I wanted to begin by sharing that a few days ago, I thought about our class and just how wonderful our days are with each other and how lucky I feel to have such an awesome group of students- so thank you for making every day so memorable!!
REMINDERS:
- Subway lunch is tomorrow for those who ordered!
- Good copy penpal letters due this Wednesday so that they can get mailed!
- Tic Tac Toe Language project & presentations due this Friday February 1st! Please check out the link below under Language in this blog entry for project requirements.
- Please, please, please bring in a PROTRACTOR for our new chapter in Math- we have some at school, but unfortunately, not enough- thank you!
- EQAO practice questions due every Friday on Edmodo.
- Reports go home Monday, February 11th!
- Interviews: Thursday February 14th, 5:30-8:30pm and Friday February 15th, 8:30-11:30am.
WEEKLY UPDATE:
- In Math, we've dived into 2 D Geometry! We are working on creating angles and different polygons with acute, obtuse and right angles. The students worked in teams this week to create a mathematical hypothesis, and used a checklist to ensure their hypothesis was strong. I am happy to share that our class average for last chapter's unit test on adding and subtracting decimals and mental math is a B+, way to go students! The students also wrote a quiz for 2D Geometry this week and the final test will take place in a week or so.
- In Language, we worked on the following this week:
Media: students continued to work on an advertisement for their personal invention- a new technology or video game, and incorporating target audience, slogan, logo etc..
Writing: students conferenced with me about their persuasive paper for the personal invention mentioned above in Media. We have completed brainstorming and the outline and will be starting drafting. Our CLASS NEW YEAR GOAL is to really work on SPELLING as there is a strong need, so please encourage your child to always have a dictionary close by and remember to check for spelling once the draft is complete as students should enjoy writing first, then work on fixing the errors. Students also worked on their penpal draft and I looked them over this weekend- this has been a really awesome activity, so many thanks to Ms Martino for the great idea! We are hoping to set up a Skype session (video conference) for the students and their penpal partners who live in York region sometime soon!
Reading: we are working on the comprehension strategy, visualizing- what picture do we have in our minds as we read the story, what do we see, hear, smell, taste. During Daily 5, students are working on all of the above and focusing on visualizing and recording what they visualize as they read. Groups of 3-4 students in strategy groups began meeting with me to read an article called 'Life Beyond Earth' (tied to our Space unit in Science) and we are working on various comprehension strategies including making predictions, asking questions and making connections. I make notes while the students work with me so that I have a better understanding of their individual strengths and needs- this is part of DAILY CAFE.
Oral Communication: I have conferenced with all students regarding their Tic Tac Toe Language project and I can't wait to see the final results on Friday!! The Tic Tac Toe projects will be displayed during interviews so that all parents can see the amazing work! Please click this link for the project requirements: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2CSdo7O0z10QVg5aWZyUE9kcFU/edit
- For the Social Sciences, we continue to explore Space and First Nations. It is so important that students are on Edmodo often during the week so that they remain up to date with all lessons/videos being posted!
- In Health, we also continue to investigate substance use and abuse through Edmodo and through Bitstrips. We are currently looking at the results of smoking and drinking alcohol, especially at a young age.
- In Art, students are working on their 6 word memoirs. The students are really enjoying this activity and are providing a deeper insight into who they are through their art piece! We will have these displayed soon!!
- For EQAO, I have been posting a few questions in both Language and Math groups on Edmodo for students to work on throughout the week. I then mark their responses on Edmodo and students are asked to make corrections in their EQAO duos. We then take up these questions as a class the following week. It is important for students to remember to bring home their EQAO duos every weekend so that they can make corrections. The EQAO practice questions are based on previous EQAO tests- so our students should be prepared as to the type of questions asked!
- Who doesn't enjoy a random dance party for DPA?? We had a great time turning up the music and letting loose for 15 minutes on Friday! Not only did we burn calories, but we also worked on our dance moves :)
Thank you for taking the time to read our weekly updates! I am so happy to hear that parents are enjoying the blog updates! We are trying to go paperless in terms of class newsletters, so I appreciate the support!
Have a great week!
Mrs Massaro :)
