Good afternoon!

What a crazy day! We completed the Schonel Spelling Test, which took up a large portion of our day. We did the first 60 words this morning before Computers! Then we did 20 after Computers, and 20 more after Music! Students did a great job, and were very respectful and patient throughout the test.

In Computers today we used our Mathletics accounts. Our class has been doing a lot of great work at home on Mathletics over the last year, and it is always nice to see how many of you are working at earning certificates and completing units at home. Mathletics is a great place to review a concept and to learn new skills. Not to mention, some of the games are pretty fun too!

We also planted some beans today. We have planted them in clear cups so that we are able to see them start to grow. Check them out below! Do you think the vinegar cup is going to do well? (Remember the things that a plant needs to grow!)

Homework: Read 20 minutes

                         Gr. 4 – pgs. 283-284 #1-8

                         Gr. 5 – pgs. 304-305 #1-7

Good afternoon!

What a busy day! We started off our day by working on some Math. The Gr. 4 students are going to be reviewing Multiplication and Division over the next few days. They will be reviewing some of the skills from our previous unit, and they will also have the opportunity to apply these skills to larger numbers. Today we looked at estimation when multiplying with a 2-digit number. We are estimating to the nearest multiple of 10.

Eg. 47 x 5 =

       We can estimate that 50 x 5 = ?

       Since I know 5 x 5 = 25, then 5 x 50 = 250

       Therefore 47 x 5 is about 250

The Gr. 5 students are working in transformations. Today we looked at reflection. This was actually a very enjoyable lesson, as the Gr. 5 students had the opportunity to work with the miras today. A mira is a device that acts as the line of reflection, and allows students to see where the reflection image will be on the page.

In Science today we began a joint unit on Ecology. Today we reviewd the parts of a plant, and discussed how plants produce food, flowers, fruits, grains, and other seed adaptations. We learned that:

• A leaf is made up of the blade, stem, midrib, and veins.
• Leaves contain chlorophyll. Using light for energy, chlorophyll combines the air and water to make sugars and starches. These sugars and starches are stored in the leaves and stems of the plant, and the plant uses them for food – us too actually!
• The oxygen cycle is when humans breath out CO2 gas. Plants use the CO2 gas during photosynthesis, and release O2 gas back into the air. Humans breath in the air and use the O2 gas.
• A flower is made up of its petals, sepals, ovary, style, anther, and stigma. The ovary creates seeds, when there is a transfer of pollen to the stigma. How does this happen? Pollinators! Eg. bees.
• A seed is made up of a hole, a seed coat, the embryo (baby plants), and the cotyledon (nutrients).
• Plants require: sun, water, air, soil (nutrients), space, and warmth to grow.
• A fruit is the part of the plant that holds the seeds.
• Other seed adaptations include: catapulting pods, hitchhikers, hairs, wings, and floaters.
• Do all plants come from seeds? Nope! Some grow from cuttings, bulbs, tubers, or spores!

What a lot of information to cover in 1 day! Students did a phenomenal job following along, and working together during our group discussions. It is important that we took the time to go over plants, because their role food chains, and the importance of environmental adaptations, are both extremely important in our upcoming Wetlands classes.

Want to review the parts of the seed? Check out the link below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMcMPIKP6S8

We also had the opportunity to conduct a favorite Chemistry experiment today. The weather improved enough that we were able to get outside and put some mentos into diet coke. This mixture causes a chemical reaction. A gas is produced (rapidly!) which causes the mixture to foam up.

Homework: Reading Journals (tomorrow)

                         Read 20 minutes

                         L.A.: Letters to the Future (tomorrow)

                         Math: Gr. 4 – pgs. 283-284 #1-8

                                      Gr. 5 – pgs. 304-305 #1-7

 

Good afternoon!

As the students already know, I was out of the classroom yesterday afternoon and all day today, for a report card committee meeting, and math and science literacy planning. I just wanted to leave a quick post for the students, thanking them for their amazing behaviour! Both TOCs left me very positive messages about our class, and especially today with all the hard work that I left! Students completed a Unit Test today and their Term 3 Writing Prompts! Bravo 4/5 N! I can’t wait to see you all tomorrow and get back to our regular routine!

“And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days.”

– James Russell Lowell

Good afternoon!

Today we started our week off by finishing our Social activity from Friday. Students created 3 snapshots to retell the story “A Promise is a Promise” by Robert Munsch. Students needed to include all of the characters (Allashua, Qallupilluit, Mom, Dad, Brothers/Sisters) in each snapshot. This meant that the groups had to infer what certain characters might be doing. For example, if they were portraying the scene where Allashua is captured by the Qallupilluit, what are the Mother, Father, and Brothers and Sisters doing? Are they playing, cooking sleeping? Students also had to include at least 1 sentence of narration for each snapshot. This was a great way to practice our summarizing and retelling skills. The snapshots turned out great, and it was fun to hear so many groups sing that creepy song from the story.

Human child, human child,

Ours to have, ours to hold,

Forget your mother, forget your brother,

Ours to hold, under the ice.

Today in Language Arts we read Chapter 2 and began Chapter 3 of Owls in the Family. Today we read about the boys and their teacher trying to take pictures of the owl’s nest. They are NOT successful. If they can’t get close enough to take some pictures, how are they going to get some owlets? Well… unfortunately their is a Chinook in the area that knocks the owl’s nest from the Poplar trees. Two of the owlets die in the storm, but the eldest survives. We’ll have to keep reading to find out if this owlet is going to be one of the pets that Farley Mowatt kept as a boy. We also had our first book club discussion today. Students are put into groups and asked to discuss some topics from the book. Their is a worksheet that we use to help guide our discussion. Today we used the “Conference Coach” sheet. This sheet encourages students to record 6 questions that they have after reading the selection. Students then take turns sharing their answers with the group. Today we shared our answers from the “Conference Coach” sheet, and we completed the “Word Wizard” and “Building Bridges” sheets, to be shared at our next book club meeting.

Homework: Reading Journals (Friday)

                         Read 20 minutes

                         Math: Gr. 4 – Unit Test (Wed.)

                         Science: Gr. 5 – Unit Test (Wed.)

*Note* There are no weekly spelling words this week. We will be completing Part B of our Schonell Spelling test at this time.

POW (by Shreya): Gr. 4/5 N is raising money for a school disco! The Gr. 4’s had a healthy bake sale, and the Gr. 5’s had a skipping rope party (bring a donation). The Gr. 4’s raised $120.00, and the Gr. 5’s raised $95.00. How much money did they raise altogether? Did they reach their goal of $180.00?

Bonus – How much more did the Gr. 4’s raise than the Gr. 5’s?