Tag Archives: home reading

March Madness!

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Hi Everyone!

Happy weekend! Today I am going to share a quick overview of our week and give you some details about next week at school! Next week might feel a little like “March Madness” as we prepare for Student LED Conferences BUT we will have lots of great learning to share with you come Thursday and Friday…we promise not to disappoint!

Recap!

-Our Literacy Circles with Room 122 have come to an end. We had a lot of fun learning about different ecosystems and are ready to share what we know with each other and with members of the school community. Each group has made a poster that will be put up just before conferences! The art piece that the students have created are very neat as well…but you’ll have to wait to see those too!

-We are still reading The Magic Misfits and will finish by Spring Break for sure!

-March is Nutrition Month! I know that many of the kids enjoyed tracking what they ate last weekend. Feel free to continue this activity. I can print off more copies of the tracking sheet for those students who are interested! During these lessons about nutrition we need to remember that it is our goal to educate and to make positive changes in our health, but not to shame or judge others for what they are eating.

-Multiplication is going well…I woke up singing the ‘Multiplication Mash Up’ the other morning!! On Friday we used games, flashcards, decks of cards, whiteboards and manipulatives to practice basic facts. The kids chose a partner and worked on addition, subtraction or multiplication to try and develop recall for facts. They had a choice of partner and activity. Some kids even invented their own games. I always like math sessions like this because the kids learn so much from each other as well as put their math skills into practice. Next week we will use LEGO as a manipulative and see what the class can come up with! Hint: Think arrays!

-We are always trying to use proper mathematical language so I post a changing “Math Word Wall” to help remind students of the proper terminology. Our newest terms are factor and product. Check with your child to see if they can tell you what that means!

-We have finished talking about contributions from Canada’s North (for now at least). It was fun to see what kinds of things we have or use today that originated from Indigenous cultures!

-The book order has been submitted and the books should arrive sometime next week!

-The Ask Me question this weekend is about writing about what you have read this weekend (in the Home Reading folder). I’m always so interested to see what the students are reading at home. From the Home Reading folders I can help make suggestions of reading material based on interests of the kids (to help other students choose books to read). Reading a series is great. It’s also great to take a break and read books that are not challenging. We do however, need to strike a balance of what we read and learn to love a variety of reading material.

We didn’t make our goal of keeping reading logs up to date in February and March isn’t looking much better. There are students who are always logging and I appreciate that so much! For some other students when I don’t see anything written it makes me wonder if you’re reading at all. It’s so important to develop regular reading habits, despite how busy we are with activities and special events. Fostering a love of reading now can last forever 🙂

I found this Tweet from the National Council of the Teachers of English and thought that it was fitting to share. I really encourage families to have a Read Aloud time with stories as we all as chapter books. It’s such a great way to develop literacy skills!

-Our animal research is complete!! We will take the notes we’ve made from doing research and organize them into sentences and paragraphs in our own words. We will also give credit to where the information came from. These informational writing pieces should be ready for you to read at conferences!

Next week!

Speaking of conferences…I have a checklist for each student to keep track of things that need to be ready to share with parents. This will help to keep each student organized as we continue to work on time management and accountability. Also-since we will be seeing you soon there might be a lull in Seesaw posts (to make sure some of our learning is something we haven’t shared with you yet). As always…thank you for your Seesaw comments. We really love the “likes” and hearing what you have to say about our learning. Guess what?! You will have a Seesaw task to do with your child at conferences! It’s a reflection piece! We are going to post some “talking points” for you to think about before conferences begin and then families will create and post a video to Seesaw during the conference that will become part of the students’ online portfolios!!

-We are borrowing some new technology from the WSD! On Monday we are getting Spheros…which are like “coding balls”. Our goal is to learn to use them and create a game that families can play together during conferences!

-We will continue to use Twitter as a way to learn more about animals, their habitats, adaptations for survival and the impact humans have on the environment. There are so many great examples on Twitter about the things we are learning about. The kids LOVE looking through what I’ve “liked”. I was against Twitter a few years ago. I guess it’s because I didn’t understand it or how it could benefit me as a teacher. I’m so glad that I developed an open mindset! There is junk to sift through of course, but the conversations based on the ‘good tweets’ we’ve had and the questions that have come up are so valuable. When I find something “cool” or “unusual” or “surprising” I actually can’t wait to share it with the class!!

-WTW Test Update: All students from Ms Solomon’s groups and Helen’s group have a test on Monday. Students were all reminded (more than once) to transfer their words over to their Home Reading folders. I hope you were all showing great responsibility and are ready for Monday!

Enjoy your weekend! Have fun reading!! I’m headed out to pick up a new book that might just become our next Read Aloud choice!! (Any guesses on what it might be about?!)

P.S.- Report cards go home on Monday. You will also receive your conference time. It is written on the pink sheet that you wrote your preferred time on. Only one copy of the pink sheet is sent home, so if it isn’t with your child’s report card then it has been sent home with a sibling!

-Time change is happening this weekend…don’t forget to  “Spring” your clocks forward an hour!

Until next time,

Danielle

Oh Deer!

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Hi!

I just had to share my view from my dining room window… (as well as get my Cherry WTW group to think about homophones!)

I ended up with 7 of them in the yard! It’s a nice view and reminds me of how serene it is out here BUT at the same tone I need to remember that too many deer can mean the addition of a scary predator! About two weeks ago a coyote ran through the yard! That was the first time a coyote has been in the yard (that I know of)…and hopefully the last! Studying animals and their habitats has me thinking about things differently. There is a reason that coyote was in the yard. Does it have something to do with a high deer population so close to the city, are they becoming less afraid of human activity, has there been a habitat loss and the coyotes are on the move?! I’m always on the search for tweets, photographs, cool facts, news stories, connections, human impact stories to share with the class. It is my hope that these types of conversations are happening in your home  as well 🙂

Here is a recap of last week at school…

-We spent an hour each day working in our Literacy Circle/Ecosystem groups with 122. Ask your child what’s he or she is studying and what they have learned so far! We will spend the next week finishing the book as well as the independent projects that go along with it. We have a fun art activity planned once we finish learning about the ecosystems!

-We still have about 7 more Green Screen projects to record and post. Thanks for your patience. We WILL get them all finished!

-We made it outside twice this week for gym class! It has been so beautiful and I love it so I’m crossing my fingers this forecast of a storm is incorrect…or perhaps it will miss us!

-We watched some videos and discussed multiplication and why we would make the change from addition to multiplication. Don’t worry if this is new for you. We will be doing lots of practice! I recommend listening to the Multiplication Mash Up that I posted to Seesaw the other day!

-We talked about Canada’s North in relation to art, culture, language, animals, climate, food, population, the creation of Nunavut and more! I love that we understand that people live in the North (despite the cold, the high cost of groceries, long and dark winters, the distance to large cities, etc.) because of culture and language. The culture of Canada’s North is unique, interesting and important. These are things that make people feel at home. It is important to pass on stories and traditions to keep culture alive. I have yet to travel anywhere in Northern Canada… but one day I will get there!

-Wednesday was Pink Shirt Day (Manitoba participates in two Pink Shirt campaigns each year). Kindness Matters. You Matter. We ALL Matter!

 

-We’ve had two Genius Hour presentations and they were both great! It sounds like more students are ready to present on Friday (our next Day 2)

We were treated to some amazing movies!!!

A working clock!!! How “time-ly” since we’ve been working on telling time!!

-MTYP performed The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Montrose! It’s so incredible that they can perform such detailed plays with only a few props, costumes and actors. Job well done MTYP!

The Library has new furniture! As our Library transitions to a Centre for Inquiry and Innovation you will begin to notice some changes! The new furniture arrived on Thursday and needs to last a long time. We talked about what we need to do as a school to care for this new equipment and use it as it is intended to be used!

-Ask me this weekend is to do another food log. This time we will try and follow the guidelines set out by Canada’s Food Guide. Choose one day (Saturday or Sunday) and eat well! Afterward, write a response in your Home Reading folder about this experience. I look forward to eating well and comparing the experience with everyone on Monday!

Link to Health Canada

What’s coming up next week?

-More Literacy Circles with 122 (all week, an hour a day)

-Yoga and Library on Monday!

-Thursday, March 8 is International Women’s Day. Something we will chat about 🙂

-Book orders are due this week

-Friday is Genius Hour (come prepared to work on your project)

-We will also start to prepare for Student Led Conferences…no hints quite yet 😉

-If the weather cooperates we will continue to go outside for gym on Days 2 and 6 (if not more!)

One last thing I wanted to share with you…

I came across these stats online (Jane Baird’s Twitter account @janebaird123) and wanted to talk to the kids about it.

I read to the kids daily (unless there is a conflict in schedule) and as I’ve said before…it is my FAVOURITE time with them. I can read books that are more challenging because we take the time to learn new vocabulary, to explain concepts, to make connections, etc. I get to model accuracy, how to self correct, fluency and expression. We have discussions that demonstrate comprehension. The kids learn from each other’s predictions, questions and wonderings. I let the kids relax. They don’t have to sit if they don’t want to. I want them to be comfortable, it’s how I like to be when I read. If you aren’t reading to your kids, I suggest you give it a try. They aren’t too old. They love it! They want you to read to them (I asked and there were many hands up!). Take turns reading or model reading like we do in school. Read a favourite you had as a child or find a new favourite together. There are so many impacts from reading (writing, vocabulary, spelling to name a few). If you aren’t already doing so…make time for daily reading 🙂

Have a great weekend and GoJetsGo!

Until next time,

Danielle

 

 

Louis Riel Weekend!!

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Hi Everyone!

I’m not sure about you…but after such a busy week I’m super excited it’s the long weekend! I hope you all have a chance to relax and spend some time outdoors. That’s my plan anyway!!! Oh…and read. I just started a new book and I’d love to finish it this weekend!!!

Here is a recap of our busiest week yet!!

-Genius Hour is still going strong. Some students are almost ready to present their first project! As students finish their projects they will share and start a new inquiry! The next Genius Hour work period will be on Wednesday. Please come prepared to work!!

-The Circle of Life performance was truly amazing. I hope that those of you were able to attend enjoyed it as much as we did. Seeing things come together was such a neat experience. Now I know what 1000 kids on stage looks like! Thanks to Ms V for all her hard work. She did an awesome job teaching us 17 songs with coordinating actions. That is quite a feat!!! I’m also pleased to report that your children were fantastic Montrose ambassadors. They did everything we asked of them and more! Great job remembering to arrive early, wear the black shirts, hair up and pack a lunch!!!! #BAM

-We had a fun, yet relaxed Valentine’s Day! The students came up with so me pretty fun valentine holders and showcased the 4Cs as they created and executed their plans! We made kindness cards for each other, exchanged cards and had a few treats. I opted out of giving traditional cards and put up a picture of a heart I found in nature and wondered what the reaction would be…to my surprise the class told me I brought enough joy to them and they didn’t need a card. How sweet! I’ll take it 😉 !!! A few students chose to make their own homemade cards and some wrote their name in handwriting. Good job everyone!

-Winter Fun Day was postponed again. The weather hasn’t been kind to us 🙁  I’ve heard it might be this upcoming Thursday and will confirm that later on this week.

-Art with 122: The art looks amazing. Anyone who has missed or not completed a task will have a “make up day” sometime very soon!

-The green screen project with Murray is…what should we say…a work in progress! We have 3 videos completed BUT we have a few students who know how to create these mini movies (which contain the love letters to our favourite food) and they will work with all the other students to finish those up next week! These will be posted to Seesaw…you are in for quite a treat!

-We are about 70 pages into the Magic Misfits. The kids seem to like it so far and we hope to read more next week!

-The Ask Me question is posted on Seesaw. I’ve attached the blog link again so you can access this easily and get some ideas. Basically the kids and I thought that after a busy week it was fitting to write our Top 3 Things About the Week! Please write the responses in the Home Reading folder!! Speaking of which…no luck in bringing the Home Reading folders more regularly in February 🙁 Sometimes I don’t see folders for weeks and weeks. I like to know what the kids are reading at home so I can make suggestions for reading material, have them make reading suggestions to other kids, see if regular reading is happening and the folder is a great tool for taking notes back and forth between home and school. It’s a communication tool that helps keep things organized. Let’s put forth a better effort in using our folders for these purposes. Also, if you haven’t  updated your monthly reading graphs please do so. It’s much, much, much easier to record the monthly reading IF we are current with the daily recording. Please remember that the students are more than capable of recording their own data and being responsible for bringing the folders daily.

What’s Up for Next Week?!

-No school on Monday (Happy Louis Riel Day)!!

-Tuesday: Students in Helen and Ms Solomon’s WTW groups have spelling tests. They were asked to transfer their words this week and in case they have forgotten I have attached the word lists to Seesaw. The cherry group has a test on Thursday (unless there is Winter Fun Day) and the word lois has also been sent via Seesaw. The actual list and instructions of how the test will be done will be sent home Tuesday.

-Math: Some students have brought home some subtraction work to complete or correct. Grade 4s are to do any 15 questions per page of the subtraction and Grade 3s are asked to do 8 questions per page! Please have the books ready to hand in on Tuesday!!

-Time! We talked about what we know about time and here is what we came up with…

Some students are able to tell time easily and some cannot yet read the clock. Check in with your child this weekend to see what your child knows about time! It seemed like a good “time” to bring my this up since the Olympics are on and we need to know what time it in in Korea!!

Here are a few flashcards and a new magnetic clock we have at school to help learn how to tell time (not to be confused with ‘times’ which is actually known as multiplication;)

-The grade 3s will start working in their Mental Math Dictionaries and start to do multiplication this week. So far we know that multiplication is repeated addition. It is easier to learn how to think of numbers in groups than it is to skip count. It is also time saving AND sometimes in math we look for shortcuts and get to be “lazy”! Choosing to multiply instead of skip counting and doing repeated addition is one of those opportunities!! Being able to skip count by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 10s will be very helpful for now. Need some practice at that? Spend a few minutes each day skip counting on paper or orally!

-The grade 4s will continue to work in their Mental Math Dictionaries with Helen. They will also review subtraction and work through some reminders for multiplication before they jump into some new concepts.

-For health we are ready to talk about the food groups and learn to read nutritional labels. Please send in any labels you can so we have an assortment to choose from. We will talk about calories, vitamins, serving size, etc. We will also talk about what kind of nutrition athletes need in order to train and compete!

-On Tuesday we will have some time in the lab to do some research for our animal/habitat projects. IF you have your recording sheet at home please bring it back to school. Throughout the week we’ve seen some cool tweets about animals and the impact humans have on their life. I’m attaching a link that Helen found that has some good information on many different animals! Feel free to check it out!

http://www.arkive.org/

That’s it for now!!! Have an excellent weekend!

#GoJetsGo

Until next time,

Danielle