Friday, 27 April 2012

Marshmellow Math!

We had fun this morning in Math.  As a final activity for our Numbers to 100 unit, we practiced representing numbers up to and past 100 - I told the students they were so smart we could do Grade Two math!  We built place value posts with marshmellows and toothpicks and then used fruit loops to represent the groups of hundreds, tens and ones.  We recorded our work - look for a yellow sheet that came home today - and then got to eat the marshmellows!





Friday, 20 April 2012

Bowling and Building

Today was a busy day!  In the morning we went bowling and in the afternoon we built our objects out of recycled materials.  This was the final project in our Objects and Materials Science unit.  Watch the slide show below for a few bowling pictures, students in the process of construction and finally - a picture of each student with their creation!  It was a fun day!
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Thursday, 19 April 2012

April 19 News

 A few updates on what has been going on in our class this week:
  • We have been working a lot on place value.  Students have learned how to show numbers greater than 10 as tens and ones.  We have been using base ten blocks and a variety of other manipulatives to help us understand the concept of place value (see picture below).
  • In Science we are getting ready to build our objects.  We made a plan telling what we are going to make and the materials that will be needed.  Students need to have all their materials at school for tomorrow.  Earlier in the week, we read a version of The Three Little Pigs.  Students tried (some more successfully than others!) to build model houses out of bricks (lego), wood (popsicle sticks) and straw.  See pictures below.
(A good website for looking at characteristics of materials can be found at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml
  • We have started a new individualized spelling program.  Each week, students choose 6 words to practice and study.  Three of the words are from their personal Words to Learn List and 3 words are from a spelling pattern that we are studying.  This week's words include long a spelled ai and ay.
  • We have been getting ready for Earth Day by learning different ways that we can reduce, reuse and recycle.

    Using base ten blocks to build numbers

    A house of bricks! (actually lego)

    A house  made of straw

    A house made of sticks

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Spring is Here!

First, let me apologize for not having written for so long!  It has been very busy!  Students have been learning lots of new and interesting things.  Here are a few things that we've been up to during the past two weeks:

We've been learning about the "slider" sounds:  oi, oy, ou and ow.  Students went on a scavenger hunt to find, read and write words that were posted around the classroom.



In Math we have been working on place value.  To practice the concept of tens and ones, students did an activity called "Scoop and Sort".  They put the objects they scooped (beans, pennies, cubes, cheerios, etc.) into groups of tens and the placed the extras on the Ones side of their place value mat and then counted the total amount.




We had Art this afternoon!  Students experienced water colour paints for the first time by painting beautiful Easter eggs.  We still need to do a frame tomorrow.  Stay tuned for a picture of the final product in the near future.




Our current Science unit is Objects and Materials.  Today we tested different kinds of fabric (cotton, rayon, nylon and linen) to see which absorbed water the best.  Students counted how many drops of water could be placed on the material before it soaked through into the cup.  The blue material (nylon) didn't absorbe any water!  It just ran over the edge and made a mess on our desks!


Students will not be bringing home their Home Journals or Reading Duotangs over the Easter Break. 
Have a wonderful holiday.  Happy Easter!