This Week in Room 21....

Well, it has been a long countdown to Spring Break, but it is finally here! The students have continued to work hard and learn lots as we prepare for a well-deserved break!

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This week in Language Arts the students continued to explore the elements of stories, in particular, characters. They learned that characters can be people, animals and sometimes even inanimate objects can be brought to life. Students learned to create a character sketch based on what a character looks like (outside) and how they act, talk and think (inside). They discussed the characteristics or traits of characters from different books we have read. Then they brainstormed traits for leprechauns and created an acrostic poem using the traits they came up with. This will help students as they prepare to write their own stories and develop their own characters.

This week we read books by Jan Brett for our Author Study. Jan Brett is known for her highly detailed and elaborate illustrations. Her stories almost always have animal characters who get themselves into uncomfortable scrapes and situations! Children are inspired by her cute and funny tales!

In math, students continued to learn about solving word problems by looking for the important information, determining the clue word and selecting the appropriate operation to solve the problem. They moved on from solving addition problems to using their skills to tackle subtraction problems as well.

In social studies we looked at the roles of men, women and children in Early Calgary. They learned that men were responsible for farming and building among other jobs, women took care of the cooking, sewing, washing and childcare and kids had to learn how to help their families from an early age. They drew a picture of a log cabin and wrote jot notes to show their learning.

We also began to learn about the Medicine Wheel and its importance in First Nations culture. Students discovered the significance of the circle to Indigenous people and related it to many things in the world around us in particular the seasons. Students created their own Medicine Wheel and added pictures to each colour to show the cycle of the seasons-- yellow is spring, red is summer, fall is black and winter is white. 

In gym students worked on developing their skip rope skills. They learned to skip with two feet and alternating feet. They also practiced helicopter skipping. Ask your child what this is!

Important Reminders & Updates:

• GYMNASTICS is coming!! We will begin our gymnastics unit on April 3. Students are required to wear comfortable, properly fitting clothes (No jeans or skirts/dresses or hoodies) as these items can get caught on equipment posing a safety hazard. They are also not able to wear any jewelry and all long hair must be tied back to prevent injury. Students should wear sweatpants/stretchy pants to school each day. We do not have time to change clothes before and after gym so they must come properly dressed in the morning. Thank you for your support of this program!

• RAZ-KIDS (NEW!) : EMJ has purchased a membership to the Raz-Kids website. This is an online reading program with levelled books that your child can practice reading with at home as another option to the Home Reading books that they bring home. Your child had a chance to practice using this site today with their Buddies. They have brought home their login information so that they can access the site from home. Please keep this information in a safe place. You will be able to access the site from our Google Classroom or by searching Raz-kids online. 

• Please have your child return their Spelling Booklet each Monday. This week's spelling words were: one, once, any, after, help, stop

• Our Google Classroom is up and running! This is a resource for students to use at home to support learning here at school. You can log into your child's classroom by following the steps below:

1. Go to Google. com.
2. Click the blue "Sign In" icon near the top right of screen.
3. Click on the "waffle" icon and select the chalkboard icon from the drop down menu.
4. Enter your child's email address. (this can be found in your MyCBE parent account or you can ask me and I can email it to you.)
5. Enter your child's password. (All students have the same password. It is: 12345678 )
6. Click on "Mrs. V's Classroom")
7. Go to "Classwork" tab for links to games and activities.

*Note: If you have any trouble logging in let me know.

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Mar. 27 - Spring Break begins

Apr. 3 - School resumes

Apr. 3 - Gymnastics unit begins

Apr. 7 - Good Friday/No School

Apr. 10 - PD Day/No school

Apr. 17 - St. Patrick's Day

Apr. 25 - Last day with our Student Teacher

May 5 - No School

May 12 - Mother's Day 

This Week in Room 21....

Happy Friday! Spring is in the air! We had a lovely week in Grade 1 and are excited to welcome spring as the weather warms up : ) Here's a look at our very busy week!

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In Language Arts, Ms. Fraser has been teaching the kids all about the parts and the elements of stories. They have learned that all stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Each part contains different elements such as: character, setting, problem, events and solution. They listened to a variety of stories and worked on identifying the main characters and supporting characters. 

This week's Author Study author was, Julia Donaldson. She is known for her lively and imaginative stories about many made-up creatures like the Gruffalo, Stick Man, Zog and many others. Her stories use rhyme, repetition and rich vocabulary to transport children into a funny and whimsical world of make-believe!

In math we began a new unit on problem solving. The students are learning to work through word problems using the proper steps. They must first determine what the problem is asking them, identify the important information and clue words, select the appropriate operation and solve. 

We have also been learning about money. Miss Tucker and I decided that a little scavenger hunt with pots of gold full of money would be the perfect way to practice our coin counting skills! We hid some pots around the school and the kids worked in pairs to find and count the money. It's clear we need a bit more practice but boy did they have fun : )

In science, we had fun building leprechaun traps for St. Patrick's Day!  Those sneaky devils outsmarted us though. They knocked over our traps, toppled chairs and hid our shoes! Some of our shoes were up on the lights!  

Before every building challenge we work through the steps to completing a STEM project-- i.e. ask what is the problem we are trying to solve, imagine ways to solve it, create our designs and then improve them. We brainstormed types of traps (fall in, fall on, catch/grab etc). Then they got to work. 

Of course we can't forget our amazing Spring Showcase on Wednesday night! The kids worked so hard with extra practices all week. Their excitement and enthusiasm was something to behold! I'm so proud of our kiddos and all their hard work! 

We finished off the week with our Buddies who helped us to log into the computers and navigate our Google Classroom. Thanks Gr. 5 Buddies!!!

Important Reminders & Updates:

• Continue with Home Reading. If you are finding the books too easy or too hard please let me know so that we can adjust the level. 

• Please have your child return their Spelling Booklet each Monday. This week's spelling words were: ask, from, .....

• Please ensure your child has proper clothing for the weather. While we may not be going out for recess and lunch on really cold days there is always the possibility of an unexpected fire alarm, late busses or other events in which warm clothing is necessary. 

• Our Google Classroom is up and running! This is a resource for students to use at home to support learning here at school. You can log into your child's classroom by following the steps below:

1. Go to Google. com.
2. Click the blue "Sign In" icon near the top right of screen.
3. Click on the "waffle" icon and select the chalkboard icon from the drop down menu.
4. Enter your child's email address. (this can be found in your MyCBE parent account or you can ask me and I can email it to you.)
5. Enter your child's password. (All students have the same password. It is: 12345678 )
6. Click on "Mrs. V's Classroom")
7. Go to "Classwork" tab for links to games and activities.

*Note: If you have any trouble logging in let me know.

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Mar. 27 - Spring Break begins

Apr. 3 - School resumes

Apr. 3 - Gymnastics unit begins

Apr. 7 - Good Friday/No School

Apr. 10 - PD Day/No school

Apr. 17 - St. Patrick's Day

Apr. 26 - Last day with our Student Teacher

May 5 - No School

May 12 - Mother's Day 

This Week in Room 21....

In reading we have been learning about the "Bossy R" or "Growling Dog" sounds-- otherwise known as r-controlled sounds. These are long vowel patterns that are written as /ar/, /er/ and /or/. We say they are r-controlled because you can't really hear the vowel sound. Students practiced making words with these sounds and sorting words into groups based on the sound they heard.

Students have finished writing their Small Moment stories about a time they played in the snow. They are putting the finishing touches on their drawings and using our Success Criteria to determine if they have done their best work.

This week during Author Study we read books by Dr. Seuss. His birthday was on Mar. 2 so I thought it was a nice fit. These are also wonderful books for early readers. They reinforce the concept of rhyme and contain many high frequency words that students need to know. The students listened for rhyming words and also listened for the /or/, /ar/, and /er/ sounds in some of his stories. 

In math, we have finished up learning about addition and subtraction math strategies. To review for our upcoming test on Tuesday, the students began working through a variety of math centres that allow them to practice the various strategies learned, such as: doubles, doubles +1, making 10, using a number line, counting on/back and more.

In social studies, students learned about when Calgary was established. They created a timeline showing various important events in Calgary's history. Then they created a page in the visual journal showing Calgary in the past and today.

In Health, we learned a bit more about bullying-- what it is and what it isn't. This was an extension of the learning we did on Pink Shirt Day. Students learned the difference between a mean moment, conflict and bullying. They also learned how to be a NED which stands for: Never give up, Encourage others to be an upstander, and Do your best. 

Important Reminders & Updates:

• Continue with Home Reading. If you are finding the books too easy or too hard please let me know so that we can adjust the level. 

• Please have your child return their Spelling Booklet each Monday. This week's spelling words were: all, but, run, ran, came, make

• Please ensure your child has proper clothing for the weather. While we may not be going out for recess and lunch on really cold days there is always the possibility of an unexpected fire alarm, late busses or other events in which warm clothing is necessary. 

• Our Google Classroom is up and running! This is a resource for students to use at home to support learning here at school. You can log into your child's classroom by following the steps below:

1. Go to Google. com.
2. Click the blue "Sign In" icon near the top right of screen.
3. Click on the "waffle" icon and select the chalkboard icon from the drop down menu.
4. Enter your child's email address. (this can be found in your MyCBE parent account or you can ask me and I can email it to you.)
5. Enter your child's password. (All students have the same password. It is: 12345678 )
6. Click on "Mrs. V's Classroom")
7. Go to "Classwork" tab for links to games and activities.

*Note: If you have any trouble logging in let me know.

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Mar. 15 - Spring Showcase Performance @ 6:00pm. Students arrive at 5:30.

Mar. 27 - Spring Break begins

Apr. 3 - School resumes

Apr. 3 - Gymnastics unit begins

Apr. 7 - Good Friday/No School

Apr. 10 - PD Day/No school

Apr. 17 - St. Patrick's Day

Apr. 26 - Last day with our Student Teacher

May 5 - No School