Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Just a reminder that if your child would like to play in the splash pad tomorrow, please have them bring a change of clothes, a towel, and swimwear.

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

End of Year Class Picnic!

We will have our class end of year picnic tomorrow during lunch (1 pm).  Families are welcome to join us.  Students are encouraged to bring water bottles, a hat, and sunscreen.  We will be having our lunch on the field in the middle of the track.  After lunch, children will be playing on the playground.  

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

End of Year Update

If you would like to discuss your child's progress before the last day of school, please let me know.  I am available to discuss over the phone or to meet in person most days before or after school.

We will have a class picnic next week and families are welcome to join.  I will check the weather report to determine the best day.

Please bring in a plastic or reusable bag as students will be cleaning out their desks and hook area and bringing home school work, binders, duotangs, etc. throughout next week.  

Literacy

Students are finalizing their unit on persuasive speeches as they examined the world around them and problems that needed to be addressed.  They not only identified issues but imagined solutions on how our world could be better and wrote them in most convincing ways.  These young citizens will no doubt become the change they want to see in the world!


In reading we are wrapping up our novel study on 'Because of Winn Dixie' by Kate DiCamillo.  Students have learned how to study characters deeply, investigate patterns that reveal deeper traits and motivations, and articulate evidence-based theories.  They learned how readers use their theories to come up with predictions as they follow their character on a journey that takes the shape of a predictable story mountain, considering the big lessons that characters learn and how those lessons relate to the larger message a story conveys.

It is important for students to continue reading over the summer to maintain their literacy skills and to develop the habits of being a lifelong learner.  Students are encouraged to visit the Aurora Public Library over the summer and to join the TD Summer Reading Program.  The Summer Reading Club is completely free and rewards children with prizes for reading books.  Please click here to find out more.

Math

In math we will also wrap up the extension and the development of ideas about data representation and analysis.  Students were provided with multiple opportunities to represent data using bars and line plots with an emphasis on comparing relations between bars, interpreting line plots to examine frequencies using discrete categories and whole numbers, and examining data by analyzing its shape when graphed.  The scales for the graphs were also extended to include fractions and scaled data.  This is a very sophisticated math unit which that was partially filmed in our class that looks at transposing data by categories, measures, and frequencies and co-authored by Dr. Fosnot, Koeno Gravemeijer professor in Mathematics Education from the Freudenthal Institute of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and Frans van Galen from the Science and Technology Education at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

It's a wrap!

The past 3 days working alongside Dr. Cathy Fosnot a leading voice in mathematics education and former professor at City College of New York and Maarten Dolk a researcher and developer at the Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education in the Netherlands has been incredible! 

The two mathematicians were in awe as they listened to your children share their thinking and strategies, observed as they dove into meaningful investigations through multiple paths, and justified their mathematical understanding.  I have seen so much growth in our young mathematicians over the past 10 months and I couldn't be more proud!  

 

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Volunteer Breakfast

There will be a Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast on Monday, June 18th beginning at 8:15am (tomorrow) in the Learning Commons for all the parent volunteers who helped out in the classroom, volunteered their time and expertise, shared their lived experiences, and helped supervise the swimming program and winter electives this year.  Your support throughout the year is so greatly appreciated.

Fosnot Filming

We are very excited to welcome Dr. Cathy Fosnot back into our classroom community.  Dr. Fosnot will be working with our classroom and will be filming the math learning on Data Representation and Analysis over the next few days.  There are a few students who have not returned the consent form(s).  If you have not already done so, please make sure to submit the forms by tomorrow. Below is a photograph that captures the math investigation last week.

Literacy

Reading: We have been working on studying characters deeply over the past few weeks with our mentor text Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.  Students have been investigating patterns that reveal deeper motivations and articulate theory-based evidence.  The Grade 3s will also learn how these text-based theories are important when coming up with predictions as they follow their character on a journey, consider the big lessons that characters learn, and how these lessons relate to the larger message a story conveys.  This will help with the development of three important reading skills: inference, synthesis, and prediction.


Writing:  Students have been working on gathering and supporting bold and brave opinions in their persuasive speeches.  They have been learning to look at the problems in their world that need to be addressed and imagine solutions on how it could be better.  The Grade 3s are also working on writing quick persuasive speeches and coached on applying and extending essential opinion writing skills.

Visual Arts

We visited the community pond last week to observe all the environmental changes and to draw some still life landscapes.  It's amazing to see how much life has flourished since our last visit (several months ago).  Look at all the wonder!

 

  

Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

It's been a busy and really exciting week at school.  Have a look at some of the learning and celebrations that was captured.

Science

Forces

In science, students have been busy working on their inventions that uses a force(s) to make it move.  The grade 3s completed their projects and showcased their creativity and problem-solving skills.  Some of the inventions included a crane that picks up objects through magnetic forces and a pulley system, a catapult using direct pulling forces, a water park that uses gravity, friction and a pushing force, and a boat that uses buoyancy and magnetic forces to move.

Plants and Soils
We have also been monitoring and tracking the stages of growth of our wheat and soybean plants.  Students have considered the factors which contributed to the growth of the plants.  They are also learning about the importance of plants as sources of oxygen, food, and shelter, and the need for humans to protect plants and their habitats.  

The Grade 3s are also connecting their learning to the impact of human activity on plants and their habitats and the impact of plants and their habitats on human activity from our Social Studies unit on Living and Working in Ontario as well as to our previous unit on Early Communities in Canada.

     

We discovered that the pumpkin seeds that had not decomposed in our garden has started to sprouted again!  

Some interesting discussions that came out of our knowledge building circle sparked our next inquiry.  Can plants grow under water?  Can plants grow if there is no moisture in the soil such as in the desert?  How do plants thrive and adapt in that environment?  

Our classroom gardener will continue to ensure that one of our wheat plants will be submerged under water while leaving the other wheat plant to dry out.



   
We have also been learning how soil is alive and composed of a variety of living and non-living things.  Students learned how there are different kinds of soils, unique characteristics of these kinds of soils, and conditions of each type.  Last week we conducted a class experiment where students put different kinds of soils into a glass jar and topped it off with water.  Students will be amazed to see the results next week once the different kinds of soils settle.  Stay tuned to see the results.

Expert Expo

A BIG thank you to everyone who was able to come out to our author celebration!  Students worked so hard on the process of writing about their passions.  Sharing their published books with friends and families was a great way to honour and celebrate their successes.  

Math

Just a reminder that there will be a test for multiplication and division tomorrow.  

Last week we were investigating a string of related multiplication questions.  These were all done through mental math.  While students explained their thinking, I made their thinking visible using an open array model to show others how they figured it out.  Look carefully to follow their thinking.  It is quite sophisticated and amazing!