Happy Valentine’s Day!
We had a busy, but very productive day today. The Gr. 4 students got to continue practicing telling time today. Today we discussed the movement of the minute hand a little more. Students were reminded that each time it has moved to a new number, 5 minutes has gone by. They have some homework questions to continue practicing this. The Gr. 5 students started discussing area and perimeter. Today we discussed rectangles that have the same perimeter but different areas. It is really important that students understand that just because 2 rectangles have the same perimeter, does not mean that they have the same area.
Eg. Find as many rectangles as you can with a perimeter of 10 cm.
| Rectangle | Width (cm) | Length (cm) | Perimeter (cm) | Area (cm2) |
| 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 6 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
As you can see, even though all 4 rectangles have the same perimeter (10 cm), they do not have the same area. Grade 5’s also have some homework to continue practicing this concept.
In Language Arts today we worked on our Term 2 Writing Prompt. Students were given a picture prompt to use to write a story. They have 10 minutes to discuss the picture and plan their story on the planning page. They then have 60 minutes to write a story. The story must include the picture, and it should be an example of their best work. Students who need the time, are given an extra 30 minutes, which will be given on Tuesday. We do these prompts 3 times a year, in order for teachers to better understand some of the strengths and weaknesses of their classes.
For Valentine’s today we had a delicious buffet! Thanks to everyone who contributed, we really appreciate it. We exchanged Valentine’s and we also played some “Minute to Win It” games. The first game we played, had students attempting to suck as many counters as they could, from their desk to a box, using just a straw – no hands at all! We used 20 counters, and we only had 3 students who were able to complete the challenge in under 60 seconds. Our second activity is called “Backflip”. Students balance a pencil on the back of their hand and they must flip the pencil off and catch it. Students who are successful attempt to complete the task with 2 pencils, then 3, then 4, etc. Our record today was 5 pencils! Well done! Our last task had students using spaghetti to pick up washers. Students were each given a piece of spaghetti. They had to retrieve a washer from their desk, using only the spaghetti (held in their mouths). Again, no hands were allowed. The record for this challenge was 6 washers! It was fun and exciting, and we have a few more challenges that you could see in the upcoming weeks!
Thank you to everyone who volunteered at Family Math/Science Night. It was your energy and commitment that made the event such a success, and I was very proud to be the teacher of such responsible, caring, fun, energetic, and amazing students.
Homework: Read 20 minutes
Reading Journals (tomorrow)
Spelling Test (tomorrow)
Multiplication Quiz (tomorrow)
Math: Gr. 4 – pgs. 134-135 #1-8
Gr. 5 – pgs. 129-130 #1-8
Computers: Powerpoint Assignments (tomorrow)
Social: Creative Journal (Tuesday)
Class Science Fair – March 4th
School Science Fair – March 7th
Book Order – February 22nd
