Word Sorts

As part of our word study (aka phonics), we have been looking at different ways that long vowel sounds can be spelled.  This week we are focussing on the long u sound. Students read and sort words according to different spelling patterns:  u - e (like in cube), oo (like in school), and ew (like in Drew).  We sort the words in different ways (ask your child to explain how to do a "No Peeking" sort) throughout the week and then sort and glue them before they come home.

Please be watching for a June calendar that will be coming home on Friday, as well as numerous notes explaining our special June events.  The year is quickly coming to a close!

May 16

In Math we have been practising a variety of different strategies to help us add and subtract.  We've learned how to use doubles, thinking doubles (ask your child to explain this one!), counting up and making ten to add.  Counting back and counting up are subtracting strategies we have worked on.  We will continue to work on adding and subtracting during the next two weeks by writing and solving story problems and using related facts (or fact families).

Our Social Studies lessons have focused on the First Nations Peoples. We discovered how they helped the newcomers and what the fur traders traded for furs.  Today we made story robes in Art.  We discussed how First Nations People recorded their stories hundreds of years ago:  drawing pictures (using berries and plants, sticks and bones) on buffalo hides.  Students had a lot of fun crumpling up paper bags (aka buffalo hides) and then drawing important events from their lives (see above pictures). 

Writers at Work

With all the rain this week, students had to spend
a lot of time inside at recess.  This is one of the wonderful
creations with pattern blocks that they made!

This year, I am part of a learning community to improve student writing. In Grade one, we have worked a lot on including lots of details in our writing.  In our writers' workshop lessons this week, we collected ideas and details using a "five square" organizer", then put these ideas into sentences.  The pictures below show students hard at work. It is amazing to see the difference between what the students could do at the beginning of the year compared to the wonderful stories they are writing now!  I showed the children samples of their writing from September and they thought it was quite funny how many of them couldn't even write any words and now they can write stories that are several pages long with interesting words and details.  I am so proud!

A completed five square organizer

Writing in progress

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!

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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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

Water Colour Easter Eggs

Here are our beautiful water colour Easter egg paintings!

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