May 23-26, 2017

I was absent for 2 days of this 4 day week, so I have fewer photos than usual. We focused on colour and number words in terms of spelling, adding these to our word wall and practicing them in our dictée. We reviewed vocabulary for body parts too, mostly through the song Alouette, gentille alouette (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM0UyNqrS0o). We also talked about our 5 senses, as we continue our inquiry unit on living beings. We watched a short comptine to introduce the 5 senses (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwdVg-RtfN8) and then the students identified 3 things they sensed through sight, touch, taste, hearing and smell. The students discussed these together on the carpet, using the verbs for these actions.

In math, we finished our discussions of the concept of "area" with an activity using pattern blocks. Rather than measuring area with them, we made equations with them to express the relationships between different shapes in terms of area. The students used the symbols <, >, +, - and = and traced the outlines of pattern blocks to make pattern block equations. 

Then we went on to talk about length and width, or linear measurement. Using our refreshed body part vocabulary, the kids worked in pairs to measure each other's hands, fingers, feet, etc. using snap cubes. They first had to estimate the length and then measure the length.

Next we measured things in our classroom using various things as units (dominoes, pencils, crayons, chain links and popsicle sticks). Groups of 2-4 students worked together to first estimate and then measure the objects as accurately as possible. 

We also did a little art project based on a student's request that we make collages with natural materials. The kids went looking on the school grounds for things that had once been living but were now dead. They used those materials to make little pine cone creatures. We added googly eyes for fun, but otherwise the kids only used materials they had picked up off the ground at school.

The kids also made a second entry in their observation journal for their pea plants. These are all growing well! Most of the potatoes are sprouting many roots and shoots, but a couple have not responded and there's been great curiosity as to reasons why not. We will start our experiments on the potato plants soon!

Finally, it is worth mentioning the excellent Spanish Assembly on Friday, in which many from our class performed. The music and dance were upbeat and fun, and the students who take Spanish were clearly proud of their performance.

May 15-19, 2017

Our dictée this week focussed on verbs. We added many familiar verbs to our word wall through a fun activity. Students took turns reading out the verb on the card, and then while they added it to the word wall the other students acted out the verb through pantomime. In Writer's Workshop, we looked at ways to use verbs to generate story ideas. I also introduced a new word game that is played in pairs, where players sort a word according to its vowel or digraph sound and can steal each other's words that contain the same sound.

We had our final Roots of Empathy session! We met Baby Tagore's father for the first time, and we presented the parents with a lovely gift: a Wishing Tree with a thumbprint from every student and their wish for Baby Tagore's future. We returned to the importance of learning empathy, we celebrated the amazing growth we witnessed in Baby Tagore this year, and we were sad to say our goodbyes.

We planted pea seeds on Monday. Each student is growing their own little crop of seeds in a paper cup.

By Friday, there were little roots appearing and some green sprouts too. The students made their first entry in their plant journal, drawing and writing their observations.

In between all this, we had our class field trip to Allan Gardens. It was super beautiful there! I asked the kids to look around first and then settle on some plants to draw. I encouraged them to notice and record details like the shapes of the flowers and the leaves, how many petals, etc. Their assignment was to then draw one plant with labels showing the flower, leaf and stem. But the deeper learning on that trip was the awe the children clearly felt at the incredible beauty and diversity of plant life we found there.

In math, we reviewed fractions and then began a unit on measurement. We began by talking about area, in reference to the paper cutouts we made last week that showed whole, half and quarter. I explained that the amount we were talking about in that case was the area of each shape. This is a difficult concept for many kids to construct. We started by looking at 3 shapes close in size. Using pennies to measure them, we tried to determine which was the largest and which was the smallest.

Later I played them a short video that tells the story of the Mitten, a famous Ukrainian folktale about a mitten that expands to house a growing multitude of animal inhabitants (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_qA-QjgxIk). Then I asked them to measure the different areas of the mitten as it grew. But I gave each table different units to measure with: some had pennies, some had plastic squares, some had chain links...We will return to this work next week to think about the best ways to measure something, the best units to choose and why, and also the impact of using smaller vs. larger units in measurement.

May 8-12, 2017

We learned a fun new comptine this week, "Bonjour je m'appelle Joe," which has hilarious movements to go with it. We learned a new song, "Tout ce dont j'ai besoin," which I translated from Raffi's song "All I Really Need." The lyrics connect nicely to the discussions we're having about the needs of plants and animals.

The French digraph we focussed on was "il" - usually an L preceded by an I makes the sound "ye." Kids found many examples in books which we put on the board. We reviewed all the French digraphs we've learned, and then played a game in 2 teams where 2 kids at a time race to correctly read an invented word. The use of invented words means that the kids must rely on their knowledge of decoding rules rather than any knowledge of sight words.

In math we focussed on fractions, specifically the meaning of a whole, a half and a quarter. Many kids are still learning the idea that "half" can only be understood in relation to the whole it refers to, and that the 2 parts must be equal. As luck would have it, we had an authentic problem of leftover granola bars that we wanted to split fairly among the students. I gave it to them as a story problem, which they are used to solving using pictures and equations. We looked at the kids' different solutions, and then I cut up the bars before their eyes, asking where I should place the knife and making obvious mistakes that needed correcting. Then each kid got their piece!

We followed this introduction to the importance of fractions with a task for getting used to the vocabulary, with the kids cutting up and labelling whole, half and quarter from 2 different shapes of paper.

On another day, I laid out 3 areas with the labels whole, half and quarter in French. I asked different kids to select 3 items from a table that seemed to go together. Then the student had to place one of each item in the whole, half and quarter categories. I asked kids to explain their choices, and even to prove to us that something was indeed a whole, half or quarter. 

We had a terrific workshop, Lost and Found, with members of Theatre Direct. They first visited our classroom and told stories with puppets made from random objects like tuques and socks. The kids were captivated and each had the opportunity to try animating a scarf themselves. Then the 3 participating classes were treated to a puppet show in the library which showcased the puppeteers amazing ability to bring objects from a lost and found box come to life and tell a story.

I brought some sprouting potatoes to the class and the kids put them into water to see if they would grow. We identified the needs we think plants have, and we have plans to test our theories using the potato plants as our subjects.

We also prepared gifts for Mother's Day. I showed the students an example of the cloth frame with scene elements suspended inside. I asked the students to think of an activity that they like to do with their mom. Then they drew themselves doing that activity together with their mom, on cardstock, in pencil, with different elements that could be put together. When they had some drawings they liked they traced over them in permanent marker and coloured them with oil pastels. They cut the parts out and glued them onto wooden cubes into the cloth frames. Then they copied the sentence they had said onto sticks and attached these with glue. I managed to display the finished works in the hall for a couple of days before the kids wrapped them up to take home, because they were so darling they needed showing off!