Parents,
Our field trip to Griffith Woods park is on Monday 11:15 - 2:30. Please ensure students dress for being outside (walking shoes, hat, sunscreen water bottle, snack).
There is no TWAS writing this week. Please send all TWAS books to school.
Students made a bookmark on Friday. They are to finish colouring it and present it as a gift on Sunday. If it is not laminated, please send it back to school on Monday.
Enjoy your weekend.
Regards,
Audrey Allenspach
Ask your child to explain the pictures below.
Our field trip to Griffith Woods park is on Monday 11:15 - 2:30. Please ensure students dress for being outside (walking shoes, hat, sunscreen water bottle, snack).
There is no TWAS writing this week. Please send all TWAS books to school.
Students made a bookmark on Friday. They are to finish colouring it and present it as a gift on Sunday. If it is not laminated, please send it back to school on Monday.
Enjoy your weekend.
Regards,
Audrey Allenspach
Ask your child to explain the pictures below.
May 21st, 2018. Students will be doing paper mache tomorrow for Art for their imaginary animals. They will be gluing on yarn and googly eyes after painting them on Thursday - have them look around the house to see what craft supplies they can bring in to enhance their project.
The official time for the Celebration of Learning is 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Students will sing the school song in our classroom, as a group, at 11:30 a.m. So, it would be great if you could be there at that time. Sharing of art projects and some writing will take about 15 minutes. Your child may go home with you after this, without needing to sign them out if it’s before noon.
See you on Friday.
Audrey Allenspach
May 17th, 2018 There is no school on Friday or Monday (Victoria Day long weekend). School resumes on May 22nd.
Grade 3 classes are going on a field trip to Griffith Woods Park on June 18th, 2018 from 11:15 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. Five volunteers are required to supervise this trip, so please email me if you can attend. Thanks so much.
There is no TWAS writing this week.
The Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser is beginning. Go to www.jumpropeforjeart.ca to register and join the school. Pledge sheets will go home on Tuesday.
Our Grade 3 Celebration of Learning will take place on Friday, May 25th, 2018 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Please plan to drop by Room 168, our Grade 3 class to celebrate your child's academic accomplishments.Enjoy your long weekend.
The official time for the Celebration of Learning is 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Students will sing the school song in our classroom, as a group, at 11:30 a.m. So, it would be great if you could be there at that time. Sharing of art projects and some writing will take about 15 minutes. Your child may go home with you after this, without needing to sign them out if it’s before noon.
See you on Friday.
Audrey Allenspach
May 17th, 2018 There is no school on Friday or Monday (Victoria Day long weekend). School resumes on May 22nd.
Grade 3 classes are going on a field trip to Griffith Woods Park on June 18th, 2018 from 11:15 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. Five volunteers are required to supervise this trip, so please email me if you can attend. Thanks so much.
There is no TWAS writing this week.
The Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser is beginning. Go to www.jumpropeforjeart.ca to register and join the school. Pledge sheets will go home on Tuesday.
Our Grade 3 Celebration of Learning will take place on Friday, May 25th, 2018 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Please plan to drop by Room 168, our Grade 3 class to celebrate your child's academic accomplishments.Enjoy your long weekend.
May 16th, 2018 Parents,
Just a reminder that class photos are on Thursday, May 17th, in the afternoon.
Several students have accomplished their home reading goal and made it around the world and back to Alberta. They are now "Golden Travellers" and can choose any country in the world to move their marker to when they achieve their goal each week.
For Twin day / Clone Day, students have agreed to dress in a fancy, formal way on May 30th.
Looks like another lovely afternoon out there - might be a bit of rain tomorrow, but hopefully it cools down a bit.
Just a reminder that class photos are on Thursday, May 17th, in the afternoon.
Several students have accomplished their home reading goal and made it around the world and back to Alberta. They are now "Golden Travellers" and can choose any country in the world to move their marker to when they achieve their goal each week.
For Twin day / Clone Day, students have agreed to dress in a fancy, formal way on May 30th.
Looks like another lovely afternoon out there - might be a bit of rain tomorrow, but hopefully it cools down a bit.
May 4th, 2018 (By Justin) This week at school we made imaginary animals. We made a Tunisian silhouette. The art work was fun, we painted the paper with different colours of dawn and then added a camel, a Mosque and palm tree to it. The most exciting thing of the week was our animal scavenger hunt cards that we made. The card I made was that of a Gecko.
April 18th, 2018 Students have been learning about the centimetre and metre and applying their skills of measuring the perimeter of various objects. Some students made a chart to organize their information, using their finger as a referent to estimate length in centimetres, and using their outspread arms as a referent for metres. It was a beautiful week to get outside sketching, and we got to know our school better by making observations and drawing details. Students learned about celebrations in India and completed a mixed-media art project of a painted Indian elephant using pastels, paint and sequins. Several students brought in models of animals which they are using to sketch, making their own scavenger hunt cards to develop a game.
On Wednesday, at 9:45 a.m. we will join the other grade 3 classes and walk to the natural area across the street to observe and sketch natural objects. This is an opportunity for community building with the other grade 3 students.
On Wednesday, at 9:45 a.m. we will join the other grade 3 classes and walk to the natural area across the street to observe and sketch natural objects. This is an opportunity for community building with the other grade 3 students.
March 9, 2018 - Artin
This week at school we watched going to school in India. I never knew that you could go to school on a mountain and a bus. I bet it’s hard to learn on mountains and buses. We also watched going to school on a boat and going to school on a lake. I bet it’s hard to do P.E on a boat and a lake. We did so many presentations but they were all amazing presentations. Almost everybody brought medals. One person brought their skiing medals. Another person brought all their medals that they have won. Most of them were hockey medals. One person brought all their soccer medals. We also finished Thea Stilton and the secret cities it was one of the best stories I’ve ever heard. |
March 9th. This week at school...
March 2, 2018 Dylan
This week at school we had “show and tell “. People brought stuff like rock collection and fossils. A person also brought a mini ocean in a jam container. In GYM we are doing gymnastics. In science we continued studying rocks and minerals. SCHOOL WAS FUN!
This week at school we had “show and tell “. People brought stuff like rock collection and fossils. A person also brought a mini ocean in a jam container. In GYM we are doing gymnastics. In science we continued studying rocks and minerals. SCHOOL WAS FUN!
Parents,
Students may finish This Week At School or TWAS writing at home. Here are some photos to jog their memory about what we did in class. On Wednesdays, we will add text, written by a different student each week.
Our field trip to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is on April 9th. We will leave the school at 8:15 a.m. and return by 2:15 p.m. Volunteers are required for this trip, so please let me know if you are able to attend.
Enjoy your weekend. The snow looks like fun to play in.
Students may finish This Week At School or TWAS writing at home. Here are some photos to jog their memory about what we did in class. On Wednesdays, we will add text, written by a different student each week.
Our field trip to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is on April 9th. We will leave the school at 8:15 a.m. and return by 2:15 p.m. Volunteers are required for this trip, so please let me know if you are able to attend.
Enjoy your weekend. The snow looks like fun to play in.
(By Zoe) This week at school Feb. 23, 2018 we are learning about the Olympics Canada ‘s medal for gold 11 and for silver 7 and for bronze 10, that’s a lot. We have a map called Read Around the World and we watched videos about school in Peru and on iPad we did Kahoot we had groups of two. I had Alexa in our group name was Whatsup. Its sooooooooo funny. This week was so fun! We also on computers we did dance mat typing.
February 9th, 2018
(Written by Junsung, Justin and Seoyeon) This week at school we were studying about Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. We saw the Opening ceremony. There were five kids having a journey until they were adults. They had jobs like a doctor, artificial intelligence expert, K’pop singer and dancer, and the teacher who taught Korean writing. We saw the president of Korea. Yuna Kim lit the Olympic torch. She is a famous Korean figure skater. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir carried the flag for Canada. The Korean team came in last at the ceremony. The guy from Tonga wore his traditional clothes. The Korean boys were singing our country’s song. There were four guardians who guard the land. Soohorang is a tiger mascot.
(Written by Junsung, Justin and Seoyeon) This week at school we were studying about Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. We saw the Opening ceremony. There were five kids having a journey until they were adults. They had jobs like a doctor, artificial intelligence expert, K’pop singer and dancer, and the teacher who taught Korean writing. We saw the president of Korea. Yuna Kim lit the Olympic torch. She is a famous Korean figure skater. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir carried the flag for Canada. The Korean team came in last at the ceremony. The guy from Tonga wore his traditional clothes. The Korean boys were singing our country’s song. There were four guardians who guard the land. Soohorang is a tiger mascot.
Winter Walk Day is on Wednesday, February 7th, 2018. Active and Safe Safe Routes to School, a Canadian organization is raising awareness of the health benefits of this type of activity. Students walk for about 45 minutes, to remind them that exercise is fun and environmentally friendly, and builds community. Students in Grade 3 will walk around the periphery of the school grounds, beginning right after lunch.
February 2nd, 2018 Students used coins to skip count by 5s, 10s, 25s and 100s and solved problems using coins. In Social Studies they learned how to draw a new chart, a Knew/New chart where they wrote facts that they knew about Lake Titicaca in Peru, and wrote facts that were new to them. Students can now use this recording strategy for other research. They coloured a map of the world, showing where Tunisia, India, Peru and Ukraine are on the map, and learned about a compass rose and the equator. They watched a film about Roman mosaics, wrote facts about them, and wrote the story of their own mosaic.
January 25th, 2018 Students shared their Readers' Theatre plays about a folktale from each of the countries, with the class. They worked very well together when they practised the piece and made props to enhance the stories. They also did an S4 (Start Smart Stay Safe) lesson using the book, The Sneetches, a book about including others, even if they are different from you, and learned about using "I Can" messages to get back the balance of power if they feel someone is putting them down.
This Week At School
By William and Lukas
This week our class got a new kid. He will come next Monday. In Science we did the rock test. We scratched our rocks then put vinegar on them. None of my rocks sizzled. Other people's rocks did sizzle. They had bubbles on them. This means their rocks have carbonates. We learned that magnetite is magnetic. None of my rocks were attracted to the magnet. Pumice, an igneous rock, floated.
For Art we made llama pictures. First we drew the llama neck, the shape of a llama's head and coloured it and cut it out. After that we looked at some of Ms. Allenspach's Peruvian textiles, like a woven belt. We copied some patterns from them, and coloured them with wax crayons.
By William and Lukas
This week our class got a new kid. He will come next Monday. In Science we did the rock test. We scratched our rocks then put vinegar on them. None of my rocks sizzled. Other people's rocks did sizzle. They had bubbles on them. This means their rocks have carbonates. We learned that magnetite is magnetic. None of my rocks were attracted to the magnet. Pumice, an igneous rock, floated.
For Art we made llama pictures. First we drew the llama neck, the shape of a llama's head and coloured it and cut it out. After that we looked at some of Ms. Allenspach's Peruvian textiles, like a woven belt. We copied some patterns from them, and coloured them with wax crayons.
December 17th, 2017 What an exciting week. Monday was the last day of swimming and all students said they really enjoyed the experience. Swim report cards will go home on Monday.
Students participated in activities using the Glenbow Museokit, Rocks and Minerals. Through the 8 learning centres they read activity cards, identified rocks and minerals, learned how they are formed, and learned some stories about them. Sketching the minerals helped take their observation of details, shapes and sizes to new levels.
On Tuesday students participated in an in-school field trip about Tunisia where they learned all about imports and exports of goods and services, artifacts made of clay or wood from olive trees, and about natural resources. They even made their own version of a Roman mosaic. Thanks to our parent volunteers who made it all possible.
Wednesday was our Winter Gathering where students performed songs in the gym and participated in various centres like sock stuffing where proceeds will go to homeless shelters. Families are so giving and generous.
Next week: Tuesday, December 19th is our field trip to Ambrose University to sing with students from other schools. Our last day before winter break is on Thursday. Happy holidays everyone.
Students participated in activities using the Glenbow Museokit, Rocks and Minerals. Through the 8 learning centres they read activity cards, identified rocks and minerals, learned how they are formed, and learned some stories about them. Sketching the minerals helped take their observation of details, shapes and sizes to new levels.
On Tuesday students participated in an in-school field trip about Tunisia where they learned all about imports and exports of goods and services, artifacts made of clay or wood from olive trees, and about natural resources. They even made their own version of a Roman mosaic. Thanks to our parent volunteers who made it all possible.
Wednesday was our Winter Gathering where students performed songs in the gym and participated in various centres like sock stuffing where proceeds will go to homeless shelters. Families are so giving and generous.
Next week: Tuesday, December 19th is our field trip to Ambrose University to sing with students from other schools. Our last day before winter break is on Thursday. Happy holidays everyone.
December 9th, 2017 Swimming kept us very busy this week. All students enjoyed their lessons, and they are stretching themselves by taking risks and learning important life skills to keep themselves safe in the water. Our last class is on Monday. We have been encouraging students to take responsibility for hanging their swim gear or putting it in the dryer. Hopefully they have been doing this.
Students showed numbers in different ways (standard form, pictures, base-ten name, and on a place-value chart) and were challenged with this math problem: "Draw a picture of base ten blocks (100s, 10s and 1s as shown above). Show 315 using exactly 36 blocks." Ask them to show you how they found a solution.
Rock collections are being used in class and this week students sorted them using colour, shape, size and texture. They learned to draw their own chart to record their results.
After observing, sketching and asking questions about the boat artifact, students learned that it is a mini-version of a reed boat used on Lake Titicaca in Peru. Our read-aloud book this month is based in Peru, Thea Stilton and The Secret City and students learned that the indigenous people built reed islands in the middle of the lake to escape from Inca conquerors. People live on these islands to this day.
Great news for our 300 Club Home Reading! Most students have achieved their goal, added a new leaf to our reading tree, and we are very proud of them. As we are only in school for three weeks this month, students may adjust their goal to 210 minutes (or more), based on how busy you are on your winter break. Please write the goal on the 300 Club calendar in your child's agenda, at the top in the space provided.
Students will participate in a Tunisian In-School Field trip by Teachers' Pet on Tuesday morning, 8:45-11:00 (2 volunteers are still needed). A Week of Giving begins and Grade 3 students have been asked to bring in:
1. foot care, earplugs and deodorants to stuff into socks for the less fortunate in our city
2. a rock for your family to write a message on
Students wrote for 15 minutes in their TWAS (This Week At School) books. They may finish them at home if they didn't quite get a page or more of writing completed, using the pictures above as a reminder of our activities this week. Please read it - adding a note or comment from you about their writing is very motivating for your child. They can also edit with COPS (Capitals, Overused Words, Punctuation and Spelling). Fixing 3-4 spelling words in a piece of writing is a good goal.
Enjoy your weekend.
Ms. Allenspach
Students showed numbers in different ways (standard form, pictures, base-ten name, and on a place-value chart) and were challenged with this math problem: "Draw a picture of base ten blocks (100s, 10s and 1s as shown above). Show 315 using exactly 36 blocks." Ask them to show you how they found a solution.
Rock collections are being used in class and this week students sorted them using colour, shape, size and texture. They learned to draw their own chart to record their results.
After observing, sketching and asking questions about the boat artifact, students learned that it is a mini-version of a reed boat used on Lake Titicaca in Peru. Our read-aloud book this month is based in Peru, Thea Stilton and The Secret City and students learned that the indigenous people built reed islands in the middle of the lake to escape from Inca conquerors. People live on these islands to this day.
Great news for our 300 Club Home Reading! Most students have achieved their goal, added a new leaf to our reading tree, and we are very proud of them. As we are only in school for three weeks this month, students may adjust their goal to 210 minutes (or more), based on how busy you are on your winter break. Please write the goal on the 300 Club calendar in your child's agenda, at the top in the space provided.
Students will participate in a Tunisian In-School Field trip by Teachers' Pet on Tuesday morning, 8:45-11:00 (2 volunteers are still needed). A Week of Giving begins and Grade 3 students have been asked to bring in:
1. foot care, earplugs and deodorants to stuff into socks for the less fortunate in our city
2. a rock for your family to write a message on
Students wrote for 15 minutes in their TWAS (This Week At School) books. They may finish them at home if they didn't quite get a page or more of writing completed, using the pictures above as a reminder of our activities this week. Please read it - adding a note or comment from you about their writing is very motivating for your child. They can also edit with COPS (Capitals, Overused Words, Punctuation and Spelling). Fixing 3-4 spelling words in a piece of writing is a good goal.
Enjoy your weekend.
Ms. Allenspach
December 1st, 2017 Can you believe it's December? Time flies. Students have written their own version of TWAS (This Week At School) in a notebook, which was sent home on Friday. Students wrote for 15 minutes in class. If they did not finish writing about what they did and learned this week, they have been asked to finish it at home (one page minimum), using the photos on this website page as a reminder of what they did.
A letter-writing campaign to Canadian Armed Forces troops started off our week. Students wrote messages to the troops thanking them for keeping Canada safe and sending some holiday spirit and good cheer, especially if they are away from home. Students took photos of their letters and posted them on Iris. Have a look. This is part of our bucket-filling initiative in class. Students read the storybook, Have You Filled A Bucket Today? We brainstormed what it means to be a bucket filler, such as by showing respect and compassion, giving compliments or helping someone else. We also connected this to another book study, How Are You Peeling? Students identified different feelings based on the facial expressions of the fruit and vegetable sculptures in the book, acted some of them out, and then made their own sculptures out of plasticene. The objective is to be able to identify how others are feeling and how our behaviours affect those feelings.
A visit by a geologist, Kelly, a parent of a student in another class, had the students engaged in learning about rocks and minerals. Kelly gave a slideshow and explained what a geologist does, how to identify minerals, and the origins of the three types of rock (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary). Students got a chance to handle some of the fossils and were excited that a coaster made of slate was 500 million years old. They learned about the tools of the trade and asked some very good questions. Thanks for the wonderful presentation, Kelly.
Most students reached their 300 Club Home Reading goal this month and have added another leaf to our Home Reading tree. To celebrate their accomplishment of being independent with home reading, writing down the minutes and bringing agendas to school, they received a star ticket which goes into the "Bucket Fillers" bucket, where we do a draw for pencils, pens, and small toys.
Ask students about how they muffled sound in Science class, what GaGa ball is, and identifying the number of 100s, 10s and 1s in a 3-digit number.
Students start swimming on Monday. They need their swimsuit and towel in a plastic bag. Swim goggles and hair elastics are optional.
Have a great week.
A letter-writing campaign to Canadian Armed Forces troops started off our week. Students wrote messages to the troops thanking them for keeping Canada safe and sending some holiday spirit and good cheer, especially if they are away from home. Students took photos of their letters and posted them on Iris. Have a look. This is part of our bucket-filling initiative in class. Students read the storybook, Have You Filled A Bucket Today? We brainstormed what it means to be a bucket filler, such as by showing respect and compassion, giving compliments or helping someone else. We also connected this to another book study, How Are You Peeling? Students identified different feelings based on the facial expressions of the fruit and vegetable sculptures in the book, acted some of them out, and then made their own sculptures out of plasticene. The objective is to be able to identify how others are feeling and how our behaviours affect those feelings.
A visit by a geologist, Kelly, a parent of a student in another class, had the students engaged in learning about rocks and minerals. Kelly gave a slideshow and explained what a geologist does, how to identify minerals, and the origins of the three types of rock (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary). Students got a chance to handle some of the fossils and were excited that a coaster made of slate was 500 million years old. They learned about the tools of the trade and asked some very good questions. Thanks for the wonderful presentation, Kelly.
Most students reached their 300 Club Home Reading goal this month and have added another leaf to our Home Reading tree. To celebrate their accomplishment of being independent with home reading, writing down the minutes and bringing agendas to school, they received a star ticket which goes into the "Bucket Fillers" bucket, where we do a draw for pencils, pens, and small toys.
Ask students about how they muffled sound in Science class, what GaGa ball is, and identifying the number of 100s, 10s and 1s in a 3-digit number.
Students start swimming on Monday. They need their swimsuit and towel in a plastic bag. Swim goggles and hair elastics are optional.
Have a great week.
November 24th, 2017 Students love doing activities on the laptop computers. This week they tried the website, www.mathisfun.com (Numbers - Practice - Math Trainer Addition or Subtraction), picked a level and practised their basic math facts. This would be good practice at home as well. They also counted large collections of math manipulatives and are convinced that by grouping them into tens then hundreds it makes for a more efficient way to count. Students worked in small groups and recorded the count on posters which helps them share their ideas with the class, and they are really learning to collaborate and work as a team. Our Hearing and Sound unit is coming to a conclusion, and students applied their skills in a game where they identified the parts of the ear. Their plasticene ear models helped solidify the concept. A lovely artifact, cloth from Iran, was shared by one of our students, and his classmates asked good questions using "Who", "What", "When", "Where", "Why", and "How" as sentence starters. Using pictures from around the world as inspiration for an art project, students demonstrated excellent colouring skills of various UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
What's next for our Grade 3 students in Ms. Allenspach's class? Rocks and Minerals (bring in those rock collections in an egg carton), a science kit from the Glenbow Museum, a study of artifacts and the culture of Peru, and an In-School field trip through Teacher's Pet on December 12th, in the morning. We will require volunteers for this activity, so please check your calendars.
What's next for our Grade 3 students in Ms. Allenspach's class? Rocks and Minerals (bring in those rock collections in an egg carton), a science kit from the Glenbow Museum, a study of artifacts and the culture of Peru, and an In-School field trip through Teacher's Pet on December 12th, in the morning. We will require volunteers for this activity, so please check your calendars.
November 19th, 2017 Students enjoyed our mini-research project on how animals hear, in Science. They scanned QR codes on the iPads, which brought them to videos with information about animals, wrote jot notes on the important information, wrote complete sentences using the notes, and published the sentences (the "good copy"). They also added a sketch of their animal. Students researched Pysanky or Ukrainian painted eggs, and learned what the symbols on the eggs mean. They applied their knowledge to designing their own eggs, which they drew on paper, coloured with wax crayons and then painted with water colours. Their artwork is displayed outside our classroom. In Math, students explained how they solved a problem by making a pattern using strategies such as modelling the pattern with blocks, colouring numbers on a hundred chart, drawing a picture, and making a table. They used higher-level thinking skills to create their own pattern and then compared it to another one showing how they are the same and how they are different. We had our 300-Club Reading celebration where students applauded the reading success of their classmates and added a leaf to our class tree to honour their home reading accomplishments.
November 11th, 2017
Griffith Woods Grade 3s in Ms. Allenspach's class have had a productive week. In Science they learned about the parts and functions of the ear by making an ear model out of plasticene, and we will reinforce this concept so that all students can name the outer, middle and inner ear parts. They will now study how animals hear using the iPads to scan a QR code, which takes them to a video where they can record what they've learned in writing. It was another exciting week of musical instrument sharing, with many creative projects being shared. Students showed how the instrument vibrates to produce sound and how pitch and volume can change on their instruments, completing a rubric using those criteria. They contributed to our class wreath by making their own poppy, which was displayed at the Remembrance Day Assembly, and studied a poem about the meaning of the poppy. In Math, students learned to state the pattern rule for increasing and decreasing patterns, compare patterns and use patterns to solve number problems. They are really learning to use math terminology like, "increasing", "decreasing", "remove", "pattern start", "chart" and "table". Students have been working on writing, using strong verbs (instead of the word, "went") like, "trudged", "journeyed", "tumbled" and "skipped", making their own mini-thesaurus in their writing folders. Next week students will present their Readers' Theatre plays on our four countries, India, Tunisia, Ukraine and Peru. Also, we will begin TWAS writing, or This Week At School, where students will write about and reflect on their learning journey.
Have a look at this week's pictures below.
Griffith Woods Grade 3s in Ms. Allenspach's class have had a productive week. In Science they learned about the parts and functions of the ear by making an ear model out of plasticene, and we will reinforce this concept so that all students can name the outer, middle and inner ear parts. They will now study how animals hear using the iPads to scan a QR code, which takes them to a video where they can record what they've learned in writing. It was another exciting week of musical instrument sharing, with many creative projects being shared. Students showed how the instrument vibrates to produce sound and how pitch and volume can change on their instruments, completing a rubric using those criteria. They contributed to our class wreath by making their own poppy, which was displayed at the Remembrance Day Assembly, and studied a poem about the meaning of the poppy. In Math, students learned to state the pattern rule for increasing and decreasing patterns, compare patterns and use patterns to solve number problems. They are really learning to use math terminology like, "increasing", "decreasing", "remove", "pattern start", "chart" and "table". Students have been working on writing, using strong verbs (instead of the word, "went") like, "trudged", "journeyed", "tumbled" and "skipped", making their own mini-thesaurus in their writing folders. Next week students will present their Readers' Theatre plays on our four countries, India, Tunisia, Ukraine and Peru. Also, we will begin TWAS writing, or This Week At School, where students will write about and reflect on their learning journey.
Have a look at this week's pictures below.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
November 3rd, 2017 Musical instruments made at home have been arriving in class this past week. Students have been very creative and by sharing them they have given other students ideas for their own instruments. They spent a Science period building and doing touch-ups on their instruments, or making megaphones to show how sound is amplified. They also explored how sound travels through solids by making a string and cup telephone, and there were exclamations of delight when they heard their partner's voice travelling through the string. Does sound travel through water? Try this at home (with adult supervision): Tap two objects together, listen to the quality and loudness of the sound, duck your head under water and tap the objects under water. How is the sound different? You can try this at the swimming pool by talking to a partner, then talking under water.
In Math students have been working on decreasing patterns using manipulatives such as toothpicks and blocks. They state the pattern rule using language such as, "Start with 35 blocks. Remove one block, then one more each time." Students will apply this skill to decreasing number patterns.
Students also did a "Making Words" activity to learn word patterns and develop phonemic awareness for reading and spelling. They cut up letters that make a secret word, made as many words as they could with the letters, then made words with the 'or' pattern, dictated to them. In the end, they discovered what the secret word was by using all the letters. This will be a weekly activity, with students working at different levels, depending on what they need to learn.
Some artifacts from around the world were shared, and students answered many questions from their classmates. They learned more about the meaning of 'Quality of Life' (a sense of safety, security, comfort, health and happiness) by researching it and displaying information in a web.
In Math students have been working on decreasing patterns using manipulatives such as toothpicks and blocks. They state the pattern rule using language such as, "Start with 35 blocks. Remove one block, then one more each time." Students will apply this skill to decreasing number patterns.
Students also did a "Making Words" activity to learn word patterns and develop phonemic awareness for reading and spelling. They cut up letters that make a secret word, made as many words as they could with the letters, then made words with the 'or' pattern, dictated to them. In the end, they discovered what the secret word was by using all the letters. This will be a weekly activity, with students working at different levels, depending on what they need to learn.
Some artifacts from around the world were shared, and students answered many questions from their classmates. They learned more about the meaning of 'Quality of Life' (a sense of safety, security, comfort, health and happiness) by researching it and displaying information in a web.
This Week At School - October 27th, 2017
What a busy week in Room M8. Students wrote their first stories, many of them choosing a Halloween theme. The stories will be revised by adding 'juicy' adjectives and exciting action words and edited with COPS (Capitals, Overused Words, Punctuation and Spelling). They came with some great costumes yesterday and participated in a school parade through other classrooms. Practice on their Social Studies Readers' Theatre plays has begun, and the students are playing their parts with gusto. The four plays were scripted from myths and legends that the students read, The Rumour (India), Five Things to Find (Tunisia), Sirko and the Wolf (Ukraine) and The Thunder King (Peru), and they are working as a team to present to the class. See below for this week's photos.
What a busy week in Room M8. Students wrote their first stories, many of them choosing a Halloween theme. The stories will be revised by adding 'juicy' adjectives and exciting action words and edited with COPS (Capitals, Overused Words, Punctuation and Spelling). They came with some great costumes yesterday and participated in a school parade through other classrooms. Practice on their Social Studies Readers' Theatre plays has begun, and the students are playing their parts with gusto. The four plays were scripted from myths and legends that the students read, The Rumour (India), Five Things to Find (Tunisia), Sirko and the Wolf (Ukraine) and The Thunder King (Peru), and they are working as a team to present to the class. See below for this week's photos.
Students made black cats - they personalized them by designing different facial expressions.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/3/2/113256725/p341_orig.jpeg)
Working in a group, students were challenged to build a tower that contained 14 orange blocks, with a pattern of one red block and two orange blocks in each level,They estimated, then determined how many levels they could make. They shared jobs and recorded their work on chart paper.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/3/2/113256725/p339_orig.png)
Our objective in this science experiment was to pluck different thicknesses of elastics and observe the vibrations making high, medium and low pitched sounds.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/3/2/113256725/p343_orig.png)
Artifact sharing - Ukrainian pysanky or painted eggs.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/3/2/113256725/p334_orig.png)
Artifact sharing - a giraffe
We spent some time outside listening to sounds in the environment for our Hearing and Sound unit until the heavy winds started blowing books away. But it made for some great observations of sounds.
Students worked in a group to solve the Tree Problem, using manipulatives such as coloured toothpicks and markers to make it, then draw it, then solve it using numbers. Some students were able to add three-digit numbers and others used calculators. The answer on this poster was so close, so now students will go back and revise it based on what they've learned. They reflected on how they used their respectful voices and shared the jobs to accomplish the task.
October 12th, 2017
Parent volunteers helped students complete some Ukrainian learning centres. Students learned about Ukrainian culture, Cyrillic writing, mapping, Matroyshka or nesting dolls, rural and urban areas and services such as public transportation, schools and hospitals:
Parent volunteers helped students complete some Ukrainian learning centres. Students learned about Ukrainian culture, Cyrillic writing, mapping, Matroyshka or nesting dolls, rural and urban areas and services such as public transportation, schools and hospitals:
September 15th, 2017
Students made observations of Peruvian pan pipes and then made their own instruments out of straws and tape. When they blew it, they discovered that the long straw made a low-pitched sound and the short straw made a high-pitched sound. And they noticed that it all worked better when the bottom of the straws were plugged with tape:
Students made observations of Peruvian pan pipes and then made their own instruments out of straws and tape. When they blew it, they discovered that the long straw made a low-pitched sound and the short straw made a high-pitched sound. And they noticed that it all worked better when the bottom of the straws were plugged with tape:
September 8th, 2017
Students observed an Amazon blowgun artifact that Ms. Allenspach brought back from a trip to Brazil and wondered about where it was from, who used it and what it was used for. The embedded piranha teeth were a big hit. They agreed that artifacts add to the quality of life of a culture and can help tell their story. Some students have shared their own artifacts.
Students observed an Amazon blowgun artifact that Ms. Allenspach brought back from a trip to Brazil and wondered about where it was from, who used it and what it was used for. The embedded piranha teeth were a big hit. They agreed that artifacts add to the quality of life of a culture and can help tell their story. Some students have shared their own artifacts.
Student sketches of the Amazonian blowgun
Blowgun in Ecuadorian Amazon (Ms. Allenspach, 2017)