Gould Lake and Newcomers

This week we welcomed someone new to our class. Mme Robyn Misener is a Queen's University Bach. of Education student who will be doing a 6-week placement with me in the classroom. The students were very welcoming and we hope she will enjoy her time with us.

This week in Language, we looked at another CAFE lesson, this time to work on decoding skills. We used this strategy with our comptine and poem and will continue to practise this skill over the coming weeks.

We reviewed the "oi" sound in "Les petits pois". We also looked at how some poems are formatted when we read "L'automne" and we discussed the creative license that poets have with spelling in poems.

Listening to reading

Working on words activities

Reading with someone

In Math, we continued to begin our lessons with daily math work, followed by a math talk at the carpet. This activity gives the students the opportunity to practise explaining their thinking orally, both with a partner and with the class. We discuss what strategies will work with a problem and why. When we work out the answer/answers, we discuss the reasonableness of an answer, something they are not used to doing at this point of the year.

Math talk example

Another Math Talk example

Discussing strategies during a Math Talk

Working on math problems in a guided group

Looking at different ways to represent a number (place value) in a guided group

Working with tens and ones to figure out a number

Math by themselves

Evelyn brought in a turtle shell that she had found to show the class. This tied in well with the grade 2 Science unit on Growth and Changes in Animals.

In Social Studies, the grade 2s learned about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippour, the celebrations of the Jewish New Year which took place recently. The grade 3s began to look at differences between life in a city and life in a rural setting.

In Dance, we began to look at some examples of African tribal dancing.

On Thursday, we spent the day at Gould Lake. Despite getting a bit lost on the way there, a bit of rain, and some chilly weather, the class had a great time. Due to a staff shortage at Gould Lake, we did all activities with Ms. Ambury's Grade 2/3 class, sometimes together, sometimes doing alternate activities due to space limitations.

Mme Misener is sharing beaver facts with the students while the other class visits the beaver dam. They had done the same while we visited it.

The underwater beaver lodge was across the water, only slightly visible by the pile of sticks in the distance

An above ground beaver lodge hidden in the bushes jutting out into the water

Dan, our outdoor educator, shares information about the characteristics of beavers

The sun came out briefly in the afternoon

A little playing during lunch

The beach is ready for some beaver dam exploration

Beaver dam materials ready to go

Making beaver dams in small groups

Testing the dam with water

Next week is Safety Week. We had a surprise fire drill this week but next week we will be practising other drills such as Lock Down and Shelter in Place. On Tuesday, the students will be practising bus evacuation procedures. The students will be attending the Buster the Bus Presentation on Wednesday.

Please check agendas regularly for information that may not have been sent out on Bloomz. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!