New Things in Room 15

Math Thinking

These are some cool things we've been doing these past few weeks. In our math thinking, we've been working on clear communication. In this example we are working on a place value problem. This team did a lot of writing and labelled their numbers to show their thinking. They also shared their work during our class discussion.

Sharing Writing

This boy is a celebrity! He shared his writing with our class.We told him he did a great job and gave specific compliments on his writing.

Our new routine is students in our class perform one song each day during English Literacy time in the morning. We have a sign up board to determine the performance order. Our class builds community, practises listening skills, and increases our confidence through performing. One song a day keeps the doctor away!

It's Raining Tacos performance

Like Diamonds in the Night performance

November Report Cards

Report cards go home today! I thought it would be a good opportunity to post about the November report card, so we are all on the same page about its significance. Like the March report card, the November report is an interim report. The assessment and comments are a snapshot in time of each student's progress toward end of year goals for the grade level or, in some cases, a student's individual plan.

Most students, particularly entering Grade 4, find that the first term is a time to adjust to higher expectations for their grade level. As a result, the assessment or "marks" reflect this adjustment. Students typically increase their progress over the second term once they are familiar with the expectations. The first term is also a time for me to get to know the students and their needs. In some cases, it is a time to determine and fine-tune any support a student may need in order to meet end of year goals. In second term, these supports are already in place and students typically progress more rapidly toward their school goals.

Thus, I hope we can all look at the November report as a progress report. A friendly reminder that our Celebration of Learning begins tomorrow. Thursday evening (4:30 - 7:30 p.m.) is an open house format with multiple families in the room and is an opportunity for students to show families their work and classroom and to celebrate their learning. If you have concerns about your child's progress or would like to discuss questions privately, private appointments are available Friday morning and can be booked through the Linwood School conference manager on our school website under the "Parents and Community" tab.
You can also copy and paste the following URL into your web browser.

https://www.sjasd.ca/school/linwood/Parents/ConferenceManager/Pages/default.aspx


If you would like to meet to discuss your child's progress, but are not able to attend on Friday, please contact the teacher you would like to speak with and arrange an alternate appointment time. Please contact me (Mrs. Rosney) for an alternate appointment by e-mail at: mcichosz@sjsd.net or on the Remind app for our class. You can also call the school office and I will return your call the same day if I am teaching at the time of your call. I am happy to see families supporting students and would be glad to meet with you.

Hope to see everyone at conferences!

Link for School Song During Remembrance Day Service at Linwood

Happy listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCIrcnQKYf4  

YouTube

This is My Wish by Christie Marshall 

A Great Week!

We had a short week, but we learned a lot! Last week we finished our Thanksgiving cards that we started with our Grade 1 buddies. This week we made a gratitude tree together. Each of us decorated circles and wrote something we're thankful for inside each circle to go on the tree.

In Math we worked more with perimeter and area. In our problem, "36 Fences," we were given a perimeter of 36 metres and had to make a horse corral that would have the smallest and largest area. We drew miniature corrals and used pieces of q-tips to build them on giant grid paper. The shape with the largest area was a circle! The shape with the smallest area was irregular, which means it doesn't share all the attributes of a regular shape like a circle, rectangle, square or more. We also talked about how making a mistake, and even failing at something (like making a shape that doesn't work for the problem), is actually great because it means we're learning!

We also started a clay project with a professional artist named Donna. She showed us some clay creations and explained how clay is porous, which means it soaks up water like a sponge. When we make our own clay pieces we will paint them with glaze and the clay will soak it up! We are going to make texture paintings using clay and glaze of wild animals to connect to our study of habitats and communities in Science. We planned our pieces on paper during this session and cut out pieces like a sewing pattern, except we won't be sewing! Next time we will trace the paper pattern onto our clay and cut our pieces to make our animals. We will paint the clay with glaze (special clay paint) the next day. Donna will take the art to fire (heat up) in the kiln and the glaze will become shiny like glass!

Choice time was fun and amazing. We didn't have choice time last week because we saved up an hour of choice time to use today! We played inside and outside and had a great time with our friends! Looking forward to more fun and learning next week!

Math Year Plan

Below is the Math Plan for 2017 -18 for Team 15. I haven't posted until now as I typically like to teach for about a month to determine the needs of the class before finalizing the year plan. Families are invited to take a look and contact me with any questions. I'd be happy to address any concerns over the phone or by meeting in person.

Math Outline 2017-2018

Team 15 – Grade 4/5

M. Rosney

September

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers (working toward 10 000 for Grade 4 and 1 000 000 for Grade 5)

* Measure length, width, and height in mm., cm., and m. and explain which to select

* Solve problems involving perimeter of rectangles

* Identify and sort quadrilaterals according to their attributes (rectangle, square, trapezoid, parallelogram, rhombus)

* First hand versus second hand data (statistics)

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Add & subtract up to 10 000 (standard algorithm, expanded form, jump on number line, friendly numbers)

* Estimate sums & differences

* Repeated doubling strategy

* Connect personal strategies

October

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Fraction review: situations in which a fraction is a whole divided into equal parts

* Balancing single step equations (missing number)

* Explore area of regular and irregular 2-D shapes understand that area is measured in square units

* Identify and sort quadrilaterals according to their attributes (rectangle, square, trapezoid, parallelogram, rhombus)

* Probability (ratios) vocab: impossible, possible, certain, less likely, equally likely, more likely

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Add & subtract up to 10 000

* Estimate sums & differences

* Double and add one group

* Connect personal strategies

November

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Fraction review: compare fractions with like denominators within one whole (e.g. pie, bar, array)

* Write equations and use symbol for unknown number

* Explore area of regular and irregular 2-D shapes understand that area is measured in square units

* Describe and provide examples of edges and faces of 3-D objects and 2-D shapes (parallel, intersecting, perpendicular, vertical, and horizontal)

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Add & subtract up to 10 000

* Front end rounding

* Repeated doubling

* Connect personal strategies

December

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Fractions: name, record, and order for parts of whole

* Multiplication arrays and other representations

(both single digits - connect to area)

* Continue pattern found in table or chart with concrete materials

* Solve equation problems with symbols or letters representing unknown number

* Solve problems involving perimeter and area of rectangles given perimeter, area, or both

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Review add & subtract

* Front end rounding

* Doubling and halving strategy

* Multiply: property of 0 and 1

* Connect personal strategies

January

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Fractions: name, record, and order for parts of set

* Multiplication arrays and other representations

(single by double digits)

* Multiply and divide 1 by 2 digits (standard algorithm and estimation)

* Patterns in tables and charts

* Solve equation problems with single unknowns

* Solve problems involving perimeter and area of rectangles given perimeter, area, or both

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Review add & subtract

* Compensation estimation

* Skip counting from known fact

* Connect personal strategies

February

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Fractions: different wholes and different quantities (same recorded fraction)

* Multiply and divide 1 by 3 digits (standard algorithm and estimation)

* Patterns in multiplication charts

* Solve problems involving volume and constructing rectangular prisms

* Line symmetry and transformations of 2-D shapes; perform, draw, and describe (translation, rotation, reflection)

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Review add & subtract

* Compensation estimation

* Patterns in the 9s facts

* Connect personal strategies

March

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Fractions: equivalent sets and compare like and unlike denominators

* Decimals: relate to fractions

* Multiply and divide 2 by 2 digits (standard algorithm and estimation)

* Determine pattern rules to make predictions

* Solve problems involving volume and constructing rectangular prisms

* Construct triangular prisms

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Review add & subtract

* Review estimation

* Multiply distributive property

* Connect personal strategies

April

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Decimals: describe, represent, order, and add to tenths

*Multiply and divide 2 by 3 digits (standard algorithm and estimation)

* Determine pattern rules to make predictions

* Solve problems involving volume using mL and L

* Pictographs and single bar graphs (many-to-one correspondence)

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Review add & subtract

* Compatible numbers estimate

* Multiply annexing & returning zeroes

* Connect personal strategies

May

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Decimals: describe, represent, order, add, subtract to hundredths

* Multiply and divide 1 or 2 digits by 4 digits (standard algorithm and estimation)

* Make own patterns in tables and charts

* Solve problems involving volume using mL and L

* Double bar graphs

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Review add & subtract

* Compatible numbers estimate

* Estimate products & quotients

* Connect personal strategies

June

Knowledge & Understanding (Number Sense & Concepts)

* Represent, describe, and order numbers

* Decimals: describe, represent, order to thousandths; equivalent decimals

* Review operations

* Read and record time using digital and analog clocks including 24-hour clocks

Mental Math & Estimation (Strategies & Basic Facts)

* Review add & subtract

* Review estimation

* Review math strategies

Amazing Autumn

These pictures are from many school days over the previous weeks. We've done math problems involving measuring, perimeter, and area. Plus, we played math games. We learned about maps of Canada and we are working on making our own classroom maps. Also, we read a book called "Gray Wolf's Search" and recorded what we saw, heard, thought, felt, and wondered. Thinking about our reading helps us to understand it better. We earned, saved up choice time minutes, and decided to play outside. We hope you enjoy looking at all these photos! Happy Thanksgiving!

Working on Rectangle Construction

Shape Mystery - Drawing Shapes with the Same Perimeter and Finding Different Areas

Shape Mystery

Literacy Station - Reading

Outdoor Choice Time - We Saved Up Over an Hour!

Working on Our Repeated Doubling Math Strategy

Making Maps of Our Classroom

Canadian Geography - Making a map of Canada

Assembling our Canada Map

Making our Canada map was challenging!

Learning About Provinces, Territories, and the Distances Between Capital Cities

Thinking Deeply About Reading - Using the See/Hear/Think/Feel/Wonder Strategy with "Gray Wolf's Search"

First Week of School

We finished our first week of school! Some highlights include math doubles games, learning to measure, and buddy time with our Grade 1 buddies in room 8. We hope that we have another great week after the weekend!

Doubles Game with Friends

Measurement Activity with Friends

More Measurement with Friends

Organizing Classroom Library

Buddy Time

Buddy Time

Buddy Time

Buddy Time

Buddy Time

Buddy Time

March Report Cards

As report cards are sent home again tomorrow, here is a timely post about the use of the March report card. 

Both November and March report cards are interim report cards which describe a student's progress related to year end goals for his/her grade level. Please take a look at the post in November regarding general information about interim report cards. 

The information in the following link clarifies some common misconceptions about report cards:

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/report_cards/docs/opinions_facts.pdf

Additional information about a few specific subject areas is included below:

Math:

Assessment of problem solving in math was addressed in the November post.

In the area of mental math, students are expected to meet specific goals by the end of the school year in the areas of fact fluency and use of mental math strategies including estimation.

For grade specific outcomes please copy and paste the link below into your browser and click on your child's grade for his/her year end goals. Students in both Grade 4 and 5 need to demonstrate fact fluency in addition and subtraction as well as a strong grasp of estimation and the mental math strategies taught in class. As we work on multiplication and division, Grade 4 students will need to be able to recall multiplication and related division facts up to 5 X 5 and demonstrate an understanding of division facts up to 9 X 9 using a variety of mental math strategies. Grade 5 students will be expected to recall multiplication and related division facts up to 9 X 9.

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/math/outcomes/index.html

English Language Arts and Social Studies:

Students are expected to think deeply and critically at higher levels in Grade 4 and 5. This includes deep comprehension strategies when reading, viewing, and listening, such as asking questions about format, purpose, and style when reading texts and responding to reading and research independently both orally, in writing, and by representing understanding through artwork, movement, etc.

Being able to "decode" by reading the words at higher levels does not ensure comprehension, thus students needs to show consistent and independent practice of strategies such as asking questions; making connections between themselves, texts, and the world; making predictions; and noticing and empathizing with characters. Assessment of reading includes evaluation of students' written responses to reading, observations of comprehension and critical thinking strategies, conversations with students about these strategies, and a small amount is based on a students' reading level or benchmark.

Students who actively question information and form arguments to support their opinions and preferences show very strong critical thinking and communication skills. Students in Grade 5 are expected to demonstrate these skills with greater independence and sophistication than in Grade 4 as they set goals for themselves as readers and researchers. 

As always, families are welcome to meet with teachers to discuss questions or concerns about their child's progress.

Literacy Stations and Word Work

Nearly every day after our last recess, our class has Literacy Stations. During this time we work on writing independently, catch up work, reading alone or with someone, listening to reading via Raz-Kids on the iPads, literacy work with an adult, and working on our spelling work called Word Work.

We have nine Word Work stations with each based on using a different intelligence. Howard Gardener, an American developmental psychologist, identified nine types of intelligence years ago, and educational practice has shown that learning using a variety of types of intelligence helps our brains make more connections between ideas and skills. Miss Cichosz created the stations after reading Dr. Jennifer Katz's book, Teaching to Diversity, and discussing ideas with our divisional literacy coach. Our nine Word Work stations include:

- Naturalist (Nature Smart): students find letter tiles in a sand bin using tools, like archaeologists, to spell their practice words

- Musical-Rhythmic (Music and Rhythm Smart): students use their spelling words to write a song or rap

- Logical-Mathematical (Number and Reasoning Smart): students make a word code using numbers to represent each letter and solve a message by adding or multiplying the numbers for each letter

- Existential (Big Question/Meaning and Life Smart): students find the meaning of the words by using a dictionary site on the iPads and writing the definition on the window and then on their dictionary pages

- Interpersonal (People Smart): students work together to guess their spelling words and to spell them by playing charades or hangman with a partner

- Intrapersonal (Self Smart): students create a story or comic about their own lives using their spelling words

- Bodily-Kinesthetic (Body and Movement Smart): students carve their spelling words into Play-Doh

- Visual-Spatial (Art and Picture Smart): students create word art using their spelling words, such as word graffiti or words including letter characters with arms and legs

- Verbal-Linguistic (Word Smart): students write a short story, poem, letter, etc. using their spelling words

We enjoy learning our spelling words in such diverse ways!

Throw Back to December Holiday Gifts

In December, our class made faux stained glass art to give to our families as gifts. We traced and added onto designs with sharpie on plastic overhead pages. We then painted the pages, waited for the acrylic paint to dry, and flipped the pages over onto aluminum foil in a frame. After you flip the plastic page the sharpie lines are revealed on the other side of the paint; when placed over the foil the art looks like stained glass! We loved making such festive art for our families.

Buddy Time

Happy new year! The next few posts will be in quick succession as I apologize for not posting in a few months and need to catch up!

Our class has enjoyed spending time with our Grade 1 buddies. We have been learning about the Seven Sacred Teachings as well as the animals who are the Seven Sacred Teachers. We first began learning about the teaching of Respect in the fall and concluded our learning with exploration of the buffalo box as the Buffalo is the teacher of Respect. We handled different parts of the Buffalo and learned that these parts can be used to make different tools, such as needles, as well as items, such as drinking pouches and soap. We learned that traditionally, Indigenous Peoples use all parts of the Buffalo possible to show Respect for the animal and for the environment, instead of only using some parts and wasting the rest. The Buffalo brings the teaching of Respect because as long as Indigenous Peoples have been here, the Buffalo has sustained life by providing clothing, food, shelter, and expression through artwork.

We also began learning about the teaching of Love and that the Eagle brings us this lesson. According to the Seven Sacred Teachings, the Eagle has a unique relationship with the Creator and shows Love by protecting and guarding offspring. We expressed our Love through play and also created artwork that shows whom and what we Love.