Report Cards

November report cards are heading home tomorrow. Many families have questions about how the report card highlights their child's progress and how assessment is carried out. Continue reading for more information.

What is the purpose of the November report card?

Both the November and March report cards are interim report cards. These reports are snapshots in time which highlight your child's progress in relation to end of year school goals. The June report card details your child's final assessments regarding if he/she has met the end of year goals for his/her grade level. 

Math

Report cards in math detail your child's progress in problem solving, knowledge and understanding, and mental math and estimation. These areas all have end of year goals. The grade your child receives on the interim reports (November and March) illustrate if your child is making great (4), good (3), basic (2), or limited (1), progress toward the end of year goals in each area.

In problem solving, individual problems are assessed using a rubric which is communicated and discussed with students. Mathematical discussions about the problems solved in class help students to understand what they need to do in order to improve their work. For the report card, the teacher analyzes a few problem solving samples from each student which represent his/her skills and abilities well. Students who consistently, systematically, and independently solve problems efficiently and accurately and communicate their thinking clearly and thoroughly show very good to excellent skills and understanding of problem solving (4). Students who need occasional prompting/reminders show good progress (3). Those who need occasional teacher or peer support in order to solve a problem using modeled strategies show a basic understanding (2) and those who require considerable and ongoing teacher support show a limited understanding (1) of problem solving.

English Language Arts

Report cards in English Language Arts detail your child's progress in the areas of Reading, Writing , Critical Thinking, Listening and Viewing, and Speaking and Representing. Listening and Viewing, and Speaking and Representing are assessed based on what is typical for children in Grade 4/5. While reading levels and individual assignments are important in assessing your child's progress and understanding, they are part of the whole picture. The teacher also bases assessment on the Reading and Writing Continuum, specifically in the areas of reading, writing, and critical thinking. You can copy and paste the following link in your web browser to read the continuum:

http://www.frontiercollege.ca/getattachment/b3ff2049-7fc5-4760-bdbb-66e19677e5b3/Reading-Writing-Continuums-Color.aspx

Social Studies and Science

These areas focus on both content outcomes (knowledge and understanding) as well as skills outcomes, such as research and inquiry, communication, design (Science), and citizenship (Social Studies). Students are assessed on how well they understand the concepts and information taught with a focus on developing skills focusing on finding and evaluating credible information, communicating their thinking, and applying their understanding through design (Science) and citizenship (Social Studies).

French

Students are assessed in the areas of reading, writing, and oral communication (speaking and listening comprehension). Students who can communicate independently are making very good progress in their French language skills (4). Those who need occasional prompting (3) are making good progress; while those requiring frequent modelling (2) are making basic progress. Students who are not able to communicate in French with support (1) are assessed as making limited progress.

Work Habits

This section reports on the student's learning behaviors both in and outside the classroom. Grades and comments address how well the student is managing his/her time, focus, and assignments, how he/she is interacting with others and the environment, and how actively he/she participate in lessons and activities. The purpose of this section is for teachers to report on a students' learning behaviors separately from his/her academic progress.

For more information please contact:

Art - Mr. Blake

Music - Mrs. Ryckman

Physical Education, Health, and Science - Mrs. Rogala

English Language Arts, Math, French, Social Studies, and Work Habites - Miss Cichosz

Clan Systems and Treaty Teachings with Richelle Scott

We spent time with Richelle Scott this month, the Indigenous Education Teacher for early years in our school division. Richelle taught us about clan systems and treaties. We learned that each clan (group of people) in a clan system has their own dodem animal, qualities, and jobs and that every clan helps the other clans through the connections illustrated in the Seven Pointed Star. Each clan is essential to a balanced, happy, and healthy community, much like each member of a family helps the others.

Richelle also taught us about the treaties (promises/contracts) made between Indigenous Peoples and the newcomers from Europe. We learned that Indigenous Peoples negotiated the treaties when newcomers laid claim to the land where Indigenous Peoples lived. During these negotiations, First Peoples thought about the next seven generations and how to care for each generation, but often these treaties were not upheld and Indigenous Peoples have endured pain over the years. We will soon begin learning about residential schooling. The purpose of this learning is to understand the history of Canada, so that we can be aware of our role in reconciliation and, as we are citizens of Canada, that we are all treaty people.

Remembrance Day and Visual Math

Our class made a wreath for our school's Remembrance Day service. We talked about what bravery and Remembrance Day means to each of us after reading a picture book about the meaning of the poppy. We learned that poppies bloomed on the graves of soldiers and that the poem, "In Flanders Fields," was written by John McCrae (a military doctor) in 1915 during the First World War. Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote the poem after seeing the devastating sadness of so many soldiers killed in battle. We remember those who sacrificed for our freedom.

In Math, we have been working with visual problems, including dot patterns. Miss Cichosz drew how different students saw the same dot patterns of six dots differently. We are learning that we can see problems differently and we worked in groups on exploring dot patterns in two rows. We shared what we found in groups with the entire class. Some of us noticed shapes in the patterns and noticed that some of the shapes continue in other dot pictures. We talked about how larger amounts of dots contained some of the shapes that we found in the smaller amounts of dots. Some students predicted what the next few dot pictures in the next row might look like. Our class will continue exploring this dot pattern another time with a third row of dot pictures.

Making Tipis

Joe Lanceley, also know as Tipi Joe, came to work with us last week. He is a professional artist who works with students in schools through T.I.A., a program that promotes teaching art through integration in other subject areas. Our learning with Tipi Joe connected to our learning in Social Studies about First Peoples' traditional housing on the Plains. Tipi Joe taught our class about the structure and symbols of tipis, including that the top represents the sky and the bottom represents the ground, how to position and build a tipi using a 9-foot model tipi made of canvas, and information about the history of tipis and considerations we would need to make when making our own mini tipis. We also learned how to behave respectfully in and around a tipi by treating a tipi like we would treat any home. This was all in our first session!

During our second session, we drew the animals on our tipis using stencils from Tipi Joe and painted our tipis. During our third session, we outlined our designs and added details using sharpies and Tipi Joe and Miss Cichosz helped us assemble our mini tipis using a cardboard circle, wooden skewers and toothpicks, and a hot glue gun. The toothpicks were used to represent the lacing pins (which keep the tipi closed in the front) and the skewers represented the tipi poles in the smoke flaps (which can be opened to let smoke out from a fire inside the tipi or closed if there is rain or snow). Of course, we used non-traditional tools and technology to make our mini tipis, but we learned about traditional ways to build tipis. We learned that tipis today are typically made of canvas instead of buffalo hides. Traditionally, women made the tipis and once canvas became available, it became widely used because it is lighter and easier to procure than 12-18 skinned and tanned buffalo hides. Our class also wrote a short reflection about our tipis and we were given mini lights to represent the fire inside each tipi. We loved making our tipis!

Math and Science Highlights - First Week of November

One highlight in our mathematics learning last week was an open problem called, "36 Fences." Students worked together to find which shapes would yield the largest and the smallest areas if all had a perimeter of 36 metres (36 fences). Students used toothpicks to represent miniature fences, built shapes on large grid paper, and drew their shapes on regular sized grid paper. We discussed the problem as a class and found out that a square will always yield a larger area than a rectangle with the same perimeter, but that a circle will yield the largest area of all the shapes. A wedge shape would yield one of the smallest areas, yet a shape that is turned on it's end (so it makes a tower reaching from the ground) would yield the smallest area on the ground.

In Science, students completed a peer-evaluation of each others' design projects of the circulatory system. In order to earn a 4 out of 4, the project needed to look like a heart and contain all the parts of the heart assembled accurately. Students were asked to complete the peer-evaluation in silence in order to make their own decisions regarding the criteria and prevent swaying or being swayed by each others' opinions.

Halloween Fun

Our class enjoyed Halloween on October 31st with a costume parade, dancing to Monster Mash, a class party, and a staff lip sync battle in the afternoon. Thanks to families who contributed items to our Halloween party. We hope you had a happy Halloween!

Writing Project - First Peoples' Journal Entry - Final Draft Due Nov. 8

In room 15 we have been working hard on a research and writing assignment connected to our Social Studies study of the First Peoples'. We are writing a journal entry imagining ourselves as one of the Indigenous Peoples who lived in what is now Canada before contact with Europeans.

The final draft to submit for final editing (not published copy) of our journal entries is due Nov. 8th. Grade 4 students need to write at least one paragraph (of 10 sentences or more) and Grade 5 students are expected to write 3 paragraphs or more.

Students have always been welcome to work on these journals at home and are encouraged to do so if they believe they will need more than the scheduled class time to finish by Nov. 8.
We are now in our last week of class time to work on our journals. Our class will have one hour to work on our journal entries this week and 30 minutes on Monday, Nov. 7.

If you would like to support your child with working on this assignment at home, please read the following information, use the files included at the bottom of this post if the papers are not at home, and contact Miss Cichosz with any questions.

Background Information:
Over this unit of study, we have explored some theories put forward by scientists and Indigenous Peoples' stories of origin about how First Peoples' came to live in what is now Canada (and more broadly: North America). Our class has also been learning about how to survive in an environment that does not have the luxuries to which we are accustomed, such as elecricity, grocery stores, and running water. We have been using books in the classroom to read about Indigenous Peoples' traditional ways of life all over North America while thinking critically about our reading. While our journal entries are set in the past, we are learning that Indigenous Peoples' have shaped our present and will be learning more about these concepts further into our unit. We have also been focusing on writing quality through lessons and conferences with Miss Cichosz because we are writing for readers.

Journal Information:
Each journal entry is about a typical day in the life of an imagined Indigenous Person, before European contact, written as if each student were living through that day (first person narration using, "I"), including how we depend on the environment to survive and how we can solve a challenge to our survival, such as lack of food or clean water, inclement weather, or dangerous animals.


The steps we need to take to complete our journals include:
1. Reading and research
2. Planning our story using credible information (using the journal planner is recommended)
3. Writing our first draft (including a title, beginning, middle, and end, and a survival challenge that is resolved in a satisfying way for the reader)
4. Revising our draft which could include multiple drafts (versions) of our writing and conferencing with Miss Cichosz (for clarity, powerful words, organization, etc.)
5. Editing our journal
* Editing starts with a self-edit. The author edits his/her journal using the editing checklist using a coloured pencil crayon and initials the top of the first page in his/her colour.
* Editing continues with 3 peer edits. Each peer edits the author's work in a different colour using the editing checklist and initials the top of the first page.
* The different colours and initials help the teacher know who completed each edit, so students can be held responsible for their work. We underline words we don't know how to spell and look them up at the end of the editing process.
6. Submitting the final draft for final editing by Miss Cichosz or an adult helper (due Nov. 8)
7. Publishing (making an attractive copy for the reader)


Assessing our Journal Entry:
We agreed on a rubric to assess our journal entries and an editing checklist to use when editing our journals (by ourselves and three other students). You can find, download, and print these helpful documents at home by clicking the file titles below. The journal planner includes a website that can be used for research and books can also be borrowed from Miss Cichosz.



Journal Planner and Research Website


Journal Rubric


Editing Checklist

Science Design Project

Students in room 15 planned, cut, taped, glued and created circulatory models for Science.
Projects will be on display during conferences.

Art in Nature with Our Grade 1 Buddies

Our highlight this last week was time spent with our Grade 1 buddies. We used the natural materials we collected last buddy time to make our artwork that represents respect. Miss Cichosz and Mrs. Turner took photos of our artwork and printed copies for us. We used these copies to decorate our nature journals.

On Thursday, our class visited Truro Creek with our buddies and learned about the safety boundaries. We all spent time in nature and drew illustrations in our nature journals about what we respect about nature while inspired by life around the creek. We also talked about the types of animals we might expect to find at the creek and how to show respect for nature. Our class had a wonderful time with our buddies and we are looking forward to more time outdoors and at the creek!

A few examples of our Respect Nature Art

At Truro Creek

Juggling, Buddy Time, and Shape and Space

We had an exciting week beginning with a juggling presentation and lesson on Monday. We had a lot of fun and learned about balance, coordination, and juggling a variety of objects.

Our class also had Buddy Time with Team 8 (Grade 1). We learned about the Seven Sacred Teachings and Miss Cichosz read us a story about respect and the buffalo. After talking about respect and how to respect nature, we collected found materials outdoors, such as pine cones, dry leaves, and twigs. Next Buddy Time, we will assemble these materials to make artwork that shows what respect means to us.

Our class also started working with perimeter, area, and volume in our math study of Shape and Space. We explored the typical dimensions of a Haudenosaunee longhouse (approximately 10 m. wide, 10 m. tall, and 25 m. long with a curved roof) as part of our First Peoples' study in Social Studies. We learned how to find the perimeter, floor area, and approximate volume of a longhouse. Our week was full of learning and fun!

Length of an average Haudenosaunee longhouse (25 m. from the camera to the students in the centre of the hallway)

After Thanksgiving

Team 15 spent the last week talking more about gratitude. We shared what we learned from our reading about Beringia, wrote and shared journal entries written about a typical day as though we lived in the time period of Beringia, and began to read and study Indigenous Peoples' stories of origin. Our class also completed a writing assessment to help Miss Cichosz support us in our writing throughout the year. We began to learn about area in Math, including that different rectangles can have the same area (cover the same amount of space). We're excited to continue our learning and expect this coming week will fly by quickly!

Early October and Thanksgiving Art

Our focus for the first week of October included review of the big ideas of Growth Mindset. Photos of our bulletin board on Growth Mindset are included below which include examples of what we imagine our brains look like when we seek challenges; the more lines (connections) we have in our brains (due to challenges) the more we're growing our brains!

We also explored shapes using tangrams and continued our work with measurement. Our class began our study about the First Peoples of Canada. We read, discussed, and summarized the main points of the scientific theories regarding Beringia and will continue debating and sharing our understanding this coming week.

Our class also enjoyed making autumn themed cards with our Grade 1 buddies. We finished the cards on Friday by writing Thanksgiving messages inside. Happy Thanksgiving!

Is it the End of September Already?

Yes, it went by quickly! Our first month of the school year has come to a close. Here are a few highlights from our last week of September:
We explored shapes and space using pattern blocks. Our goal was to build a shape using specific criteria (such as number or types of blocks) and the pattern blocks available to us. This exploration helped us to begin understanding the term "area" before tackling problems that involve finding the area of a space.
We completed surveys about our intelligences, graphed and discussed our results, and decided on our strongest strengths. Some of us are reflecting on our strengths or we were absent, so we will add our names to our intelligence chart (shown below) this coming week. We will use this chart to find peer helpers during the school year as each person signed up under one of his/her strongest strengths.
We published our Class Treaty after writing the drafts together. Our treaty will guide our choices and actions throughout the school year. Those of us in attendance signed the treaty as a sign of our commitment and the rest of us will sign next week.
We also worked on Read to Someone after successful practice of Read to Self. Our class is doing a great job of focusing on our reading and we're beginning to share strategies and book recommendations with each other.
In September, our class focused on building community, understanding multiple intelligences (different ways people can be smart) and growth mindset, and increasing our focus. We will review these concepts during the school year and use them as a foundation for our learning. Let's get to more learning in October!

Measurement and Growth Mindset

We finished another week of learning and have a few highlights to share. Our focus in math problem solving has been exploring different units of measurement, such as metres and centimetres. Students have been working through routine math problems individually and in pairs and have engaged with open ended problems in small groups. We are also learning what a "good problem solver" does.

We have concluded our introduction to Growth Mindset using the Class Dojo video series. Miss Cichosz will review these ideas with us through mini lessons during the year. To illustrate how the neurons of our brains make connections, we crumpled scrap paper and outlined the creases with marker. Later, we wrote fixed mindset statements, such as, "I can't do math," and changed them to growth mindset statements, such as, "I can learn to do math as long as I keep trying." We learned that our neurons make more connections and we become smarter when we challenge ourselves! We're looking forward to a new week of seeking challenges!