We have started uploading a few things into our Seesaw portfolios. The QR code to access your child's portfolio was sent home today in the agenda. It is our hope to post some reading, writing, math, science events in there occasionally so that you can see what kinds of things YOUR child is producing in class. Enjoy the updates from your child.
In math this week, we continued to use a variety of mental math strategies to add and subtract large numbers ( 2 and 3 digit numbers) as well as using open number lines to order and compare numbers. Students made connections this week when we were looking at number lines and created a number line with numbers and then connected that concept to time and so we put the correlated times onto a number line. From there they noticed the connection between money too! So, of course, we put the corresponding money amounts onto a number line as well. The conversation was about why the half way point between 5 and 6 the number 51/2 but the halfway point between 5:00 and 6:00 was 5:30 and yet the halfway point between $5.00 and $6.00 was $5.50. They came up with that 30 was half of 60 minutes but 50 was half of a dollar. It was an important discovery! Connections and relationships are always important things for us to think about in math. The other important discovery was that just because numbers are not explicitly written on a number line doesn't mean that they don't exist. Even between consecutive numbers there are numbers (fractional parts). In math, we are also working on clearly representing and communicating our thinking and reasoning across all strands in math. These are skills we will continue ALL YEAR long! Answers are not as important to us as thinking and reasoning strategies.
In language, grade 2 students have been working hard on turning jot note information into clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs. We have developed paragraphs for each of the animal groups: mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians. A number of students are trying to use the strategies we use in writing our shared paragraphs for Golden Eagle of the Day in their daily writing. Grade 3 students have been working on reading informational text about plants and soils. They have been practising finding evidence to support their answers from the text and writing in complete, coherent sentences. Grade 3 students are also working on writing their own scripts for their photosynthesis cooking shows that they will produce using greenscreen and imovie technology. We will invite you to a red carpet movie viewing in the near future. Grade 2 students will begin a life cycle research project next week.
Our read aloud is from the Magic Treehouse collection yet again. We finished up Monday With a Mad Genius about Leonardo daVinci and are now reading Night of the New Magicians. I cannot reveal the 'New Magicians' as we are still making predictions as we read. We are only on chapter 3 and still very curious about who Jack and Annie are looking for at the Paris World's Fair in 1889.
Our Golden Eagle presentations have lead to mini lessons on capitalization of proper nouns, possessive s, using connector words to turn simple sentences into more complex sentences. We have started to include some personal connections woven throughout the paragraphs about our Golden Eagles and realize that when we do that it bumps our writing up to a new, more complex level. We continue to work on choral reading for fluency and pacing as we read aloud together.
In science, grade 3's continue to work on soil while grade 2 students are looking at sorting and classifying animal groupings. We were all enjoying the great outdoors while the weather is nice to work through some life science topics. Next week, we will work together on adaptations of plants and animals in a variety of biomes as well as the positive and negative effects of human actions on plants and animals. We will use a variety of fiction and non fiction text to investigate these topics. They will lead to some persuasive writing by both grade levels in the near future.
OTHER NEWS:
1.Our fish have had more babies and we are no longer saving them and putting them into the nursery net. It is a lesson on nature: no one in nature goes around saving baby animals in the wild. They must come with their own defenses to protect themselves or their babies like speed, camouflage, shelter, etc. Stay tuned. We will see what happens in the tank!
2. A few students acted as a construction crew this week and put together a shoe rack for us at the back of the coat rack. I gave them the box and left them to it. They had to figure out the pieces, follow the directions and work together. GREAT JOB GUYS! Our indoor and outdoor shoes were all over the place, causing a tripping hazard and looking like a mess. We now have a beautiful little shoe rack and the back of our coat rack looks sooooo much better. Thanks to the 3 students who put that together for us this week!
3. Library book exchange will always be on a Friday. Music and Gym change up based on the day--I will send home a schedule soon as our whole schedule did just change and we are still getting used to the changes.
4. WE WON THE TERRY FOX PIZZA PARTY. This will be at second nutrition break on Monday.
Enjoy the weekend ahead. The weather is supposed to be great. Looking forward to next week as we delve into things a little deeper in all areas of the curriculum.
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