Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Visit from Elder Dillen

It was a privilege having Elder Dillen, Ojibwe, Bear Clan, from Serpent River First Nation and her daughter Dakota Dillen-Toulousse Gary (Mrs.Gary), Ojibwe, Bear Clan, from Serpent River First Nation share some of their traditional indigenous knowledges and practices about Ojibwe culture with our class and our Board's entire First Nations, Metis and Inuit Education Team.  

The Grade 3 students had an opportunity to participate in a smudging ceremony, sampled cedar tea, learned about traditional sacred medicines, their uses, and examined tobacco that is 3000 years old!  As part of their learning, children made their own tobacco ties. One of the highlights of the day was when Elder Dillen and one of our Board's Indigenous Education Consultant Andrew McConnell, Ojibwe, Crane Clan from Nipissing drum whilst Mrs.Gary danced in her Jingle Dress.

  
    

 

Math

A study guide to assist with preparing for the multiplication test went home this evening.  Please look out for it.  Our unit test will be administered next Friday.

The marked unit test for Time and Money also went home in students' portfolios this evening.  Please ensure that you go through the test with your child including the notes and feedback.  Remember to sign it and please ensure the test is returned on Monday.

In math, we will be wrapping up and reviewing our unit in multiplication.  The photograph below demonstrates one of the math strings from earlier this week.  The numerous strategies and approaches in calculating these equations were developed by the children independently.  All of these computations were achieved through mental math and demonstrates some of the deeper understanding of numbers and mathematics.  Students are building upon what they know to solve what they don't know.  The strings of related problems are carefully crafted to support children explore the relationships among numbers and designed to guide students toward computational fluency with whole number multiplication and to build automaticity with multiplication facts by focusing on relationships.

A really fun website to support math skills through games are found on:

https://www.coolmathgames.com/

You can also access the link below for multiplication games:
https://www.coolmathgames.com/1-multiplicationdivision-games

Literacy

In reading we have been looking at ways that non-fiction readers read texts.  Students have been learning and practising how to read expository texts, grasp main ideas, find supporting details, and summarizing important information.  They are also learning how to take jot notes from their research books to find helpful information to support their writing.

In writing, students have been learning how to look at various organizational structures to help them make sense of what they are reading and to transfer these skills in their own writing.  They have learned how to generate ideas, write flash drafts, examine their writing and look for subtopics or to consider angles of these subtopics.  This week we have been focusing on organizing information in various structures such as: boxes and bullets, pros and cons, causes and effects such as if/then and problem and solution.

  

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Black History

Over the past month, we have had great discussions around Black History, read many picture books about the richness and diversities of the black culture that goes beyond their enslavement, and talked about some of the systemic issues that still exists to this day such as racism.  The Grade 8 students in Ms. Hill's class facilitated their learning of Black History which includes African Empires.  We also looked at the Carnival display which provides information of how Carnival is related to Black History.  The Grade 3 students were deeply engaged and enjoyed listening to the intermediate students share their work.  This also weaved seamlessly into our previous unit in social studies and the Black Loyalists who immigrated to Canada as a result of the American Revolution.

  

 

We also had a special guest visitor this week.  Emerita Emerencia came to perform for the students.  Originally from Aruba, Emerita is multilingual and speaks 5 languages fluently.  
Emerita shared her talents through storytelling, drama, dance, music, and song with the students.  She also taught the grade 3 students some cool ways to share pleasantries in Dutch, Spanish, English, French, and Papiamento.  

 

Literacy

Students have been working hard on their non-fiction books.  They have been working towards refining their topics and looking at ways of re-organizing their written work into subtopics which they can expand upon.  The range of topics, interests, and expertise in this class is simply amazing!

Please visit the community library if you have not already done so or if your child's topic or focus has changed.  The librarians are happy to assist with finding books that are age appropriate.  All children need resources to help them with their research as our school library may not have (enough) books on your child's topic or on more specialized interests.  If your child has books in their personal library at home, they may bring it to class on Monday.

Math

In math we have been continuing our unit on multiplication.  Students are developing an understanding of what it means to multiply.  Constructing the understanding rather than just memorizing the multiplication table helps children develop strategies and a deeper understanding of some big ideas such as unitizing, which requires that children use numbers to count not only objects, but also groups.  

The charts below shows different strings of related multiplication facts during our mini lessons.  Each question is recorded one at a time while students do the mental math calculations.  As students' orally share their solutions, their processes is recorded onto the chart paper.  During this time, students engage in math talk and then we examine the efficacy of strategies.

As you can see, students were initially counting by ones and skip counting.  Then moved onto the concept of doubling.  Some have developed a deeper level of understanding and are exploring associative, distributive, and commutative property which can be written algebraically.  More importantly, students have constructed this idea themselves and are expanding what they know and understand about number sense!

        
    

    

Social Studies

We have started our unit on Living and Working in Ontario.  This week students have learned about the different landforms in our province, where they are located in the Ontario, and their distinct and unique characteristics.  

A fun activity to try at home is to have your child choose a city, town, reservation or community in Ontario using Google Earth on their tablet or device.  Drag and drop the human figure down and have them investigate the area and paying attention to the natural resources, what the land and its surrounding areas look like, and how the land is used.  

Elder Dillen Sugar Water Woman

We have the great honour and privilege of welcoming Elder Joyce Heather Dillen/Sugar Water Woman, Ojibwe, Bear Clan from Serpent River First Nation and her daughter Dakota Dillen-Toulousse Gary, Ojibwe, Bear Clan, Serpent River First Nation to our class.  Our students are familiar with Ms. Gary who has been completing her practicum placement in our classroom since January.  

Elder Dillen is a traditional healer and both her and her daughter will be sharing their traditional Indigenous practices and knowledges with the students and be preparing some cedar tea (simmered cedar branches in water).  The entire First Nations, Metis, Inuit Education Team who are consultants in our school board will also be joining us tomorrow as part of the incredible learning session.

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Science

We have wrapped up our unit on Strong and Stable Structures.  Students were busy building their dream playgrounds over the last few weeks and presented their structures to the class.  Our young scientists proudly showcased their knowledge, ingenuity, and problem solving skills.  They worked collaboratively in teams and utilized their individual strengths.  

Some of the playground designs included a snack stand to sell harvested produce from the school garden, solar panels to generate electricity for the school, a zip line for student use, outdoor washrooms, large rainwater containers to collect fresh water for the garden, etc.  

Have a look at some of the work over the past few weeks...

  

  

  

           


Our new unit will be Force and Movement.  The overall expectations for this unit are:

• assess the impact of various forces on society and the environment
• investigate devices that use forces to create controlled movement
• demonstrate an understanding of how forces cause movement and changes in movement

For our first investigation, please have your child bring in an object from home such as a toy that demonstrates how force is used to cause an object to start, stop, or change direction.

Math

Students have been learning early multiplication skills by using real life contexts such as inside a grocery store, sets of postage stamps, buildings, doors, and busses in a cityscape.  

The expectations for this unit are:

• relate multiplication of one-digit numbers and division by one-digit divisors to real life situations using a variety of tools and strategies

• multiply to 7 x 7 and divide to 49 ÷ 7, using a variety of strategies

Literacy

Students are learning how to read expository texts (non-fiction texts) by looking at a variety of different structures such as the table of contents, subtitles, photographs, captions to grasp main ideas.  They have also started writing about their topics of expertise.  

Remember that students will experience greater success if they choose topics they already know quite a bit about and if they are able to find a lot of information that is age appropriate from research texts (library books) and using online databases.

Through various mentor texts, students will analyze how non-fiction texts are structured, read to grasp main ideas from their research texts, and transfer these skills by writing their own chapter books. 

If you haven't already, please visit the community library with your child to sign out a few books on their topic of interest.  The librarians can assist by finding books that are written for children.  Please have your child bring their library books to school on Monday as they will begin using these books for research writing.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we will begin our new unit on Living and Working in Ontario.  Students will learn about the physical and municipal regions of Ontario.  They will investigate the relationship between the natural environment, land use, and employment opportunities, and how different uses of land and resources affect the environment.

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Literacy

Our next units in literacy will be reading non-fiction/expository texts and writing informational texts.  To support your child with our writing unit, please brainstorm with them a potential topic of interest.  This particular topic should be something your child has a passion for or has a working knowledge on.  Listed below are some suggestions that may spark an idea:

• Extra-curricular activity they are involved in
• Battling Pokemon cards
• Caring for a pet
• A sport they enjoy watching
• Strategies or moves for a specific position played in a sport (e.g., goalie, defence, midfielder, forward, shortstop, outfielder, etc...)
• Skills, techniques or moves for martial arts/ dance/ a sport
• How to play a particular video game
• A board game they love to play
• Something they collect (e.g., gemstones, trading cards, etc.)
• A historical event
• A leader, athlete, role model, historical figure they admire

Math

In math, we will be wrapping up our unit on time and money.  Over the unit, students further developed their understanding of reading and measuring time and counting money.  Students conducted math investigations with their partner, counted money embedded in the real life context of determining how much money will be earned over time, participated in math congresses, conferred with a critical friend, and played games.

A study package will be coming home shortly to help prepare your child for their unit quiz on time and money.  Please keep an eye out for it.  Our next unit in math will be multiplication.

  

   

   


   

  

Visual Arts

In visual arts, students created nature mandalas using materials found in nature including elements of the 'Three Sisters' also known as the 'Three Sustainers'.  This culminating task integrated our units of Early Communities in Canada in Social Studies and Eco-Art in visual arts.  

 
   

   

  

Science

In science we are wrapping up our unit on Strong and Stable Structures.  Students have completed their preliminary sketches of a dream playground for Rick Hansen P.S.  Next week will be a busy week as the grade 3s will be unleashing their creativity to bring these ideas to life!  Below are some photographs documenting students investigating the existing structures at Ada Johnson park.  The children examined the materials, the strength of the materials, and structural supports.  They also reflected and discussed how they would improve the design to meet the needs of students at our school and causing minimal impact on the environment.

 

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Thank You!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was able to make it to our Publishing Party this morning and to all those who supported their children in spirit.  The grade 3s were incredibly excited to share this moment with you.  It was a big moment that called for celebration!

The stories shared today went through the process of generating ideas, producing drafts, deep reflection about a particular moment in time to develop the heart of the story.  Students learned how to analyze characters from our novel study Stone Fox and dissected the craft moves of our mentor authors so they could apply these skills to their own narratives.  The grade 3s were given feedback and also conferred with their classmates.  Finally, they edited their stories and published them.

These narratives are true stories that were deeply impactful moments for your children.
Some were heartbreaking, some joyous, while others were frightening or traumatizing.  All centred on their voice and personal lived experiences.  

Thank you once again for all your continued support!

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Literacy

Students have been busy working on publishing their true stories and it is looking incredible!  We will be hosting our first Publishing Party of the school year next Friday, January 24th in our classroom at 9:30 A.M. and would like to extend the invitation to all families including any relatives and siblings to join us.  

Math

We have started our unit on Time and Money this week.  This unit integrates the development of measuring time and calculating money through the context of unitizing 5 minute chunks.  This is critical to tell time with the analog clock.  The prioritizing of fives is supported by building a connection to coins, in particular pennies, nickels, and dimes.

Expectations that will be covered are:

Number Sense (Money)

• represent and describe the relationships between coins and bills up to $10 (e.g., “There are eight quarters in a toonie and ten dimes in a loonie.”);
• estimate, count, and represent (using the $ symbol) the value of a collection of coins and bills with a maximum value of $10;

Measurement (Time)

• read time using analogue clocks, to the nearest five minutes, and using digital clocks (e.g., 1:23 means twenty-three minutes after one o’clock), and represent time in 12-hour notation;
• solve problems involving the relationships between minutes and hours, hours and days, days and weeks, and weeks and years, using a variety of tools (e.g., clocks, calendars, calculators).

Social Studies

Students are working on their independent inquiry as a culminating task for our unit on Early Communities in Canada 1780-1850.  It is strongly advised that students visit the community library to sign out books and any resources such as DVDs.  Families may also access the links listed under the 'Resources' tab on the classroom blog for additional information.  While this is not an exhaustive list, it may help guide students with accessing information that is credible and to further support their research/inquiries.  Students will also have access to Epic books as well as some resources from our classroom library for their research project.

Science

Students have been working in their groups brainstorming various ideas on their dream playground for Rick Hansen P.S.  Students have chosen a specific role within their group (i.e., engineer, project manager, builder and architect) that utilizes their strengths.  By collaborating in groups, students experience the reality of the challenges and the possibilities of working with different people for a collective purpose.  The sharing of ideas and energy in the classroom is palpable.  Lots of creative minds at work here!  

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Literacy

In reading, we will begin our unit on Reading to Learn.  This unit will support students in developing skills to read non-fiction texts by understanding the organizational structure, grasp what the author highlighted, and recognize information that supports and embody the big ideas. 

In writing, students will continue to revise and edit their personal narratives using peer and teacher feedback in the new year.  Students are also using their self-assessment checklist to monitor areas that need to be developed in order to improve the quality of their writing.  Students will then be transitioning from editing to publishing their narratives.  Once students have completed their stories, we will be inviting families to our publishing party so you may hear these spectacular stories!

Math

In math, we will move onto our next unit on Probability in the new year.  Students will predict the frequency of an outcome; relating fair games to equally likely events through various experiments and games.

Science

In science, we will be wrapping up our unit on Structures.  We will be investigating different shapes and its impact on the strength and stability of structures.  Students will also be working in small groups on a design challenge when they return.  

Social Studies

We are approaching the end of our unit in social studies.  Students will be conducting a final inquiry on a topic they are interested in learning more about that is related to our unit: Communities in Canada 1780-1850.  They will working on their research project independently and students will present their research to the class.  Creativity is encouraged!  Some possible inquiries could include:

• Which treaty territory is your school and home situated on?  When was the treaty made and what promises are in it?  To what extent have the treaty promises been met?
• How can we honour and acknowledge existing treaties?
• Conflict and impact of the fur trade
• Outlawing of the Potlatch
• Important inventions
• What were some of the major challenges that different groups and communities faced in Canada from 1780 - 1850?  What were key measures taken to address these challenges?

Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education Program

Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education Program is a new program that officially launched this year from the collaboration between York University and the TDSB as a meaningful response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.  The program educates a new generation of teachers prepared to address the needs of First Nation, Metis and Inuit students, families and communities.  Grounded in Indigenous Knowledges and Pedagogy, teacher candidates will be working with a variety of people to gain knowledge, insight and skills for teaching and learning in Ontario schools.  Please join me in welcoming Dakota Dillen-Touluse who will be starting a placement in our class in the new year.


Wishing you all a wonderful winter break with your families.  May the new year bring you health and happiness!