Dear Parents,
What a beautiful week this was! The weather really cooperated, and we had some great days outside. I hope you and your families are able to get outside this weekend to enjoy this unseasonably warm weather.
In class, we were quite busy this week. In Reading we looked at our EQAO reading sample from last week called "Sometimes it Takes Two”, and we learned how to bump up our mark. First we looked at the exemplars to see what a response from each level looked like, and then we self- assessed our own work, and tried to bump up our marks ourselves. We will be doing more of this as we go on in the year. When students self assess their own work before I mark it, they get a clearer understanding of what they need to do to achieve success when responding to short answer questions, which can be quite challenging for students at this age.
In writing, we began writing a procedural text about how to make toast with jam. We began by watching a short video about how to make toast with jam, and then we filled out a graphic organizer to help us plan our writing. On Thursday we wrote our rough drafts using the model that is posted in our classroom. Finally on Friday we worked on our final copies. I am finding that students are getting better at following the model and using the graphic organizer to help them plan their thinking. We will continue to develop the skill as we write more pieces throughout the year. Our next writing focus will be on narrative text, or writing short stories. We will likely be working on narrative writing until the Christmas break.
In math, we continued working on mental math strategies for addition and subtraction. Here is a link to a video I made about how we can add and subtract numbers less than a hundred using some mental math strategies.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ltrv5xR84O64obS2v4rBHG7vtYzMsF55/view
We will be finishing this unit next week and have a test towards the end of the week. The next unit we will be working on in math is representing whole numbers, which means being able to show the value of a whole number such as 568 in a variety of ways. For example we may show it as 56 tens and 8 ones, or 5 hundreds 6 tens and 8 ones. Alternatively we could also show it using standard form, written form, or expanded form. Students will be learning how to represent these numbers using base ten blocks in a variety of ways. Developing a strong understanding of place value in our number system is key for students to understand addition, subtraction, multiplication and division strategies later on.
In science this week, we built bridges out of popsicle sticks and glue and then put weights on them to see how much they could hold. By doing this we saw how strong triangular shapes make structures, and how beams support a platform from underneath. Students really enjoyed building the bridges and then seeing how much they could hold. Next week on Monday we will be presenting our structures projects to the class, and then on Thursday we'll have our science test for this unit. Study notes for this unit have gone home today in the students agendas. In case your child has misplaced it, here is a link to the study notes for the science test.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qC7WdHCWPOwvZr2iH7EKBaDZbko7E8bciVizSbMfu_M/edit?usp=sharing
In health we have been learning about healthy eating habits and the difference between processed and unprocessed foods. Over the next while, students will be working on a healthy food Google Presentation in which they have to invent a healthy snack and sell it to the class. We will be working on this in class, but I will make sure that the presentations are shared so that families can see them when they are complete. It will take us quite some time to finish these presentations, however, because we need to share computers and will mostly be working on this in our free time.
A reminder that if you wish to schedule an interview time with me, please use the link sent earlier this week from the school. Also, please return the assessment folders that were sent home on Monday if you have not done so already.
Upcoming events next week:
Nov 9th - Progress reports go home - a paper copy will not be sent home this year, it will be available in the parent portal.
Nov 12th - Parent-Teacher interviews (virtual)
Nov 13th - PD Day
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy the weather, and once again, thank you for all your support. Here is a link to some pictures from the week:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fz3GnfqrJfdkoDoP6
Yours,
Chris Pouliot
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