3D Structures, Granola Bar Train, and Thomas Edison

Reminder: Skating on Tuesday, December 2.

Please bring your helmet, gloves, and warm clothes.

Students from our Buddy Class painting the Granola Bar Train

 

Our school, along with the Q Radio Station, is collecting granola bars to be donated to families in need in December. If you have a spare granola bar, please bring it to school and we'll put it into our Granola Bar Train in front of Mrs. Dagg's room.

 

With Mrs. Schneider this past week, students started a novel study on Shipwreck by Gordon Korman. This is the first book in the Island trilogy about 5 kids who are sent on a month long trip on a sailboat because of their undesirable behaviour. A storm hits and ... you'll have to ask your child about what happens next in the story.

In Math, we built 2D shapes and transformed them into 3D geometric structures, and learned the names of 3D solids. We also completed a Geometry Scavenger Hunt with a partner in our classroom.

In Science we started a Sound and Light unit. We learned about Thomas Edison, who invented more than 1000 items, including the telegraph machine to use with Morse code, the phonograph that plays music, the light bulb, a battery to power electric cars in 1909, and submarine sonar.

 

We also learned about our eye and how optical illusions work. We will continue with light and optical illusions this coming week.

 

Mrs. Schneider

Some photo's from the previous Friday...

Wednesday Earth Rangers, Endangered Animals, P.E. and Awards Assembly

Notices:

Earthquake 'comfort kit' by Monday November 24th

If your child does not have a comfort kit returned to school by then, a generic kit will be put into our earthquake supplies for them. Those parents who have sent in a photo, a small plush toy, a non-perishable snack and a note in a sandwich sized Ziplock bag labeled with your child's name and class division, thank you, and please disregard this notice.

We began the day after recess with a show and share.  'A' brought in his Earth Rangers kit and official membership card and talked about it with the class.  This was well timed as the students in their M.E. did some handwriting practice writing an  a - z for animals, (many endangered).

Other Earth Rangers with official registration cards

After Show and share we moved to a handwriting practice where the students printed and hand writ  the A-Z names of animals, many of them endangered.  The students are getting better at handwriting and just need practice to make perfect.  We notice sometimes that students who have hard to read printing sometimes are able to handwrite much neater.  The students had to draw a small picture then print and write the name.

The Students looked at a list of qualities and virtues and picked 4 that they thought were their best qualities.  We like students to draw themselves and we like students to reflect and write about themselves.  As well the students had to give proof and evidence to show that they had the qualities.

At Lunch the servers are excited and energetic helpers in the kitchen and upper serving station

After lunch we  headed off to the gym where we played an active game to get out the rainy day indoor lunch period.

After P.E. we went back to the class and had a finish work period and those students finished had a choice of reading, drawing.  They also had 5 minutes to peruse the Scholastic Book order form before putting it into their backpacks.

At 2 we headed back to the gym for the Awards assembly.  Three of our students received awards.  Well done A, A and C.  Glad to see that your parents were able to come and see you getting your awards and hearing all the nice things we have to say about each of the students.

Back in the class the students got their notices out of their mailboxes and we headed home.  Great day every one.

Geometry, Animal Habitats, and a Guest Speaker

Reminder: Please return your Comfort Kit and Skating Forms.

 

 

Skating: We still need 1 or 2 more adult volunteers to walk with us and help tie skates on Dec. 2.

With Mrs. Schneider this week, our class started a Geometry unit in Math. We started with 2D shapes, learning vocabulary like parallelogram, rhombus, trapezoid, and vertices (corners).

Warm-Up Game: Describe 2 shapes that have something in common (ex. These 2 shapes have 4 sides and 4 vertices)
and have your partner guess which shapes you are thinking of.

This unit is a lot of fun with hands-on activities. Next week we'll learn how to make 2D shapes into 3D solids, and learn their names too. This unit builds upon previous knowledge but also challenges students to learn more specific names, like identifying different kinds of triangles (2D) and prisms (3D).

Tangram puzzles

We are also finishing our Habitats Unit in Science.

This morning Leslie McGarry came to share First Nations legends about animals. She is a wonderful storyteller and also brought interesting items with animals on them, like a chief's copper, a button blanket, and a mask. Her grandfather carved some of the totem poles in Thunderbird Park, beside the Royal BC Museum. Our class was enthralled with her legends and got to participate in acting out some of them with her.


Leslie McGarry from the Native Friendship Center came to share animal legends with us. Here is the class acting out a bear legend.

To finish our Habitats Unit, students chose an animal and started an art project on that animal. We will finish them next week.