Nov. 28- Dec. 5

This week in math the students continued to work on geometry skills.  Students learned how to create polygons with specific side lengths and angles. There will be a math quiz on Tuesday that will cover measuring, creating and labelling angles (acute, obtuse, straight, right, reflex), and creating polygons using a ruler and protractor. 

This week we have begun two culminating tasks to wrap up our unit on overcoming challenges and learning from failure. Students are writing a paragraph and answering the question, "What have you learned about overcoming challenges and learning from failure that you will apply to your life?" Students also began to create a piece of visual art that communicates their feelings, ideas and understanding of overcoming challenge. They are in the planning stage of their work. 

This week we started literature circles. Students were given several books to choose from and were put in groups based on their preferences. Students will take part in meetings on Tuesdays and Fridays. (Next week it will be Thursday due to the PA day.) Literature circles are like book clubs, in that they promote the joy of reading and focus on talking about books. Take some time to talk to your child about their book. 

Important upcoming dates:

Friday, Nov. 28th: first literature circle meeting

Tuesday Dec. 2nd: pool, 2nd literature circle meeting, math quiz

Thursday, Dec. 4th: math homework due, 3rd literature circle meeting, spelling quiz

Friday, Dec. 5th: PA day
Dec. 10th: winter concert (The only junior students involved will be those in band, choir and strings. Rm. 21 will perform in the spring concert.)

Homework for this week:

1) Read for at least 20 minutes each night. This can be a book of your choice or your literature circle book. Complete your role sheets for Friday, Tuesday and Thursday's meetings. 

2) Study this week's spelling words: your own personal list, and the 7th 10 spelling demons. There will be a quiz on Thursday.

3) Practise the 8 times tables and review up to 7.  

4) Complete the geometry work for math and prepare for the quiz on Tuesday.  
5) Play the geometry game that's been added to the blog. This will help you get ready for our next unit in geometry. 

Best,

Bronwyn Davidson

Nov. 21-28

This week in math the students began a new unit on geometry. We reviewed how to classify shapes by the number of sides and by the length of those sides. Students also learned how to measure and create different types of angles using a protractor. 

This week was bullying awareness week, and, as such, students were involved in a variety of activities around the topic of bullying and standing up for oneself and others. On Monday they listened to a speaker on internet safety, and were introduced to our school prefects, a few of whom are in our class. On Tuesday students participated in a presentation by De Santos on standing up for yourself. On Friday the students watched a live theatre performance entitled, "Frenemies," and were also introduced to our positive space room, which is now room 4. Please take a minute to talk to your child about these rich experiences. 

Important upcoming dates:

Tuesday Nov. 25th: pool

Thursday, Nov. 27th: homework due
Dec. 10th: winter concert (The only junior students involved will be those in band, choir and strings. Rm. 21 will perform in the spring concert.)

Homework for this week:

1) Read for at least 20 minutes each night. 

2) Study this week's spelling words: your own personal list, and the 6th 10 spelling demons. There will be a quiz on Thursday.

3) Practise the 8 times tables and review up to 7. 

4) Complete the editing and cursive work. 

5) Complete the geometry work for math. 
6) Write a persuasive paragraph on an opposite opinion to your own, using my example. 

Best,

Bronwyn Davidson

Nov. 14-21

This week in math the students continued to work on solving problems involving patterning, including solving for unknown variables and extending patterns in graphs. They wrote a quiz on Thursday which will be returned next Monday to be signed. Next week we will start a new unit on geometry. 

In language students wrote a persuasive paragraph on the topic of their choice. They also began a new independent writing piece. On Remembrance Day students read articles from a Remembrance Day newspaper and summarized and wrote the main idea of one article. We also watched this video and made inferences about how the people felt and why. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo . In guided reading small groups read texts related to social studies and we worked on the skill of summarizing. 

Important upcoming dates:

Tuesday Nov. 18th: pool

Thursday, Nov. 20th: homework due

Homework for this week:

1) Read for at least 20 minutes each night. Practise making inferences. What is the author saying without saying it directly?  

2) Study this week's spelling words: your own personal list, and the 5th 10 spelling demons. There will be a quiz on Thursday.

3) Practise the 8 times tables and review up to 7. 

4) We've talked, read and written a lot about overcoming challenges and learning from failure. This week, interview a family member or friend about a time that they have overcome and challenge or learned from failure. Write down 3 good questions to ask and take point form notes on their answers. 

5) Next week is anti-bullying week. Create a Bitstrips comic that has, "Don't bully and don't be a bystander" as its main idea. 

Best,

Bronwyn Davidson

Nov. 7- 13

This week in math the students continued to work on solving problems involving patterning and began to work on solving for unknown variables, also known as algebra. There will be a follow-up patterning quiz next Thursday that will include concepts on the first quiz, with the addition of solving for variables, finding patterns in graphs and patterns in divisibility for grade 6s. 

In language students learned the key features of persuasive writing and how to create an outline for a persuasive paragraph. They began to write their own persuasive paragraph on the topic of their choice.

In science we had a great trip to the Science Centre! Many thanks to our parent volunteers, Susan, Mike, Mark and Arthur, for your help! The students came away with a lot of knowledge and enjoyed the hands-on learning experiences. 

Important upcoming dates:

Monday, Nov. 10th: pool

Tuesday, Nov 11th: Remembrance Day assembly, progress reports go home, interviews            start and continue all week

Thursday, Nov. 13th: homework due, math quiz #2 on patterning

Homework for this week:

1) Read for at least 20 minutes each night. Practise making inferences. What is the author saying without saying it directly? 

2) Complete the math work on algebra. 

3) Study this week's spelling words: your own personal list, and the 4th 10 spelling demons. There will be a quiz on Friday.

4) Complete cursive work. 
5) Write a persuasive paragraph using the following main idea: It is important to celebrate Remembrance Day. Remember to include the main idea given, 3 supporting details that are explained, transition words and a concluding sentence.  Use the outline provided to help you organize your ideas. 
6) Read the biography of Edwin Baker and answer the questions. 

Best,

Bronwyn Davidson