Tuesday 31 January 2017
The Week So Far!
Students are working on a 30-Day Writing Challenge, in an attempt to increase our speed and stamina with writing. Ask your child about the topics they've written on! We've used this writing to work on editing skills such as sentence structure, spelling unfamiliar words, and punctuation. Today was day 5 - so we have a long way to go! Our writing today was connected to images from World Heritage Sites and students practiced literacy skills of "Observation, Questioning, and Inferring" while looking at the pictures.
Math: We have been working with the language of multiplication and learning strategies such as doubling and halving; making groups; and skip counting in an effort to become efficient mathematicians. Students love the "Quick Flash" game, where they will see quickly a flash of numbers or objects and will have to use strategies to determine how many objects they see.
We continued working on learning about the land regions of Alberta, Peru, Tunisia, India, and Ukraine. We will be building tactile maps of the countries next week - stay tuned for pictures of those!
Math: We have been working with the language of multiplication and learning strategies such as doubling and halving; making groups; and skip counting in an effort to become efficient mathematicians. Students love the "Quick Flash" game, where they will see quickly a flash of numbers or objects and will have to use strategies to determine how many objects they see.
We continued working on learning about the land regions of Alberta, Peru, Tunisia, India, and Ukraine. We will be building tactile maps of the countries next week - stay tuned for pictures of those!
Wednesday 25 January 2017
Literacy Week
We are right in the middle of Literacy Week at Royal Oak School! Students are enjoying activities throughout the week such as:
- D.E.A.R. (drop everything and read)
- Guess the Robert Munsch Book (a blurb is read in the morning and students submit their guesses)
- Get Caught Reading (prizes are handed out when an adult "catches" someone reading)
- During the Literacy Block, each class will visit a new class to hear a Robert Munsch book.
We have been watching different Robert Munsch books during snack time on Tumblebooks. Parents and students can access Tumblebooks at home with the Username: Royaloak and Password: books
Literacy week will conclude Friday with an assembly in the morning, "crazy hair AND pajama" day, and a book reading from a special guest.
And this is from Ms. Asis:
- D.E.A.R. (drop everything and read)
- Guess the Robert Munsch Book (a blurb is read in the morning and students submit their guesses)
- Get Caught Reading (prizes are handed out when an adult "catches" someone reading)
- During the Literacy Block, each class will visit a new class to hear a Robert Munsch book.
We have been watching different Robert Munsch books during snack time on Tumblebooks. Parents and students can access Tumblebooks at home with the Username: Royaloak and Password: books
Literacy week will conclude Friday with an assembly in the morning, "crazy hair AND pajama" day, and a book reading from a special guest.
And this is from Ms. Asis:
I found this event on Twitter last night from the Calgary Public Library to celebrate Family Literacy Day on Friday. Since we already reading in our assembly on that day I will be filling out an entry for our school. If you could please post the link to your teacher blogs to let parents know and to spread the word, I would appreciate it. We'll be asking parents who attend our assembly to fill in an entry for themselves via Twitter.
Happy Reading Everyone!
Monday 23 January 2017
What We Learned About Digital Safety
Alana - You need to be 13 or older to have an account on Instagram, Musical-ly, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Noah - Minecraft is a safe game that helps you learn to face building challenges that you see at school.
Hudson - You should use a bandaid over the camera of a MacBook or Chromebook so people cannot see you if they hack into your computer.
Maycie - Even private accounts can be hacked into and your personal information can be found.
Taryn - parents should come to Pratt at 7:00 for the parent presentation.
Sophia - Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto are the most "hackable" and disrespectful, inappropriate games and many of the Grade 3-6 audience said they've played those games before.
Creed - Multiplayer online games should only be played with people you know (family and friends).
Crimson - don't do 1111, 1234, or other very common passwords. All devices should be password protected.
Lyla - if you are watching YouTube your parents should be able to see and hear what you are watching.
Charolotte - You should NOT have electronics in your room because your parents should watch you when you're using them.
Everyone should have a conversation about online safety at home at dinner tonight!
Noah - Minecraft is a safe game that helps you learn to face building challenges that you see at school.
Hudson - You should use a bandaid over the camera of a MacBook or Chromebook so people cannot see you if they hack into your computer.
Maycie - Even private accounts can be hacked into and your personal information can be found.
Taryn - parents should come to Pratt at 7:00 for the parent presentation.
Sophia - Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto are the most "hackable" and disrespectful, inappropriate games and many of the Grade 3-6 audience said they've played those games before.
Creed - Multiplayer online games should only be played with people you know (family and friends).
Crimson - don't do 1111, 1234, or other very common passwords. All devices should be password protected.
Lyla - if you are watching YouTube your parents should be able to see and hear what you are watching.
Charolotte - You should NOT have electronics in your room because your parents should watch you when you're using them.
Everyone should have a conversation about online safety at home at dinner tonight!
Saturday 21 January 2017
Inline Skating Dates
Here are the dates for when our class is scheduled to participate in Alien InLine Skating.
It is suggested that students bring their own helmet on these days, however, if they forget, a helmet will be provided for them.
Monday, January 30
Wednesday, Feb 1
Tuesday, Feb 7
Friday, Feb 10
Tuesday, Feb 14
It is suggested that students bring their own helmet on these days, however, if they forget, a helmet will be provided for them.
Monday, January 30
Wednesday, Feb 1
Tuesday, Feb 7
Friday, Feb 10
Tuesday, Feb 14
Digital Citizenship Presentation
Just a reminder that we are going to walk to Pratt School on Monday, January 23rd for a presentation on digital citizenship. We will be leaving at 10:30 and arrive back at school around 12:20. Students will have lunch when we return. Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather!
Another Week that T'was!
Another busy week gone by! Here are the highlights of what we were working on!
Inquiry - after the construction period from the week before, we were ready to start testing our homes! We performed 2 tests, a load test and a waterproof test. We learned some valuable lessons from these tests (such as drywall mud is not waterproof, and without a waterproof base our structures were going to leak)! Most houses held up well to the load test. We will hopefully finish our testing and redesign reflections this week and start on a new inquiry shortly!
Math - we began an early investigation into multiplication looking at a math problem from Cathy Fosnot called "The Grocery Store Problem". Students viewed the poster below and experimented with different strategies to count the objects in the store. Students worked with a partner to create a poster where they showed the different strategies they used to solve the problems. Watch for your child's post on IRIS with their poster and reflection. Key concepts we were developing was the idea of equal groups and that we can create a number sentence using the multiplication symbol of "x" which means "groups of." For example:
3 groups of 4 apples can be shown as 3x4=12. We will continue to develop this concept over the next while in mathematics.
Writing - students continued to explore the topic of "Winter" by trying to create vivid descriptions of things you see, hear, feel, touch, and smell in winter. We are going to be using descriptive sentence starters to create a paragraph about the season.
Inquiry - after the construction period from the week before, we were ready to start testing our homes! We performed 2 tests, a load test and a waterproof test. We learned some valuable lessons from these tests (such as drywall mud is not waterproof, and without a waterproof base our structures were going to leak)! Most houses held up well to the load test. We will hopefully finish our testing and redesign reflections this week and start on a new inquiry shortly!
Math - we began an early investigation into multiplication looking at a math problem from Cathy Fosnot called "The Grocery Store Problem". Students viewed the poster below and experimented with different strategies to count the objects in the store. Students worked with a partner to create a poster where they showed the different strategies they used to solve the problems. Watch for your child's post on IRIS with their poster and reflection. Key concepts we were developing was the idea of equal groups and that we can create a number sentence using the multiplication symbol of "x" which means "groups of." For example:
3 groups of 4 apples can be shown as 3x4=12. We will continue to develop this concept over the next while in mathematics.
Writing - students continued to explore the topic of "Winter" by trying to create vivid descriptions of things you see, hear, feel, touch, and smell in winter. We are going to be using descriptive sentence starters to create a paragraph about the season.
Tuesday 17 January 2017
Education Apps
This link was forwarded to me and I wanted to pass it along to you all. I have to warn you I haven't spent any time exploring the apps - but if you find a good one, please let me know!
http://www.appstoreapps.com/top-50-free-education-apps/
http://www.appstoreapps.com/top-50-free-education-apps/
Thursday 12 January 2017
Home Construction
Our afternoons have been filled with measuring, cutting, glueing, taping, dry walling, painting...and in some cases then starting it all over again! The homes are almost finished and the testing will start next week. We had a discussion today about what will happen if a student's home doesn't "pass" the tests! That will depend on how bad the damage is. Just like a real engineer, if they build something and it doesn't work, they will want to rebuild it and improve on their design. Time and materials permitting, students will have an opportunity to make changes that they think will result in a stronger structure. That being said, if you have any boxes (sturdier boxes, not cereal boxes) we will begin collecting those again.
Students have been reflecting on their process in Google Drive - please take a look at their reflections!
Our afternoons have been so busy - I apologize for not getting the Home Reading books home today. The books were exchanged this morning and will be sent home tomorrow.
We've continued with our math candy problem this week. Students used blocks and divided them into groups following the rules below. This will lead us into multiplication next week.
Students have been reflecting on their process in Google Drive - please take a look at their reflections!
Our afternoons have been so busy - I apologize for not getting the Home Reading books home today. The books were exchanged this morning and will be sent home tomorrow.
We've continued with our math candy problem this week. Students used blocks and divided them into groups following the rules below. This will lead us into multiplication next week.
Food Donations Accepted
Royal Oak School is encouraging students to bring in a non-perishable food item for the Hansel and Gretal performance on Monday.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Tuesday 10 January 2017
Tuesday, January 10th
This morning, the students practiced editing a piece of writing looking for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. They've brought their pages home to share their editing with you. (The highlighted edits were done with the whole class together).
In math, we continued with a new "candy problem." Today's problem had 5 people sharing a number of candies between 20-30 with one left over. Students worked in math groups to find the smallest possible answer.
The afternoon was devoted to our home building again. First students reflected on yesterday with a picture and writing. These are saved in Google Drive - so please check out how your chid's home design is going! Each day we will update this so keep checking back!
As the weather continues to drag on, please note that the cut off for going outside is -20 (if it is -19 then the students will go outside). Please continue to bundle them up as the temperature can change throughout the day!
In math, we continued with a new "candy problem." Today's problem had 5 people sharing a number of candies between 20-30 with one left over. Students worked in math groups to find the smallest possible answer.
The afternoon was devoted to our home building again. First students reflected on yesterday with a picture and writing. These are saved in Google Drive - so please check out how your chid's home design is going! Each day we will update this so keep checking back!
As the weather continues to drag on, please note that the cut off for going outside is -20 (if it is -19 then the students will go outside). Please continue to bundle them up as the temperature can change throughout the day!
Monday 9 January 2017
Home Reading
If your child participates in Home Reading, there may be a disruption to the book exchange this week due to Kindergarten Registration which is occurring this week. Please feel free to access RazKids instead - and books should be exchanged on Thursday for students.
Thank you.
Thank you.
From Today
Math - as a kick off to multiplication and division, students were given the following problem:
Students worked in groups to discover that the answer had to be an odd number and that there were 2 possible outcomes. In their math groups, they will work through more problems like this to get to the idea of equal grouping this week, along with relating skip counting by 2's to multiplication.
The main highlight of the day was that after all the weeks of planning and discussion, we finally began the construction phase of our homes! Students helped "fill in" our rubric so that they knew how their homes would be assessed. Then, they were shown a price list for the materials so that they could keep track of how "expensive" their house would be. Just prior to beginning we read "The Most Magnificent Thing" which is about a girl who has a great idea in her head but discovers it can be hard to get that plan in reality. Students were able to see the lessons of not giving up, take a short break if you find you're getting frustrated, and to try something different if your plan isn't working. We got through the afternoon without tears (even from the adults in the room) and students were engaged and focused on their construction. We will continue building tomorrow before starting to test our structures!
Students worked in groups to discover that the answer had to be an odd number and that there were 2 possible outcomes. In their math groups, they will work through more problems like this to get to the idea of equal grouping this week, along with relating skip counting by 2's to multiplication.
The main highlight of the day was that after all the weeks of planning and discussion, we finally began the construction phase of our homes! Students helped "fill in" our rubric so that they knew how their homes would be assessed. Then, they were shown a price list for the materials so that they could keep track of how "expensive" their house would be. Just prior to beginning we read "The Most Magnificent Thing" which is about a girl who has a great idea in her head but discovers it can be hard to get that plan in reality. Students were able to see the lessons of not giving up, take a short break if you find you're getting frustrated, and to try something different if your plan isn't working. We got through the afternoon without tears (even from the adults in the room) and students were engaged and focused on their construction. We will continue building tomorrow before starting to test our structures!
Friday 6 January 2017
What Number Sense Means
Parents, there is a lot of discussion in education about what being "mathematically literate" and “developing number sense" means. I came across this activity from Cathy Fosnot, who is a Professor or Education in the USA and a Director of Mathematics in the City, a national centre for professional development at the college. Cathy Fosnot worked directly with Royal Oak teachers last year and her materials are being used again this year.
One of her books begins with this:
“Try an experiment. Calculate 3996+4246. Don’t read on until you have an answer. If you are like most people who are products of the American School system, you probably got a pencil and paper, wrote the numbers in columns, added the units and regrouped, then added each remaining column, right to left. If you didn’t, congratulations! You probably have number sense. What would someone with good number sense do? What would a mathematician do? Both would look at the numbers first and decide on a strategy.” [Then she goes on to a lengthy discussion about what we'd like students to be able to do with that question.]
I love this example to illustrate one of our goals with our young mathematicians – and that is to develop their ability to be flexible and efficient with numbers. Happy adding and subtracting!
Math Activities Online
Here are a couple links to math websites from LearnAlberta. From home, you will need to sign in.
Username: LA06
Password: 4105
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me3usa/flash/index.html?goLesson=7
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me3us/flash/lessonLauncher.html?lesson=lessons/07/m3_07_00_x.swf
Username: LA06
Password: 4105
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me3usa/flash/index.html?goLesson=7
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me3us/flash/lessonLauncher.html?lesson=lessons/07/m3_07_00_x.swf
Thursday 5 January 2017
Highlights
We have been editing our "Winter Break" writing that we began on Tuesday. We discussed how authors edit for 2 main areas: they want to fix all the spelling and grammar mistakes, and they also want to make their writing as interesting as possible. I asked to students to copy and paste their work into a second paragraph, so that we would have a record of the unedited version, as well as they edited version. We will hopefully finish these up tomorrow, and I told students that they will be marked Monday. Please take a moment and review your child's work with them on the weekend!
In math, we have been reviewing how to stack 2 and 3 digit numbers for adding. We will continue to work on this throughout the year. Your child will bring home the riddle page we've been working on so that they can show you their understanding.
We are going to begin building our homes on Monday afternoon. Students are very excited!
In math, we have been reviewing how to stack 2 and 3 digit numbers for adding. We will continue to work on this throughout the year. Your child will bring home the riddle page we've been working on so that they can show you their understanding.
We are going to begin building our homes on Monday afternoon. Students are very excited!
Wednesday 4 January 2017
Upcoming Event
Paul Davis is speaking on Monday, January 23 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. on Digital Safety tips for students at Pratt School. Our Grade 3's are able to attend this presentation as our School Council has partially sponsored him.
There is a very informative session for parents in the evening of January 23 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Date: Monday, January 23
Location: William D. Pratt School – 9850 Royal Oak Way NW – main gym
Times:
11:00 – 12:00 – Grade 3 (from Royal Oak School), and grades 4 – 6 (from Pratt)
1:15 – 2:15 – Grade 7 and 8 students
7:00 – 8:30 – Parent Presentation
Tuesday 3 January 2017
Happy New Year!
Hello and welcome back to a new year!
My New Year's Resolution is to update the blog more frequently - and I'm off to a great start with that!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Mine was very restful with time spent with family and friends. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their generosity before the holidays - I feel very fortunate to work in such a caring environment.
If you haven't returned your child's report card envelop, please do so asap. Thank you!
Students began writing about their winter break today. We are going to be editing these for sentences, details, and description - but if you'd like to see the first draft - they are on google drive.
In math, we reviewed 2-digit addition using the stacking method. Your child will bring home their sheet later this week - please review it with them when it comes home.
We started doing some work with "value" in art. Students shaded rectangle from light to dark, then tried drawing and shading 3-D shapes. We will be exploring tints and shades on our way to a winter scene!
We are excited to start re-designing and building our houses this week. If there are supplies at home that you've been holding for your child, you can send them in now.
My New Year's Resolution is to update the blog more frequently - and I'm off to a great start with that!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Mine was very restful with time spent with family and friends. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their generosity before the holidays - I feel very fortunate to work in such a caring environment.
If you haven't returned your child's report card envelop, please do so asap. Thank you!
Students began writing about their winter break today. We are going to be editing these for sentences, details, and description - but if you'd like to see the first draft - they are on google drive.
In math, we reviewed 2-digit addition using the stacking method. Your child will bring home their sheet later this week - please review it with them when it comes home.
We started doing some work with "value" in art. Students shaded rectangle from light to dark, then tried drawing and shading 3-D shapes. We will be exploring tints and shades on our way to a winter scene!
We are excited to start re-designing and building our houses this week. If there are supplies at home that you've been holding for your child, you can send them in now.
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