Goodbye 5N!

It has been an incredibly busy but an incredibly rewarding year. I can’t believe all of the things that we accomplished in such a short period of time – well it seemed short to me anyways! Thank you to everyone for following your students’ progress and activities so closely all year. It has been great to communicate with all of you, and to allow you the see into our classroom. Some of you have been following the blog for not 1, but 2 years! This classroom will always be very special to me. After some time spent as a TOC (a teacher-on-call, or sub) and then after a time covering a maternity leave, Classroom 403 and Grade 4/5 N was my first real classroom. It was my own space, to fill with my own things, and to start working with my own students. It was incredible. After such an amazing year last year, I almost didn’t believe that I could love another class as much as I loved that last one, but your students proved me wrong. We’ve all learned a lot as Classroom 5N, and not just the students. Think of all the things we tried this year: small group Math, writer’s workshops, reading ninja, beta testing the Wetlands ignition pack, utilizing our IPads, and so much more. I can honestly say that 5N was an amazing place to come to everyday, and I’m going to miss everyone.

Leaving Rm. 403 and the name of Classroom 5N behind is bittersweet. I know that I’ll miss this first classroom and all the wonderful memories we’ve made in this room, but I’m excited for all the new adventures on the horizon for next year. I’ll be in Rm. 203 and I’ll be teaching 5K. Some of our students have already moved on to homeschooling, Sherwood Park, etc. Some of you will be moving on to St. Anne’s or Walter and Gladys Hill. I know you are going to have an amazing time at your new schools, so don’t be nervous. Others are moving forward to their final year at Timberlea, the always exciting Grade 6. No matter where you will be next year, make sure you still visit from time to time. I’ll be missing all of you. Have a wonderful summer,

– Ms. Barrington

“The end of THE END is the best place to begin THE END, because if you read THE END from the beginning of the beginning of THE END to the end of the end of THE END, you will arrive at the end.”

― Lemony Snicket, The End

Good afternoon!

It is beginning to feel like the end of our school year, all at once today. Perhaps it was because we are putting the finishing touches on our last few units, or perhaps it is that things are slowly disappearing off our walls and shelves, but today definitely felt like the beginning of the end! That doesn’t mean that we don’t still have a lot to do, so make sure you come prepared over the next few days.

Today in Math, students were able to review our unit on transformations. We practiced three different transformations throughout this unit: translations, reflections, and rotations. Students should be able to perform and describe these translations. Need help to review? Look over your textbook questions. The “Show What You Know” questions on pg. 216-217 are a great place to start. You can also go back through some of the activities and lessons that we worked on throughout the unit. Our Unit Test is tomorrow morning… last test of the year, yay!

In Science today students were reviewing the material that we have already discussed, and then expanding upon it to discuss how different types of weather are created and then measured. We have already discussed how air moves, and completed two experiments as a class to demonstrate the movement of air. Today we discussed how convection currents work outside and how this contributes to wind. Check out the diagram below:

Students then learned about two devices that can be used to measure the wind: weather vanes and anemometers. Weather vanes are able to measure the direction that wind is coming from. We worked together in pairs to create our own weather vanes today using pencils, stickpins, straws, and construction paper, and then we took them outside to see how they worked. We found that the wind was blowing from the south, or that we had a south wind early this afternoon (around noon). We also explored anemometers today. Anemometers are used to measure wind speed. You can create your own anemometer with a rule, a protractor, a string, and a ping-pong ball. Students took an anemometer constructed in this fashion outside as well. Our class determined that the wind was blowing at a speed of approximately 8-13 km/h this morning. We did this using a calibration chart like the one seen below:

Students also reviewed the water cycle today, something we have discussed at length throughout the unit. This led us to create a demonstration of the water cycle in action. Students used small plastic bags, hot water, and sharpies to create their own small water cycle. You can see the condensation occurring at the top of the baggies. Eventually these drops become heavy and fall down the side of the bag (precipitate). Check out the pictures below. We also reviewed the types of clouds that we have discussed (cirrus, stratus, nimbus, cumulus).

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Reading Journal – Friday (last chance to earn a black belt!)

Math: Show What You Know (pgs. 216-217)

Transformations Unit Test – tomorrow

Science: Chemistry tests signed and returned ASAP

Grade 3 Art Sale – Wednesday

Good afternoon,

Today students started their morning with a little Art. We were making something… well… I think it will have to wait and be a surprise on Sunday!

In Math today we continued to look at rotations (or turns). Today students were practicing turning an image about a rotation point that was NOT a vertex of the image. See the example below:

 

As with yesterday, we used the same strategies. I always draw a horizontal line and a vertical line through my rotation point. This allows the students to be able to visualize the page in quarters, and it can help them to see how far to rotate an image. Students are also allowed to use tracing paper to help them to visualize the orientation of the rotation image. We’ll be having a quiz on our transformation on Tuesday, so students should practice and review over the weekend if possible.

In Science today, students reviewed our study of clouds. Today we added something to our understanding – we discussed how clouds can be used to predict the weather. Students should know that cirrus clouds indicate a change in the weather is coming, that stratus clouds indicate stormy weather, that cumulus clouds indicate fair weather, and that nimbus clouds almost always indicate rain or thunderstorms. We will be using our predicting skills along with some devices we will be constructing next week to become meteorologists and to accurately measure and predict weather ourselves!

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Math: pgs. 312-313 #1-3, 5

Transformations Quiz – Tuesday

Science: Chemistry tests signed and returned (ASAP)

Grade 3 Art Sale – Wednesday

“A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.”        – Anne Bronte

Good afternoon!

Today we began looking at both reflections and rotations, two new transformations for us. When a shape is reflected in a mirror, we are actually seeing what is known as the reflection image. A reflection is sometimes called a flip because when a shape is reflected, it is flipped over. Flipped over what? The line of reflection of course. There are great tricks that students can use to help the accurately reflect or flip a shape:

• If you draw a line between a vertex on the shape to it’s matching vertex on the reflection image, it will be perpendicular to the line of reflection.
• A point and its image are the same distance from the line of reflection.
• A shape and its reflection image have opposite orientations (they are facing opposite ways)

Check out the example below:

Students practiced using graphing paper to help them to make accurate reflections. They were also allowed the use of a mira. A mira is a tool that allows students to see the reflection image. It is a great way to check your work or for flipping an object across the line of reflection if you are struggling.

Rotations (or turns) are a little more complicated. When a shape turns about a point, it is rotated from one position to another. The shape in its new position is called the rotation image of the shape. I like to think of rotating as being similar to the hands on a clock. Check out the example below:

 

I always encourage students to draw the vertical and horizontal lines (an addition sign or a t) through the reflection point. I find that this makes it easier for students to be able to visualize what a quarter turn, a half turn, or a three-quarter turn would actually look like. Students were also allowed to use tracing paper to help them to turn their objects.

In Social Studies today, we learned a basic jig step and then we tried to dance a Red River Jig. It is very difficult! Want to practice your jig step at home? Follow the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqDW7S73-Zg

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Reading Journals – tomorrow!

Math: pgs. 304-305 #1-6, pgs. 308-309 #1-5

Science: Chemistry tests signed (ASAP)

Jive on Brett Drive – Thursday @ 6:00 pm

Gr. 3 Art Sale (for Project Cambodia) – Wednesday

 

Good afternoon,

Students started looking at basic transformations today. The outcome that students are currently working towards is:

• Identify; describe and perform a single transformation of a 2-D object

Today students were looking at translations. A translation is when a shape moves along a straight line, without turning. We can say that it was translated from one position to another. We can also refer to a translation as a slide. There are lots of examples of slides in our day to day lives. Just think of a child sliding down a playground slide or a firefighter sliding down a pole! When we draw the shape in its new position, we draw a translation image of the shape. In Grade 5, we describe a translation by describing the numbers of squares that the image moves – left, right, up, or down. Check out the example below:

The translation arrow shows how the shape moved and joins matching vertices on the shape and its image. A shape and its translation image have the same orientation. That means they are always facing the same way.

In Social Studies, students read a poem about the fur trade called “The French in the New World”. Then students went over some facts about New France and the fur trade. We have been talking about these two subjects over the past few weeks, these facts were a summary of our learning. Students completed a worksheet, giving them the opportunity to share their learning on these topics. To complete our study of the fur trade, students were asked to build their own fur trade post. Students had to consider where to place the buildings, the proximity to a water source, to trees, to good land, and the which Canadian climate would most benefit their Fort. Check out some of completed Forts below.

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Reading Journal – due Friday

Math – pgs. 298-299 #1-4, 6, 7

Science – get Chemistry tests signed (ASAP)

Jive on Brett Drive – Thursday @ 6:00 pm

Good afternoon,

Students started off their day with Computers today. Students used the website below. They were asked to listen to a story about a group of voyageurs called “The River Journey” and then they were asked to create their own endings to the story. Want to keep playing at home? Follow the link we used below…

Computer Class Links:

http://surlarouteeau.pvp.ca/en/default.php

We also worked on our Unit Test in Geometry. Tomorrow… transformations!

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Reading Journal – due Friday (choose your own NINJA question!)

Science: Chemistry tests signed and returned (ASAP)

Jive on Brett Drive – Thursday @ 6:00 pm

“I think fish is nice, but then I think that rain is wet, so who am I to judge?”      – Douglas Adams

Good afternoon!

Today we started off with our Math review. Students are completing their Unit Test on Geometry tomorrow. We reviewed the six attributes of shapes that we have focused on: line length, parallel lines, vertices, perpendicular lines, diagonals, and lines of symmetry. Students should have an understanding of all of these attributes, as well as how to represent them when discussing a particular shape. Students will also need to know the names of the quadrilaterals that we have been discussing in class, as well as be able to discuss and draw prisms and pyramids. We discussed the importance of understanding the vocabulary of this Unit on Friday, and I reminded students of it today. They should know the vocabulary words, as this is a large part of the content of our unit. The vocabulary that students should review tonight is as follows:

• hatch marks
• parallel lines
• vertex
• perpendicular lines
• horizontal
• vertical
• right angle
• intersect
• diagonals
• lines of symmetry
• quadrilaterals (as well as square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram, trapezoid, diamond, and kite)
• prisms
• pyramids
• faces and bases

In Language Arts today, students started to work on a piece of Opinion Writing. While we have practiced Narrative and Expository Writing throughout the year, this is our first opportunity to really focus on Opinion Writing – outside of our Journal entries and Writer’s Notebooks. Today students were working on writing a persuasive piece on one of the following topics:

• Students should/should not have homework
• School should/should not start at 9:00 am instead of 8:00 am
• Year round schooling is/is not a great idea
• There should/should not be school on Fridays/Mondays
• School should/ should not have 5 days of school and then 5 days off of school

Students helped to select some of the topics. They were given 10 minutes to start to plan their piece. We used the following graphic organizer as a brief introduction of how to organize a piece of Opinion Writing. Other options will be shared with students throughout our study:

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Math – pgs. 250-251 #1-8 (Show What You Know)

Geometry Unit Test – tomorrow

Science: Chemistry tests signed and returned ASAP

Jive on Brett Drive – Thursday @ 6:00 pm

Wear Red! – tomorrow we are going to be wearing red out of respect for the RCMP officers who were killed in Moncton. An email went home with more detail.

 

Good afternoon,

This morning we started our day with some Math. Students should now be comfortable discussing the following six attributes of quadrilaterals and shapes:

1. Line length – does this shape have any lines that are of the same length? Did I draw a hatch mark to demonstrate this?
2. Parallel lines – parallel lines are always the same distance apart and will never intersect; are there any pairs of parallel lines in this shape? Did I draw the arrow shaped hatch mark to demonstrate this?
3. Vertices – the vertex is the corner or the “point” of a shape; how many vertices does this shape have? Have I named them?
4. Perpendicular lines – a line is said to be perpendicular when a horizontal line meets a vertical line at a right (90°) angle; are any lines perpendicular in this shape? Does it contain any right angles? Have I used a small square at the vertex to represent this?
5. Diagonals – a diagonal is a line travelling from one vertex to another within a shape; does this shape have any diagonals? Do the diagonals intersect at right angles (only true for squares and rhombuses!)? Have I used my ruler to draw the diagonals?
6. Lines of symmetry – a line of symmetry is the fold line that evenly splits a shape into two symmetrical parts; does this shape have any lines of symmetry?

Lines of symmetry was the concept that we focused on today. We correctly labelled all the other attributes of a rectangle, triangle, and trapezoid. Then students were challenged to try and fold their shapes in half. We discovered that the rectangle had 2 lines of symmetry. The triangle had 1 line of symmetry. The trapezoid was the trickiest. This particular trapezoid had no lines of symmetry, but I can’t forget that some trapezoids CAN have lines of symmetry. When in doubt, trace the shape, cut it out, and try and fold it!

In Social Studies today students were each assigned a job that they may have held if they had participated in the fur trade in the 1763. Students were tradesmen, officers (governors), officers (surgeons), labourers, voyageurs, and translators. Students had to read through the various job postings around the room to find which job description matched their occupation. I saw a lot of great teamwork. Great job everyone!

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Math – pgs. 236-238 #1-11

Science – Chemistry tests signed!

Good afternoon!

We started our morning off with some Math. On Monday we started to discuss some of the different attributes of different shapes. In particular we focused on the length of the sides, parallel sides, and the vertices of a shape. Today we added perpendicular sides as well as a shapes diagonals to the list? Want to see what we know so far?

 

Students are starting to build up a familiarity with these attributes and are looking for shapes that share or differ in their attributes. For example, we know that a square has 4 equal sides, 2 pairs of parallel sides, 4 vertices, 4 perpendicular sides, and that it’s diagonals intersect at right angles as well. A rectangle on the other hand has 2 pairs of equal sides, 2 pairs of parallel sides, 4 vertices, 4 perpendicular sides, and that it’s diagonals do not intersect at right angles. We can see that some of the attributes are shared by both squares and rectangles (2 pairs of parallel sides) and that some differ (eg. 4 equal sides vs. 2 pairs of equal sides).

In Social Studies today we focused specifically on the Fur Trade. We looked at the coureur de bois and the voyageurs in particular. Students discovered that after the Governor of New France passed a law that would only allow individuals to trade with his approval, the coureur de bois’ positions were somewhat threatened in New France. They were unable to do their job. If they were caught, they could be jailed, whipped, or even hanged. The traders that were lucky enough to gain the Governor’s permission came to be known as the voyageurs. Like the coureur de bois, they had a difficult be adventurous life. We looked at some of the songs and traditions developed by the voyageurs. Check out the two videos below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElXjBUnfWfQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zDTdKRqZ9g

Then we decided to write our own song. We wanted the song to be relevant to our lives and hard working conditions. We decided to set the beat to a student tapping a pencil on a desk (vs. the paddle in the water that the voyageurs used), and to write about some of our difficulties and hopes about our work. Check out our song below:

5N’s Voyage

We have to do a lot of Math,

In this wretched school of death,

This is a Social thing,

We’re waiting for the bell to ring.

We are bored of our homework,

We want to go home,

We only want some work,

and like the history of Rome.

We’re doing Math, we may not make it back!

We’re doing our best, how do we do this!

We have to go to Recess, we have to go to Recess!

Doing math is so bad it makes my puppy mad,

and I am so glad it’s almost home time,

but I do like Recess, it is fun,

I get to play with my friends in the sun. 

Science is cool,

Math is drool, 

We have to go home…

So we can do our homework!

(and play video games!)

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Math – pgs. 228-229 #1-5, pgs. 232-233 #1-5

DOGONews Forms – ASAP

Good afternoon!

Today we started our morning off with Computers. Students used their Computers class today to do some more Social Studies research! We have, as many of you already know, been examining New France. Today students each chose an important person from our New France timeline. They could be: Filles de Roi, Monseigneur Laval, Carignan-Salieres, Mohawk Nation, Coureur de Bois, Governor Frontenac, Iroquois Confederacy, Acadians, James Wolfe, or the Marquis de Montcalm. Students were challenged to use the History Trek database to discover some information about themselves. Look at some of our examples below, and feel free to explore some of the other historical figures using History Trek at home. The link is below!

Computer Class Link

http://132.206.199.46/home.php

In Language Arts today, students were working on their Term 3 Writing Prompt. We spent time yesterday reviewing our parts of a story (plot, setting, characters, conflict, theme) and our “story mountain” graphic organizer. Students worked in small groups to plan a story from a picture prompt, and then had to write the story as a group. Each group only had 10 minutes to plan and 10 minutes to write. We called it the 10 minute challenge. After their time was up, the groups had to switch stories. Groups were challenged to read through the other groups story in order to continue it. This was great practice. Students worked together to review how to plan and organize a story, and groups got practice reading a story and editing it to see if it makes sense, if there is enough detail, is it following the plan, etc. Students used all those skills that we practiced yesterday, in order to start their individual stories today. Students are given a picture prompt and then they have 10 minutes of planning time. Unlike yesterday, we do have an hour to write our stories. We started today and we will be finishing tomorrow. Students were reminded that this is their chance to show off and to show me everything they’ve learned about stories this year. They should be using paragraphs, have developed conclusions, descriptive words, etc. I’m excited to see what everyone has come up with!

Today was our Virtue Assembly for the month of June. Congratulations to all of our Apple, Star Student, Citizen, Timberlea Spirit, and Reader of the Month winners. We also had a student win a Howler Lunch this month! Well done everyone! We had two special guests at our assembly today – Doug Nicholls (Superintendent of Schools) and Mike Allen (MLA). They were here to congratulate the school on our recent award. Timberlea was awarded an Alberta Nutrition and Innovation Award. Our Student Council played a big role this year with the creation of the healthy Snack Shack, as well as our wonderful volunteers and supporters of the healthy Breakfast Program. Congratulations to anyone who has made a donation, helped man the breakfast carts, delivered apples, etc. We couldn’t have done it without our amazing school community!

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Math – pgs. 224-225 #1-2, 4-7

DOGONews Forms – ASAP