Sept. 24th 2021

After our second full week, I’m definitely feeling that we’re settling into a good rhythm in the classroom. Last week I added a couple of class members: a pothos plant and a chinese money plant. I’m new to plant care so I chose hardy ones that can survive the learning process. The students have named them and will also be caring for them.  

I hope everyone enjoys the warm temperatures this weekend, I’m sure there’s not too many left before fall starts to take hold.  

A reminder that next Thursday, the 30th, is Truth and Reconciliation Day, and there is no school. We will be taking part in some activities this week to help the students understand the meaning behind it and why we wear orange shirts. Students should wear their orange shirts on the 29th.  

A reminder that picture day is October 6th.  

Here’s what else we’re up to next week: 

French: We’ve done most of the prep work for our interview project so we will start partnering up and writing our scripts. We will be looking at adjectives in our grammar books, along with practicing our dictée, which will be on the 29th. I’ve added all the dictée lists to the website along with quizlets that allow the students to practice at home, and the tentative dates for each dictée on the calendar.  

English: We’ve learned all the steps of writer’s workshop (think, touch and tell, sketch, write, revise, edit, and repeat), so we will be continuing with that during the week and producing some more stories. In the next few weeks, students will be choosing one story to “publish”. Upon reflection, I believe that it will be beneficial for the students to have spelling tests this year. We will be starting to work on them next week, and the tests will fall on the weeks that the students don’t have dictées.   

Maths: We will be continuing to compare and order numbers, and then starting an addition review. Just so you’re all aware, we start each math class by doing either a Kenken puzzle, an estimystery (we look at a picture with an unknown number of objects, students guess the number, and change their estimation based on clues that are given), or a game of telephone, which is a game that can help mastery of numbers or basic facts.  

Sciences: We will be starting a couple experiments that will be testing biodegradability and the effects of mold. We will be revisiting these experiments over the coming weeks.  

Social Studies: We’ll be wrapping up our research into some facts about Alberta.