Dear families,
This week we completed and wrote about our science experiment, worked more on our unit on The Snowy Day, and focused on our sight words on our word wall: I, is, can, and, am, like, me, my. Next week's Popcorn Words will be CAN and SEE.
We also did a lot of practice with tally marks, graphing and counting. We talked about text-to-self connections when we read books, and how stories can relate to our own lives. "The Snowy Day" was a perfect book for this. We also talked about how stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end, and the children sequenced The Snowy Day. They also coloured and sequenced a little copy of The Snowy Day to take home so that they can read it to you, as well as key pictures from the story to help them with the skill of retelling the story in the correct order. The children also listened to the story with their eyes closed so that they could visualize what was happening. We also talked about making predictions and about their opinions of the story. All important literacy skills moving forward. The children will bring their folders home on Friday. Next week we'll read Munsch's funny classic "Thomas' Snowsuit" and we'll make text-to-text connections together.
We also had fun re-reading "Aliens Love Underpants" then "Aliens in Underpants Save the World." The children helped me write as many words as they could make from the word U-N-D-E-R-P-A-N-T-S which was 45! They also did that activity with letter cards at their centres.
Our "first-thing-in-the-morning" books are now Bob Books. Bob books (Scholastic) are such an excellent series to teach children to read. The kids really like them and feel so accomplished when they can read them and read them to their friends.
On the Smartboard, we focused on beginning sounds, ending sounds, and double consonant sounds. It's terrific how things are really clicking for the children!
The children played at the snowflake centres for the last few days before I changed it to a numeracy centre with small blocks.
The homework for the Juniors is to complete the counting exercise "Frosty Friends" and "It's Winter Weather." The Senior homework is to write the compound words with 'snow.'
Since the weather has been a bit mucky please have an extra pair of mitts or gloves in your child's backpack. When their mittens get wet they don't want to put them on!
Thank you very much to Anderson's mom who helped out in the Computer Lab, and to Olivia's dad who was our Mystery Reader this week.
It's not too early to start counting your child's 100 items for the 100th Day of School which is Friday, February 6. Please have your child put the items in a small water bottle. It's also not too early for your child to start writing Valentine Cards with their name "from" on each one.
On February 9 the Juniors will receive their first report card. Both Juniors and Seniors will receive another report in June. Please read the LKS Bulletin regarding online interview booking.
I hope you have a terrific week!
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Week of January 12-16
Dear families,
I hope you had a wonderful holiday! The children had lots of stories to tell about their adventures and outings.
Last week we got right back into the swing of things with our unit on Winter and our science exploration of water freezing. The weather has cooperated with our inquiry! We guessed/thought ("hypothesized") about which water in which of 4 cups would freeze first (most children guessed correctly that the smallest amount would freeze first), watched ("observed") the water freeze, then discussed/learned ("concluded") that smaller amounts of liquid freeze fastest. We also observed that the water froze first on the top because of the air around it. Good job! Then we did the same experiment in reverse: predicting and observing which would melt first, etc.
This week we are changing the experiment a bit: we put the same amount of water into 4 different sized containers. The children's predictions were interesting. about half thought the widest and lowest container would freeze first (correct), and about half thought the tallest and thinnest container would freeze first (since it looks like more). The rest predicted the two in-between sizes. After our second experiment is done they'll write and draw what they liked/learned and we'll send that home. These experiments are also a nice introduction to our unit on Measurement.
We continued our inquiry/centres on snowflakes: how to draw them, what they look like, how to make them our of paper and playdoh. The children are also completing a booklet on weather and weather words.
We also did our December calendars and "This is me in December" work, which is on display in our classroom.
We are learning three new poems about snow: Snowmen, I slip and I slide, and 5 little snowmen. I changed 5 to 6 to reinforce our number 6 which we focused on in centres last week (since each snowflake has six sides/points).
Our Popcorn Words for last week were can and me. We talk about these words a lot in class and they are on our fabric word wall. If the children can't remember how to spell them, they can take the (velcro-backed) word from the wall and bring it to their table, then put it back under the correct letter space. Each week your child will bring home two new popcorn words (this Friday they brought home CAN and ME). They should go in their yellow Popcorn Word folder. I also sent home a copy of the Popcorn Word Song (tune is "Mary Had a Little Lamb").
Like in to no am a that
Can me yes,
I of the,
Said we he is was go see
And it big my went.
We have "buttered" (i.e. put on our word wall and in our Popcorn folders) the following words: I, am, is, and, can, me. We put yellow marker/highlighter on top of the words. This week we are buttering "like" and "my."
The kids are really enjoying our fun unit on Aliens. They are practising literacy and numeracy skills while heaving fun and reading the funny book "Aliens Love Underpants." For example, we talked about and wrote as many words as we could with the word "underpants" and made it into 6 centres. The kids loved it and were learning a lot of skills without even realizing it. :) They also had fun cutting and gluing parts of aliens together and completing the sentence/writing "If an aliens came to visit I would..."
We also started a Book Look of the lovely Caldicott award-winning book "The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats. This book is excellent for teaching/learning about Sequence (the order things happen in a story - beginning, middle, end), making text-to-self connections, predicting what will happen next, and retelling the story. The children are making a folder for this little unit and it will go home when they are finished their in-class work.
Thank you so much to Lauren's dad who was Mystery Reader, and to Megan's family who collated this month's Scholastic Book order forms. The Scholastic orders are due by January 31.
The following children will be receiving certificates for Teamwork at our next Sharing Assembly on January 28th (gym - 9:00 a.m.): Dima, Matthew H., and Dylan. Good work! I will not be at school on the 28th because I will be supervising the LKS students in Me to We/Free the Children on a trip to the Daily Bread Food Bank. Mrs. Ede-Smith and Mrs. Paldon will direct the children that day.
Finally, on February 6 it is the 100th Day of School! Please bring in 100 items that fit into a clear water bottle. That way the children learn that 100 grains of rice, for example, look very different from 100 cotton balls in the same container. Please be sure to put the lid back on your water bottle and label it with your child's name.
Your can count and bring in his/her 100 items any day before February 6th. Counting by tens is easiest for the children. Thank you in advance to the parents who are assisting me with our 100th Day of School Celebration from 9:00-10:15 a.m. I will prepare the 6 centres. It will be a fun day!
I hope you have a wonderful week!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday! The children had lots of stories to tell about their adventures and outings.
Last week we got right back into the swing of things with our unit on Winter and our science exploration of water freezing. The weather has cooperated with our inquiry! We guessed/thought ("hypothesized") about which water in which of 4 cups would freeze first (most children guessed correctly that the smallest amount would freeze first), watched ("observed") the water freeze, then discussed/learned ("concluded") that smaller amounts of liquid freeze fastest. We also observed that the water froze first on the top because of the air around it. Good job! Then we did the same experiment in reverse: predicting and observing which would melt first, etc.
This week we are changing the experiment a bit: we put the same amount of water into 4 different sized containers. The children's predictions were interesting. about half thought the widest and lowest container would freeze first (correct), and about half thought the tallest and thinnest container would freeze first (since it looks like more). The rest predicted the two in-between sizes. After our second experiment is done they'll write and draw what they liked/learned and we'll send that home. These experiments are also a nice introduction to our unit on Measurement.
We continued our inquiry/centres on snowflakes: how to draw them, what they look like, how to make them our of paper and playdoh. The children are also completing a booklet on weather and weather words.
We also did our December calendars and "This is me in December" work, which is on display in our classroom.
We are learning three new poems about snow: Snowmen, I slip and I slide, and 5 little snowmen. I changed 5 to 6 to reinforce our number 6 which we focused on in centres last week (since each snowflake has six sides/points).
Our Popcorn Words for last week were can and me. We talk about these words a lot in class and they are on our fabric word wall. If the children can't remember how to spell them, they can take the (velcro-backed) word from the wall and bring it to their table, then put it back under the correct letter space. Each week your child will bring home two new popcorn words (this Friday they brought home CAN and ME). They should go in their yellow Popcorn Word folder. I also sent home a copy of the Popcorn Word Song (tune is "Mary Had a Little Lamb").
Like in to no am a that
Can me yes,
I of the,
Said we he is was go see
And it big my went.
We have "buttered" (i.e. put on our word wall and in our Popcorn folders) the following words: I, am, is, and, can, me. We put yellow marker/highlighter on top of the words. This week we are buttering "like" and "my."
The kids are really enjoying our fun unit on Aliens. They are practising literacy and numeracy skills while heaving fun and reading the funny book "Aliens Love Underpants." For example, we talked about and wrote as many words as we could with the word "underpants" and made it into 6 centres. The kids loved it and were learning a lot of skills without even realizing it. :) They also had fun cutting and gluing parts of aliens together and completing the sentence/writing "If an aliens came to visit I would..."
We also started a Book Look of the lovely Caldicott award-winning book "The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats. This book is excellent for teaching/learning about Sequence (the order things happen in a story - beginning, middle, end), making text-to-self connections, predicting what will happen next, and retelling the story. The children are making a folder for this little unit and it will go home when they are finished their in-class work.
Thank you so much to Lauren's dad who was Mystery Reader, and to Megan's family who collated this month's Scholastic Book order forms. The Scholastic orders are due by January 31.
The following children will be receiving certificates for Teamwork at our next Sharing Assembly on January 28th (gym - 9:00 a.m.): Dima, Matthew H., and Dylan. Good work! I will not be at school on the 28th because I will be supervising the LKS students in Me to We/Free the Children on a trip to the Daily Bread Food Bank. Mrs. Ede-Smith and Mrs. Paldon will direct the children that day.
Finally, on February 6 it is the 100th Day of School! Please bring in 100 items that fit into a clear water bottle. That way the children learn that 100 grains of rice, for example, look very different from 100 cotton balls in the same container. Please be sure to put the lid back on your water bottle and label it with your child's name.
Your can count and bring in his/her 100 items any day before February 6th. Counting by tens is easiest for the children. Thank you in advance to the parents who are assisting me with our 100th Day of School Celebration from 9:00-10:15 a.m. I will prepare the 6 centres. It will be a fun day!
I hope you have a wonderful week!
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