A month in!

Hello everyone!

We have had another great week!  I feel lucky to have such a wonderful group of students who are so eager to learn :)

A few reminders:

- Curriculum Night is this Wednesday October 3rd.  Feel free to drop by our classroom anytime between 7-8pm.  There will be no gym assembly this year.  Parents & family members are invited to tour our classroom!  Please email me at evita.massaro@tcdsb.org & let me know who plans to attend as I will have curriculum packages available, which explain what we will be learning this year!  I hope that most parents are able to attend!

- Students have been given Scholastics forms- please provide cheques instead of cash.  The cheque should be written out to - 'Scholastics'.

- Pizza forms have also been given out & are due back this week.

- Our ZOO TRIP is this Friday!  Please ensure your child has a big lunch with enough drinks as we will not be buying food at the zoo (very $$$ & big line ups!).  The students will be able to visit the gift store so they may bring money for that. 

- I have been able to get in touch with most of you over the phone for a 'September hello'- I will try & reach the rest of you again this week.


Weekly Update:

- Ms. O.B & Sitara attended WE DAY on Friday! We are excited to hear about their experience!

- In Math, students have completed the numeration chapter with a test on Friday.  Most students gave me a thumbs up as they handed in their test!  Results will be in early this week!  Students began working with their 'Math partners' this week, which means they team up with someone they are able to help or could get help from when taking up homework & beginning the text questions for the lesson.  Workbook is usually for homework.  Parents please note that in the workbook for each lesson there is a 'At Home Help' section, which briefly explains the lesson I taught in class.

Math partners

We are beginning the patterns chapter this week.  Please encourage your child to visit the Math group on Edmodo often & practice the Math links that are posted.  Here are some links to review & help for this chapter:

Nelson Math

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-5/geometric-growth-patterns

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-5/increasing-growth-patterns

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-5/patterns-involving-addition-and-multiplication

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-5/numeric-patterns-word-problems

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-5/mixed-patterns-review

- In Language, we continued Daily 5 by focusing on COACHING OR TIME within the Read to Others station.  'Coaching or Time' encourages students to help their partner pronounce a word or understand the story by offering them coaching- strategies to help their partner, or time- allowing their partner some time to figure it out on their own.  We discussed how many times we simply tell our reading partner the correct way to say a word or we give them the answer to the comprehension question, but this does not help us learn or improve!  Students practiced working with their partners on 'Coaching or Time' & it was truly impressive to see the students become the teachers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also introduced another Daily 5 station called LISTEN TO READING- possibly the students favourite station!  As I mentioned in my previous blog post, 'For the love of reading', students visit excellent sites such as TUMBLEBOOKS through the Toronto Public Library to choose from a huge variety of books that are read to them as they read along.  It is important to remember that students must be reading along while the book is being read to them so that they practice their fluency!  I was so happy to hear that many of the students were visiting TumbleBooks in the evening & even discussing the books on Edmodo- AMAZING!!!  Students, if you would like to bring in your own earphones or headphones, we will store them somewhere safe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

- In Media, students continue to work on their current news presentations!  Students had the option of choosing to display their current news using bristol board or PowerPoint.  Presentations will take place Tuesday October 9th!

 

 

 

 

 

 

- In Social Studies, the students continue to learn about trade and Canada's connections to the rest of the world.  The students participated in a trade game, led  by Ms. O.B, which they really enjoyed!

 

- In Science, we continue to explore the living things kingdoms, vertebrates & invertebrates with Ms.  O.B.  Students viewed short video clips on each of these above topics this week in class & created classification charts for each.  There will be a quiz coming up next week so please encourage your child to view these videos again:

 

 

 

 

Some fun pics:

 

So nice to see!

 

Rock, paper, scissors for choosing a book

 

Our crazy Daily 5 wall!

 

Girls only!!!

 

 

- Congratulations to our new student of the week, ALEX. N & to all of our Friday raffle winners!!!

 

 

Thank you for reading our weekly blog post!  I am so happy to hear that students are checking out our blog with their parents as I believe it is so important to share our class happenings & to keep communication alive!  I am looking forward to meeting with you all Curriculum Night!

 

Have a wonderful week,

 

Mrs. Massaro

 

For the love of reading!

Hello students & parents!

Please check out the Toronto Public Library for FREE online books! 

Click on the above link, 'Toronto Public Library', then scroll down and choose 'TumbleBook Library- access online', then click on 'Read-Alongs', 'Storybooks' or 'Non-Fiction Books' and browse through hundreds of online books, many which are read to you as you read along!  When you have chosen a book, simply click 'view online' and the story will begin!  You don't need to download anything!

For language learners, follow the same steps but choose 'Language Learning' once you are in TumbleBook Library.  There are many books written and read in various languages such as Spanish (for our many Chile students!), French, Russian and Chinese.

I introduced this site to the students during our Daily 5- Listen to Reading station and they loved it!  I was so happy to see students posting on Edmodo last night that they were listening to and reading TumbleBooks at home- and it wasn't assigned homework- AMAZING!

Parents, please encourage your child to listen to a TumbleBook story every night if possible as it will really help them with fluency, expanding vocabulary and comprehension. There are so many exciting e-books to choose from!

Please email me at evita.massaro@tcdsb.org if you have any problems with TumbleBooks.

HAPPY READING!!!

Get blog updates directly to email!

Hello readers,

You may have noticed a few changes to Chalk Talk's appearance today.  One useful addition is a subscription service.  This means if you enter your email where it says 'follow by email', alerts about new blog updates will be sent to your email.

Right below I have added an RSS feed subscription for you tech-savvy types.

Thanks,
Mrs. Massaro

It's official - Fall's here!

Hello students & parents!

What a great week!  I am so proud of the students as they are such an eager and hardworking group- way to go students! Our routines are set and we are off to a great start to a productive year.

I am so happy to hear that so many students are checking out this blog with their parents! I have decided to go the blog route as it eliminates lots of newsletters to be sent home and I am able to share everything in one location!

Keep checking throughout the week for tech/website updates and expect a weekly update at the end of each week.  If you haven't yet downloaded WORD Q on your home computers, please do!  It will greatly help your child in writing.  Please email me at evita.massaro@tcdsb.org for the activation code.

Parents, please ensure the PINK office form is sent to school by Monday- thank you!

Curriculum night is Wednesday October 3rd at 7pm so please save the date as I am looking forward to meeting you all and reviewing the curriculum for the year.

I have started making phone calls after school to introduce myself to those who do not know me and to say hello to those I do know, so please don't get scared when you hear your child's teacher is calling- it's a positive call! :)

Week 3 updates:

- In Language, we have continued with the Daily 5 and have introduced READ TO OTHERS.  The students have really enjoyed this station since they get to choose their partners and quietly read together.  Students practice their fluency at this station and are able to 'check for understanding' with a partner.  Students may choose to read using 'I read, you read' or 'choral reading' with their partner.  I am truly impressed with the students as they are able to grab their books bins, find a partner, choose a book together (rock paper scissors comes in handy sometimes!), find a location and begin reading quietly for 30 minutes.  Students check for understanding at the end of each page by asking their non reading partner to retell what has just been read.  Ms. OB, our student teacher, and I have started conferencing with students during the Daily 5 to listen to them read and to set language goals to improve comprehension, fluency, etc.  Parents, please encourage your child to read at home every night!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- In Math, we continue to work on Numeration. I am so proud of the students as they did AWESOME on their mid chapter quiz!  The chapter test will be end of next week so please encourage your child to visit the various Math sites posted on Edmodo and on this blog, especially Nelson Math for extra practice.  I will be holding a Math 'lunch & learn' this week for students who feel they need some more review so please discuss with your child how they are feeling about this chapter and the upcoming test. 

 

Some useful links to prepare for the test:

 

http://www.nelson.com/nelson/school/elementary/mathK8/math6/studentcentre/studtryout.html#ch2

 

http://www.adaptedmind.com/p.php?tagId=722#

 

http://www.adaptedmind.com/v.php?tagId=722  video on place value for the thousandths

 

http://www.adaptedmind.com/p.php?tagId=542

 

http://www.adaptedmind.com/v.php?tagId=532  video on millions place value

 

http://www.adaptedmind.com/v.php?tagId=542  video on comparing whole numbers

  

Our focus again this year will be on 4 STEP PROBLEM SOLVING as problem solving can be challenging so please ensure your child reviews and often checks the 4 steps when working on homework which involves problem solving:

 

  

- In Media, students are working in groups on a current news presentation in the form of either PowerPoint or bristol board.  Many of the students have been utilizing Edmodo's mini groups and planning with their group members!  I strongly encourage the students to get as much planning done on Edmodo over the weekend so that they are ready to work with their group in person on Monday for a work period.  Students- please read over the SUCCESS CRITERIA we created in class as your mark will be based on the completion of all aspects of the success criteria!

 

 

- The students continue to enjoy our computer station in our classroom and often have opportunities to work on Edmodo! Thank you very much again to my brother and friends of mine for their very generous donation!  3 working computers in a classroom is a dream! I am happy to report that the students now have their computer login & password so Computer Lab will begin on Monday! :)

 

  

-  Our class TWITTER DOOR has been great fun so far!  Every week, a new topic is posted for the students to 'tweet' about.  I am looking forward to our parents 'tweets' on curriculum night :)

 



  

 



- For Religion (virtue- Hospitality), I shared with the students a video of my sister in law's charity work in Uganda thanks to donations from our school and other schools!  The students were asked to respond by completing a 'what do I see, what am I thinking, what I am wondering' chart.  I was really impressed with how passionate the students felt about poverty and inequalities! Many students connected the video to a book we read as a class called 'If the World Were a Village' that presents global demographics in a way that is easily understood by students.

 

 

 

 

 

Ms OB's Religion/Art lesson

 

- In Social Studies & Science, our student teacher Ms OB has been teaching Economics and Biodiversity!  The students are learning many new key words, which are constantly being added to our Word Walls.  Ms OB showed the students an interesting & informative video clip on vertebrates!  The students learned how to classify various animals to the different vertebrate categories- mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles.  As part of our Biodiversity unit, the students will be going to the ZOO in early October!  The students are also learning about trade and Canada's connections to the rest of the world. 

  

MORE PICS:

Indoor recess= chess battle!

Multiple Intelligence wall thanks to Ms. Martino! Students pics will be added to wall so check out on Curriculum Night!

Student waiting for end of day bell & can't stop reading!!!

 

- A big congratulations to our new student of the week- Dwight and to all Friday raffle winners :)  You are ALL winners students!

 

That's all for this week! 

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

 

Mrs. Massaro

What's the deal with Edmodo?

Hello readers!

I would like to share what Edmodo (www.edmodo.com) is all about as we will be using it all year long in all subject areas!

Some background info:

I began Edmodo with my students last year when my husband shared this great website with me --  so thank you Mr. Paul!
Edmodo was very successful last year as the students were constantly engaged and learning, especially beyond school hours!  At the end of the year, I had numerous requests from the students to keep Edmodo running over the summer, and for this and other reasons, Edmodo is an important component in our classroom this year.

I attended an online Edmodo conference during the summer and I am excited to incorporate new and exciting things this year!  I am happy to report that Edmodo has about 10 MILLION users and is considered an excellent educational tool across many countries.

So what is Edmodo all about?

Edmodo is a free and safe online classroom where the teacher and students connect to support learning in the classroom and extend learning beyond.  Edmodo looks and works like Facebook, but in order to ensure students are safe, only the teacher can message the students privately and all messages students post on the 'Edmodo wall' can be seen by the teacher.  This also means that students cannot message each other privately. What I personally like best about Edmodo is that the students are EAGER to LEARN, which I strongly believe is its biggest selling point.

What we use Edmodo for in our classroom:

• We have groups set up for all subject areas, which means that the students are able to work on online assignments, play educational games, read articles, watch videos and dialogue/debate with each other in each subject area.
• Students can create 'mini-groups' where they are able to work with peers for upcoming presentations.  This means, students do not need to figure out how to get together.
• I am able to post reminders, homework, class news and announcements on the Edmodo wall.
• Students are constantly practicing 'accountable talk', which means they write with purpose and they work collaboratively with each other online.
• Students are able to get help from me or their peers by simply sending a message out; this works really well with homework questions.
• When I post online assignments, students receive their marks privately.

When do we use Edmodo?

We will be using Edmodo every Monday during our Computer Lab time and throughout the week at our classroom computer station thanks to my brother and friends of mine who donated two laptops! Students are also strongly encouraged to visit Edmodo as much as possible during the week as a big portion of our class work will involve Edmodo.  For those who do not have internet access at home, do not worry as your children will be able to use our computers in the classroom.

How can you help?

Parents, please check out what we are doing on Edmodo as much as you are able to as Edmodo is a solid component of our learning this year!  Please feel free to contact me at evita.massaro@tcdsb.org if you ever have any questions!  Thanks for your ongoing support!!!





Students on Edmodo in the classroom!

2 weeks = complete!

Hello students & parents,

As we all know, INTERNET SAFETY is very important!  Parents, please watch this video with your child:

http://www.brainpopjr.com/artsandtechnology/technology/internetsafety/

Parents, please look at the previous posts on this blog about WORD Q & MUST SEE WEBSITES- thank you!

Please see our CLASS SCHEDULE (click to enlarge):

A few updates from our 2nd week:

- In Daily 5, we have started the WORK ON WRITING station.  Students have been given a sheet with various reading response prompts so that when they are working on writing, they can choose the book & reading prompt they are interested to write about. The students understand that an important component of 'work on writing' is to underline words that they are unsure of the spelling and move on.  They can check spelling after they have written their response.

 

 

 

 

- The students also continue to enjoy READ TO SELF and have really mastered this station!  The students have been building their STAMINA and are up to 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading. In the picture below, you can see book bins by the students.  The students are able to choose any 5 books to keep in their book bin at a time so that they have a variety of choices when it is time for Daily 5. Way to go readers!

 

 

 

 

 

- In Math, we have decided to begin with Chapter 2- Numeration.  Please refer to Nelson Math for homework help, practice questions and games for most lessons that are taught in class. For every chapter in Math, there will be many hands on group activities, homework from the Workbook (if not completed in class), a mid chapter quiz and a final test.  Below are pictures of the students working in groups on a math question, presenting their answers and understanding that there are many various strategies that can be used to solve a Math problem!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Our Student Teacher, Ms. OB, introduced a wonderful Art activity for the students which involved making masks about themselves!

 

 

 

 

- The students were very excited for our weekly raffle celebration on Friday!  Remember, the more raffle tickets you have in the bucket, the higher the probability of your name being called :) 

 

 

 

- Finally, a big congratulations to our STUDENTS OF THE WEEK so far:  MIA & CAMILA!  Way to go girls!!

 

Have a wonderful week everyone & keep up the EXCELLENT work students :)

 

There may be smaller posts throughout the week so keep checking.  There will always be a weekly update Sunday or Monday.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Mrs. Massaro