Week 12 Update

Hello again! We had, as always, a busy week in room 220 and it's only going to get busier before the new year! 

Week at a Glance

Monday, November 30 - Library Day
Wednesday, December 2 - Hot Dog Day
Friday, December 4 - PYJAMA DAY
                               - Pizza Day

As well, this week is the start of ACES' Holiday Food Drive and Toy Mountain collections. Please send in any non-perishable items you'd like to donate, as well as any toys you'd like to donate to Toy Mountain. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

French
We are still working hard at developing our endurance during our Read to Someone part of our Daily 5 work and we're almost at 20 minutes! This week we'll be starting the 'Working with Words' section. 

The grade 2 students were focusing on the soft c sound, using the comptine 'Ciboule la sorcière'. We also discussed how to use a cédille (the hook ( ¸ ) ) to turn a hard c sound into a soft c sound.

The grade 3 students completed a reading comprehension activity about a student who moved from Timmins to Montreal. The evaluation will be sent home this week.

We also began our twice-a-week morning meetings in an attempt to increase oral communication skills. The students reflect on something they did well yesterday, and share something they want to improve on today. They also say how they are feeling and why, based on a discussion we had about emotions vocabulary. We finish up the meeting by voting on whether to do a secret handshake or a high five. The meeting is facilitated by a different student each time, which allows them to develop their leadership skills, as well as helping the students to develop conflict resolution skills by voting on decisions based on the majority opinion. 

Math
We finished up our week on temperature this week in both grade 2 and grade 3, discussing the temperature outside, as well as specific temperature landmarks (e.g. water freezes at 0 degrees, water boils at 100 degrees, room temperature is approx. 22 degrees). We also used temperature to work on some word problems, such as 'It was 17 degrees on Monday. It will be 9 degrees colder on Tuesday. What is the temperature on Tuesday?'.


Try discussing temperature at home by mentioning the temperature in the morning and in the afternoon, as well as asking them the difference between yesterday's temperature and today's temperature. 

Social Studies
In grade 2, we continued to discuss the differences and similarities between families. The students compared their family structures using Venn diagrams this week, specifically looking at families with only children, brothers or sisters. 

In grade 3, the students are still looking at the 3 different regions of Ontario (e.g. le bouclier canadien, les basses terres du Saint-Laurent, et les basses terres de la Baie d'Hudson), focusing on their topographical structure and what industries are popular in each of these regions. This week the students are finishing up a mini-project on which region they would like to visit and what activities they would do while there.

Art
We integrated our art this week with our literacy block, by reading 'De la peinture partout, partout, partout..' (in English, 'I ain't gonna paint no more' by Karen Beaumount). The book was about a boy that just loved to paint so much that he ended up painting the walls, the ceilings, but especially his body. His mother kept trying to keep him clean by making him promise to stop painting, but the boy just can't stop painting. The illustrations are amazing and we decided to do a super fun art project based on this premise. I asked the students to draw a self-portrait of how they would look if they were very clean and proper, just the way their parents like :). Then, we took paint and splattered it all over our very clean portrait! It was a lot of fun, if a bit messy! I've included some pictures of the process and end products below.

Week 11 Update

Thank you to all parents who made it in for Parent-Teacher Interviews, as well as those I met with previously, and those with whom I spoke with on the phone. I really appreciate the opportunity to sit down and talk with you about your child's progress, and ways that we can help them succeed, both at home and at school.  Please continue to ask me if you have questions!  As a team working together with students, we will have more success.

Important ongoing practice at home: Reading at-home (regular reading practice in French and English) and some math practice - practicing math facts, real math applications (telling time, buying groceries and comparing prices, counting money together, etc) and dialogue about math around us.

Monday, November 23 - Library Day

Weather - As the weather gets increasingly chilly, with the temperatures quite cold in the morning, please remember to send your child with the appropriate clothing (e.g., gloves, hat, warm coat) to stay warm through a 25 minute outdoor recess.

Français

As this last Wednesday was anti-bullying day at ACES, we did some read alouds and activities based on this theme. We read 'Ella l'élégante' (you can watch a video of this book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75bNfJC63po) which discussed the idea of helping new students adjust to a new school, forgiveness and tolerance. We also read 'Les pommes de M. Peabody' by Madonna (Mr. Peabody's Apples) which discussed the importance of the benefit of the doubt and finding out the truth before jumping to conclusions. If you'd like to discuss this book with your child, feel free to watch a video of the book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NERX9tHKW6E

As well, we began our second Daily Five centre which is Lecture à un autre. We began by brainstorming different expectations necessary for success (see below). Ask your child to explain our class rules about Lecture à un autre. 

Math

We'll be finishing up our time unit this week, with a quick Montre Mme later in the week. A reminder if you're practicing at home, that the grade 2s must be able to tell time to 15 minutes and the grade 3s to the minute.

This week we will begin to explore temperature by discussing how the temperature changes throughout the day, as well as recording these temperatures on a paper thermometer. We discussed what is inside the thermometer that allows us to see the temperature and how this liquid changes depending on the temperature. Today, we did an experiment with thermometers to measure the temperature in the classroom. Ask your child to tell you what happened to the mercury in the thermometer when it gets warmer and why we can't use water as the liquid in the thermometer. 

Week 10 Update

I hope you all had a great and relaxing weekend! A couple of quick reminders for the upcoming week:

Monday, November 16 - Library Day

Thursday, November 19 - Parent-Teacher Interviews (PM)

Friday, November 20 - PD Day

                                 - Parent-Teacher Interviews (AM)

Interview request sheets went home this week. Please let me know as soon as possible if you can make the assigned time slot for interviews. I have filled my interview schedule to be able to meet with all parents that I have not already met with this year. In order to try to make the most of our interview time (15 minutes can go by quickly), please jot down any questions or concerns you have prior to coming in for your interview. I look forward to seeing you later this week!

Weather - As the weather gets increasingly chilly, with the temperatures quite cold in the morning, please remember to send your child with the appropriate clothing (e.g., gloves, hat, warm coat) to stay warm through a 25 minute outdoor recess.

Classroom Donations - We are running low on plastic spoons and Kleenex, so if you have  any extras hanging around the house, we'd welcome them with open arms! Thanks again!

Français

We have been focusing on reading comprehension strategies, especially reading back and using context clues in the text to read the text on a deeper level. Some great ways to work on this at home is to stop your child at some point during their nightly reading and ask them what they think is going to happen next or why they think the character made a certain decision. The grade 3s have also been working on writing their own books that we will be displaying in our class in next few weeks.

Mathematics

We continued working on time his week, still working on showing time on a clock and telling time, but also beginning to discuss elapsed time. This can be a tricky concept for some students, so if you're doing any activities at home that have a specific end point, try asking your child what time it will be at the end (e.g. It's 4:15 and dinner is at 5:30. How long do you have to play before dinner?).

Remembrance Day

The students participated in the Remembrance Day assembly on Wednesday and did an absolutely fantastic job of showing respect and remembering those who have fought for our country. The grade 3 students did a great performance of "Une colombe" with Mme Perreault and Mme Morel. Our class' poppy art was on display in the main lobby. It's still up if you'd like to check it out!

Visual Art

In grade 2 this week, we discussed the techniques of warm and cool colours. The grade 3s worked on a mixed media project using paints and pastels, focusing on mixing shades. Keep an eye out for finished projects next week!

Week 9 Update

Wow! C'était une semaine plein d'activités dans la salle 220! It was a busy week in room 220! A reminder that our remembrance day assembly will be taking place this Wednesday, November 11th at 11:30am. The grade 3 students from Mme Stairs, Mme Morel and Mme Perreault's class will be performing the song 'Une colombe' at the assembly. All parents are invited to attend the ceremony.

Monday, November 9 - Library Day
Wednesday, November 11 - Remembrance Day Assembly
Thursday, November 12 - Grade 2 Dental Screening
Friday, November 13 - Grade 2 Scientists in School Presentation: Air and Water

Reading Progress Note
Reading progress notes for grade 2 students went home this week - to give you your child's current reading level, as well as the goal for Grade 1 and Grade 2 (please note that the goals indicated on the progress note are for the end of Grade 1 and the end of Grade 2).  If you have concerns or questions, please let me know (the agenda is still be best way to communicate) and we can talk either before interviews or at interviews.

Please note that while I did assess the students' reading levels in early September, I used these levels to give them a start for their at-home reading, but did not communicate these results in a progress note as their reading levels normally decrease over the summer and they start lower in the fall. The level indicated on the progress note is from assessments done mid to late October. You should now have a more accurate idea of their reading level, now that they've had some regular French reading at home and at school.

To give a little background on leveled reading - we test using books of pre-determined levels, follow along with a copy of the text while the student reads, and determine the level by the percentage of words correctly read and the comprehension level the student demonstrates when answering a few questions based on the text. This also allows me to make anecdotal notes about the fluency, their decoding strategies, and the type of of errors they make. This helps with further instruction.

Thank you for your regular support with reading!  Please do let me know if you have any questions!

Mathematics
We started a new unit this week that will address the measurement strand of the curriculum, focusing on time (years, seasons, months, weeks, days, hours, and minutes) and temperature. We started to investigate the measurement of time this week, using analog clocks to tell time the the quarter hour, half hour, and hour. We've been using mini clocks to practice telling time together as a class, as well as working with partners to test each other on their time-telling abilities. 

We've been working very hard on distinguishing between the hour and minute hand, and especially on where the hour hand should be at 5:45 or 5:30 versus 5:00. This is a great skill to practice regularly at home and can be discussed at random times throughout the day.

The expectations for Grade 3 is that students are able to tell and show time to the 5-minute intervals. The curriculum expectations for Grade 2 is that students are able to tell and show time to the quarter-hour. The expectation from Grade 1 is that they can tell time to the hour and half-hour. However, to help us understand the minutes on the clock, we are also exploring time to the 5-minute intervals. This helps to understand why a quarter-hour is 15 minutes and a half-hour is 30 minutes  when we look at a full hour and how it divides up.

You can help practice time at home by asking your child what time is it, discussing what time certain events happen and asking them questions - How many minutes are there in an hour?  How many hours are there in a day?  How do you know by looking at the clock that an hour has passed?  Which hand is the minute hand and which hand is the hour hand? How many minutes are between each number on the clock?  Why is the hour hand between the 2 and the 3 when it's 2:30?  Where is the hour hand pointing when it's 2:15?

Social Studies

Grade 2 - We've been discussing different family structures and how even though every family is different, they are all of equal importance and value. We also began discussing our cultural origins and where our ancestors originated. We went over where everyone's ancestors came from and the students were shocked to see how far away and how many countries we all came from to end up all together in Canada.

Grade 3 - The grade 3 students will be learning about the physical and municipal regions of Ontario. They will explore the relationship between the natural environment, land use, and employment opportunities, and how different uses of land and resources affect the environment. We began by discussing the physical location of Ontario within the country, as well as some of its major landmarks, including major cities and the Great Lakes. We also discussed some of the things that makes Ontario unique, such as plants and animals specific to the province. 

 

Remembrance Day

We discussed Remembrance Day as a day to recognize and be thankful for everyone who works now (or has in the past) to maintain peace and the freedoms that we enjoy.  Some students commented on family who were in the military or who are now in the military.  We talked about the poppy being a symbol for Remembrance Day, and that we wear a poppy (and recognize Remembrance Day) to say thank you and to demonstrate respect for their sacrifice. The students may have shared the 'What does a poppy mean' commercial that we used to discuss the meaning behind the poppy.On Friday, we also completed an art project that included painting a field of poppies. We discussed the idea of perspective -  how using larger objects in the foreground of the painting and then adding smaller objects gives an impression of depth and distance in a painting. I've included some photos below of some of our finished products!

The grade 3 students also completed a stained glass art using a dove while practicing for the Remembrance Day assembly with Mme Morel's class.

Welcome back!

Hooray! With ETFO reaching a tentative agreement with the Ministry of Education, most of our activities will be back to normal, including our classroom blog!

I'll continue to update on a relatively weekly basis as to our general goings-on in the class, as well as important information and upcoming events. 

Grade 2 Comptines
The grade 2 students should be coming home tonight with a green duotang. This duotang can stay in their petit sac or at home, but must be at school every Monday morning. Inside the duotang, you will find one comptine added each week that focuses on specific French sounds that should help with our regular reading. We first read the comptine in class on Mondays and then review it throughout the week. The students are asked to read the comptine 3 times within a week, whether that be 3 times all in one night or 3 times throughout the week. Each time they read the comptine, I ask that you sign the bottom of the sheet, so that by Monday morning when they return the duotang to school, there would be 3 parent signatures or initials.

Grade 3 At-home math practice
This is ongoing and can be found in their green duotangs. If your child experiences any difficulty in understanding the question and you are unable to help them, please send the duotang back in with them before Thursday morning and I can try to explain it for them before the homework is due on Thursdays.

Grade 2 Dental Screening
I apologize, but I had the date wrong for the dental screening last week. The actual date is Thursday, November 12th. Thanks!

Scholastic
Last call for Scholastic orders! I'll be placing my final order for the month on Thursday.


Have a wonderful week everyone!


Mme Stairs