Rebecca Bender visits Florence Meares Public School
Author and Illustrator Rebecca Bender visited our library this week to read her book, 'Giraffe and Bird'.
We have been reading her book along with many other Canadian authored books as part of our Blue Spruce program. Halton students read these newly written books and vote on their favourite one. Last year Rebecca won the Blue Spruce vote! This year she has another book in the program. The best part is she is actually from Burlington, so it is great to support someone who is local. Please contact Mr. Cann if you are interested in buying one of her books and getting it signed. He has posted a link to the order form on the school Twitter feed of our school library website.
A great part of the talk was when she demonstrated how she developed her story by creating a character and then giving it an emotion. Then the story develops as the picture unfolds. Rebecca had the students create a character and then drew ideas right in front of the students! Many of them told me they felt 'inspired' afterwards.
Weaving fun!
I have been truly amazed at the concentration and interest both boys and girls have been showing in regards to weaving. We weave when I read a chapter story. We have been reading 'George's Marvelous Medicine' by Roald Dahl. Reading aloud allows the students to hear the classroom teacher (me!) model fluency and expression. As an added bonus, they can also keep their fingers busy creating. As a classroom management tool, we have no problems with listening to longer and longer stories now as everyone is more active and engaged. Here is the first weaving done...it was turned into a small purse for his Mom.
Science Experiments
Grade Two had fun learning to move an object with wind power! No, not that type of wind! They used a small battery operated fan to move a ping pong ball through water. Here is a picture of that experiment as part of the 'Energy from Wind and Water' unit.
Weaving has started...
We finally collected enough foam trays to begin weaving. One of my students wondered if she could make a blanket for her bed. I told her that perhaps we need to learn to 'weave' first and then can move on to those bigger projects another time.
Bump it up Wall
During Writer's Workshop we have begun to look at how to write a paragraph. I have modeled for the students how to create a paragraph on a given subject using a 'write aloud' process. This is when the teacher models for students how to write a paragraph on a chart but also thinks out loud to help students understand the process of writing.
Text Types - When I was in school, we mostly created a lot of narrative writing. Now, we focus on a variety of text types when writing, which include;
Procedural - explaining how to do something e.g., how to build a snowman
Report - information or a news report
Recount - may be personal or factual e.g., My trip to Safety Village
Narrative - usually a made up story e.g., The alien who came to my house
Explanation - explains a process e.g., How the water cycle works
During Writer's Workshop, we have been learning about:
Persuasive Writing
We used three books to create a debate,
1)Should children choose their own bedtime? (you will be happy to know that most students felt it was up to their parents)
2) Three easy steps to getting a pet.
3) Playground for Lisa
Then we discussed both sides of each argument. The children were very engaged in all of these discussions! Students were then asked to write about their opinions and perspectives using supporting details. They were provided with a checklist to help form the paragraph and were encouraged to use the 'Bump it Up Wall' to help them 'Bump Up' their work to the next level. They met individually with me to look at their work in a critical way and see if there was a way to improve their writing. Some of the students really took the information and worked hard to move it to the next level.
Chris Hadfield - Canadian Astronaut
We have had some fun, looking at Chris Hadfield's videos and pictures from space. The students really liked his cooking lesson. Now, you will know why there can be no bread crumbs in space!
Here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZx0RIV0wss
Valentine's Day
Thank you to everyone who made sure that all the children received Valentines today. I was most impressed with the homemade cards. Some were quite cute and all were very appreciated.
Here is a picture of the table, so you can see the chaos , fun!
To add to the day, it was 100's day for the Grade One students in my class. Luckily, they were able to go visit their friends in the other Grade One classes and participate in activity centres such as; stamping on a hat 100 times, drawing a picture of what they think they will look like at 100 (yikes to that one), making 100 day glasses, looking at collections of 100 items (all different!), reading books about 100's day and many more. Getting time to work in other Grade One classrooms, allows students in a split grade to visit their peers in the other classes. During this time, I was able to work with the Grade Two children in a small group setting. Both of the grades in my class love their 'Ms Fink alone time' as they call it! It also allows me to get on the floor and work with small groups and have those little conversations while teaching in a quieter setting. Truth be told, I enjoy this time with both grades.
Report Cards
I have been working through report cards but I also have been looking at creating a brochure to help Grade One parents understand the format of this terms report. I will be sending this information brochure a few days before the reports go home to help you think about how you will share information from this report with your child. Hopefully it will relieve any anxiety that you might feel about the letter grades that will accompany this report. If you are a Grade Two parent and would also like a copy, (even though I know these reports aren't new to you) please just let me know via the agenda and I'll be sure to pop one in for you!
A little bit of fun...
I am always amazed at the aplomb that my students display when using or observing technological advances.
When Neil Armstrong first landed on the moon, I was very little. So young in fact that I think it is my first clear memory. You see, my Dad at the time was a history teacher and he woke me up to explain that 'I was observing history'. Unfortunately, I probably didn't get too excited. So recently when I shared some of the pictures of Chris Hadfield's adventures in space, the students reacted much the same way. They did however enjoy the spinning guitar due to lack of gravity in the following video. If you haven't seen it yet, it's kind of fun!
http://www.cbc.ca/live/intergalactic-collaboration-chris-hadfield-ed-robertson-premiere-iss.html
Have a great week and enjoy the long Family Day weekend!
Absences
Usually this time of year, I have some families that go on trips to warmer climates. I totally understand the need for sunshine...this was my road last week! I should mention it was totally sunny and snow free in Burlington that day. If your child is going to be absent, I would like to remind you to let the school absent check line know so the automated service (or our school secretaries) don't phone you. As a courtesy, it would be great to let me know in the agenda but you also have to let the absent line know. You can make multiple absences (if you are going to Florida or somewhere tropical for a week or so) on the automated line as well.
Mathematics again...
Your child may have mentioned that I did a quick money test with each student. This was just a pre-unit skills check to see what each child knows so I can gear my teaching and groupings for maximum learning. No use teaching coin value if everyone knows it! No use learning about the penny....now that it is about to become extinct! Although, I think it will make teaching more interesting now. How will I explain to future students that a nickel is 5 cents if they don't know what 1 cent looks like? I'll have to talk to them using terms like 'long ago in 2013... there were once pennies'. Sort of like when I refer to records, or turntables or any 80's musical references with my younger colleagues...sigh! I did want to share this picture with you to explain what it means on a report when the teacher jargon refers to 'concrete' or 'manipulatives' in math. Essentially in primary grades, it is very important to use 'hands on' counters and organizers to help students visualize mathematical concepts. In this picture you will see that we are learning how to borrow in subtraction by using
tens and ones as our manipulatives. We use a simple memory chant:
More on top
No need to stop
More on the floor
Go next door
Borrow ten more
This means simply if the number on the bottom is bigger than the number on top, then this is an opportunity to borrow. Using the 10 frames below, we physically exchange 10 for 10 ones and then complete our subtraction. This visual tool is particularly helpful for students who don't fully understand when to borrow.
Reports - Report cards go home on February 25th. I will be contacting parents in advance if there is an area of concern on your child's report.
Family Day - Don't forget family day is February 18th this year. Hope you have something wonderful planned!
Valentine's Day - I have made a Valentine list of names for you that I will send home on Monday (11th). However, if you need names right away you can always use the class picture as it is labelled at the bottom.
