushima website, since many students wanted to know more.

http://www.heart-tokushima.com/ENGLISH/WELCOME.html

Sheila's Brush

2011-03-15T16:20:00.000-02:30

Today was a bit of a frenzy as we got back in the swing of things after an unexpected long weekend. I say unexpected, but Sheila's Brush does seem to come back with a vengeance every year around this time. It seems as though many students used the weekend to good effect, either resting up, playing outside or working on their Becoming an Expert projects.

Day 6 being a day that has both Music and Gym periods, it can be hard to get much of a flow going. On top of that, we had a great concert by Irish-Newfoundland entertainer Fergus O'Byrne after recess. He showed slides and talked about Ireland, and managed to do the impossible by engaging (and enthralling) a group of three hundred 9-11 year old kids. He showed his great sense of humour and entertaining flair as he answered questions and told the story of Finn McCool, then played some great traditional songs. I think the students go an awful lot out of the experience; Thanks to Beachy Cove Elementary for scheduling this great event!

We had a lengthy discussion about the current situation in Japan, as part of our French class. Discussions like this are a great way to talk about current issues and concepts, as well as a way for me to get a bearing on students' written and spoken French skills. Some students already knew a lot about the earthquake/tsunami tragedy, and others were very interested to find out more. It is a very difficult story to deal with, but I think they got a lot out of it and I was able to clarify some things they were unsure of.

We took some time to check in on each student's Becoming an Expert project at the end of the day, and I was very impressed with their project. A lot of the children in class are refining their ideas more as they go along, and some have taken the project in directions I wouldn't have even imagined. Great work! Some students have already reached their Week 1 goals, and have no assigned work tonight. Others have some things left to finish, and have written these instructions in their agenda and/or Becoming an Expert exercise book. Tomorrow they will have some time to do more research, and begin/continue working on their first project.

Enjoy what is left of this sunny day, especially now that our evenings have gotten a bit longer.

In defiance of "No Technology Day"

2011-03-10T16:43:00.000-03:30

As part of Education Week at Beachy Cove Elementary, today was "No Technology Day". This meant we refrained from using electronic devices and other new-fangled contraptions for the bulk of the school day. To elaborate on this activity we had a discussion and writing exercise to think of types of technology that are used every day. This list ranged from iPods to toilets, and was a very thought-provoking discussion. Students found it harder to imagine that society could function without the ability to be in constant contact, than they did to imagine not having a stove or toilet. I guess this is to be expected, but it was still quite a strong signal about just how differently we communicate these days.

The students in my class are bringing home the materials for their Personal Projects for the first time today as well. They have already put in some great work, and now they are going to start planning in earnest. Their job for tonight is to write up a list of possible information sources, and plan their activities and goals for the first week. These will be modest goals, mostly about gathering information and planning their project as a whole.

Tomorrow is Career Dress-Up day, so I have encouraged students to dress up as their ideal profession. The school would prefer that students don't bring in large items like hockey sticks, and if your child want to grow up to be a Jedi (a noble goal) they should probably leave their light sabre at home. Also, I would prefer if any aspiring Jedi Knights refrain from using Force Push or Mind Control during instructional time.

Enough foolishness, please let me know if you have any quesions. May the force be with you.

Becoming an Expert

2011-03-08T16:02:00.000-03:30

Our new class projects, which we will be starting this week and continuing until Easter, have officially been christened "Becoming an Expert". Each student now has an exercise book, DuoTang and folder to keep things organized, and will be filling their DuoTang with organizational sheets to keep things in order. Today we had another good organizing discussion, and zapped some possible trouble spots. We looked at the students' options for presenting their topic in greater depth, and talked about how the project will be evaluated.
I will be using a Choice Board for this exercise, which is basically a way to organize choices in a way that keeps things organized, but allows for a degree of freedom in choosing the media a student wants to use. For example, they could choose one presentation style that appeals more to a visual learner (video, slide show, PowerPoint), but then would have to pick one that is focused on written word (timeline, history, informational text). Once they have satisfied a few different categories, the student can go back and pick another presentation type that appeals to their skills and interests. I will elaborate more on this later, and each student will have a copy of the Choice Board in their DuoTang.
I will also supply each student with an exhaustive marking rubric, and provide examples of what calibre of work will result in each possible grade (1-5) on the different elements of their project. I have already emphasized (and will continue to emphasize) that the important thing is that they remain organized and stay on schedule, and that their effort in the project be obvious to me. Again, more details later this week.

A few housekeeping notes:

We didn't get a chance to finish the last book reports today, but they will be taken care of tomorrow. If you would like to see a completed evaluation for your child's report, please let me know.
Tomorrow there is a food drive at school, so I would suggest students bring in some small non-perishable item if they are able to.
Thursday will be a Turn Off Technology day. We will make an effort to use the least amount of modern technology possible from 9:00am to 1:00pm.
Friday is Dress-Up Day! Students should dress up as "What I Want to be When I Grow Up". I plan to dress up as a pirate.
If you haven't checked in recently, there are a few links that were posted in the last 7 days that will help students work on their individual projects.

Have a great day, let me know if you have any questions!

Monday 2.0: some useful links

2011-03-07T17:11:00.000-03:30

This first site is a great database to help kids guide their research. It has search engines, external databases and searchable archives that should be a great help.

http://ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html

KidsInfo can be a very useful site when navigated with the help of a parent/guardian or older sibling/friend. This particular part of the site has great information on world geography and "Country Facts".

http://www.kidinfo.com/geography/the_world.html

What a neat site this one is! Mama Lisa's World has a great database of kids songs, lullabies and nursery rhymes from around the world. Even better? It is translated into French and Spanish. If you child is seeking information about music from a particular country, this site will prove very useful.

http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=eh

In that same vein, Sara-Jordan.com is another site with songs and reference to things around the world. This specific link talks about foods from many countries.

http://www.sara-jordan.com/activities-snacks.shtml

The first day of the rest of our lives...

2011-03-07T16:34:00.001-03:30

After having missed so much time in class last week, it was nice to get a full day under my belt once again. Now that the stress and workload of getting reports done is a thing of the past (for now), I am happy to get back to putting all my effort into moving forward in class. We moved on to the next lesson in Math, started a unit on medicine and drugs in Health class, got a start on the students' individual projects and even had time for Art.
I sent a letter home today that outlines more details on personal projects. These projects are shaping up to be a lot of fun, so I encourage you and your child to go all out! As always, contact me if you have any questions. My goal is to culminate with a large-scale gallery display in the school that would allow students to share their creations and data with a wide group of students and friends.

The class completed some multiplication practice sheets on Friday when my substitute was in, and I had a chance to review them today. I was generally very satisfied with the results, but as always, there are places that could be improved. Rote learning still has a place, and is something that can be done at home. The students in my class also know a wide array of games using cards and dice that can help them learn facts.

Beyond that, I would ask you to quiz your child periodically and encourage them to use the strategies we are using in class. There are a number of pertinent games and activities linked in my archived blog posts as well.

I started a few new initiatives today, in an effort to keep the class focused during our classroom activities. These include awarding English-speaking as a group with incentives such as games and fun activities, as well as rationing students' input in class. I want to impress the idea that it is better to think carefully about what you are going to say than just to blurt things out. The intent is not to stifle their input, but to channel it into more effective, concentrated portions. It worked well today, so I will continue to ratchet things up throughout the week.

Have a great day, and don't eat too many pancakes tomorrow!

Weekend Update

2011-03-05T17:07:00.000-03:30

The view from home, back when there was no snow.

As promised, a few updates on the weekend. I'm glad to have finally submitted marks for the report cards that will be coming out in a couple of weeks; back to real life I guess! It gave me a great opportunity to reflect on the things we have been doing since the fall reporting period, and make some plans and changes going forward. With a limited amount of time left in the year (believe it or not), it's time to really start bringing some of the things we have been learning to their apex.

To this end, I will be bringing back a few things from earlier in the year and also introducing a few new wrinkles. I am going to start assigning Words of the Week again, as well as a weekly grammar/syntax rule. There are a few things that crop up repeatedly, so I think it is worthwhile to focus on them one at a time. I appreciate all the help you have been giving your children at home. Trust me, it really helps keep things moving in class, and impresses the importance of dedication and hard work on the students.

Here is a good link I found the other day; it has many activities to help with grammar conventions and related topics. Now that students have really started to increase their written and creative output in class and at home, I think it's time to polish the little details.

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la-grammar.html

Learning Planet, which can be accessed via some of the links on that site, is a great resource as well for improving skills and having fun.

http://www.learningplanet.com/

I will put up a couple more links tomorrow. If you have any questions, let me know.

In like a lion....

2011-03-03T19:14:00.000-03:30

Another busy day today, as I spent the morning in Professional Development and spent the afternoon in class. We moved ahead in math, working on new strategies for multiplication; this seems to have gone very well, at least according to my excellent substitute.

This afternoon we had another film festival, showcasing more of the great short films created by students in the class. Popcorn, great animation, hedgehogs in space... what more could you want! We also introduced Roch Carrier's classic "The Hockey Sweater" courtesy of a great presentation from John. Well done.

A few parents have mentioned that their children have set fairly lofty goals for their individual project, but I think that this is alright for know. I would encourage students to aim high right now, because we can always reel things in next week when we start the project in earnest. I love the excitement the class is showing about this project, and can't wait to see what they have to offer.

I am in PD again tomorrow, but have a full day scheduled. There will be no multiplication journal tonight or over the weekend, unless it went unfinished on Wednesday night. I had hoped to get some book reports presented today, but we had buddy reading and it got pushed back a little bit. Monday it is! If you have any questions about things, drop me an email.

Have a great weekend, and I will post a few updates and links on Saturday.

Wow, what a day!

2011-03-02T15:12:00.000-03:30

Today we managed to fit in a lot of activity, from our Poetry and Health evaluations to a great deal of organization for the upcoming weeks, silent reading, text responses and other activities. The class seems to be in great spirits lately, and more than eager to get right down to work. Unfortunately we weren't able to watch as many student-made videos as I would have liked to (because of the time missed in the last few days), but we are going to cluster them all tomorrow afternoon (with popcorn, of course!)

I imagine some students will come home fairly fired up about the individual projects we will be conducting, but I have encouraged them to hold off on starting anything until Monday. I would like to finalize their ideas and methods first, then start working on things. If your child really can't wait, I would suggest that they start finding research materials and thinking of ways they would like to present their ideas next week.

I had to make another edit on the March schedule (looking like a busy month) so it will go home tomorrow. Also, I will be bringing you up to date on Education Week events taking place from the 7th to 11th of March.

For now, here is another great video created by one of my students. Well done, and hope you all click on the YouTube icon in the bottom-left corner to give it a view and a thumbs-up!

A busy couple of weeks here!

2011-02-24T15:32:00.000-03:30

This post will be mainly informational, since I want to outline the schedule for our next couple of weeks. They promise to be quite busy, so here goes!

We will have a few pieces of evaluation coming up in class, since the limit for submitting Report Card marks is March 4th. The class will be having their health test on Tuesday, so everybody brought home their health textbook and exercise book to study. We have reviewed the material exhaustively in class, and created a study guide from which all content will be drawn. I would love the kids to keep the books at home until Tuesday, so they can review at their leisure.

On Wednesday the 2nd, the class will be creating poetry books. They have been asked to select 4 types of poetry that they really enjoy, and to write several points about each. These points are meant to describe the poem aesthetically and technically, so that someone else could create such a poem using their instructions. Then, they will have to write a short (5-6 line) example of each one. Since this is a closed-book activity, I am giving time in class to do all the prep work they need to be ready. This will go home over the weekend so your child can continue to prepare/write examples, etc. Definitions and examples of all poems are already in their notes.

Because of this flurry of evaluation, I am bumping the due date for Book Reports back to next Friday, the 4th of March. Some students have already completed their projects, and others will be given time in class to take some pressure off at home.

We are having a fun activity tomorrow afternoon that requires snow sculpting outside, so please note the following:

Students may bring along accessories such as plastic shovels, buckets, food colouring or any other things they would like to use in creating their design
PLEASE BRING SNOWPANTS, MITTS AND HATS!!!! Students who don't have these things will not be able to participate to the same degree.

I will be attending a Professional Development session on Monday and Tuesday, the 28th and 1st. I will still be available via email, but will discontinue the Multiplication Journal until I get back on Wednesday.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Winter Wonderland

2011-02-23T15:07:00.001-03:30

Wow, the snow just won't stop coming! After fielding a wide array of inquiries about the potential of an abbreviated day, we kicked things off with a few good discussions and sharing time. As I have been doing most days lately, I gave students a bit of time to finish up missed/incomplete work while others worked on supplemental projects or read in French.

The majority of the remainder of the morning was occupied with a Grade 4 Winter Games, which seems to have been a big hit. Everybody had fun, and some even won prizes for winning or placing well in the various competitions. I continue to be impressed (this being my first year at BCE) at the level of encouragement given to physical activity and friendly competition. It is a hard balance, keeping things fun and still challenging, but the Phys Ed staff does a great job. Our music teacher is also improving her French over the course of the year, so is able to converse with students in their/my language of choice.

I am happy with students' progress in their multiplication journals, and would encourage parents/guardians to push their children even further in thinking of the "WHY?" portions of each question. Problem Solving is an area the school is trying to improve, and applying these principles to something straightforward like single-figure multiplication is a good way to get more comfortable and stay in practice.

We started writing up our health study notes today, something that I will send home tomorrow. The unit on healthy living was fairly straightforward, and all content on the test will be taken from the notes I send home with them.

We had a library session today as well, and I have started to push students to choose more books that are outside their comfort zones or that slightly challenge their reading level. This inevitably meets with opposition, which is understandable. However, students seem to realize soon thereafter that there are many types of books they enjoy and that it is worth taking a risk every so often. Now that students have really embraced reading in class (and many at home and in free time), I am less concerned about alienating them from reading by challenging their interests and abilities. As always, reading in French is very constructive and will do wonders for their reading, writing and oral skills.

If you have any questions, my ESDNL email is back up and running well. Enjoy the snow, and stay warm!

Poetic; just us.

2011-02-21T15:44:00.000-03:30

Today was a great day in our class, as we got further into our unit on multiplication and drew our poetry unit closer to being finished. All students completed and presented posters about their favourite type of poetry, and animated activities about them for the whole class to take part in. The students in my class are enjoying student-teaching more and more, and have become quite comfortable speaking in front of their peers in either French or English.

I was pleased to see how students were progressing with their Multiplication Journals, as well as their February book reports. Their 200-word outline of the book and what they plan to present it due tomorrow. Also, they have taken home a new question in their Multiplication Journals to complete by tomorrow. Thanks to all who are helping with this activity; the students benefit greatly from discussion and participation!

We have almost finished our unit on Nutrition and Exercise, and I will be conducting a test on the relevant material next week. As with their last Science test, students will build their study guide as a group in school so they have a complete list of terms and concepts to study.

I am having trouble responding to my ESDNL email, so please bear with me. I can also be contacted at sam.paterson@gmail.com if necessary.

Multiplication Station

2011-02-17T15:14:00.000-03:30

Today I launched a new initiative, focusing on improving mental math skills when it comes to multiplication. We did a great activity with cards as a way of assessing where students are "at", and I was very pleased with the results. We talked about why it is important to be able to do mental math (particularly simple multiplication facts) and discussed ways to recall these facts without just relying on rote memorization. I sent home a handout with ideas and tips about this a few months ago, something that several students tell me they have been using on a regular basis. Glad to hear it!

If you need any other ideas, please search "multiplication" in the blog's Search Box, and it should link you to a number of other entries I have posted in the past months. There are also games and helpful sites linked on the right sidebar. In the interest of increasing the focus on multiplication, I have replaced the ever-popular "Journal de Lecture" with a "Journal de Multiplication". Students will have one question per day to solve at home, starting with very easy problems and getting more challenging as we go along. Today's question asks students to draw "2 X 3", 3 different ways. We solved this problem using different numbers today already, so I don't anticipate any issues.

Thanks to all parents who have sent in extra exercise books over the last couple of weeks, it's a great help. Students are accumulating written work at an increasing rate, so we are starting to run out.

All students have chosen a book for their book reports this month; final presentations will be on March 2nd. I have asked students to finish their 200+ words by Tuesday. I will be giving more time than usual to work on these in class, since February's book reports will be a key component of my grading for the upcoming report cards.

AAAAAGHHHH!!! NOT MORE REPORT CARDS!!!!!

Sadly, yes. I am happy to say that I have seen students' interest levels, abilities and effort increase in leaps and bounds, so I am looking forward to documenting their progress again. If you have any concerns or questions leading up to this key time of year, please contact me so we can meet or talk if you would like.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and have a good evening.

Candy-fuelled Chaos

2011-02-15T17:41:00.000-03:30

Yesterday was a frantic day to say the least, as we were caught up in a number of school and class activities surrounding Valentine's Day. A big thanks to all parents who sent in birthday cards for me as well, I appreciate the thought. Today was a busy day as well, a few points about which I would like to outline.

We wrote the math test, after lunch, and I am happy to say that the class did a fantastic job. Their hard work over this unit (2D Geometry/Symmetry) was evident in their results, and I think they're all pretty proud tonight. We did more work on poetry as well, and had our first game of Geography Wars in a while. I have pitched the notion that we are working with a limited amount of time, and that perks like playing games and doing "fun" activities are contingent on us not wasting too much of our precious time. This has been well-received, and students are responding my increasingly monitoring and moderating their own behaviour and helping set a great tone for the rest of the class.

A few more notes only, since I must head home in the aftermath of whatever that storm was today! I am currently "sans-laptop" for a couple of days, so I won't be able to check my email until the morning.

A note went home today about a mishap with one of our school buses. Everybody was fine, but the administration just wanted to make sure all details were clear.
Most students have chosen a book for February's Book Report, and some have even finished their 200-word synopsis. For this month, I am asking the class to realy focus on punctuation in their writing, and character analysis in their reading/reporting.
An ongoing reminder, Ms. Tapper is conducting outdoor gym classes throughout the week. Please make sure students have appropriate attire.
February's calendar was sent home last week.

Have a great day, and talk to you tomorrow.

Half Snow Day!

2011-02-09T19:42:00.000-03:30

We had a weather-abbreviated day today, which we filled with some activities based on debating. The students who made it in (7/14) had a debating tournament that they did a great job with. They debated topics ranging from Lego to Swimming, and learned a lot about the process and end results of debating. It was a fun thing to experiment with!

I assigned students a small task for their snow day, which they should be finishing up by now. I would like them to note down what physical activity they took part in throughout the day, as well as what they ate. This will be the initial step of a project we are working on tomorrow, so I would suggest students get something down on paper tonight or tomorrow morning.

See everyone tomorrow, and good job to the students who debated so well today.

Late Night Update

2011-02-07T21:44:00.000-03:30

I am presenting a tutorial about the use of SmartBoard technology on Wednesday afternoon, and spent this afternoon re-familiarizing myself with the wonderful piece of technology that we find in so many classrooms at Beachy Cove Elementary. The capacity of the SmartBoard to help with teaching, learning and practicing in immense. I think that as we incorporate more and more technology into the day-to-day running of the class, it will open up opportunities to use the SmartBoards we have at our disposal more often.

We had the first "All-Canadian" edition of Geography Wars on Friday, which exposed a number of the challenges that are posed when using research materials and tools like maps, charts, tables of contents, and a variety of indexes and appendices. As long as the class is engaged, I will not shy away from exploring these ideas with the class, especially as a way of framing material we are covering anyways. Students have already made huge leaps in their ability to research, locate information and recognize familiar data.

I am using our unit on poetry as a means of learning many elements of English grammar and style, and it seems to be going quite well. It is hard to impress the importance of setting some limits in order to allow for increased stylistic freedom. Once students start to realize the value of the guidelines of a particular literary style or technique, they are quick to start adding detail and their individual identity.

Hopefully we get a whole day in tomorrow before the snow blitz hits, but if we don't, I hope everybody has a great day playing in the snow.

A few notes, more to come later on.

2011-02-07T15:06:00.001-03:30

We had a busy day today again, spending time with Mme Natalie's class in the computer lab and launching into Chapter 3 of our Social Studies textbook. This unit focuses on Why people explore, and should help crystallize a lot of the knowledge they have been accumulating over the first couple of chapters.

We also took our first stab at debating, and discussed the important elements of creating an argument, choosing language, doing research, etc. We had a couple "Flash Debates" to try this out, and it seemed as though the class really enjoyed the activity. It really encourages logical thought and process, as well as collaborative thinking and organization. I hope to use this as a review and pre-assessment technique as we go forward.
I have a few notes, with another post to come later on tonight.

Starting immediately, Ms. Tapper would like students to be prepared to go outside for gym. Tomorrow we have gym in the morning.
One of my esteemed colleagues in the class reminded me that I hadn't passed out February's schedule yet. I had to edit a few things over the weekend, and got caught up in some other duties that prevented me from getting it photocopied today. The February schedule will go home tomorrow.

Un pizza pour Sami

2011-02-02T15:28:00.000-03:30

As a follow-up to my previous post from today, here is one of the videos created by a student in my class for his book report. He took still pictures to document the action in the story, then took video of them and narrated over top of it. I think Eric did a great job, so please take a look! Even if you don't speak French, I think you will enjoy. When you are finished, you can click on the YouTube icon to watch it on YouTube and give it a thumbs-up.

Happy Snow Day Eve, everybody!

2011-02-02T15:25:00.000-03:30

At the risk if causing catastrophic disappointment, I decided to go ahead and teach my sure-fire, never-fail Snow Dance today. It works 9 times out of 10, and when combined with the doom and gloom Ryan Snodden has been spreading around, it seems like a sure thing.

That being said, today was a "flurry" (sorry for the pun) of activity as we presented book reports, had buddy reading and BURP (Boys Undercover Reading Program) and worked on some independent projects after Recess. We are close to finishing our 2-D Geometry unit in math, and our health unit on activity and nutrition is getting nearer to a close as well.

Last night I had students read a newspaper or magazine, and we talked about it this morning. It was a great way to compare the ways informational texts can be presented and used, and sparked some interesting discussions. Tonight's reading assignment is to look at a nutritional label on something they are eating. I asked the students to note anything interesting or surprising they find out, and we will compare these tomorrow (or Friday!) morning.

Using the food data information I got from our cafeteria's food provider (Chartwells, a subsidiary of Compass Group), students have been going through the pages and highlighting things that they think stand out. They have been surprised by the elevated amounts of sodium, fat and sugar in some foods, as well as by the high nutrient levels in others. I also printed off the Eastern School District's healthy eating mandate, and the guidelines by which it is regulated. We will be using this to analyze the overall adherence to healthy-living rules we have at school, and build a list of recommendations.

Have a good snowy day!

Today's action

2011-02-01T15:07:00.000-03:30

We are moving along at a great clip in both our poetry and symmetry units, finding ways to incorporate them into a variety of curriculum areas. We have explored 8 different types of poetry, most recently Haiku. The kids have really embraced the styles we are looking at, and are even writing poetry on their own time on a variety of subjects. Nice to see!

I found a great (Free) iPod App for editing video/film clips. It is called Splice, and I hope to use it in class. It will be the program we will use for doing the final edit of our "Monsieur LeBlanc" videos. Also, I used it to put together a show that gives more detail on the "Floor Symmetry" shown in the previous blog post. If you or your child has an iPod Touch or iPhone, I would suggest downloading it and playing around with it.

I put off book report presentations until tomorrow, due to some activities running long today. This should take up most of the morning tomorrow, and the afternoon will be dominated by science experiments as we get more in depth into our unit on light. Here are a few more notes on what is coming up, with more to follow tonight.

Most students finished enough classwork to get their Math Review sheets today, and should be able to start working on them up to Lesson 4. I hope to test and finish this chapter by sometime next week.
We will be creating a poetry booklet over the next few weeks that will showcase the styles we are working on.
Building further on students' interest in musical styles and varieties, I have been playing more and more music during class time. This ranges from comedy to contemporary to classical, and seems to be a very constructive force in class.
The Sweat-a-Thon assembly is this Friday. Thanks to parents who have donated prizes; if your organization or place of work is interested in donating any sort of prize, please send it along before then.

And just like that, it's February

2011-02-01T11:03:00.001-03:30

The end of January was a mad flurry of activity, snow and flu, but I'm glad to be back on the go now. I will post a series of short updates to bring things up to our current status, starting with a video showing an activity we did about symmetry.

Students used masking tape to create shapes on the floor, on one side of an axis of symmetry. Then they switched places and had to race to complete the other side of the symmetrical shape. What this video shows is the final flurry of activity. It was a great way to see where the class is at, and was very tangible.

Cruising through January

2011-01-26T18:55:00.000-03:30

Not much to comment on today, just moving along as per my update from Tuesday. I did some specific listening assessment work, in the form of a read-aloud that I had the students answer questions about. Our poetry unit is ticking along, and we got some more work in on our nutrition/exercise unit in health. On that note, I requested the full nutritional information for our school's cafeteria, and it got sent along to me by their regional representative. We will be analyzing these (sometimes surprising) data tables into our health lessons. I can also make copies for any parents who are curious!

We also did a really fun math activity today, reminiscent of an activity I saw demonstrated when I was a student at MUN. Dr. Mary Cameron, a very accomplished prof in their department of Education, gave us lots of time to research and demonstrate different contemporary math-teaching techniques, many of which were very hands-on and fun.

Today, the class split up into groups and made shapes on the floor with masking tape. I assigned a shape to make, such as "A figure with 3 sides and 2 axes of symmetry", or "A figure with 2 equivalent sides and 2 parallel sides". Many of these goals were attainable in a variety of ways, and showed good insight into how students view 2-Dimensional shapes and what they were able to share. They got points based on group involvement, speed of completion and tidiness.

We also downloaded a free LEGO online design program, which the students are really enjoying. It incorporates a wide array of specific and general curriculum outcomes, from spatial reasoning and visualizing to concepts about process, sequence and design.

A few reminders for parents:

Sweatathon pledges are coming in, so thanks very much. They can be sent in at any time until the day of the event.
Book reports are due next Tuesday.
I put off editing our diorama video until we could work on it together in the next week or so. Final copies will be ready soon after.

Have a great night, and talk to you soon.

Update #2 for 2sday.

2011-01-25T15:33:00.000-03:30

I thought I'd take this post just to give an update on where we're at in terms of our current curriculum outcomes. Believe it or not, I am already starting to think about marks for the second series of report cards that will be coming out for spring!

In math, we are well into our work on 2-dimensional figures. The main focus in Grade 4 is on symmetry, so we did a fun activity today that had students make a big chart to outline the properties of 2-D figures. We compared numbers of points, sides and axes of symmetry, and tried to think of some rules we could go by. In the afternoon, we made drawings that used the play on words "En Forme" to have students represent different ways of "Staying in Shape" using a variety of shapes. Then, they switched scrapbooks and catalogued all the shapes they could see and what they were used for.

In Science, we will be moving into experimenting with light in earnest. We have spent the last week or so building up vocabulary and doing some pre-evaluation exercises to get us ready for this big step, and I think we are ready. The school has lots of great materials at our grade-level that will allow us to demonstrate the properties and uses of light, many of which they will be able to recreate at home.

We are moving on to "Why People Explore" in Social Studies. The curriculum has us doing many comparisons and analyses of different explorers and situations, in an effort to develop better research and comprehension skills. It is a challenging curriculum to teach, but the class seems to have bought into it. They are also taking full advantage of a variety of atlases, maps and other resource books available in class and in the library. Lately, their interest has also manifested itself in the form of Geography Wars, a student-directed geography quiz/research game.

In Religion, we are moving along in the textbook. The current focus in on friendship, values and morals. We are reading stories from the text, researching wherever possible, and having many good discussions. I often take a chance in Religion class to structure discussions in a way that forces us to practice the idioms, structures and vocabulary that we are focusing on most. We will move into study of the variety of events and customs surrounding Easter and other rites of spring.

As mentioned, book reports are coming along well. We will be starting group novel studies soon in French, and in English Language Arts we continue to study and enjoy poetry as a class. Many students have demonstrated an increased interest and aptitude in music recently, so I also plan to start incorporating more music listening, making and critiquing into our Language Arts and Art classes.

The music teaching staff at BCE does a great job of exposing students to a variety of styles and genres of music, so I would love to take advantage of it. I played some songs on the computer during seatwork today, ranging from Chopin and Saint-Saens to Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. The class was very quick to react to the music, and quite willing to share their thoughts and emotions.

I'm rambling, so I will cut it off now. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to be in touch.

Back on the Blog

2011-01-25T09:12:00.000-03:30

After a bit of a lapse due to some factors that I won't go into now (ahem, stupid computer, ahem..), I am happy to be back on the blog. The end of last week was a whirlwind of activity, as we really start to hit our stride post-Christmas. I don't know if it is the snowfall or what, but the class seems quite invigorated and has been doing some really good work lately.

In particular, I am happy to see progress on recurring projects like book reports and math tests. I had worried that familiarity would breed contempt, but it seems as though it has actually made most students more comfortable in their work and more willing to ask questions and push the envelope in terms of the content and execution of their work. I also see this during their seatwork, where their comfort with the routine is allowing them to get more completed, more quickly.

My prep period is drawing to a close, but I will have a longer post at the end of the day with some links we have been using in class. I apologize for my absence, and please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

A logical progression

2011-01-19T16:33:00.000-03:30

Today was another important day in the continual evolution of our class, something that is becoming more and more common. I fully handed over the reins to students on a number of occasions, in situations where it was clear that their level of interest and comprehension could drive the lesson forward. This is proving to be a key way to involve more introverted class members, and encourages constructive interactions between all students.

Our (daily, it seems) Geography Wars game was again directed by students, who researched and located facts in the Atlas and wrote out corresponding questions. This is a very encouraging sign, as I no longer need to actively solicit such involvement most of the time. I think we are beginning to see the widespread intrinsic motivation and desire to be involved that we have been working toward. It is a testament to the effort and drive of students, as well as the dedication of families at home.

In French, I am starting to move more and more into technical details and writing/comprehension activities. I think that students' comfort levels are increasing rapidly, which allows them to further analyze and criticize written text. This, in turn, improves their writing skills and knowledge. Today we focused on elements of grammar and style, using a text about "Bodies in Motion". It was a very challenging piece of reading, but we took the time to painstakingly dissect it to get as much meaning as possible out of it.

I sometimes worry that this process takes the fun out of reading, but I think I have spent enough of the year encouraging reading for enjoyment alone. I will still do so, but I think that students are in a great position to take their reading skills to the next level. This is an integral part of the English and French Language Arts program in Grade 4, and can be a lot of fun if students are ready and willing.

This afternoon, we went to the computer lab and did some work that involved critiquing websites based on a variety of criteria. Particularly in a time when childrens' access to online content is expanding at a staggering rate, I think that it is increasingly important to give them the tools to make decisions based on the quality, integrity and content of websites. The sheet they filled out asked questions about content, style, prejudice, authorship, relevance and other topics. I would encourage parents to have similar discussions at home. I think that it is important to make our discussions about technology as comprehensive as possible; the internet is not 100% hazardous, nor is it 100% benign and utilitarian. It seems to be somewhere in between, and being able to judge for oneself is an important skill nowadays!

Have a great night, and don't miss Republic of Doyle @ 9:30 NT.

Late Update

2011-01-18T21:59:00.000-03:30

Sorry for the late update, but I had quite the busy day! In class, we had a fast-paced day that hit on topics from Graphing and Data Management to Poetry and Geography. I feel like today was a real watershed day for student motivation and achievement - not bad for a Tuesday!

Two students taught today's math class. Wow. The only element of this math unit that had not been covered yet was the lesson about Carroll Diagrams. I knew that a few students had already finished these sheets in the review I sent home last week, so I solicited their help to teach the lesson today. They did a great job, from explaining the concept to leading discussion and answering questions. As if I wasn't feeling intimidated enough, they did it all in French! Well done boys.

We talked about ballads in English Language Arts, which captured the attention of the class more than any other style we have discussed so far. I read "Casey At the Bat", one of my favourites of this style. I am broaching the topic of poetry style in a way that allows students to read poetry of a certain genre, then define it themselves. It seems as though this increases their level of comfort with a variety of styles, particularly when it comes to creation.

I have already mentioned Geography Wars, the game that we play to improve Atlas-using skills and general knowledge. Well, the class has taken it to the next level as usual. Students are now creating their own questions, which lets them lead the activity and find novel information that they think their classmates will enjoy. I think this is a great development.

We had our French money auction today, as I'm sure most parents are aware of by now. The kids are really making the connection between speaking French and progressing in the class, not to mention the correlation between speaking French and obtaining some high-quality prizes. Gel stickers and Pez Dispensers, anybody?

Tonight I sent home an activity that has students report on their food choices, as a precursor to tomorrow's lesson about food groups. Speaking of homework, I am glad to hear that some parents and students downloaded the iPod Apps that I linked to, and have been exploring them. If possible, I will begin using these in class next week.

Have a great week, please contact me if you have any questions.

Monday Funday

2011-01-17T17:45:00.000-03:30

We had a great time today, finishing up The Chicken Doesn't Skate and getting all remaining math review taken care of. We also got into the heart of our health unit on Nutrition and Healthy Living, which coincides with Beachy Cove's Sweatathon fundraiser. We had a great time looking at wrappers from our recess and lunch foods, and took plenty of time to ask questions, compare ingredients and figure out how to read the darn things!

One point I tried to make was that not all foods are perfect, and even thought they were amazed to see how much fat, sodium and/or sugar was in foods they enjoy, this doesn't mean they shouldn't enjoy these foods from time to time. The focus of my teaching this unit is to emphasize the importance of understanding the principles and definitions involved in nutrition. By understanding these elements, students will be better equipped to make their own decisions.

I sent home a sheet that outlines the structure of the Sweatathon fundraiser, with a pledge sheet on the other side. As usual, we took a precious few minutes to discuss the why of what we were doing the activity. I think that activities like this get taken for granted, so it was nice to hear students' input on the value of fundraising as well as the value of raising awareness for important issues. It seems as though fundraising or working for a particular cause is a big part of many students' lives.

Here are a few notes for the upcoming week, followed by a links the students enjoy.

Students' 200+ word summaries for their Book Reports are due on Wednesday. These summaries, as usual, should include some information about how they plan to present.
Our math test (graphing, pictograms, Venn diagrams etc.) is scheduled for Friday.
Our "French Money" auction takes place tomorrow.
Students will begin working on some quick take-home poetry assignments

Students loved this link today; it allows them to compare a variety of fast foods using different criteria.

http://www.foodfacts.info/

As I mentioned previously, it is important to look at these in context. In particular, we looked at % Daily Intake values. This Health Canada site gives lots of good information about Recommended Daily Intake and more.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php

Lions and foxes and pikas, Oh My!

2011-01-12T15:07:00.000-03:30

Just a quick note; I'll post more later on tonight. We had a good day again today, ranging from a Planet Earth movie viewing to work with graphs that students brought in from media sources they found at home. Book exchanges, gym, poetry... all essential ingredients in a healthy breakfast!

Students and parents, enjoy the day tomorrow. I have a PD day, but will try to post to update you during the day at some point.

The Live Poets Society strikes back.

2011-01-11T16:10:00.000-03:30

Today marked the beginning of our foray into poetry, at least formally. The class has already shown a great affinity for poetry and song of many types, so they were excited to launch into a focused lesson on the subject. We are going through the types of poems outlined on the site I linked to last Saturday; Today we looked at Acrostic, Alphabetic and Autobiographical styles.

Students wrote down the criteria for defining each type, then we each did an example. It was a bit of a riotous afternoon, but we had lots of fun and got lots of good work accomplished. I look forward to seeing their final products when we finish the unit in a few weeks.

As mentioned in a blog post last week (the exact date escapes me now), several students in the class have developed an interest in screenwriting and movie-making. They got together over the weekend to create a script, block scenes and shoot a stop-motion movie. We watched it today, to much acclaim from the rest of the class. It involved Star Wars, a squid, Lego, needles, a nurse and some serious destruction, but I won't spoil the ending just in case it gets picked up at this year's Sundance Festival.

The rest of the day was dedicated to making an exhaustive chart that compared what we know about light to other matter and forces such as electricity, water, living organisms and minerals. This was another great way to get some ideas going and clarify a few things. I plan on conducting an experiment each day throughout the unit on light, since experiments involving things that lack mass or force are usually easier to clean up than other varieties...

We continued reading "The Chicken Doesn't Skate" as well, and things are certainly picking up. Like many books by Canadian author Gordon Korman, the book touches many sensitive issues that are relevant to kids entering Elementary school. Bullying, relationships, school and family all play significant parts, as to a variety of different characters that have their own unique strengths, weaknesses and hopes. The book is very funny and poignant, and the good news is that we're only halfway through!

As a note to parents, we set dates for the 200 Words (Book Report) to be finished, as well as a date for the next Math Test. Math review sheets are now in the yellow DuoTangs, and can be finished up to Lesson 6.

Fun with Wordle

2011-01-10T22:14:00.000-03:30

The above image is an image that represents the text of this blog using Wordle. Wordle is a function that creates a visual representation of written text. The most frequently used words are represented with the largest font, and vice versa. This is a tool that we will use in class to help students craft their writing, and is a fun thing to do with any typed project! Just go to wordle.net, and enter the text you wish to have turned into a Wordle.

Oh No! The January Plague has hit!

2011-01-10T16:30:00.002-03:30

Well, it seems as though the usual attack of influenza that hits schools this time of year is starting to rear its ugly head. A couple of students spent the day sick in bed, so I wish them all the best in a speedy recovery. Far better to take a day than to infect everybody else!

We have a great new fun activity in class, called "Geography Wars". I have matching French-language atlases in class, which allows the class to split into teams and compete to find information within. A lot of the questions I ask are specific to certain pages, tables, charts or maps in the book. My intention is to present the process and results of research and data collection in a fun way, and it seems to be a resounding success.

Questions range from geographical (What mountain range dominates northern India?) to aviary (What is the official bird of Guatemala?) to culinary (What are the three main ingredients in sushi?). The intent is not to memorize these facts, but to become familiar with the processes involved in finding them. By tapping into a bit of competitive spirit and camaraderie, it has become a much less daunting task.

We will be finishing up our math unit about data management and graphing before too long. Today we looked at Venn diagrams, a personal favourite of mine. These proved challenging, but I believe the class can see their usefulness when it comes to managing and classifying information. Parents, I will be sending home the chapter review sheets in Yellow DuoTangs by tomorrow.

We also started exploring our unit about Light today, in the form of a quick scan through the chapter headings and a discussion about what some possible answers to the questions posed might be. These questions focused on everything from the nature of light to movement, colours and collection for energy production. This was a good way to update our mental vocabulary lists, as well as highlighting (for me) what words need to be worked on a bit more. We wrapped it all up by drawing pictures of all the different ways light is created, harvested, measured and seen around us.

In social studies, I have been using the text book a bit more as a tool to develop students' skills in comparison, synthesis and application of information. Today we compared 2 stories; one about a recent 9-year old immigrant to New Brunswick and the other about the first female African-American pilot. The two stories had some similarities, and many differences as well. We broached the very dicey, heavy topic of racism in the context of understanding the challenges some people face, and how others in a society can make efforts to empathize with them and offer support. Students were a wealth of personal anecdotes and ideas, and did a great job on the activity.

I will remind parents in particular to check out the post from Saturday, since it contains a wide variety of useful sites, links and resources for the upcoming month or so. Students have also been assigned homework tonight, that being to find a graph in some sort of media. I have suggested that if they are having trouble, they can find one on a math site linked in an earlier blog post.

Talk to you tomorrow, and as always let me know if you have any questions.

A rainy Saturday

2011-01-08T17:20:00.000-03:30

Now that we've gotten back into the swing of things, I thought it would be a good idea to post some new useful links. The main focuses of the upcoming month or so will be:

Health: Nutrition and Healthy Living

http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/main.asp - This is a site we are using in class, and one I have linked before.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/ - This is a fun and useful site, for searching nutrition data on almost any food or browsing things by category. I will be assigning work that uses this site in the next few weeks.

Math: Graphing and Data Processing, Multiplication Facts

http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/graph/graphing_main.htm - This site generates graphs and poses questions about them. It is a good review/supplement tool, and will come in handy when we begin our review for this chapter in a week or so. The site can also generate review questions for a variety of other topics.

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/math1-3/p-mentalmath.html - The Saskatoon School Board maintains this site, which has many strategies for doing mental math. This includes everything from basic addition to multiplication, and would serve as a good reference for helping with homework and improving multiplication skills and techniques.

Social Studies: Explorers and Research Methods

http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/206/301/lac-bac/explorers/www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/explorers/kids/index-e.html - This is another site we will be using in class; it is an archive of exploration-themed stories from Canada's history. There is also a link to Newfoundland's Historical Archives in a blog post from September.

Science: Light and Optics

http://homepage.eircom.net/~kogrange/light_experiments2.html - We will be carrying out experiments throughout our "Light" unit in Science. If students are interested, there are some fun projects to do at home on this page. They reinforce a lot of the basic concepts we will be learning, as well as the ever-important Scientific Process.

French: Literature Study, Process Writing and Book Reports

I have already posted a number of links related to novel study, process writing and book reports in past blog posts, which can be found by entering any of these terms into the Search box at the top of the page.

Language Arts: Poetry, Public Speaking, Voice and Structure

http://www.poetry4kids.com/index.php - This is a fun poetry site, one that I will be using for some take-home projects. There are tons of light-hearted, fun poems in a variety of styles. Students have already shown great interest in poetry, so I think it will be an easy sell.

http://www.kathimitchell.com/poemtypes.html - Here are a variety of poetry forms that students will become familiar with in the next couple of months. This site would be worth bookmarking for future reference, for students and families.

Religion: Seasonal topics, with a focus on how morals and cultural background affect decisions and opinions

http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/Main_Page - Most of the content for our religion curriculum is found in the text, but I will be incorporating some elements of this useful website as well. I think that this site will be particularly useful as we start to move into topics related to decision-making and self-reflection. I have more information on this approach if you are interested.

General: Uses for Technology, Healthy Living, World Geography

My first suggestion would be to bookmark and use the interactive map I posted earlier in the week. It has some great functions and will come in handy in a variety of curriculum areas.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/lv?key=tenru11ELMGfma9kDka2moQ&type=view&gid=0&f=true&sortcolid=0&sortasc=true&rowsperpage=250

- This link is one I will be using to find educational Apps for iPod Touch, a resource that seems to be readily available to many students. The portability, relevance and interactivity of the device is very well-suited to our classroom environment, and I would encourage you to explore these Apps at home as well (especially the free ones).

http://www.nourishinteractive.com/ - A final link, sorry to overwhelm everyone! This one also focuses on nutrition, and can be used either with a membership or not.

Have a great weekend, talk to you soon.

Welcome to the weekend

2011-01-07T19:09:00.000-03:30

Just a quick note for tonight, more tomorrow morning as usual. The class finished up their letters for the Great Canadian Mail Race today, and we also did a great job on a Social Studies project about explorers. The afternoon, as a big "Thank You" for the effort everybody put in this week, we spent a couple hours playing games. We set up a dozen or so stations that had students playing games such as Chess, Scattergories and a variety of problem-solving, electronic and "just-for-fun" games.

The kids kept track of who they played (and what game they played), and prizes will be given out on Monday for the students who played the most games + the most different opponents. The juice and cookies were a big hit, as I'm sure you found out approximately 2 hours later.

I will give some more details tomorrow, but have a great weekend! To all budding screenwriters in my class, best of luck on the sleepover/production meeting/script development session.

A few more details for the Old Christmas Day

2011-01-06T21:44:00.000-03:30

As promised, a few more words on today's activities! I continue to be impressed by the progress the class is making in their oral french-speaking skills. To take advantage of this, I am incorporating grammar, verb and spelling lessons into our usual "Show and Tell" sessions. While the importance of spontaneous written expression cannot be overstated, I subscribe wholeheartedly to current notions that language must come first, in order for written/technical skills to be developed.

I am also happy to see how students have embraced the variety of media I have suggested they use in their book reports. So far, January book reports are taking the form of videos, character sketches, posters, narrations, role-plays and written descriptions.

Tomorrow afternoon I have planned a special fun activity, centered around board games. The class has showed interest in games such as chess, Scrabble, Scattergories, Guess Who and dice, to the extent that I think we could have a lot of fun playing these together in a more organized way. I think it will also be a lot of fun to start discussing strategy, methods and more complicated games in this framework. Oh, and cookies should help ease the whole process....

Thanks to all those that helped students research towns, schools and ideas for our letter-writing project. We will finish final copies tomorrow.

Holy Busy Day, Batman!

2011-01-06T15:33:00.000-03:30

I will post a longer update later, but wanted to give a little glimpse of what we were up to today. We wrote first drafts of our letters for the Great Canadian Mail Race, and did some more work on "The Chicken Can't Skate". Book Reports were pitched, graphing reviewed indepth as a class, and in religion we talked about animals.

The latter activity spun into a discussion of moral code and moral obligation, a topic that I have wanted to approach for some time. The class was very interested in the idea, particularly as it applies to other issues we have already dealt with in class. The students were quick to consider how their own moral code would apply to situations like habitat loss, friendship and other issues in a variety of subjects.

Talk to you later!

Creamy Orangesicles and much more.

2011-01-05T15:38:00.000-03:30

Parents, feel free to ask your child about the title of this post. For the rest of you, just Google "Creamy Orangesicles" for more information. We had a fun-filled day today, taking time to go to the computer lab for a research session and technology study. We also played a board game on the SmartBoard (mind the generation gap!) and exchanged library books. Add in gym and music this morning, and I think the class was pretty happy with our day.

We are well into our new read-aloud book, and working on questions relating to concepts like point-of-view, character, plot and voice. Our next read-aloud will be in French, but I wanted to do one last English book to help polish their skills.

We are participating in an activity known as the Great Canadian Mail Race, which will see us respond to a letter and send out one apiece to random schools across Canada. Students have been tasked with choosing a city/town and a school tonight, as well as picking what language they would like to write in and what content they would like to include. I would encourage you to sit with them and look at a book/map/Google Maps to find a place that interests them.

Then, search the website of the local schoolboard (or once again, Google) to find the name of a school. If they have chosen to write in French, please make sure that the school has Early French Immersion, or is in a francophone province. If internet access or resources are an issue, please don't worry. I will help students fill out any missing information tomorrow morning.

I have also asked students to prepare for their book reports by choosing a book and bringing it to school tomorrow if they have any questions. I want to give as much time as possible to work on the project.

Here is a link to the "Membership" page of the Canadian School Boards Association. On the right-hand side, you can see links to most provincial school boards.

http://cdnsba.org/about-us/membership

This link will take you to a useful interactive map of Canada. I would suggest bookmarking it for future reference.

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/national/referenceinteractive

Back on the blog!

2011-01-04T15:57:00.000-03:30

After a lovely Christmas break, I'm back into full swing in the blogosphere. Today was the class's first day back after the holidays, and while we had the usual first-day sluggishness, we got into the swing of things fairly quickly. It was great to see the students again, and hear what they got up to over their break.

My initial concern was that the class' interest in French would have declined while they were vacationing, but they actually got back into things really quickly. The first order of business was to discuss the holidays, using our familiar verbs and tenses to tell what had happened, what gifts had been acquired etc. The activity was done as either individual journal writing or as an interview. I have been trying to give such options wherever possible, since it seems to help engage the class more completely and keep things interesting.

In the same vein, we carried out a response-writing activity based on a newspaper story about a group of women from Bonavista who have been doing missionary work in Uganda. I am noticing that the class has made great strides in their abilities to analyze text for content, meaning and style. For our next activity we discussed the idea of New Years Resolutions, and made our own related to school and our class in particular. It was a great way for students to set some soft goals, and also gave me some insight into their specific concerns and interests over the upcoming term. I would encourage you to discuss these goals and the idea of reflection and improvement in general.

We also kept working on graphing in math, again in partners. The next step will be to create our own material, using the surveys we sent home in Science and a booklet I made from sports pages in The Telegram. This booklet outlines the scoring totals and biographical information of all Newfoundlanders (past and present) in the NHL, and has been a source of great interest.

Buddy writing, some art activities and the beginning of a new read-aloud book filled out the day, and more! I am excited for this part of the year to get going, so here are some of the highlights coming up, and some areas I would like students to focus on.

Our next unit in health will combine fitness and nutrition, and incorporate elements of an ongoing CBC TV/radio/internet focus on youth and adult health/lifestyle.
I have been promised that the arrival of our (mine included) Scholastic order is imminent.
The next unit in science concerns light, which should give us lots of opportunity to experiment and have fun.
Students will be carrying out more self-reflection activities to be included in their portfolios, and will decide on the topic of their personal project in the next couple of weeks.
There is no school on January 13th, as noted on the January schedule that was sent home today.
Please work on multiplication facts at home with your child. If you would like additional resources to help with this, please let me know ASAP. It is crucial that math facts learning be supported at home in a meaningful (not rote-learning, if possible) way.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-20T21:03:00.000-03:30

I've been off the radar a bit, partly because things have been so busy and partly because we have been carrying out covert ops (gift-creation) in class lately! We have a big day planned tomorrow, as we continue with some Christmas crafts and watch that great example of 90's cinematic nostalgia, Home Alone 2.

I will post a further update tomorrow, once the dust has settled some. Hope preparations are going well for Christmas, and try to stay dry this week.

A quick note, more later!

2010-12-16T15:01:00.001-03:30

Hello all,

I have a meeting right after class, and must leave immediately after to attend an award ceremony with my fiancee. I am happy to say that the business we own is the recipient of two awards in the annual Scope Magazine "Best of St. John's" Awards tonight, but I will try to post something as soon as I get home tonight.

We had a busy day, taking time to work on our writing and math in particular. We also fit in a great discussion about our progress through the curriculum so far, as well as talking about my plans for the rest of the year. I received lots of wonderful ideas and feedback, all things that I will gladly factor into my in-class and extra-curricular activities in the upcoming months!

A couple Christmassy links

2010-12-15T22:08:00.000-03:30

Here are a couple of games and activities that tie into the season. This first one involves gingerbread, candy and math. Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

http://www.multiplication.com/flashgames/HolidayPractice.htm

This game has no educational value. One click to make the penguin jump, a second click to activate Yeti.

http://www.addictinggames.com/penguinswing.html

This game involves 3 of my favourite things: monsters, catapults, and healthy eating.

http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/activities/monster2.asp

Here comes Santa Claus...

2010-12-15T16:03:00.000-03:30

We had plenty of work to do today, but I'm happy to day the class has generally been able to retain focus as we get closer to the holidays. A few students have some work to finish up tonight, but we made great strides in most areas. The first December book reports are finished, with some great work being showcased. We had a great "How to get rid of the monsters under your bed" poster, a great character sketch, an informational poster, and a beautiful painted wooden Santa.

I announced that I will be enforcing a few school policies a bit more seriously leading up to the holidays, particularly being polite to other students and always changing your shoes when you come into school. Aside from both being good ideas (and school-wide rules), I don't want there to be any double-standards. We also introduced "Homework Buddies" in an effort to make sure everybody is prepared before they go home. Also, given that time is limited and stretched thin, I am asking students to get to class as early as possible to make things a bit more relaxed over these last few days.

The class also chatted about what types of activities we would like to do in the lead up to Christmas. I think there is fun aplenty to be had, and I can't wait to get it rolling! We had our first candy canes today, no doubt the first of plenty to come. In lieu of having a class Christmas tree, we will be making a small Christmas Tree forest that will have one tree made by each student. This will be a mixed-media art project, and students can take these trees home as decorations or ornaments for Christmas.

Not much else to mention, other than to say that I will post a couple more links tonight. I removed a few elements from the blog (countdown tree and falling snow) because I was having some issues with the source code. Source code is the basic text that I input to create different visual elements on this page, and is so dorky I can't even believe I'm explaining it.

Please accept this festive video as my apology! I miss having only CBC, when this Christmas Special was my only option for holiday viewing.

Cheers!

It doesn't get much cuter than kids dressed as snowflakes...

2010-12-14T19:47:00.000-03:30

We had the immense pleasure of seeing the Grade 2/Grade 6 Christmas Concert this morning, which was a nice way to launch into Christmas full speed. The rest of the day was a bit of a blur, as we entered the final countdown 'til holidays in a week or so. Process Writing is coming along well, and we've made our way through the entire digestive system as well. I distributed the surveys the class developed today as well, and we carried out an exhaustive review of the necessary vocab and concepts for Friday's science test.

Tomorrow I plan on having the class finish up their letters to Santa, and we will also create a Christmas tree for our class. In our library period, Ms. Godden will be reading a Hanukkah story. Between these things, as well as moving along in Math and starting book reports, we should have a pretty full day! Video editing will keep moving along; Ta-Da!!

Have a good night, and drop me an email if you have any questions.

Another busy day!

2010-12-13T15:56:00.001-03:30

Today was another in a series of whirlwind days we have had lately in our class. I introduced the binder we will be using to catalog Country Profiles, something some students have already begun to do in their spare time. We also inaugurated a classroom Art Gallery that I am encouraging students to fill up. Each student will have 1 piece at a time in the Gallery, and can replace it whenever they have something new. We began a new chapter in Math (graphing, data processing) and carried out some fun activities to model why this skill is both important and relevant on a daily basis.

I didn't get a chance to begin the video-editing, because Gym was extended this morning. Mme Tapper has been taking the Grade 4's out as a group over the last couple of weeks, since the gym has been in use for a multitude of Christmas Concerts. I hope to start video editing tomorrow, with a lofty goal of having it finished before Christmas. On the topic of Christmas, we made stockings today in an effort to further decorate the classroom. Nice work!

Book Reports are due on Friday, but I already have a couple turned in. I encourage students to bring Book Reports in as soon as they are complete, so that they can "get them out of the way" by presenting early if they wish. This also provides a good model for students who have yet to finish theirs up. I continue to be amazed by the calibre of work that I am seeing, especially the level at which students are incorporating the pointers I have given and the new skills they have learned.

Letters to Santa will be ready for final drafts on Wednesday, as our Process Writing goes into 1st draft stage tomorrow. If students are falling behind in this process or I think they could use some extra support, I will send them home with their current draft to work on a bit. The intention is to give more time to generate content and review their work, so don't worry about it being perfect.

Today's lesson in Religion was about the origins, traditions and meaning of Hanukkah. Rather than just read from the text, I decided to set up stations in class with different books on the topic. Some were stories, others were basic informational texts, and others were more challenging reference books. I had students go from station to station, and jot down as much information as they could in the form of a web. Judging by the excitement and discussion during the process as well as the end results, I plan on doing this a bit more often! I was happy to hear students reading to each other, correcting pronunciation, elaborating on thoughts and giving direction when needed. We will do the same thing for Ramadan and Christmas later in the week.

We are 2/3 of the way through our unit on digestion, but I don't think we will finish it completely before Christmas. I want to finish studying the process and components of digestion before Christmas, then talk about Nutrition in depth in early January. The evaluation for this unit will take the form of a presentation that incorporates elements like a song, poem or piece of theatre. Students have been commenting on their enjoyment of the games I posted last week, and I have been seeing the results in their familiarity with the topic.

I have decided to conduct a test to assess knowledge of the terminology and basic processes in our habitats unit. As mentioned before, we have reviewed and discussed this at length and I don't anticipate any problems. That being said, I will send home a study guide tomorrow to help students prepare. On the test, I will provide word lists and other choices. Still with Science, students will also be bringing home a survey about habitat loss and pollution that they have compiled as a class. They will each have 5 copies of the survey, and I will also send each parent a digital copy if you wish to email it to family/friends. The data gathered will form the basis for a project in math, and conclude our final requirements in Science before Christmas.

I know this is a lot of information, but I feel like I have been neglecting the blog as of late. Enjoy the holiday season, and let me know if you have any questions. In the meantime, here is a multiplication game to capitalize on the great work students did on patterns/factors last unit. It covers up some content on the right sidebar, but if you need to access links, just view an archived blog post that doesn't take up so much space.

**Please note: Multiplication game has been removed, since a glitch was redirecting things off the blog. I will post another one ASAP! **

Thoughts on a sunny Sunday

2010-12-12T13:45:00.000-03:30

Just a few thoughts today, to get everybody up to date and set things up for the last couple of weeks before Christmas. The big things we will be finishing up are a piece of writing in French, letters to Santa Claus, Book Report Presentations and our habitats unit in science.

I have decided to have students write a test to cover the main concepts and terminology from science. This will happen later on in the week or maybe even on the 20th. We have been reviewing these things in class, so I don't anticipate many problems. That being said, I will be giving out a study guide ASAP.

Book Reports seem to be coming along well, and I am looking forward to seeing the final products on Friday. I will also give students the option of presenting earlier if they want to, in an effort to get everything done on time. Students will also be finishing up our diorama video, as I will have the computer set up with video-editing software so students can edit their own clips with my support.

There are no vocab words to learn this week; rather, I will be continuing to focus on concepts and rules such as pluralization and pronouns. I still want students to write in their Reading Journals nightly, and I will also be assigning a few questions to be done at home.

Enjoy the escalation of the Christmas season, and let me know if you have any questions.

A few games for the weekend

2010-12-10T16:56:00.000-03:30

Before I sign off for the night, here are a few pertinent games for the weekend if anybody (heaven forbid) gets bored before class on Monday. They are all in English, but provide good review of some key concepts.

The first is another digestive system game and quiz.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/health/anatomy/digestion/digestion_tutorial.htm

This next link focuses more specifically on the nutrition component of our current chapter in Health.

http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/nutrition-main.asp

As we start to move into the part of our Social Studies curriculum that will deal with Canada's geography, culture and history, I would suggest trying out the games on this page.

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/kids/games/default.asp

Moving Day

2010-12-10T16:13:00.000-03:30

The title of this post refers to a great activity we did this afternoon. I had students use a model to design new ways to lay out our classroom. Shelving, desks, computers; all mobile and represented by small cards on the whiteboard. This brought in problem solving skills of a high degree, as well as plenty of French vocabulary related to relative position, action words and contingencies.

Today's math test and spelling activity went well, as I had expected. The usual wrinkle here or there, but overall the class more than lived up to the high standard that I have come to expect. It seemed as though the class really took some of the pointers on their report cards to heart, and have a renewed focus. Math tests should be discussed, signed and returned by Monday.

As has become my habit, I will post a short update tonight and take the chance tomorrow to expand on some thoughts and outline the upcoming weeks. I did not assign any homework over the weekend, since I am sure things are very busy at home. Also, please check out last Saturday's blog post if you are looking for some fun family Christmas activities this weekend.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Back in the Beachy Cove Groove!

2010-12-09T18:32:00.001-03:30

It was nice to get back in the swing of things today after a day of "Teacher School". I was able to download the software I needed to manipulate our class videos about our diorama, so (barring the potential snowstorm) we will be able to edit and publish the video tomorrow! Today we had lots more math and science review, as well as plenty of time for reading and writing in French and English.

I will post more later on, but have some Christmas "have-to's" to complete right now. I feel as though a line-up at Costco is in my future... In the event of a snow day tomorrow (notice the new background?), our Math Test and spelling words will be deferred to Monday. Students should start working on Book Reports if possible, but I will give more class time as well.

Flying under the radar...

2010-12-08T15:02:00.000-03:30

As you may know, I spent today at a professional development function in support of the implementation of our new Social Studies curriculum. There were some great ideas floated at the meeting, things I hope to incorporate into the class over the next couple of months.

I also had an opportunity to share some of the things we have been working on (namely our Exploration activity and some mapping games), which got a great response. The other participants were impressed by the effort students put into the project, and were curious to see more.

Parent-teacher meetings went very well yesterday; I appreciate so many parents showing up for meetings. I will have a much longer update tomorrow once I am back in class, so talk to you then!

Ode to Room 110

2010-12-06T17:19:00.000-03:30

In hats and mitts and scarves and warm knits,
they come piling in through the door.
Shoes are changed and the desks re-arranged
as agendas and books hit the floor.
We jump right in but it's time for Gym,
so the pencils fall like rain
And it's hard to read a book together
with recess on the brain.
A crossword puzzle! That should work,
to soothe our addled minds.
Yes that's the trick; but they finish too quick,
onto work of another kind.

"We'll do some math!" I quickly say,
and try to make everyone care.
So we forge ahead with thoughts of dread
as Pattern Blocks fill the air.
"You can take it home if you didn't get it done,"
their faces all turn queasy.
Then as quick as that the task is complete;
Mention homework, and work becomes easy!

Then out through the door to the winter winds' roar,
I have fifteen minutes to recover.
Then a deluge of students and one scraped knee,
then another...then another... then another.
There are fish to feed and comics to read,
and puddings to drop on the floor.
Not to mention the chorus of "Can I go pee?"
every time I get near the door.

We dabble in Science and Religion and French,
progressively getting more wise.
In Health, we go through the digestive system
faster than a Big Mac and fries.
We talk about grammar and spelling and style,
I'm feeling that I'm quite profound.
I can picture my Teacher of the Year Award,
when someone says "Sir, what's a noun?"

They're a wonderful lot, this class that I've got,
and they smile as they're put through their paces.
No matter the task I know they will last,
with grins on their angelic faces.
Tomorrow I meet with their parents and families,
then Wednesday they're back at my door.
Congrats to all and good luck next term,
I couldn't want anything more.

A lunchtime update

2010-12-06T12:39:00.000-03:30

Just so I don't forget, here is a link to some logic games. I have introduced the concept as a problem-solving strategy, and the students really enjoyed them. There are lots of other good games on this site as well.

http://www.thekidzpage.com/learninggames/logic_games/index.html

Holiday fun for the whole family

2010-12-04T10:03:00.001-03:30

If you are looking for something to do with friends/family this weekend, here are a few ideas.

Check out a performance of Bella's Tree at The Rooms on Sunday. Written by local author Janet Russell, this book won a Governor General's Award. The performance features local performer Jody Richardson, and should be an amazing show. Later that evening, make your own Christmas decoration! Details at: www.therooms.ca/family_fun.asp
Check out the annual reading of A Christsmas Carol at Gower Street United Church in St. John's. The performance features many CBC celebrities (Alan Hawco, anyone?) and only costs $10 to get in. Show starts at 7pm tonight.
Go see More Munsch!, a play that tells 6 of Robert Munsch's favorite stories. It is running at the Arts and Culture Centre Basement Theatre until the 19th. I have seen it other years, and it is a ton of fun for the whole family (And cheap). Call the Box Office for details (729-3900). Also playing at the ACC is Scrooge, which should be a great spectacle. Again, box office for details
Giving Back is an afternoon event taking place at the Fluvarium every Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 until December 18th. It is a family event that helps kids and their parents make gift-giving more "green".

I'm sure there are lots of other activities on the go, but these are a few that caught my eye. Have a great weekend!

**Update**

If you are interested in all things crafty, I would suggest you go see the "Comfort and Joy" show at Devon House, the Craft Council gallery across from the Sheraton. There is an open house today and should be lots of fun, with lots of great locally-made gift ideas.

**Update over**

Happy Report Card Day!

2010-12-03T18:53:00.002-03:30

We had a good day today, lots of excitement and apprehension as would be expected under the circumstances. We took plenty of time to talk about evaluation and talk about the self-reflection we have carried out, as well as discussing how report cards "work" and how the information should be used. Above all, I congratulated students on their achievements. We have been setting high goals and expectations so far, and I marvel each day at how well all students are performing. All parents, families and students should be very proud, and looking forward to a great second term.

Students have been given the task of picking out some strengths and weaknesses over the weekend, and writing the results in their Journal de Questions. I would encourage you to help them with this activity, extending on the conversations you will already be having about the marks and comments on their report cards. I hope to use this feedback in Tuesday's parent-teacher meetings, so the more detail the better!

A few pointers, then I'm off for a reporting-free weekend!

We covered more math today (Lesson 6), so students can finish up to Lesson 6 in their math review.
Students' 200+ word Book Report synopsis is due Thursday
Don't forget to sign up for parent-teacher meetings at www.parentinterviews.com/beachycove. Parents can check their email for notes on how to sign up for back-to-back slots. Please contact me if you need to be accommodated in any way.

Again, congratulations to students on a great job and have a fun weekend.

A new chapter

2010-12-02T20:28:00.000-03:30

Anticipation of Christmas and report cards is quickly building, as we move toward Christmas vacation. There are only 14 school days left before our winter holiday if you can imagine! Today we began a new read-aloud, since we have finished up Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. We are reading I Want To Go Home, a great book by Canadian author Gordon Korman. It is a long-time favourite of mine; a very humorous, engaging book with great characters and stimulating dialogue and vocabulary. We covered the first few chapters today, and will be responding to it as we go along.

Gym was outside today, and will be for the next week or so as Christmas Concert season hits full pace. I have advised students to dress warm for this reason. We played soccer and 4-square, and I think the fresh air did us well for the rest of the day. The class spent more time working on a survey they will bring home for science as well. The survey focuses on habitat depletion, and will hone their research, information gathering and data management skills. These surveys will go home on Monday.

A memo went home today, giving details about signing up for parent-teacher interviews on Tuesday. You can sign up for back-to-back slots by altering your child's name slightly for the second slot. For example, enter Bob Jones for the first slot, then Bob V. Jones for the second one. If you are having any problems, please let me know.

Tomorrow we will be moving on to the second-last unit in math, and finishing up brainstorming for our French stories. I have also been taking the time this week to use our morning "Saviez-vous que?" sessions as a lesson in grammar or style when speaking french. This has ranged from simple things like pluralization and masculine/feminine nouns to more complex concepts involving verbs, adjective placement and advanced grammar.

I think everyone will be happy with Report Cards tomorrow. We have come a long way this year, and continue to move along every day. In your child's Report Card envelope, you will also find a letter from the principal and a copy of your child's Grade 3 CRT results. As always, if you have any questions please get in touch with me. Talk to you soon.

Today's update coming soon

2010-12-02T18:38:00.000-03:30

I had a few errands to run this afternoon, but will have a post up in the next couple of hours.

Let the pandemonium begin!

2010-12-01T15:39:00.000-03:30

I don't think there is a saying that December "Comes in like a lion and goes out like a lion", but there should be. I guess there is now! We kicked off the day by talking about students' plans for December, focusing specifically on Christmas Eve traditions. The class did some journaling on the topic, and we incorporated that activity into some adjective and verb-based activities for our current process-writing project.

We are nearing the end of our science unit on habitats and ecosystems, and will finish with a project on habitat preservation. Students are preparing lists of perceived threats in our province (from oil and other large-scale projects to urban sprawl and water pollution), and will build a survey that parents and friends will answer. This will wrap up a few outcomes related to process and information-gathering, as well as pointing out the many viewpoints on resource management and preservation that exist in a community.

We took a huge leap forward in math today. Students took the idea of a repeating pattern and applied it to finding missing information in equations. For example, students solved a problem wherein a number of bags of strawberries per week were being taken from an initial supply of 77. They were told how many were left each week (77, 73, 69, 65, 61...) and asked to figure out how many were being taken away each week using an equation. They learned that this can be written 77 - __ = 73, and used their strategies to figure out what the missing number was. In this case, they would use a number line or subtract 73 from 77 to get the answer, 4.

The main thing I am looking for is that students are able to explain what they did, and why. I am trying to focus more and more on this element of our math curriculum, since a profound understanding of why will serve them much better than memorizing answers. For that reason, when working on review sheets I would ask parents/guardians to make sure answers are written completely and that the actual question being asked is answered.

We talked about 1st Person and 3rd Person writing today, and did a closing exercise with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Students chose a character and wrote from their point of view. It is an advanced skill to empathize with another character and try to see from their perspective, but the class really seemed to enjoy it. I would encourage you to discuss the idea of perspective in writing when your children are working on book reports, reading projects or story-writing at home.

A few last notes:

The schedule for December went home today
I did my daily tracking check-in on our Scholastic orders, which are being shipped together (Sept. and Nov.). They will be here next week.
If it has not yet been done, please take a look at the Count Your Blessings link on the Beachy Cove Homepage. This activity should be in full swing now, since we will be wrapping it up on Friday. http://www.beachycove.ca/Beachy_Cove_Elementary_School/Count_your_Blessings.html
If you are unable to view the videos Mr. Dawe has posted on the school website, try right-clicking them and saving them to your computer. http://www.beachycove.ca/Beachy_Cove_Elementary_School/Videos_%26_Podcasts/Videos_%26_Podcasts.html

Have a great day, and please take a few minutes to check out the following sites. The first two are activities related to Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz214462188e618.html

http://www.quia.com/jg/312916.html

This next link deals with food webs, an extension of the activities we have already done on food chains. We created our own large food web together in class last week, so students should be familiar with the idea of Primary Producers, Primary Consumers and Secondary Consumers. Also, remember what direction the arrows point (the same way the energy is moving)!

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/food/food_menu.html

The final link deals with climates and habitats, and is found on the Canadian Geographic Kids website. It is in French, hooray! There is a game in the bottom right corner, and audio tools as well.

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/cgkidsatlas/francais/geographie.asp

Have a great Wednesday!

New Addition

2010-11-30T22:02:00.003-03:30

Click to feed our new fish, or watch them follow the cursor!