Mid-October

Voting

The middle of October has been an exciting time as we have learned about elections in Social Studies with Mrs. Rogala. Students have been learning about the Canadian government over the past few weeks including the difference between dictatorships and democracies, the roles and responsibilities of different levels of government, and about the main candidates and party platforms in our own riding during the federal election. The other two Grade 4/5 classes also learned about the same topics and we had a rally for the election on Friday, Oct. 16th. Each party leader made a short speech which included a promise for their campaign platform and their party chanted a slogan or sang a song. Students voted by ballot later in the day through a program called Student Vote. Our student team bloggers that week, Izzy and Nathan, decided to write their highlight about this experience:

This week in room 15, 16, and 18 we learned about government and had a school election. We had four different parties including Liberals, Conservatives,  N.D.P. and Green, and those are all the parties. Every Grade 4 and 5 voted and we are still waiting for the results. We will tell you the answers when we find out. (By Izzy and Nathan).

*Update: The Conservatives were elected at Linwood School. They ran on a campaign promise of a bake sale which will benefit a charity/charities chosen by the students. Students discussed the outcomes of the school election as well as the significance of the Liberal majority government in our federal election.

In English Language Arts, students have continued to write their autobiographies and some have begun the editing process. We spent some time this last week for on-demand writing assessments. Students wrote using a writing prompt: convince your reader that Canada is a great country. I enjoyed reading the students writing and found the assessment to be a helpful tool in identifying student writing goals for the school year. In Math, we are working on problem-solving routines as well as math centers to practice fast facts and develop our math vocabulary. In French, we are reading our first basic books and we are using those books to learn about basic sentence structures. In Health of this week we are learning about dog bite prevention and dog safety. In Visual Arts, we will finish our quilt art projects and spend some time on Halloween decorations and choice drawing. As always, our readers are welcome and encouraged to comment on our blog.

Election Rally

Start of October

Team 15's Gratitude Tree

We have had a great start to October! In E.L.A. we have continued to revise our autobiographies and will begin final editing this coming week. Students have also had opportunities to work on choice writing projects and have been building their reading skills. We began our word work routines and spelling lists will be sent home today (my apologies for forgetting to distribute them on Friday). We focused on vocabulary and fast facts in Math last week and will focus more on problem solving this coming week.

Learning about soil erosion at Assiniboine Park

In French, we are working on greetings, dates, and school vocabulary and many of us have finished our quilt art in Visual Arts and are working on still life and choice drawing. The class took some time on Friday to share what they are thankful for during our Class Meeting and we also made leaves for our Gratitude Tree. We began this project around Thanksgiving, but I plan to continue it with the class throughout the year, so that we can think and write about how we feel grateful. Many studies have shown that a daily practice of gratitude results in a more positive and happier outlook on life!

We reviewed fire prevention and safety in the home last week during Health, and I hope that students will continue this discussion with their families. Cross-country runners did a great job at their meet on Thursday! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Our student team bloggers, Sarah and Gerald, wrote an entry to highlight our Science field trip last Thursday with Mrs. Rogala:

Room 15 and 4 people from 18 and 16 came with us to Assiniboine Park! On that field trip we learned a lot more about nature, parts of nature like trees, and Assiniboine River flows. We also saw a hawk's nest. We felt good walking in the forest to see different things. We also felt good sharing experiences out in the forest. We also did a play that kicked it up a little bit. Thank you for reading!

Forest plays

Nature photo scavenger hunt

End of September

Our Terry Fox Run and the Following Recess

We have continued with the same themes in all subject areas this past week. Students are working on revising their autobiographies in English Language Arts after I demonstrated a revision of my own autobiography. The students are also organizing the class library, so that the class gets to make choices about the placement of books they read daily. Spelling lists will be sent home for extra practice by October 9th and I will send out a  message on the class Remind service when this occurs.
We have been focusing on our math centers this past week and will be practising to make sure they run smoothly this coming week. In French, we started our calendar routine and we are wrapping up our quilt art in Visual Arts.

This past week, I met with a professional artist, Claudia Evans-Menard, a former teacher who will be working with our class on a painting project in early November. I decided to change the year plan a bit because of this wonderful opportunity and will post an updated plan soon. Our dream study in English Language Arts and dream painting in Visual Arts will take place in November and December.

Our student team blogger, Dylan, has a highlight to share with you as well:

Team 15's Terry Fox Word Graffiti

This week on Sept. 30 we did a Terry Fox Run in the field. We went in a giant oval. We could run, skip and walk. We walked for about 15 minutes until recess. Room 15 did a word graffiti about Terry Fox! I wrote about Terry Fox because he's a really good person!