Friendly reminder that the one minute monologues will be presented on Monday. I hope everyone is having a great time with this mini project. Practice, practice, practice!
Here are some great examples done by kids your age. Pay close attention to their expression, loud voices and gestures. Some even have them fully memorized -amazing!
Thank you so much to the families who popped in for our meet the teacher opportunity this week. I appreciate your appreciation for all of our hard work! If we did not get a chance to meet, please don’t worry. I will see you for a formal sit down shortly after progress reports go home on NOV. 10th.
In Writing Workshop, we have reviewed the five basic parts of a friendly letter (heading, greeting, body, closing and signature) and have moved on to persuasive letter-writing. When writing a persuasive letter, the writer must be aware of his/her audience and the purpose for writing the letter. Reasons that support the writer’s opinion are included in the main body of the letter to convince or persuade the reader to do something or change his thinking about a given topic. The students have been working with a graphic organizer to help with the planning of their Persuasive Pumpkin Letters. I have used the following read-aloud to help the students better understand these letter-writing concepts. Each one is told through a series of letters:
In Reading Workshop, the students have been working on their book worm body parts and we have discussed the many ways that students select books to read for independent reading. A goal for the students is to increase their stamina when reading independently. Please continue to support your child at home with his/her daily reading as well as helping him/her find “just right books” to read. I have also modeled during various read alouds how good readers ‘check for understanding’ as they read by stopping periodically and reflecting on their understanding of the text. Summarization, retelling, and paraphrasing are often used as specific techniques. The children will be practicing these strategies while reading independently and with a partner/small groups.
Social Studies: We continue with our unit on People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario. So far, we have looked at:
In Art, the students completed beautiful haunted house silhouettes which included picking a cool colour and applying tint to it to create an intriuging background. The students are also finishing up some lovely cityscapes which depict buildings you would find in an urban community. Students are encouraged to take their cityscapes home to finish if they have not done so already. These are due by the end of this week!
In Math, we continue this week with our unit on numeration by looking at how to round numbers to the nearest ten and hundred and how to compare and order three-digit numbers. Throughout the year, the students will have regular opportunities to work closely with their peers to solve various math problems and to work on their problem-solving strategies. I have discussed with the students the importance of accountable talk and effective listening when working with a partner or in a small group (not only in math but in ALL subject areas!) – specifically…what does it look like and sound like. This week we will have a QUIZ on Tuesday. We will review during our math periods on Monday and students are more that welcome to take their duotangs home that night to study with a parent. Areas of focus on the QUIZ will be: representing numbers in standard form, expanded form, written form and numerical form.They will also be asked to sketch numbers demonstrating their knowledge of what base-ten blocks look like. The students use these manipulative regularly and are very familiar with them. 
I want ALL students engaged, focused, and contributing during class and throughout the school day!!
I am also happy to see so many students in my class interested in joining the RECESS GUITAR CLUB which will run all year long! Great to see!