This Week in Room 21...

 Hello Friends! Here's a sneak peek at our week!

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This week in Language Arts we completed a pattern story based on the book 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?'.  After reading the story we brainstormed some Halloween characters to create our own version of the book. Each student selected a different character to illustrate and complete the story pattern. They then coloured their drawings. 

We also talked about onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is when words sound like the sounds they make. For example:  bang, crash, boom!  We brainstormed sounds for our characters which students could include in their drawings.

For fun the students got to write about what they thought I should be for Halloween. It looks like I'm going to be either a pumpkin, a witch or a cat fairy!

In math, we began working on identifying, building, counting, ordering and representing numbers to 20. The students played a number of math games in which they used ten frames to build and count their numbers. 

They also learned how to subitize objects. Subitizing is when you "count" objects or dots as a whole rather than one at a time. For example, if shown two groups of five dots you know that that makes ten so rather than count all the dots you think:  5 and 5 makes 10. The students are only able to see the dots for a few seconds. 

In Science, we worked on some fun Halloween Stations based on the 5 Senses. On Monday, the students got to be detectives. They were given a set of clues-- i.e. something to smell, something to touch, something to listen to-- and had to use their senses to determine what it might be. After being give all the clues they had to figure out what the mystery food was. The first clue was butter (smell), then a salt shaker (hearing), popcorn kernels (touch), popcorn popper (hearing). Once the kernels actually started popping they knew what it was!  Throughout the rest of the week, the students participated in other centers focused on each of the 5 Senses. They made a thaumatrope to create an optical illusion, listened to Halloween sounds and guessed what the sound was, tried some yummy foods to determine if they were sweet, salty, bitter or sour. (They did NOT like the dark chocolate! Lol! : ) and much more!

In gym, we began our basketball unit. The students learned how to dribble, play keep away and bounce pass to a partner. 

On Thursday, the students participated in some Halloween Centres. They got to roll on scooters through a pumpkin patch, dash over some tombstones (hurdles) in a graveyard, toss candy (bean bags) into a treat bag (hula hoop), throw some rings on a witch's hat and go Boo-ling! 

Important Information & Reminders:

• On Monday, students are invited to wear their Halloween costumes to school all day. We will be having a HALLOWEEN PARADE in the gym on Monday morning between 8:15-9:00am. Please keep masks as well as any accessories (i.e. swords, guns etc.) at home to ensure that no items are damaged or lost or become a safety hazard. Students are encouraged to bring an extra snack for themselves to eat during our party at the end of the day. Please do not send a snack for the class. Thank you!

    NOTE: If your child is unable or wishes not to participate in the parade, an

    alternate activity will be provided during that time. 

• Please ensure that your child has both a pair of INDOOR and OUTDOOR running shoes. This helps to keep our school clean and also ensures that students have proper footwear for P.E. whether we are in the gym or outside.

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Oct. 28 - PD Day/No School

Nov. 1 - Photo Retakes

Nov. 10 - Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day/No School

Nov. 24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (pm)

Nov. 25 - Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School 

Dec. 5-8 - Book Fair

Dec. 22 - Last Day of Classes

Dec. 23 - Jan 8 - Winter Break

Jan. 9 - Classes Resume

This Week in Room 21....

This week has been busy with inline skating, meeting the new Gr. 2 teacher Miss Cooper, painting and much more. Take a look!

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In Language Arts, we worked on a number of new letter sounds (e, m, and c) and digraphs (aw/au, oi/oy and ow/ou). The students worked on listening for these sounds in stories, making words using the letter cards, sorting picture cards into groups based on sounds and reading decodable passages that focus on each sound learned. 

In math, students continued to learn about growing patterns and predicting terms in patterns. They also reviewed the important parts of a pattern-- i.e. finding the pattern core, counting the terms-- and also how to extend patterns. Today we finished up our unit on patterns with a small quiz. 

In gym students had a fantastic time learning to skate on inline skates. They played some games, tried some tricks (eg. Mini-me) and skated with a disco ball. Their skills improved immensely from the first to the last class.

In Science, we talked about creating different hues of colour using tints and shades.  Students made predictions about how to get different hues. Then they tested their predictions. Students learned that to make a colour lighter add white and to make a colour darker add black. Jumping off from this learning, we began to create a background for some Halloween Art using a single colour and adding white to make the colour gradually fade from lighter to darker. We will finish these up next week.

           

          

                                                                       

In Social Studies, we talked about what a community is (a place to live, work and play together) and the different types of community (urban, rural, suburban). The students began creating a brochure representing each type of community. They drew a picture and added a list of features or characteristics common to each. 

       

    

Important Information & Reminders:

• Please ensure that your child has both a pair of INDOOR and OUTDOOR running shoes. This helps to keep our school clean and also ensures that students have proper footwear for P.E. whether we are in the gym or outside.

• Library Day is next Wednesday. 

• Halloween Dance on Oct. 27. See form below:

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Oct. 27 - Halloween Dance @ 6:00-8:00pm

Oct. 28 - PD Day/No School

Nov. 1 - Photo Retakes

Nov. 10 - Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day/No School

Nov. 24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (pm)

Nov. 25 - Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School 

Dec. 5-8 - Book Fair

Dec. 22 - Last Day of Classes

Dec. 23 - Jan 8 - Winter Break

Jan. 9 - Classes Resume

This Week in Room 21...

 Hello! Happy Friday! It's been an exciting week in Room 21. Take a look!

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This week we continued to explore and review a variety of letter sounds. Students worked on building words using letter cards, reading passages with the target sound,  and playing some games to reinforce the sounds taught.

In math, we looked growing patterns. We read the story "Rooster's Off to See the World", by Eric Carle. The students were asked to identify what if any pattern they noticed in the story. They cut out pictures of the animals that Rooster met while taking a walk around the world and then arranged them to see if they could find a pattern. They noticed that each time a new animal was encountered it was one more than the previous time. 

The following day, students built growing patterns using pattern blocks.  After being given the first three terms of the pattern, they worked with a partner to determine what the 4th and 5th terms would be. Then they identified how much the pattern was growing by. Next week will be our last week looking at patterns before moving on to number. 

In Social Studies, we looked at where we live. We tried to imagine if aliens wanted to come to our house (to invite us to their birthday party, of course!) how would they find it? They would need more than a street address!  The students determined they would need to know what planet we live on, which continent, which county, which province, city, neighbourhood and finally which house!  We also watched a video learning about the provinces and territories. This is part of learning about communities (Gr. 1) and learning about Canada (Gr. 2). The grade one students made a fun flip book showing all the different places they live.  The grade twos labelled and coloured a Map of Canada. 

   

In Science, we learned what a thermometer is, how it works and how to use it to measure temperature. Next week they will try using a thermometer to measure the temperature around different places in the school. The grade ones continue to finish their Signs of Fall poster, as well.

Video

In gym, we began using scoops and balls to develop our hand-eye coordination. The students learned how to do a basic toss & catch, a toss, bounce & catch and a toss, twirl & catch. Next week, we will look at tossing with a partner.

On Friday, we began the first of 3 sessions learning how to in-line skate. The students showed excellent listening manners while the instructor demonstrated how to put on their pads, helmets and skates.  They learned how to safely drop down on their knees, how to stand up with their skates on and how to skate in a circle. 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Please ensure that your child has both a pair of INDOOR and OUTDOOR running shoes. This helps to keep our school clean and also ensures that students have proper footwear for P.E. whether we are in the gym or outside. 

• If you have not sent in your child's Ack. of Risk form for skating, please do so by Monday.

• Scholastic Book Orders were sent home today. If you would like to order any books you can go online and use the Class Code written at the top of the flyer. I will be finalizing the orders at the end of next week. 

• Library Day is next Wednesday. 

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Oct. 27 - Halloween Dance @ 6:00-8:00pm

Oct. 28 - PD Day/No School

Nov. 1 - Photo Retakes

Nov. 10 - Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day/No School

Nov. 24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (pm)

Nov. 25 - Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School 

Dec. 5-8 - Book Fair

Dec. 22 - Last Day of Classes

Dec. 23 - Jan 8 - Winter Break

Jan. 9 - Classes Resume