Boogie Bones

On Friday we created our own dancing skeletons based on a book called "Boogie Bones" written by Elizabeth Loredo and Kevin Hawkes. We got very creative with our dance moves... just see for yourself!

Boogie Bones - 2013

Boo Hoo...

Ms. Ostonal's last day is tomorrow. She is such an amazing addition to room 209. I wish we could keep her forever! The good news however, is that she returns for another three weeks starting December 2nd. Let the count down begin!

Busy Busy Busy!

Over the last few days we have been busy little bees in Room 209! Our reading blocks have been full of making meaningful connections to various texts as well as guided reading with the teacher. During writing block we have been working on including interesting details in our work. We have been reading samples of work and deciding what are "treasures" (details that are interesting and worth keeping) and what is "trash" (the stuff that is sorta boring and we can get rid of). After lots of whole and small group practice we were ready to start something exciting today! As pairs we chose a non fiction animal book to read. After reading the text the boys and girls were to go back and discuss what facts really stood out to them as treasures. Finally, they were to record 5 - 7 treasures in jot note form in preparation to write their own paragraph about that animal. The buzz that was taking place in the classroom was amazing! Everyone was engaged in their task and thrilled to record only what they found most interesting. Next week we will continue our jot notes and begin writing some very interesting paragraphs.  

Because Of Winn Dixie

On Tuesday we (finally) finished reading our class novel "There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom." I have been reading this book to my kiddies now for five years and I think I actually love it more and more each time I read it. It is such a rich text with many complex yet loveable characters. I think that as a class we would all agree that we really connected emotionally to Bradley Chalkers. It was almost like he was the 20th kid in our class! We were sad to end our journey with him but very excited to begin our next novel.

Yesterday we began "Because of Winn Dixie." This is another fantastic story with so much to love! I can tell that the kiddies are all already hooked and excited to listen to this story unfold. Have a mentioned that I love reading and the magic it brings to the classroom... it's priceless! 

Making Meaningful Connections

During our Reading Block, Ms. Ostonal has been teaching the boys and girls how to make

meaningful connections to the texts they read. Good readers connect to the big ideas / lessons is the story rather than the small details. For example: connecting with the way a character felt after being teased versus connecting to the idea that you too have a red sweater like the main character gives a reader a deeper understanding of the author’s message. These deeper connections help us better understand the texts we read, and therefore, make us better readers! I encourage the boys and girls to try and make meaningful connections when doing their nightly reading at home!

Long and Short Vowels

Last Thursday's practice page required us to do two things. Identify the syllables in a word and identify whether the vowel was long or short. Most of us have syllables down pat. However, I have noticed that many of us are confusing our long and short vowels. We will continue to review this concept daily during evening meeting using our POTW. Students should also practice distinguishing between long and short vowels at home using texts such as our POTW and the words of the week.

Math Strategies

We have been (pardon the pun)... adding to our math tool belts over the last few days. I have been introducing the boys and girls to different strategies that might help them out for various addition questions. We are trying to rely less on our fingers, counters and calculators and more on our quick mental math strategies.
Here are a few of our new nifty strategies:

1.Doubles(these are just our double facts that we need to work on memorizing)

2.Near Doubles(e.g.7 + 8…

  You can do 7+7=14 + 1 = 15)

3.Make Ten (example 9 + 6 …

  You can do 10+6 = 16 – 1 = 15)
 

These are all wonderful strategies that, with practice, lead to quick mental math. Your child should regularly practice their doubles facts to help them solve doubles and near double questions quickly.

Weekend Fun!

How did you spend your weekend?
For us it was swimming lessons and a birthday party on Saturday. Sunday was Harvest Festival at Springridge Farm! I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful sunshine today.
It was a busy weekend but lots of fun!

Fun Friday

Friday was a lot of fun! For "Fun Friday" we set up three different math game stations and rotated with partners through them. Station One was math apps on the iPad, Station Two was a version of the card game "War" using dice and addition and Station Three was another awesome addition dice game called "Face Off." The kiddies had a blast and little did they know they were learning a lot at the same time! Mrs. Linse is sneaky sneaky I tell ya!

Special News!

Today I shared some very special news with the boys and girls... The Linse family is growing! We will be welcoming the newest member of our family at the end of March. Baby Ashleigh is thrilled and can't wait to meet her little brother or sister!

Math Unit 2

Today we began unit two in math: Patterns in Addition and Subtraction.
In this unit, your child will develop strategies for adding and subtracting whole numbers by using addition charts, mental math, estimation, base ten blocks, place value mats and pencil and paper. The ability to use a variety of strategies to add and subtract leads to the development of strong number sense. Numbers are all around us and the skills taught in this unit are essential for daily living (Math Makes Sense, 2004).

 

Some ideas for home practice:

-     Practice doubles facts regularly

-     Add and subtract two digit numbers with and without regrouping

-     Solve word problems that require students to show their work and / or explain their thinking

 

Practice Pages!

Tonight each child is bringing home their Practice Page homework duo-tang. As mentioned on curriculum night, Practice Pages go home each Tuesday and Thursday night. They are always a review of concepts and skills already taught and practiced in class. Therefore, they should never require teaching or help from mom and dad.
  
The students are expected to complete the Practice Page neatly and return it to school the next day. I have explained that if there is ever a time that they cannot complete their homework, that decision is up to mom and dad and requires a note in the agenda. Thanks so much for your support in this area.  

Ready for Research!

Yesterday we integrated our Social Studies lesson with Media. As mentioned last week, we are learning all about the First Nations. Yesterday our focus was on how a new village is built. Many First Nation People built and lived in longhouses. Instead of just telling the students all the information about these homes, I had students go on a web hunt with a partner. Using the iPads, I first taught the kiddies how to get onto the web and do what we call a "smart search." Once we found some websites that looked good, the kiddies read and researched information in pairs about longhouses. They were to come up with two facts to share with the class. I was amazed at the learning that took place. It seemed much more effective than me standing up front of the class and listing off the facts to the kids. This was definitely much more engaging and memorable this way! Next week we will share our research and make an anchor chart all about longhouses. I look forward to developing our research skills as the unit unfolds!

Pop Quiz

Over the last week we have been working on finding and describing patterns on a hundreds chart. Today we had a small pop quiz to demonstrate our learning so far. Tomorrow we will begin using number lines to identify, describe and extend patterns.
As part of our math warm ups we often visit the following math site:

IXL MATH

Choose the Grade Three window and then the math skill you would like your child to practice.
Our next unit is going to be addition and subtraction for anyone who would like to get a head start!

Fluency Fun

Our Reading Workshops this week will focus on fluency. Today we learned that fluent readers pay attention to punctuation. We had a lot of fun practicing this with something we all know very well... the alphabet! I added various punctuation to it, which changed the way it was read. We worked with partners to perfect our fluency. Here is an example of what our passage may have looked like:

ABC?
DEF.
GH?
IJKL.
MN!
O?
PQ!
RSTU.
VWX?
YZ! 

Patterning Problems

In math we have been identifying and describing patterns on a hundreds chart. The students have been asked to always:

- describe the pattern in the ones digit
- describe the pattern in the tens digit

Then they should include anything else they see (are they odd or even numbers, is the pattern in a column or row etc).

The more math words we use... the better!

Welcome!

I am so excited to share that we will have a student teacher joining our classroom as of Monday! Her name is Ms. Ostonal and she is coming from Queen's University.
Nine years ago when I was embarking on my teaching journey I had three phenomenal associate teachers. They all taught me so much about the teaching profession and how to be the best teacher possible. Each year my hope is to be that same mentor to a new teacher candidate.
We look forward to meeting Ms. Ostonal on Monday and welcoming her into our little family in Room 209!

Patterning

Today in math we began a mini unit in patterning. This tends to be one of the students least favourite math units so it is sorta nice to get it out of the way nice and early in the year. In this unit students will:

- identify and describe patterns on a hundreds chart

- identify and describe patterns on a number line

Today we solved a problem similar to the following:

Find the diagonal where the ones and tens digits add up to 6. Use orange to colour it.

Social Studies

Last week we began our first unit in Social Studies. For the first part of the year we learn about First Nation Communities and Early Settlers (pioneers). We spend from now until around Christmas learning just about the First Nations. The kiddies are thrilled and very enthusiastic for this unit. As a special treat, some Grade Six kiddies came by today to share with us some of their research of two different First Nation Tribes. They had put together beautiful dioramas that gave us a great visual of village life. Seeing the older kids hard work really intrigued the wee ones and you could feel the interest growing in the room. I think everyone will really enjoy this unit and lots of great learning will take place!   

Rounding Problem

Here is a rounding problem that the family can solve together!

268 students went on a trip to the apple farm.
Each child got to take home one apple.
Round to help you estimate how many bushels of 100 apples will be needed.
Show your work.