Christmas Celebration

Kids and teachers worked long hours to prep for our celebration today. It's wonderful to be able to celebrate the Holiday with Jesus as the focus of the celebration. We are extremely blessed to be able to express our faith in all aspects of our school community. 

Windsor Express Visit

Had some fun today with the Windsor Express visiting today. Kids took some shots and watched the players have some fun!!

SCIENCE FUN AND FACTS

The grade 5's were creating SLEEM for science class today. This project will take place over the next few days and will culminate in the grade 5 class testing their MATERIAL CREATION AND HANDLING expertise. The grade 5's AND grade 6's will also be having a quiz Wednesday to wrap up the unit on Matter.

QUIZ FOCUS:GRADE 5

• BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE REVERSIBLE (PHYSICAL) AND NON-REVERSIBLE (CHEMICAL) CHANGES
• DISCUSS THE RESULTS THAT WE CONDUCTED IN THE CLASSROOM (VINGEGAR AND PENNIES, RAISINS IN BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR ETC)
• KNOW THE STATES OF MATTER AND BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE THEM (SOLID, LIQUID GAS)
• KNOW THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STATES OF MATTER (EX. LIQUID TAKES SHAPE OF CONTAINER, VOLUME OF LIQUID DOES NOT CHANGE)
• DISCUSS SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONDENSATION, EVAPORATION, MELTING, FREEZING ETC.
• UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS TO BE ADDED OR REMOVED TO CREATE OF CHANGE OF STATE IN MATTER
• DEFINE MATTER

QUIZ FOCUS:GRADE 6

• KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSULATORS AND CONDUCTORS
• BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE ENERGY TRANSFORMATION (EX. PLUG LIGHT IN TO WALL, THIS IS ELECTRICAL ENERGY TO LIGHT AND HEAT ENERGY
• DRAW SYMBOLS FOR A LIGHT, A BATTERY, A SWITCH, AND AN LED LIGHT
• NAME DIFFERENT TYPES OF SWITCHES
• BE ABLE TO DRAW A PARALLEL AND SERIES CIRCUIT
• BE ABLE TO SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH A CIRCUIT THAT IS NOT WIRED PROPERLY
• DESCRIBE SOME DISCOVERIES IN THE HISTORY OF ELECTRICITY
• IDENTIFY RENEWABLE AND NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

MEAN, MODE AND MEDIAN

We started our data management unit earlier in the week. We watched several fun  videos to bring home the concept of how we measure central tendencies.I am including the links to the videos below. I encourage you to watch them with your children and then have them show your their seat work.

WOW Winners!!

Our focus this month was Mutual Respect in the Classroom. Congratulations to Ava, Steven, Lexie and Hollie.

LOVE IT!

We make a concerted effort to use manipulatives whenever possible during instructional time. We introduce them at the beginning of the lesson and then encourage students to use them during their  seat work. IMAGINE my surprise when students started grabbing manipulatives, without prompting, while writing their math test. They actually transferred their learning from one task to another--very exciting!

GEOMETRY TEST DEC 3RD

Our Geometry unit is coming to an end. We are targeting Wednesday Dec 3rd for our unit test for both grades. Continue to practice measuring angles at home. Last week I provided a link to a website that helps create worksheets to practice their protractor skills.

GRADE 5 TEST FOCUS

• BE ABLE TO USE A VARIETY OF ATTRIBUTES TO NAME 2D SHAPES (A TRIANGLE CAN BE ACUTE, EQUALATERAL, A PARRALLELOGRAM CAN BE A QUADRILATERAL )
• BE ABLE TO NAME, CREATE AND MEASURE ANGLES
• BE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT A GIVEN POLYGON GIVEN THE ANGLES
• BE ABLE TO CREATE TRIANGLES GIVEN SIDE LENGTHS AND ANGLE MEASUREMENTS
• BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE WHICH NETS OF 3D SOLIDS ARE ACCURATE AND WHICH NETS COULD NOT MAKE A 3D SOLID

GRADE 6 TEST FOCUS

• BE ABLE TO NAME, CREATE AND MEASURE ANGLES
• BE ABLE TO USE A VARIETY OF ATTRIBUTES TO NAME 2D SHAPES (A TRIANGLE CAN BE ACUTE, EQUALATERAL, A PARRALLELOGRAM CAN BE A QUADRILATERAL 

• BE ABLE TO CREATE TRIANGLES AND QUADRILAERALS GIVEN SIDE LENGTHS AND ANGLE MEASUREMENTS
• BE ABLE TO SORT POLYGONS GIVEN A VARIETY OF ATTRIBUTES

GEOMETRY PRACTICE

We are having some issues with being able to consistently measure angles correctly. Before we can move on to measure angles in shapes (triangles, quadrilaterals) they have to be able to accurately and consistently measure angles. I am including a link to a website that allows you to create worksheets (and answers!!!) to practice measuring angles. Yesterday we starting working on creating shapes (triangles, quadrilaterals) given specific angle measure and side measurements. This was a little challenging for most. We will be continuing with this today.

ANGLES WORKSHEETS

From Theory to Practice

Math Part Three!!

Today is when we put into practice the work we have been doing over the last two days. We explored the concepts together in the CONSOLIDATION  portion where students discussed how they solved the question and what they learned in the process. Then, we took that information and created an ANCHOR CHART that stays in the classroom, as a reference tool.Now is the time that we practice. The students are playing a game that allows them to put their new knowledge to work. The game involves coming up with a secret rule that uses a particular ATTRIBUTE of a 2D shape. The idea is that by being able to link a variety of shapes to certain ATTRIBUTES they begin to understand what attributes match which shapes. This guided practice gives them a chance to try out this new information in a fun and engaging manner without the stress of having to know all the information on their own. When we return Monday they will have individual seatwork that they will complete in their math books and math journals.

                                  

Math Part Two!!

 The next step is referred to as CONSOLIDATION. While the students were working on their math questions yesterday, I was walking around and observing their work. I'm making notes and deciding which pieces of work I will highlight later that day or next day. This morning I took out all their samples and spread them all on the floor. I'm looking for samples of work that highlight the curriculum expectations we are trying to address. Sometimes we may even choose to show a sample that misses the mark. The point being, that there is value in errors and misconceptions. We can take something positive away from these samples as well. These are pictures of the students presenting their work to the rest of the class. Each sample addresses a piece of the particular curriculum expectation we are trying to teach the students. Once we discuss each of the groups work, we create an ANCHOR CHART that goes up in the classroom.  

Why is my kid on the floor?!

Our focus for math instruction is for kids to experience it. We give students a guiding question and then have them attack it. In today's example they are asked to 'sort the triangles according to their measure'. It's up to them to decide how to do that. Something very interesting happens with these Open type questions, there is really no right or wrong answer!! They are free to explore and decide for themselves what they want to focus on. Something very special happens--any child, regardless of math 'smarts' can contribute. We use their work later to showcase specific strategies that kids developed to address the question. The variety and scope of their answers and strategies is enlightening. Once this stage is done we move onto consolidation--stayed tuned. We will discuss this stage tomorrow.

FILLING IN THE GAPS!!

I still remember Mrs. Strong in grade 3 standing at the front of the class with her set of multiplication flash cards! I'm getting butterflies and my hands are sweating just like they did those many (many, many, many) years ago. It was very stressful, but I learned my multiplication facts. We need to be a little more creative, but  our students MUST  get better at their basic math facts. There are a number of links to math website on our class website. I strongly suggest you look at these with your child and decide which ones they will use to help support their work with mastering their math facts. Follow this link to the class website. Another very effective way to practice these facts with a game called MATH PRODIGY. There is a free version that anyone can play and there is also a paid version that allows parents to track progress. Follow the LINK to go to game site.

Book Fair

The St.Gabriel book fair arrives this week. It's a great opportunity to get some early Christmas shopping done. Our class viewing time is Friday Nov 14 from 9:20 to 9:50. Kids can make wish lists and ho over them with parents. Then we return Monday Nov 17 at 9:50 to 10:15 to make our purchases.

GEOMETRY RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS

We will be starting our unit on Geometry this week. There are many key learning goals in this unit for both the grade 5's and 6's. We will be learning how to identify, sort and name a variety of 2d figures and 3d solids. We will also be measuring, constructing and naming angles. I have a variety of geometry resources on the class website. Follow the THIS LINK to get to the geometry resource page. If you have trouble accessing the page through the link, please go to the school website. Once there you can go to the staff folder and find my name with a link to the website.

Food Bank Pickup

We did such a great job collecting for the mission food bank!! Here we are creating a human chain of charity - loading all the food onto the missions truck. 

LINK FOR ANCHOR CHARTS NOT WORKING?

I received a comment that the link for the anchor chart on a previous blog post was not working. TRY THIS ONE. This link should take you to the class website. Once there look to the tabs at the top and click on the one that says, ANCHOR CHARTS. That should take you to the slideshow of the anchor charts.
thank you

Parent-Teacher Interview Forms

Please look through your child's agenda tonight for the Parent-Teacher Interview form. We are trying something new this year! You will have access to an electronic form that will allow you to book your own time for interviews. POWER TO THE PEOPLE !! All kidding aside, I think it's a great idea that gives parents an immediate response and allows them to pick a time that best suits their schedule.  If you have any problems or issues trying to log on, please contact the school and we can help.

Guardians Give Back

It's time for our Guardians Give Back Project. This year Mrs.Cosman's class and our class will be giving back to community by donating breakfast items to one of our local schools for their Breakfast Program.  Students can help by donating cereal, granola bars, oatmeal etc. By participating in this project your child will see, first hand, the importance of giving to those in need.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your continued support.

W.O.W winners

 Congratulations to our October W.O.W winners for Attentive Listening. These students are tuned in and listening attentively through guided reading , large group lessons and when we are working on the carpet. 

MATH TEST THURSDAY

We have been working on number patterns and geometry in math. Students are much more confident with number patterns than they were with our first  numeracy unit. I still want to reinforce that students must know their basic number facts much more fluently. On nights with no homework, it would help if parents worked with students on their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. ALSO, go to this LINK ANCHOR CHARTS THAT WE USE IN CLASS.

GRADE 6 MATH TEST

• WRITE A PATTERN RULE FOR A NUMBER PATTERN
• IDENTIFY, EXTEND AND CREATE PATTERNS
• FIND THE VALUE OF A MISSING NUMBER IN AN EQUATION
• BEGINNING ALGEBRA (SEE ANCHOR CHART ABOVE)
• IDENTIFY THE FUNCTION OF AN INPUT/OUTPUT MACHINE
• LOOK FOR PATTERNS HORIZONTALLY IN INPUT/OUTPUT MACHINES--LOOK FOR THE SECRET SAUCE OR THE SHORTCUT (KIDS KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS

TRY THIS WORKSHEET for grade 6. The machines are sideways instead of verticle but the same idea as we do in class. These examples are fairly challenging, they can use a calculator. There is an answer sheet on this page as well to check their answers.

GRADE 5 MATH TEST

• FIND A PATTERN RULE FOR A NUMBER PATTERN
• IDENTIFY, EXTEND AND CREATE PATTERNS
• DESCRIBE AND MODEL PATTERNS (MAYBE GEOMETRIC PATTERNS)
• USE PATTERNS TO POSE AND SOLVE PATTERNS
• USE PATTERNS IN A TABLE TO MAKE PREDICTIONS (INPUT/OUTPUT MACHINES)
• LOOK FOR PATTERNS HORIZONTALLY IN INPUT/OUTPUT MACHINES--LOOK FOR THE SECRET SAUCE OR THE SHORTCUT (KIDS KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS.

TRY THIS WORKSHEET FOR GRADE 5. These machines have a single function.

Our Civic Duty!

The grade 5's and grade 6 class participated in our own city wide mock election. Students chose a Mayor, councilor in ward 10 ( our school ward) and a school trustee --can't wait for the results.

MYTHBUSTERS SCIENCE FUN & FUNDS!!

MYTHBUSTERS are coming to town!! Great hands on science experience for kids of all ages. We have a promo code that gets parents $5 off and raises $5 for the school-what a deal!! Go to www.wfcu-centre.com/password and enter promo code MYTHGAB. You will get $5 off the purchase price and the school gets $5 for fundraising.
SEE THE FLYER

Three Part Math

When I went to school--all those many,many,many (few more many) years ago, we were required learn a lot of math by rote. If you asked WHYyou invert and multiply to divide a number by a fraction, the answer was--'because I told you to !'. Three Part Math brings us back to Experiencing Mathematical thinking and discovering the WHY! Kids work in small groups on an 'open ended' question that gets them thinking about the 'math' we are trying to learn. We then take their group samples and together discuss what strategies the students to solve the problem. From those samples, we then co-create success criteria for solving these types of problem. In this scenario teachers are not the 'keepers' of the knowledge, we become facilitators along the students journey to understand the mathematical concepts. 

See below for pictures of how the lesson went today and the anchor charts we created from the student's work.

What Teachers do on Training Days!

The grade 4,5 and 6 teachers are getting some new Ministry training in Math. Our board Math Specialists are directing us in some great strategies to making math more meaningful for all learners.

Yuck factor!!

The grade 6 students have been learning about classifying different types of animals and plants. Today they are examining Meal Worms and try to decide what characteristics they have in common with Arthropods.

OOPS! My mistake

It was brought to my attention that I had the wrong date on the blog for our math test. We reviewed the material with students last week to prepare them for the unit test,so I'm confident we covered the material that they needed. I will however give students an opportunity to complete an additional assessment this Friday if they want to bring up their mark. Again, sorry for the confusion.

Grade 6 VIP

Thanks to officer Mizuno for coming out to host our first Values, Influences and Peers (VIP) session. The grade 6 's will be getting together monthly with officer Mizuno to address issues related to growing up and peer pressure.

MATH UNIT TESTS NEXT WEEK

We have been working really hard on our first full unit of math. Friday Oct. 22nd will be our unit test for both grade 5 and grade 6. This Number Sense Unit lays out the foundation for most of the year in both grades. We have learned how to read large numbers, multiply 2 digit numbers and divide with both single and double digits numbers. Please see below for areas of focus that we will be assessing on the unit test.

GRADE 5

• WRITE LARGE NUMBERS UP TO 999,999 IN STANDARD FORM, EXPANDED FORM AND WORDS
• BE ABLE TO ADD AND SUBTRACT 4 DIGIT BY 4 DIGIT NUMBERS
• USE THE MENTAL MATH STRATEGIES WE LEARNED IN CLASS TO MULTIPLY NUMBERS
• MULTIPLY 2 DIGIT BY 2 DIGIT NUMBERS
• USE LONG DIVISION TO SOLVE 4 DIGIT BY 1 DIGIT DIVISION QUESTIONS
• USE OUR 5 STEP PROCESS AND PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES TO SOLVE SEVERAL WORD PROBLEMS RELATED TO ADDITION, SUBTRACTION , MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISON 

GRADE 6

• WRITE LARGE NUMBERS UP TO 9,999,999,999 IN STANDARD FORM, EXPANDED FORM AND WORDS
• BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH MULTIPLES OF SINGLE DIGIT NUMBERS
• BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND  USE PRIME AND COMPOSITE NUMBERS IN PROBLEMS
• USE B.E.D.M.A.S TO SOLVE PROBLEMS INVOLVING ORDER OR OPERATIONS
• ADD AND SUBTRACT MULTIPLE 3 AND 4 DIGIT  NUMBER 
• MULTIPLY 3 DIGIT NUMBERS BY 2 DIGIT NUMBERS
• USE LONG DIVISION TO SOLVE 4 DIGIT BY 2 DIGIT DIVISION PROBLEMS
• USE OUR 5 STEP PROCESS AND PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES TO SOLVE SEVERAL WORD PROBLEMS RELATED TO ADDITION, SUBTRACTION , MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISON 

Healthy Active Living!!

Huge thanks to the Holy Name Leadership students for leading us in some fun, and active games.

OUR DIGITAL CLASSROOM

We are moving some of our assignments to the GOOGLE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM. Google has created a way to administer a virtual classroom where teachers can create, assign and collect digital assignments. The students can create documents, spreadsheets, drawings, and slideshows.   The students need to use the Google Chrome Browser (downloaded free from google) and log into their student account. From there, they all know how to get to the GOOGLE CLASSROOM and take you on a virtual tour.

HOMEWORK TONIGHT IS YOUR CHILD TAKING YOU ON A TOUR OF OUR CLASSROOM. YOU WILL SEE THE LATEST ASSIGNMENTS FOR BOTH THE GRADE 5 AND GRADE 6 CLASS.

CROSS MULTIPLICATION

Grade 5 is when we begin to multiply 2 digit numbers by another 2 digit number. For example, 24 x 36 is a typical problem that the students might see. The Grade 6's will review this with the grade 5's and then they will move onto 3 digit by 2 digit and 4 digit by 1 digit problems. Students need a lot of practice in order to consistently be able to solve these types of problems. We go through several different methods of solving these types of problems, in order to give them an appreciation for a variety of methods. Today we watched a short video that explains this quiet well. I am including the video in the blog so kids can watch this at home with parents. I would encourage them to try a few of these types of problems every night till they master the process of cross multiplication.

GRADE 6 V.I.P

September 25, 2014

Dear Grade Six Students and Parents,

Our V.I.P. program will soon be under way. This acronym stands for Values, Influences, and Peers and is a way for the students and law enforcement to interact in a positive way. This program is designed to educate students about decision making and the role that peer pressure will play as they enter adolescence. V.I.P. visits by Staff Sergeant Mizuno will begin in October and will continue until the end of this school year. Her visits are scheduled for once a month. There may be interruptions in this schedule due to emergencies and/or last minute changes in our schedules, but we will hope for the best. The topics we plan to cover are: Introduction to the Police Officer; Values and Rights; Decision Making; Bullying; Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs; Youth Criminal Justice Act; Service to the Community; and Graduation. These topics fit into our Health and Religion curriculum nicely.

In addition to completing the classroom activities and evaluations that the teachers are designing and being an active participant in Sergeant Mizuno’s classes, the students are expected to complete ten hours of community service. We feel that it is important for the students to give back to the community because it feels great to help others and it makes the community a better place to be. The possibilities are endless, but the act of kindness must not be something that the student is routinely expected to do (ie. chores around the house), but should be something to help someone in the community (examples: shovel a neighbour’s driveway, assist with childcare, volunteer at church, help a senior, etc.). This requirement may be done at any time, but must be completed by May 29, 2015. Please submit the community service form, completed, and a photo of the service in action, when the community service portion is complete. The community service form is available HERE.  

A graduation ceremony is planned to celebrate the students’ successful completion of the V.I.P. program. More details will follow, but it will be in June 2015. We all appreciate your continued support in this venture. Feel free to call the school if any questions should arise.

Sincerely,

Mrs. S. Colautti, Mr. M. Doyon, Mr. V. Francia         

Grade Six Teachers