Geometry and Reading Biographies

    You may notice there is a theme to my class pictures. When I mention to the children that I want a "picture of that for the blog" they all assume the 'hand pose'. I have told them I will never put their pictures on this blog but they like the idea that someone in China could see their work...so they feel that their hands need to be there too...just to prove they did it. 

                                             Geometry
Learning outcomes for Grade One: -to explore and describe 3D solids; make a picture using 2D figures, use language such as on, in, under, and over to describe where objects are placed.

Learning outcomes for Grade Two: -identify two-dimensional shapes and three dimensional figures  and sort and classify them by their geometric properties 
- identify and describe various polygons (i.e., triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons, octagons) and sort and classify them by their geometric properties (i.e., number of sides or number of vertices), using concrete materials and pictorial representations (e.g., "I put all the figures with five or more vertices in one group, and all the figures with fewer than five vertices in another group)

As well, students have enjoyed learning how to compose and decompose (love this word!) shapes by folding 'nets' to create the 3D shapes. We will be finishing this unit soon and then moving on to learning about money.  
                                                   

                                                                      Biographies
The students are learning about famous/inspiring people for the month of February. So far we have read about Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman and many more. The book corner is full of biographies thanks to Mr. Cann our wonderful librarian. Of course we also have a collection of Valentines Day books too...just for fun. 

I've had a suggestion to enlarge my blog font. Hopefully you don't think I'm shouting. Just testing out the larger font for those parents that wish to print out parts of the blog. 
                                       Have a great week!

Did you know....?

A  fun fact you may or may not know...
While  fumbling,  procrastinating, thinking about what to write about this week I came across a wonderful resource which is free! I know many of my students have access to iPads or tablets and seem quite adept at using them. A good life skill for students is to learn to use this technology to access free library materials. A virtual way of visiting the library! So, did you know about Zinio? Here is the link for the Hamilton Public Library https://rbdg.envionsoftware.com/hamiltonon/zinio/ but I'm sure there is a similar link to the Burlington Library. I found many free children's magazines available to download instantly! I located these age appropriate magazines... Owl, Chick a Dee, Chirp, and National Geographic (you might need to peruse this one first...you know why). The magazines change monthly and the downloads are for 2 weeks or more. I found some well known magazines for grown ups as well (Canadian Living, a knitting magazine,Yoga, Weight watchers and many more). I like that you can take screenshots of recipes or patterns to save for later. I guess it is the virutal way of cutting out a recipe without the little bits of paper lying around the house that you can never find when you need them. I still like the feel of a magazine but I like the portable, lightweight quality of downloading magazines too.
                                                             Happy reading everyone!
Here are a few examples...
         

                                                                                                                                         

We love our IPEVO

                                                       Technology Moment
Today I introduced a new piece of technology...an IPEVO. This is a fairly simple document camera with a USB port that lends itself well to the classroom. It is very lightweight and easy for teachers and students to use. In our primary classroom we can use it for projecting a book onto the Smartboard which then creates a 'big book' for all of us to read and see the words. Today we used the IPEVO to take up our math work. I was able to use actual student work, project it on the screen, show and discuss the thought process of the student and change the work if necessary....all while everyone was able to watch on the Smartboard. Using our own work as an example provides the engagement and interest necessary to create meaningful discussion. Sometimes a student may have a math strategy that no one else (including me) has thought of and is able to stand up and explain it. I can even take pictures of the work and upload it to keep for assessment purposes.

Making Words/ Spelling/Word Wall Words

Have you ever wondered where I get the word wall words? No, I don't make them up! I use a really fabulous resource by Patricia Cunningham called 'Making Words'. This is a really great program that focuses on the four blocks of learning. We will be doing lots of  'Working with Words' this term as we learn the process of spelling and not merely memorization.

The letters students use to spell new words!

Vowels are pink, capitals are on one side and small letters on the other

Students are given a clue e.g. Spell the 3 letter word 'sea' that means the water. Then I will use it in a sentence while students are moving their letters around to spell the word. Notice there are 6 letters but they can be combined to spell a multitude of simple and increasingly complex words as indicated on the envelope. Ultimately it ends with the students using all the letters to spell the big word. A big challenge but this provides the kinesthetic learning that some students need. Much more fun than just writing it out all the time. Students will have greater success since you have narrowed the possibilities from the 26 letters of the alphabet to a possible 6. I don't remember ever cheering when I was doing spelling in school. However, it is quite common to hear excitement and giggles as we do 'Making Words' together!

Happy Little Grade One moment!

All our Christmas sheep ornaments at play! 

Welcome 2013!

                                                      Hello to the New Year
Welcome back everyone! Hope the holiday season was restful and that you are looking forward to 2013. I always find that after Christmas the children look a little taller and some skills begin to consolidate much more quickly now. Thank you to everyone who had a chance to look through pencil cases and replace those little things that have gone missing, dried out or just needed to be labelled. Also thank you for the kind notes or wee gifties that were bestowed to me in December. I did send thank you cards in the mail but if your child did not get one, please let me know. I think modelling sending 'thank you' cards is a good skill for students to see. As well, I really did feel spoiled. Will be wearing a few of my 'purple' items in the next few days.

                                                         Author of the Month: Jan Brett
                                     
This month we will be enjoying the author and illustrator Jan Brett. You may have read some of her more well known books such as 'Gingerbread Baby' or 'The Hat' but she is really such a prolific author that there are enough fabulous books to last us the whole month of January. I love the Scandinavian designs in her illustrations and students love that the books have such a wide range of animals in all of them.

                                                                    Weaving

I would like to do some weaving with the class using paper, wool or found materials. If you have a chance, I would really appreciate some styrofoam trays (largest possible but smaller ones are fine too). Although I have some of my own materials to contribute, it would be great if anyone has a family member that knits who might be able to send in some wool. Any thickness or colour is fine...we aren't picky! Over the holidays I managed to make a few woven items myself which I will share with the class. Wish I could bring them to my house to show them the large counterbalance looms. Oh to be Ms Frizzle and be able to travel by Magic school bus!

        Will be sending more information about 'Guided Reading', 'Math' and 'Writer's Workshop' soon.
                                   Have to get myself back into the swing of things too!