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!