Bye Bye February!

If I had only known how long the snow and arctic cold would hang on...

Yet another week of lots of indoor recesses. Spring cannot come soon enough!

This week in Language, we read another poem titled "Pour dessiner un bonhomme" for our shared reading. This will be it for winter themed poems, it's time to start thinking about spring. We reviewed the "an" and "oi" sounds in "Maman" and "Les petits pois". We began a new cycle of writing centres. The guided centre focuses on learning about different types of punctuation and when to use each. In our guided reading centres, we have been focusing much more on comprehension strategies. The students tried out a new reading website called "Pas à pas lecture" in the computer centre. I shared "L'hiver parfait de Winnie" as a read aloud. It was a fun story about a witch that is tired of winter. (I can't relate at all! Lol) The illustrations are great and this book is from the school library so students can borrow it go read again, if they wish. 

We started a new format for the number of the day this week. It's a little more challenging as it includes several addition and subtraction questions and also requires the students to really implement what they know about even and odd numbers. They have been enjoying practising 2-digit subtraction on the SMARTBOARD. The class also learned about area and perimeter for the first time. I like to use the analogy that they are gardeners. They need to think about perimeter as the length of fencing they need to put around their garden and area as the space within the garden where they get to plant. Other than a few students who were confused between the two, most caught on to these concepts well. We will do the odd question in our daily math problems over the next little while and we will get into a larger unit on this later in the school year. We spent quite a bit of time this week discussing how to solve word problems: write down what you know, circle the words that tell you what type of calculation that's needed (+, -, ...) show the equation and find the answer, and finally, write a sentence with the answer. 

On Friday morning, the class attended the play "Charlotte's Web". Unfortunately, I was at an inservice at the board office and missed out on it. The class told me all about it though when I got back to school. I mistakenly put in their homework that we were skating on Tuesday. I'm sorry for the confusion, the class will be skating on Tuesday, March 10. There will be lots going on over the next little while. Please check the agenda for information on any upcoming activities.

Have a great weekend!

A Cold Short Week

This week in Language, we read "Pour dessiner un bonhomme" for our shared reading. The students reviewed the "in" sound in "Le lutin" and the "ch" sound in "Poustoche". In our reading centres, one of the new games is on inferencing. They are also still practising reading words and putting them in alphabetical order. The students also did a dramatic reading in front of the class of their favourite comptine of the year. We will need to practise presentation skills a bit more as speaking loudly enough for all to hear and making eye contact with the audience was a bit challenging for some. 

The students have really been enjoying playing "Prodigy" at the computer centre in Math. This week, with all the indoor recesses, many chose to take turns playing that. It's great that they are enjoying math so much. Another math centre is an addition compliments game to 100 (ex. 60 + ___ = 100). We spent quite a bit of time on 2-digit subtraction with regrouping, using base 10 blocks and written algorithms. We will continue to practise this over the next little while. 

We've pretty much finished learning about Russia except for a small craft we will be completing on Monday. Thursday was Chinese New Year. We read a fiction book and non-fiction book about the holiday and then completed some follow-up activities. We had a great discussion on why houses needed to be cleaned before the holiday, why red is important, and some of the traditions they have on their New Year's Eve and Day. Next week, we will be learning more about China, perfect timing after this week's lesson!

This week in Visual Arts, we used a variety of material to create a mixed media artwork. They are now up in the hall along with the Math Shape Art. Take a look the next time you are in the school!

Have a great weekend!

100th Day, Winter Fun, Surprise Parties, and Valentines

It's been a crazy week! Monday was 100th Day. The students completed a booklet of several activities, including 100 math questions, and some writing and drawing activities. The students who brought collections of 100 enjoyed sharing them with the class. 

In Language, we read the poem "Le bonhomme de neige" as a shared reading. We looked up Norway, which was mentioned in the poem. We compared information we found on Norway and inferenced from the poem with what we had already learned about Sweden, which is just east of Norway, and with Russia. We decided that they would have similar climates and seasons based on geography and other given information. This was a great link with some of the things we have learned about in Social Studies. The students reviewed the "ou" and "on" sounds in "Tourlou" and "Gaston". We finished up a cycle of reading centres. We will begin a new cycle next week along with writing centres. 

In Math, the students got quite a bit of practise with 2-digit addition and subtraction without regrouping. We looked at addition with regrouping and why regrouping was done, both with base 10 blocks and with a written algorithm. The class will have opportunities to practise this independently next week. We will also begin looking at subtraction with regrouping. 

In Social Studies, we continued to learn about Russia. We also learned about why Valentine's Day is celebrated. It was an interesting discussion about kings, soldiers, laws, prisons, and friendship. The class then completed a follow-up written activity and coloured a friendship wreath. 

On Wednesday, we had Primary Winter Fun Day in the afternoon. The students seemed to enjoy all of the activities planned for them. Thank you very much for all of your help preparing hot chocolate for over 200 students, Wendy Lehmann, at my hot chocolate station. Yesterday we helped Mme Deloughery's daughter, class, and Mrs. Hilton prepare a small surprise party for an important birthday. Today, we celebrated Valentine's Day in the afternoon. Thank you very much to the parents who sent in treats and bought/prepared valentines with your child. They are so excited when they open all of their valentines. 

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day and Family Day and that it's not too cold to enjoy some of the activities taking place in the area!

Snow Days and More

With cancelled buses on Monday and being away sick on Tuesday, there was a lot to get done this week. Our shared reading was the poem "Le Bonhomme de neige" and we discussed new vocabulary quite a bit. The students practised the "ch" and "gn" sounds in "Le chariot" and "La campagne". As a read aloud on Monday, I shared the book "L'année magique des bonshommes de neiges". 

In Math this week, we began a new cycle of math centres focusing on 2-digit addition and subtraction. We started without any regrouping but we will get to that next week. The computer centre is set up with the Prodigy game. I have changed the game content to reflect our latest unit so the students will now be practising addition, subtraction, missing terms in equations, and word problems. With only 3 class computers, we have also been using the iPads that are stored in our classroom, when they are not in use by other classes. 

On Wednesday afternoon, we had a visit from KFL&A Public Health. The two women did a presentation on the importance of hand washing to prevent the spread of germs. (Especially important this time of year with so many viruses going around!) They then split the group into two and had them each take a turn to properly wash their hands. 

In Social Studies, the class learned about the tradition of Groundhog Day. They were quite surprised that it dated back to the 1600s. We also learned about Russia and will complete some activities on that country next week. 

On Monday, we will be celebrating the 100th Day of School by completing some language and math activities on the number 100. Please remind your child that he or she is encouraged to bring a collection of 100 small objects or drawings to share with the class. 

Next Friday afternoon, we will be having a Winter Primary Play Day, weather permitting. As the classes will be outside quite a bit that afternoon to rotate through various stations, please ensure that they are wearing warm layers and that they have spare mitts and socks at school that day if they do not already have extras there. 

Have a great weekend and enjoy all the snow we will be continuing to get over the next few days!