This Week in Room 21...

 Hello Everyone! Here's a look at our week : ) 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

In reading, we learned about some silent letters-- mb, wr, kn-- and practiced creating and reading a variety of words using those spelling patterns. We played some fun WordWall games online that help us listen for their sounds.

 

In writing we continued, talking and reading about persuasive writing. The students watched more 'Who Would Win' videos and selected which animal they believed would win. Then they wrote about and gave reasons for their opinion in their journals. It was also Support Staff Appreciation week. The students wrote some lovely notes to thank many of the support staff-- librarian, ed assistants, facility operator, secretary-- in our school for the work they do.

In math, we continued with our work learning about equality and inequality. The students explored making equations balance by adding to or subtracting from one side of the equation and then showing the relationship between the two. They also used actual balances to model the equations to determine if they were equal or unequal. Finally, we used the 'Solve Me Mobile' website to determine missing values in the equation to make it balance. 

 

Solve Me Mobile 

In Science, we began learning about Living Systems. We discussed the concepts of living versus non-living. How do we know if something is living or not? Living things grow/change, need food, water and air, reproduce and move on their own. Non-living things do not. Students worked on sorting pictures into either living or non-living.

In gym, we continued our unit on gymnastics. Students learned how to build a routine using the mats, trestles and the benches to complete a variety of gymnastics skills.

We also got together with our Buddies to read books and draw a picture together. 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Library Day is on Wednesday. If your child misses a Library Day we will try to send them on a different day, however, it will not always be possible to do so. Most times they can simply wait for the following Library Day.

• Google Classroom - Our Google Classroom is up and running. Students can log in at school and at home and click on the various links to practice typing, math skills, reading and even do an art activity (Art Hub) or some exercise (Cosmic Yoga). Your child can go to: classroom.google.com, click on the waffle (nine dots in upper righthand corner of screen), select the Google Classroom icon and log in from there. They have already logged in at school so they will just need to put in their student email address (available in PowerSchool/My CBE Account) and their password (eg. 12345678). It's that simple. If you require assistance logging in the first time, please let me know. 

• RAZ-Kids - students brought home a sheet with information explaining how to access their online RAZ-Kids account. This is a levelled reading program that students can use to practice reading at home with their parents. Once logged in students can listen to the story, practice reading the story (with adult support if needed) and then take a short quiz to assess their comprehension of what they have read. This is a wonderful compliment to our Home Reading program. If you did not receive your child's login information please email me. Thanks and happy reading! 

• Healthy Hunger is up and running. Below are the upcoming Fun Lunch dates. To order please go to the Healthy Hunger website. 

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

May 6-10 - Mission Impossible

May 17 - PD Day/No School

May 20 - Victoria Day/No School

May 23 - School Dance

June 4 - Field Trip (zoo)

June 10 - Field Trip (Sam Centre)

June 26 - Grade 6 Farewell

June 27 - Activity Day/Last Day of School

June 28 - Appeals Day/No School

This Week in Room 21...

Hello! We had a busy week in Room 21. Have a look at what we have been up to : ) 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

In language arts, we continued to work on persuasive writing activities. The students have been watching videos in which two animals are set up in a hypothetical battle. Each animal's appearance, size, habitat and other characteristics are described and then students must pick which one they think would win in a fight. Students then write about which one will win and give reasons from the video to support their answers.

In math, we continued to learn about fractions. Students explored the concept of fractions of a set versus fractions of a whole. They worked on dividing sets of objects into groups to show either 1/2 (Gr. 1) or another fraction, such as, 1/3, 1/4 etc. (Gr. 2)

Students also began to explore the concepts of equality and inequality. We used a balance to show if two sets of cubes were equal (balanced) or unequal. The students learned to express this relationship between the two using an equation. For example, if there were 3 cubes on one side of the balance and 3 on the other we can show this as 3 = 3. 

In science, the students rotated through some stations to reinforce and apply what they have learned about movement energy. They had to use materials to make a "sled" slide faster or slower down a slope., order pictures of animals and objects from slowest to fastest, work in their groups to create a marble race track and sort objects based on different pathways (straight, sprial, zigzag, curvy), levels (high, medium, low) and more. 

Sorting by type of pathway.

Sorting objects and pictures by whether it
rolls, slides or bounces.

Testing different materials to make their "sled" 
go different speeds.

Playground showing high, medium and low levels of movement.

Marble Works race track.

Building different pathways
(zigzag, spiral, straight, curvy) using dominos.

.

Ordering animals/objects from slowest to fastest.

In gym we began our unit on gymnastics. Students have learned the importance of safety, working quietly during and stretching before gymnastics to prevent accidents and injuries. This week, students practiced various kinds of animal movements and rolls using the mats. They also learned what balances and bridges are. On Thursday, they created a mat routine using a balance, animal movement/roll and a bridge. 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Library Day is on Wednesday. If your child misses a Library Day we will try to send them on a different day, however, it will not always be possible to do so. Most times they can simply wait for the following Library Day.

• Google Classroom - Our Google Classroom is up and running. Students can log in at school and at home and click on the various links to practice typing, math skills, reading and even do an art activity (Art Hub) or some exercise (Cosmic Yoga). Your child can go to: classroom.google.com, click on the waffle (nine dots in upper righthand corner of screen), select the Google Classroom icon and log in from there. They have already logged in at school so they will just need to put in their student email address (available in PowerSchool/My CBE Account) and their password (eg. 12345678). It's that simple. If you require assistance logging in the first time, please let me know. 

• RAZ-Kids - students brought home a sheet with information explaining how to access their online RAZ-Kids account. This is a levelled reading program that students can use to practice reading at home with their parents. Once logged in students can listen to the story, practice reading the story (with adult support if needed) and then take a short quiz to assess their comprehension of what they have read. This is a wonderful compliment to our Home Reading program. If you did not receive your child's login information please email me. Thanks and happy reading! 

• Healthy Hunger is up and running. Below are the upcoming Fun Lunch dates. To order please go to the Healthy Hunger website. 

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

April 19 - PD Day/No School

April 24 - Gr. 1 Immunizations (cancelled!!)

May 6-10 - Mission Impossible

May 17 - PD Day/No School

May 20 - Victoria Day/No School

May 23 - School Dance

June 4 - Field Trip (zoo)

June 10 - Field Trip (Sam Centre)

June 26 - Grade 6 Farewell

June 27 - Activity Day/Last Day of School

June 28 - Appeals Day/No School

This Week in Room 21...

Hello and Happy Friday! Here's a peek at our week : )

Note: Gymnastics starts Monday. Please see school messenger sent on Friday for information about clothing, safety and expectations. Students that are not properly dressed may not be able to participate for safety reasons.

           ---------------------------------------------

This week we began learning about persuasive writing. We discussed what it means to persuade someone and the difference between facts and opinions. They listened to the story 'Hey, Little Ant' and discussed whether the boy or ant did a better job of convincing them who was right, i.e. to squish or not to squish?

The students then selected an animal they thought would make a good class pet and worked with a partner to come up with reasons to support their choice. 

In math we finished up our learning on word problems. The students worked on solving more challenging questions involving more than one step and/or with more than one possible solution.

The students have also been learning about fractions. They can identify halves (Gr. 1) and thirds, fourths etc. up to tenths (Gr.2).

In science, we continued to explore the science of movement. Students tested various objects to see if they would roll, bounce or both. They discovered that not all round objects bounce, for example, cotton balls and marbles among others. After a discussion and watching a video students learned why objects bounce and how factors, such as the material it's made of, effects this.

We also experimented with making an egg bounce. We placed the egg in vinegar for two days and predicted what would happen. When we took the egg out we noticed the shell was gone but the egg did not break.  The membrane inside was still intact and we could bounce the egg like a ball!

We also went for a community walk and looked for signs of spring. While still early in the season, we did see many signs that spring has sprung. We saw a woodpecker, some ants, a fly, buds on trees, new shoots of grass and moss growing on trees. 

In social, we continued to explore the food of the Inuit people. Students learned that due to the cold, Inuit people ate mostly animals as little grows in the arctic. There are some berries, however, such as cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, cloudberries, crowberries, and other plants that do grow in the spring and adding more variety to their diet. The Inuit enjoyed berries with a bread called bannock. We listened to a story about 'Awasis and the World Famous Bannock'. Then we went to the staff room and had fun making some ourselves. This simple recipe uses only flour and water. We added some raisins for flavour and cooked it on the stove. Then the students got to try a small piece along with either fresh or dried cranberries. Our bannock isn't world famous, but it still tasted good : ) 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Library Day is on Wednesday. If your child misses a Library Day we will try to send them on a different day, however, it will not always be possible to do so. Most times they can simply wait for the following Library Day.

• Google Classroom - Our Google Classroom is up and running. Students can log in at school and at home and click on the various links to practice typing, math skills, reading and even do an art activity (Art Hub) or some exercise (Cosmic Yoga). Your child can go to: classroom.google.com, click on the waffle (nine dots in upper righthand corner of screen), select the Google Classroom icon and log in from there. They have already logged in at school so they will just need to put in their student email address (available in PowerSchool/My CBE Account) and their password (eg. 12345678). It's that simple. If you require assistance logging in the first time, please let me know. 

• RAZ-Kids - students brought home a sheet with information explaining how to access their online RAZ-Kids account. This is a levelled reading program that students can use to practice reading at home with their parents. Once logged in students can listen to the story, practice reading the story (with adult support if needed) and then take a short quiz to assess their comprehension of what they have read. This is a wonderful compliment to our Home Reading program. If you did not receive your child's login information please email me. Thanks and happy reading! 

• Healthy Hunger is up and running. Below are the upcoming fun lunch dates. To order please go to the Healthy Hunger website. 

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

April 15 - Gymnastics starts

April 18 - Class photos

April 19 - PD Day

April 24 - Gr. 1 Immunizations

May 17 - PD Day/No School

May 20 - Victoria Day/No School

This Week in Room 21...

Please note: For some reason my computer will only let me post certain pictures and not others. I have included what I can. Here's a peek at our learning this week...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This week we learned about some new letter sounds-- soft /c/ & /g/ and the /ew/ sound. We learned when to use the soft /c/ and /g/ sounds and the different ways that the /ew/ sound can be represented in our spelling (ui, ue). Students learned stories and songs to help them remember the sounds for these letters and built words using our moveable alphabet. 

In math, we have been learning what word problems are and how to solve them. We have learned to look for important information and clue words that can help us to determine whether or not to add or subtract. Some problems require more than one step to solve so we have to think about what the question is really asking us and what we need to do to solve it. Kids worked in groups to solve a variety of word problems and then we discussed them as a class.

In science, we began to talk about movement and what it is. Movement is the direction, speed and pathway of an object. Objects can move up/down, backwards/forwards, spiral, bounce etc. They can go fast or slow and they can move in a straight, curvy or zigzag line. Students sorted pictures of objects into groups based on how they move and then preformed a test to determine if different object would bounce or roll.

In social, we continued to learn about the community of Nunavut. Students have been looking at what it is like to live in Nunavut today, but this week we began to explore what life was like in the arctic in the past. Students learned about the homes and clothing of the Inuit people.

Important Information & Reminders:

• Library Day is on Wednesday. If your child misses a Library Day we will try to send them on a different day, however, it will not always be possible to do so. Most times they can simply wait for the following Library Day.

• Google Classroom - Our Google Classroom is up and running. Students can log in at school and at home and click on the various links to practice typing, math skills, reading and even do an art activity (Art Hub) or some exercise (Cosmic Yoga). Your child can go to: classroom.google.com, click on the waffle (nine dots in upper righthand corner of screen), select the Google Classroom icon and log in from there. They have already logged in at school so they will just need to put in their student email address (available in PowerSchool/My CBE Account) and their password (eg. 12345678). It's that simple. If you require assistance logging in the first time, please let me know. 

• RAZ-Kids - students brought home a sheet with information explaining how to access their online RAZ-Kids account. This is a levelled reading program that students can use to practice reading at home with their parents. Once logged in students can listen to the story, practice reading the story (with adult support if needed) and then take a short quiz to assess their comprehension of what they have read. This is a wonderful compliment to our Home Reading program. If you did not receive your child's login information please email me. Thanks and happy reading! 

• Healthy Hunger is up and running. Below are the upcoming fun lunch dates. To order please go to the Healthy Hunger website. 

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

Mar 16 - Use the MyCBE Account to book conferences

Mar. 21 - Parent Teacher Conferences

Mar. 22 - Parent Teacher Conferences

Mar. 25-April 1 - Spring Break

April 2 - Classes Resume

April 11 - Spring Concert

April 15 - Gymnastics starts

April 18 - Class photos

April 19 - PD Day

April 24 - Gr. 1 Immunizations

May 17 - PD Day/No School

May 20 - Victoria Day/No School