Week of January 5 to 9

 Learning Intentions:

I can explain that even numbers include numbers ending in 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8.
I can explain that even numbers include numbers ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.
I understand that pairing numbers makes it easier to tell if a number is odd or even.
I can use both odd and even numbers to help build my number sense.

In Math, students have been learning about odd and even numbers to expand their understanding of mathematical concepts. In the book “Even Steven and Odd Todd”, these two fictional cousins helped us learn about odd and even numbers. We also watched videos and did fun activities (such as finding all the numbered butterfly pictures) to reinforce the concept of odds and evens. This is an important stepping stone to understanding the structure of the number system, rules of arithmetic, and logical reasoning.

I can follow and create step-by-step instructions.
I can test and debug instructions.
I can use sequencing and repetition.

I can identify winter weather conditions (snow, ice, frost, cold, wind).
I can use investigation to observe, record and observe changes. 

In Science, we combined the themes of Computer Science and Winter Changes in a fun and engaging way. Throughout the week we explored the changes that happen in winter, how both people and animals adapt to these changes, while learning about creating and testing instructions. This interactive unit included hands-on activities like testing instructions using Ozobots, mapping, sequencing and recording data. To complement this unit, stories such as “Froggy Gets Dressed” and National Geographic’s “How Animals Survive in Winter” were enjoyed.

I can identify rhyming words in a poem.
I can identify repetition in poetry and recite lines back.
I understand that stanzas help organize ideas in poems.
I can make inferences about the author’s message.

In Literacy, our theme was Snowy Book Studies. This unit combines poems and stories such as “All You Need for a Snowman”, “A Chubby Little Snowman”, “Snow is Falling” and “The Biggest Snowman Ever”. Lastly, we finished the unit with Snowman Art and an Acrostic poem.

At home, use cards or dice to reinforce your child’s understanding of odd and even numbers.
Grade 1 - practice and notice words with wh, th and ch.
Grade 2 - practice and notice words with ai, ay and ea that make a long "a" sound.

Thanks to this TRS family for supporting a Canadian Artist and local business! 

(You kept me busy for part of the break.)

Week of December 15-19

 

Learning Intentions:

I can read and understand a story by identifying characters and events, and by making personal connections.

I can use reading, writing, drawing, and sorting activities to share my ideas and thoughts.

I can collect, organize, and display information using pictures, symbols, and graphs.

I can create and interpret a glyph to show information about myself and our class.

I can design, build, and solve problems with others while counting, sorting, and graphing materials.

As we wrap up 2025, our class has been busy finishing our Gingerbread multi-curricular unit. It has been a wonderful way to bring learning together in a creative and engaging way. We enjoyed a week of holiday tunes, singing and dancing together as a whole school.

In Literacy, students rotated through a final set of gingerbread-themed centres. These included roll‑and‑draw activities to design their own gingerbread people, a reading and writing centre where students filled in missing words, a character‑sorting activity based on the story, and a read‑and‑reflect centre where students made personal connections to the text. These centres supported reading comprehension, sentence structure, vocabulary, and creative expression while allowing students to work independently and collaboratively.

In Math, students created a gingerbread glyph, a visual representation of information using symbols. Each feature of the gingerbread person (such as buttons, decorations, or colours) showed something specific about the student or their choices. We then used the glyphs to practice graphing, comparing and analyzing class data in a hands-on way. 

Our final project brought everything together as students designed and built a gingerbread house that could stand independently. Once completed, students graphed and discussed the materials and candies used in their structures, reinforcing concepts of counting, sorting, and representing data. 

This stuffy was left in the classroom. He will keep Fox and Percy the Puffin company.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Week of December 8-12

  Learning Intentions:

• I can work with a group
• I can follow step by step instructions to create art
• I can read and listen to stories and make connections
• I can use my knowledge of letter sounds to solve a puzzle
• I can create complete sentences
• I can show my learning through multiple literacies

This week, the students started their first rotation of literacy centers. The students worked with their groups to complete the following tasks: Winter Code Breaker, Guided Drawings of Gingerbread Person and House, Listened and Read various Gingerbread stories and made connections and shared their thoughts on the book, finally, they made fun holiday sentences through a game! The students will continue to explore literacy centers throughout the year. They are working on staying at their center and working the whole time, working with their teammates and completing their tasks.

*Note:     We ran out of time for our spelling test today and will do it on Monday. 

                This will be our last spelling test this year.

Learning Intentions:

• I can record data using tally marks
• I can ask my classmates survey questions to collect data
• I can use data to make bar graphs
• I can use data to make pictographs
• I can create a question, survey my classmates, graph the results and draw conclusions (Gr 2)

This week the Grade 1s and 2s both continued their exploration of data in math. They continue to practice different skills such as recording data in tally marks when surveying their peers and sharing data through various types of graphs like bar graphs and pictographs. They are continuing to explore how to draw conclusions from the data such as "What is the difference between how many people chose snowflake over tree?" They will finish their learning on statistics by the end of next week with more hands on activities as well as a quick check-in to assess their learning.  

Supporting Students at Home

Spelling:
Help your child to learn word patterns at home. Start with a word like "library" and ask them to make words using those letters. (ex. lab, rib, ray, lay, bray, bay... from library).

Math:
As we explore data and statistics, please encourage your child to find ways to explore this unit at home. Ask your child to make a tally chart and count how many items in the fridge? On the Christmas tree? Have your child ask family members a would you rather question and have them record their answers.

Grade 1/2 Blog for Ms. Renette

Week of December 1 to 5

·      I can record data using tally marks.

·      I can ask my classmates survey questions to collect data. 

·       I can use data to make bar graphs.

·       I can use data to make picture graphs. 

·       I can identify the x-axis and y-axis on a chart.

In Math this week, students have been gathering data from their classmates with questions such as, “Would you rather have 1 giant gingerbread cookie or 10 small ones?” They then recorded the data and filled in a bar graph to represent their results. We used videos that showed the usefulness and applications of bar graphs and picture graphs. We also read a book called “Tally O’Malley” about a girl who plays a tally game on a family trip to pass the time.

Learning Outcomes:

·       I can explain the difference between needs and wants.

·       I can explain the difference between goods and services.

·       I can explain how goods and services can be traded or shared.

·       I can identify things that are imported into my community.

·       I can identify things that are exported out of my community.

I can understand how things are transported to different places.

In Social Studies this week, students sorted a number of items into two categories: needs and wants. There were some lively discussions and some debating used to determine what things we “need”. Next, we explored the concepts of goods and services, and especially how they relate to our community. They were given trading cards which they could either trade with a classmate, give to a classmate or simply place in the share bin. Then they wrote sentences in their Journals explaining what they chose to trade or share. Lastly, we explored the concepts of Natural Resources and Man-Made Products and studied how different items come into and out of our community.

Supporting Students at Home:

Math:
Students can use tally marks to count items in a cupboard or on the Christmas tree. For example, how many boxes and how many cans are there in a drawer? Can they then record this using tally marks and show the results in a bar graph? 

Social Studies:
Ask your student to give examples of things that are imported and exported into and out of our community. Ask them to name some natural resources that are found in our country.

Spelling Words:
Ask your student to look for what pattern there is in their spelling words this week. For example, is there a double consonant or vowel pattern? 

Blog for November 27

Week of  November 24-27

Learning Intentions:

I can start every sentence with a capital letter.

I can use capitals for names, places, and days of the week.

I can end my sentences with the right punctuation (., !, ?).

I can find and fix mistakes in sentences from a story.

I can rewrite sentences to be clear, correct, and easy to read.

 

This week in Literacy, students learned how to use capital letters and punctuation correctly as we started a unit centred on the Gingerbread Man story. We read and watched versions of The Gingerbread Man and used a decodable version of the story to spot and fix sentences that were missing punctuation (periods, question marks and exclamation points). They practiced starting sentences with a capital letter, using capitals for names and places, and found misplaced capitals in sentences related to the story. Next week, we will be working on how to find and fix capital letters and punctuation mistakes in sentences.

 

Learning Intentions:

I can read and show numbers in different ways.

I can use tens and ones (and hundreds in Grade 2) to build numbers.

I can break numbers apart to show what each digit means.

I can write numbers using place value, such as the expanded form. (Grade 2)

I can explain my thinking when I compare and build numbers.

 

This week in Math, students continued with their unit on Place Value. Grade 1 students explored numbers up to 100 and learned to represent numbers in different ways. They have also been practicing subitizing, which means quickly recognizing how many objects are in a group without counting them one by one. This is an important early numeracy skill that supports mental math and number sense. Grade 2 students worked with numbers up to 1000 and learned how to break numbers apart using expanded form. We used songs, videos, stories, math games, and independent activities to help students strengthen these skills in fun and engaging ways. 

 (Grade 1)

Supporting Students at Home

Spelling: 
At the end of the week, students will bring home spelling words for them to study for the following week. Please support your child and help them practice the words.

Math:
To continue building place value understanding at home with numbers up to 100 (Grade 1) and 1000 (Grade 2), numbers up to 100 (Grade 1) and 1000 (Grade 2). Discussions surrounding place value, such as “In the number 142, what number is in the tens place?” Asking your child to explain how they know or why they arrived at that answer will instill confidence and deepen their understanding of numbers.

Here is our Metis mural and a work page from the Metis Culture unit.

 Have a safe and wonderful weekend!

 

 

Weekly Update Nov 17-21

 

Learning Intentions:

·       I understand the purpose of a map and different elements of a map (legend, compass rose, etc)

·       I understand the directional terms (north, east, south, west)

·       I can tell you about the Prairies and identify it as a physical region in Canada

·       I can tell you about the Arctic and identify it as a physical region in Canada

·       I can explain the importance of landmarks

·       I can explain the importance of landforms

·       I understand that some natural landmarks have indigenous names

 

This week in Social Studies, the students continued their unit, My World. The students explored maps and different parts of map while also learning a fun song to help remember the directions (Never Eat Soggy Waffles!). They looked into Indigenous landmarks within Canada such as Big Rock or Okotoks Erratic. We also learned about Metis culture and symbols. Below is the beginning of our "Beadwork Flower People" mural, honouring this Metis traditional art.

Next week, the students will learn about the Prairies and the Arctic as physical regions in Canada. They will continue to look at some additional physical regions and will end their My World unit on Thursday with a check in.

Learning Intentions:

·       I can learn how to swim!

·       I can listen to and follow instructions to keep myself and others safe

·       I can explore different forms of movement such as swimming

This week, all the student ventured off to Sir Winston Churchill for swimming lessons. The students were very brave and had a blast in the pool. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this week-long field trip possible! We appreciate you!

 

Learning Intentions:

·       I can tell you what place value is

·       I can identify numbers up to 1000 (Grade 2)

·       I can identify numbers up to 100 (Grade 1)

·       I can use base ten blocks to help me represent different numbers

·       I can use a place value chart to represent different numbers

 

The students started their unit on Place Value this week. The grade ones focused on understanding and representing numbers to 100 in various ways, while the grade twos focused on numbers to 1000. Through songs, videos, stories, games and independent activities the students practiced these skills this week. We will continue our Place Value study next week.

 

Supporting Students at Home

·       Spelling – At the end of the week, students will bring home spelling words for them to study for the following week. Please support your child and help them practice the words.

·       Math – We are continuing to look at understanding numbers up to 100 (Grade 1) and 1000 (Grade 2). Discussions surrounding place value such as “in the number 142 what number is in the tens place?” This will help support your child as they continue to practice these skills at home.

Ms. Renette's Gr. 1/2 Blog, Nov 3 to 7

I can use a 100 number chart to understand number patterns.

I can count forwards and backwards from different starting points on a number line.

I can count by 5s and 10s.

In Math, students have been developing their number sense through number lines, games, and assignments. One activity involved arranging a number chart in their Journals of numbers between 1 and 100 (grade 1), and 1 and 120 (grade 2). 

Learning Outcomes:

I can identify the subject in a sentence.

I can identify the predicate in a sentence.

I can create complete sentences that make sense.

Spelling words for Nov 14:

This week in Literacy, we learned about the subject and the predicate parts of a sentence.
A subject tells who or what the sentence is about.
A predicate tells what the subject is doing or what is happening.

To explore this, we sang songs, watched videos, and played games. Students had a great time mixing and matching to create sentences! This hands-on activity helped us see that sentences need both parts to express a clear idea.

This is a read aloud book that we enjoyed called "Don't Trust Fish".

I can depict and describe landmarks and symbols in my community.

I can depict and describe landmarks and symbols in my city.

I can depict and describe landmarks and symbols in my province.

I can depict and describe landmarks and symbols in my country.

A major Social Studies unit, called My World, has begun! Students are exploring the different geographical locations that they inhabit. It is interesting how many identities we have as citizens as community members, Calgarians, Albertans and Canadians. Sometimes we are reminded of these shared identities when we watch a ball game from coast to coast. Or, we think about how geography can impact us when we drive through mountain and prairie landscapes. 

We are continuing to build their vocabulary with terms such as landmarks, symbols and characteristics. 

Questions we explored included:

What is a community?

What is a city?

What is a province?

What is a country?

What makes a geographical location distinct?

How to support student learning at home:

Have students practice skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s. They can also practice counting backwards and forwards to 100. Ask your child to recall symbols and landmarks in their community, city and province. 

Please try to remember to send the communication folders each day with your child. That way, important forms and school work will be protected and easier to find.