Success in Retell!!

Successfully learning how to retell important details from any text is a critical skill that students need to master. We have to explicitly teach them the process to be able to be successful at this task. For most tasks this looks like this:
"I do, We do , You do". This is a gradual release model where we, as the instructor, Model the behaviours and skills we are trying to teach. The next step is doing it together in a shared lesson with either a whole class or small group. Finally, we give them an alternate task where they can demonstrate their learning. There is no 'magic bullet', this process is methodical and time consuming.
In these pictures you can see the anchor charts that we use to support the skills we are trying to teach. The Learning Goals chart lays out exactly the skills from the curriculum and then the Success Criteria explicitly state what the students need to do to be successful in this assignment.

Cooking with Math

Cook with Math 

Talk about special tools (cups, spoons, and scales) and methods for measuring ingredients. How do we know which measuring device to use when we read the units in a recipe? What are the steps in doubling or halving recipes? How do we set a timer? After the pizza comes out of the oven, how do we cut it into eight equal slices? If we make 24 cupcakes, how can we share them equally if there are 6 people at the birthday party? How many cupcakes does each person get if 12 more guests arrive? Think of your kitchen as a math laboratory where you are the math scientist and your child is your assistant. Think of your kitchen as a math laboratory...

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. Look below for a picture of the question they were asked to solve.. 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.

Math is Everywhere You Are

Go Grocery Shopping

 Grocery stores are a great source of spontaneous math lessons and a great place to use the “think aloud” strategy: Many stores have scales available. As you shop for fruit, stop and estimate the weight of a bag of apples. Use the scale to get an accurate measure in kilograms. Congratulate yourself on the accuracy of your measurement, or ask yourself how you can improve your estimate. As wheel your shopping cart arouind, keep a running total of the cost of the items by recording them in a small notebook. Round the prices in order to estimate, then check the total with a calculator. How close were you to the actual sum at the cash register? Select a variety of bottles, cans and containers that hold one litre of contents. Emphasize to your child that, although the shape may change,                                                      the volume stays the same.

You Are Your Child's First Math Teacher

Think out loud ! One of the best ways for you to be a math role model is to talk out loud as you work your way through everyday tasks. Thinking out loud allows your child to hear how you think, and it helps them to develop important skills required for “thinking things out” by posing and solving problems. You are a mathematician! Children learn by imitating the people around them. They make meaning through experience and by interacting with important people in their lives. Parent imitation and modelling is essential for children to develop healthy academic skills. When your child sees you making predictions and observations, identifying problems, using problem-solving strategies, and solving real problems, they are more likely to adopt your behaviours and attitudes. Inspiring Your Child to Learn and Love Math

Taken From: Inspiring Your Child to Learn and Love Math 

Parts of the Flower

Yesterday we went outside for science. The grade 3's were looking for flowers and roots that we will need to examine for our science unit. The Grade 4's were also exploring all the small communities of plants and animals that make up a particular habitat. Today the grade 3's took a closer look at the parts of the plants. We cut a cross section out of the flowers in order to expose the Pistil, Stamen, and other parts of the flower. I have pictures below--check out our junior scientists in action!

Language Centres

We are practicing working in our language Centres. While I'm working with individual students or guided reading groups it's critical that students can independently move through several targeted language centres. Centres reinforce the skills we are learning during our language lessons and they 

OUTDOOR EDUCATION

We spent some time today outside with Ms.Nancy. We learned about decomposers that breakdown natural material in our environments to nourish our soil. We were able to examine an old log that was going through the process of decomposition. This ties in nicely with the grade 4 curriculum and natural habitats.

After the log we moved onto the composting! We have three compost stations at St.James. Ms. Nancy showed us the material that goes into compost and how we churn it in order to aid the decomposition. The students then were able to shovel some of the compost into buckets and spread it around our beautiful gardens at St.James. The compost lesson ties in with our grade 3 science curriculum. We learn about flowers and soil this year in grade 3.

Daily Language Centres

September is a very slow and methodical month where we set ourselves up for SUCCESS! It's critical that we build independence and routines so children know what is expected of them. We begin by breaking down our centre tasks and creating Anchor Charts that students can refer to in the classroom. The two Anchor Charts below describe the process for independent reading and how to successfully pick a book that fits for each student. 

3 Ways to Read

Reading is a a very high level skill that needs to develop incrementally for some children. Just because a student has difficulty reading chapter books or more complex text, doesn't mean that child can't get information from a book. We show the students that we can use our imagination and inferring skills to create a story from the pictures. We also begin to introduce the idea of retelling story elements in order to aid comprehension skills. This skill becomes critical when we introduce the Reading-to - Someone Centre. Children pair up and take turns reading a common book or reading their own book to a partner. 

I P.I.C.K. Good fit Books

We take some time show students how to pick a book that fits their interests and their reading level. As we progress and I get more information about students reading level, then we can direct them to books that are at their reading level. We use a variety of methods along with PM benchmarks in order to determine the most accurate reading level for each student. 

Our 3 Pillars: Mutual Respect / Attentive Listening / NO PUT downs

We've had a busy week getting to know each other. There have been lots of laughs and unfortunately a few tears. During the course of the week we developed and posted our 3 Classroom Pillars. I will keep reinforcing these Pillars till the children make them their own. We need to live these agreements daily and model them consistently in our interactions as member of our classroom community. No real learning can take place till children feel appreciated, safe and cared for. Along our Pillars for Mutual Respect and No put downs only appreciations, we have Attentive Listening. Children need listen with their ears, eyes, bodies and hearts. They need to hear the feelings behind peers words to understand how their words and actions affect others. And of course they need to Listen attentively to the lesson in order to understand what is expected of them. I have some pictures below of the agreements and what each one Looks Like , Sounds Like and Feels like. If you click on the pictures it will expand for you to view more easily. Please scroll down to the bottom of the blog and enter your email address to register for the blog.

Thank You

Mr. Francia

Exercise and Fun all in One!!

It's been a very hectic and busy first week of school. We went outside for gym today and enjoyed the great weather. What's better on a day like this than kids and parachutes?? We worked up a bit of a sweat and the kids had a great time playing a series of parachute games. Check out the pictures below!!

FIRST OF OUR 3 PILLARS

Today we finished work on our first Classroom Pillar. Mutual Respect is a critical element in any ones success at school or in life for that matter. Students need to know they are appreciated and valued members of the classroom. We all want to be treated fairly and with respect. NO REAL LEARNING can take place in an environment where children are afraid to take risks. I'm referring to academic 'risk' not physical risks. I need to know that it's okay If I make a mistake. I need to know no one will belittle me or make fun of me. We created an Anchor Chart together that will stay in the room the rest of the year. We all signed it to signify that this is a community contract that we all shared in creating. Tomorrow we will finish up Attentive Listening, the second of our Pillars.

Thank you

THE START OF A GREAT YEAR!!

 Another start to what is going to be a great year!! We started to get to know each other today. We worked on some name games to begin to meld the  two school communities together. We worked on 1 of our 3 pillars that we need to be successful community members. A very busy  first day for all.
Our 3 Pillars for the classroom this year will be Mutual Respect, Attentive Listening and No Put downs. Today we talked about what Respect, LOOKS LIKE, SOUNDS LIKE AND FEELS LIKE.  I will be posting an image of our Anchor Chart of our Pillars over the next few days. Please try and scroll down to the bottom of the blog and register with your email address. I have sent home a few notes today, so please check out the back pack.

Thank You