Live from Beachy Cove, It's Curriculum Night Live!

It was great to see so many of you here tonight, and nice to have a chance to fill you in on what we're up to. For those of you who couldn't make it, most of the material is covered in a handout that your child will bring home. For those of you who attended, I hope I didn't talk too fast or say anything too foolish.

Today was a lot of fun, as we worked on the 1st draft of letters in Language Arts and finished up some Math work from yesterday. Good to see that so many students are writing in their Reading Journals, as well! I requested that students also take out an English-language novel, which they are also welcome to write about in part or in full.

We had an attack of the plague, as several students were out due to illness. All's well that ends well it seems, since most will be back tomorrow. I always appreciate being contacted whenever your child will be out of class; it really helps me plan and make sure your child doesn't miss much work.

Just a reminder as well, we will be conducting a science experiment tomorrow that involves going outside. Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately!

On the previous note, I did want to reiterate my stance on homework. I want work that is done at home or in class to be a positive experience, done to facilitate future fun and learning rather than as punishement. For example, rather than addressing it as "Do it or M. Paterson will be mad", I think using language like "If you don't get it done, the class won't be able to move along" or "You need to finish this, or you might miss things tomorrow" will work better in the scheme of things. Most of the students seem to have a fairly healthy attitude about work, so I'm not that worried.

No link for tonight, because I think I can hear my dog barking from here. Please contact me if you have any questions, as always.

Tuesday... Aaaaafternoon....

Sorry for the Moody Blues reference in the Title, I couldn't resist. We had another successful day, with a few new wrinkles to deal with. The students had no Gym or Music, which really stretches the day out for them. We did a full morning routine in which I checked Reading Journals and Agendas, got them to get new library books, and outlined what would be happening during the day. I also tightened up on speaking English a bit more, something I am doing incrementally each day. Self-discipline is also becoming a bit more of an issue as the initial buzz of being back to school wears off, but I think we are managing it quite well.

A few parents had questions about the "Journal de lecture", which is their Reading Journal. All I am asking for (for now) is that students read at least 15 minutes of French a night in whatever form they enjoy. This could be a website, magazine, etc. or more likely it will be a book from class. They are to write the date an the name of what they read on one line, then a sentence or two reflecting on what they read. This can be a personal reflection, literary observation, or just an opinion. The important thing right now is to challenge them to think a bit and not to alienate them from the process.

We are currently lacking Social Studies texts (which are printed and on the way) so I began to explore some ideas with them via their French class. The main idea of this year's new Social Studies curriculum is Exploration, which covers a wide range of themes, places, people, things and ideas.

In the context of Social Studies/French, we talked about the idea of being "From Somewhere" and what this implies. I appreciate the fact that children at this age are so eager to discuss the things they use to identify themselves, and how accepting others are. We discussed the presence of French language and culture around the world, and reflected on the roots, current state and future of French in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We had our first formal Math lesson today, which seemed to either cause great joy or anxiety. We took a look at place value and what the relationship is between 1's, 10's, 100's and 1000's. The activity was quite challenging, for example asking for an alternate representation of "70 groups of 100". The answer they were looking for was "7 groups of 1000" or 700 groups of 10". This is an a very specific concept, and I had to come at it from a few different angles.

Today's link has a digitally manipulative form of the well-known Base 10 blocks we use in class. If a student is having any issues with Math questions they may bring home, please use this site to help practice. I will warn you that it has a persistent, annoying bongo soundtrack.

http://www.learningbox.com/Base10/BaseTen.html

Not all students finished the work but I elected not to send it home, because those who had incomplete work were generally those who could use some more in-class support. If your child has any concern about the lesson or not getting the page done, please assure them that we will work on it further. I also have some enrichment activities on the subject for those who finished up on time.

Goooodbyyyee, Ruby Tuesday!!!!