Ms. Vanderwel's Room

Take a look at our learning this week! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This week the students learned about the sounds made by /oi/ and /oy/. They created some words using these sounds and listened for the sounds in stories and poems. This week's Author of the Week was Bill Peet. Bill Peet's books are full of colourful illustrations and quirky characters. They are a treasure trove of vocabulary offering many opportunities to learn new words and their meanings.  In writing, students continued to learn about persuasive writing. As a springboard to learning to write a persuasive paragraph, students have been watching some Who Would Win? videos. Each video features two animals, describes their size, defences and other characteristics and then asks which one would win if they were to fight each other? The students worked with partners to list the characteristics that would help each animal win. Then the selected which animal they thought woul...

Hello! Happy Friday! I hope you are enjoying the warm weather-- minus the smoke! Wishing you all a lovely long weekend. Here is what we have been up to this week! --------------------------------------------------- Students learned about the two sounds for the double /oo/ spelling pattern. They worked on making words using those letters and completed a Word Ladder for this vowel pair. In writing, we began to learn about Persuasive Writing. Students learned what it means to persuade (convince) someone. They had to argue if it was better to be a kid or an adult. They came up with some interesting reasons to support their opinions!  In Math, students began learning about 2D and 3D shapes. They began by reviewing the 2D shapes and going on a shape hunt. In Science, students finished their dioramas of spring. They used a checklist to ensure that they had included all the required information in their dioramas. Next they will begin writing about the different signs that tell us it is spr...

First of all, I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there. Enjoy the weekend and time with your families. Your child has brought home a small gift and card for you : ) -----------------------------------------------------------------  This week students learned about he /ou/ an /ow/ sounds. These letters make the /ou/ sound as in 'ouch' and 'cow'. We remember these sounds by thinking of the story of the crying baby. The toddler pulls the baby's hair and the baby says "ouch!".  Our author for Author Study was none other than the famous Eric Carle! He is best known for his book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". It is also his birthday this month so it seemed fitting to read his books. Eric Carle writes a lot about animals who have trouble doing things or liking themselves for who they are. His stories inspire kids that they are important and can achieve their dreams.  In writing we began learning about haikus. The stud...

Happy Thursday! Just a reminder that there is No School today, Friday, May 5. Keep reading for a sneak peak at our week! -------------------------------------------------------------- This week's featured author was, Arnold Lobel. Arnold Lobel is knows for his Frog and Toad series. These books follow the adventures and misadventures of two friends named, Frog and Toad. Toad is always getting himself into scapes or having a bad day and Frog helps him to solve them. They are heartwarming and funny stories that kids can relate to. They are also great for early readers as the text is simpler and more repetitive. A great choice for your budding reader! This week the students focused on learning a  new spelling pattern for the long u sound-- /ue/. They worked on making words and listening for the long /u/ sound in words. In writing, the students began working on writing their good copy of their stories. We looked at what makes our story a 2, 3 or a 4 and ways we can improve our writing, ...