Coding for Success

What's coding and what does that have to do with my kid? Every part of our lives are touched by computer code and our children are growing up in a world where coding languages will be as critical as reading and writing. Our school board has been at the forefront of this movement for years now and now it's time to bring our elementary students into the world of coding. We will be learning how to create short computer block codes that allow students to create virtual worlds by manipulating a series of coded blocks. We start off slow with games and puzzles and eventually through the years move onto programming languages (more high school). I have  three short videos below:

1. The first introduces the concept of coding by some of the most respected computer leaders in the world.
2. The second is a short video demonstration of me showing the kids how to code.
3. The third is a short video of our class totally engaged in a coding puzzle.

Terry Fox Walk

Check out some pictures and video from our Terry Fox Walk at Malden Park.We had a short prayer service and listened to some audio from Terry Fox then we started our walk around the pond.

 

Learning Goals and Success Criteria

You may notice pictures of your child on the floor or carpet doing math on a big chart paper. They are usually working  with a partner and working on an open ended math question. This is the start of one of our 3 part math lessons. We give students time to work collaboratively on a problem that we will later use to develop a set of specific success criteria. The success criteria are strategies we develop with the students to help them solve similar problems in the future. We are basically developing and highlighting successful strategies to solve math problems. The first picture is an example of the math problem that they worked on. What you are seeing is how a particular group solved the problem. We then take some examples from the work that they have completed and we use their own strategies to build a chart that they can use in the future to help them. Students go up as a group and explain their thinking and the strategies they used to solve the problem. We are also sure to include the reason we are doing this problem--the learning goal! Kids need to know why they are doing something. It's not because the teacher tells them to. We are doing this to learn a specific mathematical skill or strategy. The whole idea is that the students now have a resource to use in the classroom that will be there to support them during math class. These success criteria charts stay up throughout the unit and they are encouraged to use them during class quizzes or tests. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at the school, or just add a comment right to this blog post. 

Weekly Words on Monday

Good Monday Morning everyone!!

I just want to let parents know that today we started our weekly spelling and vocabulary words. Every Monday students will copy down anywhere from 12 to 17 words in their agenda. These are the words that we will be working with during the week. The words come from a combination of vocabulary words, dolce site words and our science or social studies units. The students will work with these words in their word work centres and get familiar with their spelling and meaning. I would encourage you to check the words every Monday. I send them home so they can practice spelling the words and begin to use them as part of their daily vocabulary. Have some fun with the words, have them spell them for you, or have them use the words in a sentences they create. They should take 5 minutes every night and practice spelling the words.

Thank you

Anchor Charts and Reading Strategies

Throughout the course of the year we will be working on a variety of reading strategies. These strategies are there to aid us to more fully understand what we read. As adults we naturally bring our PRIOR KNOWLEDGE to bear on any new material we read. We  understand that our life experiences and previous knowledge can help inform our understanding of what we are trying to read or understand. Our goal is to get our students to be able to do that as naturally as we do. We also do this by MAKING CONNECTIONS to what we are reading. If I'm reading a Hardy Boys novel I can reflect on similar books I've read. I can remember a t.v. program or movie that has similar scenarios and characters. The point is I use my prior knowledge to help me understand what I'm reading on a deeper level. We use our PRIOR KNOWLEDGE to help us make CONNECTIONS to what we are reading. In the picture we are reading a story about a father and son that use two old smelly potatoes to grow an entire garden full of new potatoes. Students make CONNECTIONS when they use their PRIOR KWOLEDGE and similar experiences to gain insight into the characters actions and feelings. A few students mentioned that they have grown other vegetables in a garden and they knew how much work it was to prepare the garden and raise their vegetables. They could understand what the character was thinking and feeling. That's the power of 'CONNECTIONS' -- they get you into the characters head. You can gain a deeper understanding of the characters feelings, hopes and desires. It's way to get a personal window into the characters point of view. We will be working on this throughout the course of the year.
All of our strategies, whether language or math, will usually have an anchor chart that accompanies them. Sometimes we create the anchor chart together with the students and some times I start the chart and the students add information as we gather more information. I've included a picture of an anchor chart here. These charts are a way of 'anchoring' their knowledge and understanding of the topic to a chart that they can refer to whenever they need. These charts stay up throughout the unit and are even accessible when the students are being tested on the material. Well I hope that help shed some light on some of the things we will be doing this year. A little later into the term I will post a picture of a Learning Goal and Success Criteria chart and explain how they differ from anchor charts. Have a great weekend!!

The Mystery of the Trinity

Good morning our St.James family. We are going to be examining the awesome Mystery of The Trinity to begin our religion program. This is a difficult concept for kids to understand-actually it's difficult for grown-ups as well. I have a fun little video below that will start them thinking about the concepts that we will be discussing in the classroom. It would be wonderful to sit with your child for a few minutes and discuss the video with them. Open up a discussion and then encourage them to bring their questions to class so we can share in the learning process together.

Math games as curriculum?

We are going to be building in a variety of math games into our math block this year. These are simple and fun games that the students will be playing at the start of the math class. Each game will allow them to practice their math facts in a fun interactive atmosphere. The biggest issue we have once we begin to move into the older grades is that students don't have a firm grasp of their math facts. The goal of these games is to build that math fact knowledge and their math fluency (how quickly they can process simple math facts). I would encourage you to ask your child to show you how to play these games and spend some time playing together. All you need for most of them is dice, a deck of cards and a pencil. You are more than welcome to ask any questions or comment directly to the blog entry.

Mr.Francia

Our first assembly

Check out some of the pictures from our first assembly!!

Our Community Agreements

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 with our Pillars for Mutual Respect and No put downs only appreciations, we have Attentive Listening. Children need to 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

First day of School!!

Hello and Welcome to our new school year!! You have found our class blog. This will be a window into our classroom for parents. I will post pictures, videos and curriculum we are working on . You can also register at the very bottom of this blog, that way you don't have to check back everyday. The site will automatically email or text you when there is a new blog post. There is a letter that will be in your child's agenda today that explains what will be happening in our room.

Thank you 

Mr.V.Francia