We have a new "feature item" on our blog this year, the students will be taking turns each week to be "THE BLOGGER OF THE WEEK". They will select an idea, topic or fun classroom activity to write about and share with YOU, my blog readers! Marissa has enthusiastically asked to write the first "edition".
With report card writing day just around the corner, the students will notice a few brief assessment opportunities over the next couple of weeks.
So here's what we've been up to and what is coming up:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Our author study of Chris Van Allsburg has really opened the eyes of the students regarding picture books...they are not just little kids anymore! They are sinking their teeth into his mysterious and message-filled storylines and powerful illustrations. At the same time, we are practicing (as a class) more advanced reading strategies such as "inferencing", "predicting" and "synthesizing"... and still enjoying a great story!
To get the students actively reading again, they will be assigned a book report for the month but it will not be due until February 14th (coincidence? I think not!). The book report will have the students writing ME a Valentine's Day letter about their book. Further details and an outline of the assignment will be coming on Monday.
I have also "redesigned" the students READING LOG sheets so they will only be required to write ONE weekly response instead of a short one everyday! These sheets will also be available and handed out to the students on Monday. I will be checking their Reading Log sheets on a weekly basis every Monday morning starting January 19th.
MATHEMATICS:
We've started our unit on Decimals! For a fun introduction, I had the students draw pictures of things that were less than a whole object (in other words, "less than one" like a decimal number). We continued learning about decimals and the place values they hold (ie. tenths, hundredths and thousandths) and how to properly read a decimal number!
Ask your child how to read this number: 2.36 ?
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Finally!!!! We've completed our research of the different cultural elements of our Aboriginal groups. Next week we will be working on how to write an "Expository Paragraph" by putting our research notes into a legible paragraph. Hopefully, by the next week we will begin assembling our museum display boards and creating our "authentic" artifacts for display.
SCIENCE:
We're off to a running start with our unit on the Physical Properties and Changes of a Substance. We started the unit with a fun Safari hunt in the classroom, observing the different characteristics and properties of "substances". On Wednesday, we learned how we use our 5 senses to identify the properties and characteristics of objects. To test their knowledge and various senses, we played a game of guess the substance. The students were only allowed to use one sense at a time for the 5 substances I presented to them! Have you ever tried chocolate covered banana chips?
Next week, we will continue exploring physical properties with more hands-on activities. I am planning an experiment for Monday that requires at least 5 empty egg cartons. If you have an empty one at home (preferably NOT plastic) that your child could bring to school on Monday, that would be fantastic!
FRENCH:
Our Nutrition unit is back on track! This week we learned 5 essential verbs to use when preparing a recipe...PLACER, COUPER, ETALER, MELANGER et AJOUTER! Ask your child to show you the actions for each of the verbs! Our final assignment for this unit is to write a recipe for "Le Super Sandwich". We started our rough copies today. They are sounding quite unique and creative. Next week, we will type those up in the computer lab and draw delicious looking pictures to go with them! As this unit winds up, watch for a review package going home, as the students will be assessed on their understanding of the concepts taught in this unit!
ART:
The students were anxious to art this morning and they weren't disappointed!! To integrate with our Aboriginal studies, the students learned and practiced techniques used by the Northwest Coast natives. They followed an experienced artist on an Arts Attack DVD that walked them through the steps to their final creation! I've posted an example on the blog to show how bright and colorful they turned out (and that was the practice round!). We will be trying this technique one more time except this time the students can choose their own Pacific northwest coast animal to depict in their artwork!
BLOGGER OF THE WEEK:
by Marissa
Let’s Stay Healthy
As Blogger of the Week I found some great tips and am going to share some with you. I knew that staying active is only one way to stay healthy, eating healthy is also important. Now one of the things that I don’t like about winter is that it is always so annoyingly cold!!
5 facts that I found most interesting were…
1. Only 1/2 of boys and 2/3 of girls eat fruit five days a week or more.
2. One in two grade 10 girls are on a diet or think they need to lose weight.
3. 50% of boys and girls are not drinking enough milk.
4. In the last twenty years, intake of soft drinks has more than doubled.
5. Food is the most advertised product to children on TV. There are almost no ads for fruit and vegetables, milk, or whole grain products.
4 of the Benefits of Healthy Eating are...
1. Healthy eating helps kids grow, develop, and do well in school.
2. Eating breakfast improves kids’ memory, concentration levels, problem-solving abilities, and creative thinking.
3. Healthy meals helps children be more settled, attentive, and ready to learn.
4. Healthy eating helps prevents kids from many horrible sicknesses and diseases.
I think that these are 15 good ways and reasons to be active and feel super!:
1.Have fun
2.Be fit
3.Have energy
4.Boost confidence
5.Prevent illnesses
6.Have fun with friends
7.Build a healthy body!!!
8.Live a longer life span
9.Shovel snow
10.Dance, skip, play catch, shoot hoops, swim, etc (join a community activity).
11.Play outdoors.
12.Leave the car at home when you can, walk, bike, scooter, roller blade, etc.
13.Challenge yourself to learn a new activity that you have never done before.
14.Organize neighbourhood, friend, party or family game. .
15.Feel alive!
Let’s Go Outside!!
When you go outside, please bundle up in scarves, hats, mitts, boots, coats, ski pants, etc. so that you do not get sick. If you are going skating, those can also act as padding when you fall!!! There are lots of fun things that you can do this chilly winter season like hockey, skating, build a fort, snowman building, etc.
Some of the websites that were helpful and that I looked up for tips on staying healthy were… http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthyschools/
http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthyschools/issues/index.html
http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthyschools/issues/nutrition.html
http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthyschools/issues/physical.html
(Thank you, Marissa, that was very informative with some great suggestions!)
OTHER
- No school on Friday, January 16th for Report Card Writing
- Scholastic Book Orders in 5E are due on Monday
- Super Lunch is Thursday, January 15th!
- 5E Library Books due back on Tuesday, January 13th
Have a great weekend...I hope it warms up so the kids can get outside (as Marissa suggests!)!
Mrs. Eby
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