We are off to a great start in the New Year! Here’s what we are up to:
Math
We have completed our Order of Operations unit (also known
as: BEDMAS). Students enjoyed
problem-solving their way through complex multi-step problems. We are now starting a new unit: Multiples and
Factors. What is that, you ask?
Multiples are jumps of a number.
For example: Multiples
of two are 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 etc… And
multiples of three are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 etc….
Factors are numbers that, when multiplied, give you the
original number.
For example: The
factors of twelve are: 1, 2,3,4,6 and 12 because 1X12 = 12 and 2 X 6 = 12 and
3X4 = 12
This is a simple unit for those students who have their
multiplication tables memorized. It can
be a challenge for those who don’t. Feel
free to practice the multiplication table with your son or daughter at home to
help ensure success and confidence in this unit.
Science
We have begun the electricity unit. So far students have discovered the atom,
electrons, protons and neutrons. Using
their atomic knowledge, students explored positive and negative charges and how
they attract and repel each other. We have uncovered some of the mysteries of
lightning. These subjects are all aspects as Static
Electricity.
We have done several static electricity experiments together
in which students have learnt how to do the scientific process including:
Hypothesis, Observations and Conclusion.
As students develop their ability in the scientific process, we will
later (in the flight unit) explore controlled variables. Social Studies
Today, we started our unit on World War One (WWI). So far students have looked at
grade-appropriate pictures of both WWI and WWII in order to get a better sense
of the differences in time, technology and fighting conditions of the two
wars. Next we will uncover the main
causes of the First World War and take a look at what “trench Warfare” really
means. The nature of the subject material can be
challenging for some students. Please take the initiative to have a
conversation with your son or daughter about the topics they learn in class.ELA
We have started reading Red Wolf together in class – a novel
about residential schools in Canada. So
far, we’ve read the first chapter.
Students are doing reflections based on the readings that will help them
bring together their thoughts on the subject.
We will be doing a great deal of class discussion and reflection throughout
the novel.
We have reached the halfway point of Book Club. Great work so far. Feel free to take a look at your son or
daughter’s book club booklet to see what they’ve been up to during Book Club.
Students have almost completed their Writer’s Workshop Fairytales. We
have two sessions of writing left before students input their stories for
classroom publication. For these stories,
the focus has been effective editing techniques, writing with descriptive
imagery and using “juicy” or interesting vocabulary in writing. We will likely finish the Workshop early next
week.
French
OH was an exciting adventure on Friday. We had a large variety of presentations, lots
of laughs and we learnt a great deal about many subjects. Great work everyone! This week we will not have OH but instead
focus on Touchpebbles, our critical thinking and French speaking program.
We have just completed an overview of verbs in the present
tense. Student wrote a test today. I will likely finish marking the tests for tomorrow
or Thursday.
Our next focus will be reading comprehension and
homophones.
Health
We are looking at Stress.
What does stress mean? Why do we
have stress? What types of stress are
there? What can we do to minimize our
stress? How can we cope with stress in a
positive way?
These are all issues that we will be exploring together
during our unit.
