Tenth anniversary and Upcoming events

Did you know....
In Science the students have been learning about Simple Machines. Recently they used a pulley to move an object. This experiment demonstrates how a pulley can make a job easier as it uses less force/energy.  Here is a picture of how they transformed my classroom door into a construction site!

If you are looking for a fun Science website to support the Simple Machines unit, I would recommend Edheads. Here is the link:
http://www.edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/


Here are some Upcoming Highlights:

*Florence Meares Public School will be celebrating it's tenth anniversary this Tuesday. We will be having an assembly and meeting in our Tribes to begin to discuss the 'Art for the Sky' project. It should get very exciting for the students. 

* Mrs Langman's Life Skills class is running in the Torch run relay. They are asking that each class contribute some twoonies for charity. The class that brings in the most will get a pizza and lemonade lunch. I really think this is such a good cause for some great kids. It would be awesome if we could support them in any
way we can.

* We will be moving on from Telling time, Temperature and Money to Linear measurement!

                                  Reading Strategies
     We will be finishing up the Reading Strategy: 'Inferring' and  moving on to 'Questioning'. We will be applying this information to our 'Writer's Workshop' activities'. Using the Knuffle Bunny (Mo Willems) stories as a model, both the Grade One and Grade Two students created 'Inferring' pictures. I provided students with the 'setting' and they had to create a scene where the story was implied. Using facial expressions, actions, minimal or no words, and objects, the students created pictures that tell a story. Some of the students were very creative and it was interesting to see different interpretations of the same setting. 

When you are reading stories with your child. Take a minute to help your child comprehend what they are reading and remember to help direct them to the pictures for clues about what is happening in the storyline. I know it may seem like a basic skill, but for so many students it needs to be explicitly taught. Many students are good 'decoders' and can read difficult words, but understanding the meaning and comprehending are skills that need to be reinforced and taught in a strategic way. Asking questions (not too many or it interrupts the flow of the story) as you read with your child reinforces understanding of what is being read. 
                                           Happy Reading!