Our Learning Journey: May 2018

As we delve into our unit on Plants and Soil, we walked over to our school garden this week to make observational notes and quick sketches on our thinking and wonderings. Students have also begun investigating the soil collected from forests, fields, cottages, and gardens. They are learning that soils are composed of a variety of living and non-living things, earth materials, and that there are different kinds of soil with unique characteristics and composition.

Thursday 24 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. EQAO test tomorrow.
3. Math worksheet due tomorrow.
4. Return signed portfolio.

Wednesday 23 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. EQAO test tomorrow.
3. Math worksheet due Friday.
4. Collect soil.
5. Return signed portfolio.

Please note that there will be no library book exchange today as students will be writing their EQAO tests.

Friday 18 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Return signed portfolio.
3. Collect soil over the weekend and bring it to class on Tuesday.
4. Cursive writing letters 'H' and 'I' due Tuesday.
5. Palooza gift basket donation.

Some of the learning from this past week:

Math

In math, students have been exploring Cuisenaire rods to explore the unit of length compared to the whole length in our unit in fractions. With length models, lengths or linear measurements are compared instead of areas.

Science

In science, students have been busy engineers! They have been designing, constructing and testing out their bridges to see if it will withstand some of the forces found in nature such as strong winds. After testing the impact of the force on their structures (using a strong fan), students made observational notes, adjusted their design, and tested it again.

Outdoor Story Walk

Students also had an opportunity to get outside and do a story walk. A great way to read, enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise at the same time!

Wednesday 16 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Math due Friday.
3. Gift basket donations.
4. Twin/Triplet Spirit day on Friday.

Monday 14 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Math worksheet due tomorrow.
3. Library book exchange tomorrow.
4. Hansen Palooza gift basket donation.

Thursday 10 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Math due tomorrow.
3. Hansen gift basket donations.

Wednesday 9 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Math due Friday.
3. Hansen Palooza gift basket donation.

Tuesday 8 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Math: memorize 3 and 4 multiplication facts.
3. Math multiplication study guide sent home.
4. Hansen Palooza gift basket donation.

Monday 7 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Library book exchange tomorrow.
3. Hansen Palooza gift basket donation.

Thursday 3 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Return signed portfolio.
3. Math pages 74 to 77 due Friday.
4. Scholastic Book Fair.

Math

Click on this link for a fun math website to help your child learn their multiplication and division facts.

Wednesday 2 May 2018

Homework/Agenda Items

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Return signed portfolio.
3. Book Fair.

Jump Rope for Heart

Our school is participating in the Jump Rope for Heart charity. Our Jump date is in June. Students are encouraged to ask family and friends for donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Big white envelopes outlining the program were sent home two weeks ago. You can make a donation online. Alternatively, if you are donating using the envelopes they are due on May 17th.

Language Lounge

On Thursdays during morning recess, the Language Lounge is open in the Learning Commons. All students interested in learning a new language are welcome to attend! Each week a new language is taught.

Hansen Palooza

This is our school's biggest fundraiser! Organizers are looking for many volunteers! A blue form was sent home last week asking for volunteers. If you are available to help before the event, on June 8th for set up, during the event, or for clean up, please let me know!

Talent Show

Rick Hansen will be having a talent show! Students interested in auditioning are asked to sign up on Wednesday.

Tuesday 1 May 2018

1. Read 30 minutes.
2. Return signed portfolio.
3. Scholastic Book Fair all week.
4. Talent Show sign-up tomorrow.

Reading

We will continue our unit on Character Studies with a shift to students being in book clubs. Students will learn that while characters themselves are unique, the way in which they move through stories is predictably the same. One big idea is that conflict is at the heart of all stories. Students will discover how authors introduce tension, to show that the problem has gotten worse, to show something being resolved. Another focus this month is exploring different points of view when reading a wide variety of texts.

Writing

For the month of May, we will continue with our unit on persuasive speeches. Students have been working on generating topics that they feel passionate about and have produced a number of persuasive speeches in their notebooks. Our writers will be using checklists to self-assess their work, set goals, and create action plans for meeting those goals. By the end of the week, students will review all the quick drafts of speeches they’ve written and choose one to develop, draft, revise, edit, publish, and present. Later this month, we will invite families to come and listen to the speeches. Stay tuned!

Math

This month we will focus on multiplication, division, and area. In Grade 3, students need to relate multiplication of one-digit numbers and division by one-digit divisors to real life situations. They also need to multiply to 7 x 7 and divide to 49 ÷ 7 using a variety of mental strategies. We will also be reviewing all the mathematical concepts we learned this past year in preparation for EQAO.

Social Studies

We will continue our unit on Living and Working in Ontario and examine the natural resources found in these geographical locations. Students learned about the interrelationship between the natural environment and employment opportunities. They will also critically examine and reflect on the impact of human activities and how the decisions about land use may impact the environment.

Science

We will continue to examine forces in nature that causes objects to move and students will design a structure that can withstand some simulated forces found in nature such as high winds or water. We then move onto our last unit of the year: Plants and Soil.