March Newsletter

Dear Parents, 

Well, here we are, approaching the March Break.  If any of you are travelling, have fun and stay safe.  For those of you who are staying here, enjoy your week as there are many wonderful things to do here in Ottawa! 

Math

We are wrapping up our Multiplication and Division Unit, however, I encourage you to please continue practising these skills at home with your child as they are very important to know as they move on in Math.  The Multiplication and Division Strategies that the children were taught in class are the following:

Multiplication Strategies: Grouping, Repeated Addition, Skip Counting, Arrays and Doubling/Halving.

Division Strategies: Equal Grouping, Repeated Subtraction, Skip Counting Backwards and Arrays

You can access everything we have taught the students about multiplication and division (and more) using this link to our Hapara workspace for the unit: http://j.mp/2VbXBn1

Please continue to have your child work on memorization of the times tables up to seven.  

Next we will be covering our 2-D and 3-D Geometry Units. The expectations are as follows: 

– use a reference tool to identify right angles and to describe angles as greater than, equal to, or less than a right angle 

– compare various angles, using concrete materials and pictorial representations, and describe angles as bigger than, smaller than, or about the same as other angles 

– identify and compare various polygons and sort them by their geometric properties 

– solve problems requiring the greatest or least number of two-dimensional shapes needed to compose a larger shape in a variety of ways 

- explain the relationships between different types of quadrilaterals 

– identify and describe the two-dimensional shapes that can be found in a three-dimensional figure 

– compare and sort prisms and pyramids by geometric properties 

– describe and name prisms and pyramids by the shape of their base 

– construct rectangular prisms and describe geometric properties of the prisms 

– identify congruent two-dimensional shapes by manipulating and matching concrete materials 

– complete and describe designs and pictures of images that have a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line of symmetry 

– describe movement from one location to another using a grid map– identify flips, slides, and turns, through investigation using concrete materials and physical motion, and name flips, slides, and turns as reflections, translations, and rotations 

Language

We continue to work on Persuasive Writing and when this is completed, we will move on to Narrative Writing.  The children are also learning to self-edit and reflect on their written pieces.  This means following the checklists for various pieces of writing and ensuring that all features are included in their own piece.  If they discover that they are missing something, they are encouraged to add it into their final copy before it is corrected by the teacher.  

When your child reads at home, please continue to ask him/her to retell the story with as much detail as possible, ensuring that they include the features of a Narrative text: characters, setting, problem, sequence of events, and the solution.  Ask them questions about the story to see if they are actually understanding what is taking place.  Often children can read lots of words, but this does not always mean that they are comprehending what they are reading. In class, we are using a tool called a Go Map to help students organize their thinking around the elements of stories. Encourage your child to share what a Go Map is and how it helps them. 

This term we will continue to read a variety of texts.  The children are expected to answer comprehension questions, while making sure that they use enough detail from the story and their own thoughts to display comprehension of what was read.  A major focus this term will be the Main Idea of a text.  I often ask the children why the author wrote the story.  Was there a purpose or a lesson to be learned?

Science

In Science, we will continue to explore Forces. Our next unit will be Soils.

Religion

As you know, the Lenten Season will soon be upon us and this is a very special time for Catholics.  We will be talking a lot about Jesus, His life, His death and His resurrection.  Your child may come home with a lot of questions.  Please try to have regular conversations with your child about Jesus’ journey.  The children will all write down something that they would like to do over the forty days of Lent.  

Important Dates for March

Wednesday, March 6th: Ash Wednesday - Lent Begins!

Monday, March 11th-Friday, March 15th: March Break! 

Please continue to look at your child’s agenda and the classroom twitter feed (@MrPouliot) daily. 

Thank you all for your support so far this year! 

Mr. Pouliot