Blog for May 25-29

 Learning Intentions:

• I can name and describe circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles.
• I can count the sides and vertices (corners) of 2D shapes.
• I can find shapes in my classroom, community, and artwork.
• I can find 2D shapes within 3D shapes and build 3D objects.
• I can explain how shapes can help people build shelters and stay warm.

This week in Math, students explored 2D and 3D shapes through conversations, videos, hands on activities, and independent learning. Students practiced identifying and describing shapes while noticing how shapes are used in the world around us. We explored how combining smaller shapes can create larger designs and patterns, and discussed how an object’s shape can support its purpose. Students also examined real-world examples of shapes in buildings, art, everyday objects and structures. These activities helped students see how math connects to creativity, problem solving, and daily life.

Learning Intentions:

• I can use details from a story to create pictures in my mind. 
• I can illustrate and describe scenes from a text using important details.
• I can use a dictionary to learn the meaning of new words.
• I can use new vocabulary words correctly in sentences.
• I can explain cause and effect in a story using evidence from the text.

Students continued our novel study of Charlotte’s Web by reading Chapters 7-10 together. During our reading, students practiced using visualization by creating mental pictures from descriptive text and illustrating four scenes showing early summer on the farm. We also explored new vocabulary words such as loathed, envy, unremitting, and sensible by learning to use a dictionary, looking up their meanings, and practicing using them correctly in sentences. To strengthen comprehension skills, students answered questions about the chapters and learned about cause and effect, using evidence from the text to explain how events in the story are connected. 

At Home Learning:

Literacy:

- While reading at home, pause and ask your child to picture the scene in their mind and describe what they “see.” They could also draw a quick picture of the setting or characters using details from the story.

- Choose unfamiliar words for a book or other text and look them up in a dictionary. Try using the word in a new sentence.

 

Math:

- Go on a 2D and 3D shape hunt around your home or community! Ask your child to find and name shapes they see and describe where they found them.

- Challenge them to build a simple structure or picture using household objects, or make drawings using different shapes.

 

Photos of the Week:

 

We were Earth Heroes - cleaning our school yard

Blog for May 18-22

 Learning Intentions

I can name the seasons
I can see how the land changes when the sun gets warm
I can name animals that sleep all winter
I can explain what migration means and why animals do it
I can explain what hibernation is
I can tell how animals stay warm in the snow

This week in Science, students started their Earth Sciences unit… and Spring was “in the air”. So far in this unit we have learned about Spring and Summer Changes, Hibernation and Winter Survival, and Animal Migration. As we enter the planting season, students considered how the earth “wakes up” after the long winter season. Students were practicing both the months of the year and the four seasons in our math lessons. We also explored First Nations perspectives on the Spring Equinox and learned how they watched animals to know when the seasons changed. 

Learning Intentions

I can skip safely in my own space
I can skip using a step and hop pattern
I can skip at different speeds
I can show coordination and balance while skipping
I can stop and start skipping with control

This week in Gym, students practiced their skipping skills to prepare for our school-wide Heart and Stroke’s “Jump Rope for Heart”. Skipping is a cost-effective way to get cardio exercise, and we talked about how it is important to include cardio exercise in their lives to improve their overall health. Students learned easy healthy habits and helped raise funds to support lifesaving heart and brain research. Thanks to our TRS families who shared their time and resources for this worthwhile cause.

At Home Learning:
Literacy (Vocabulary):

Ask your child to practice naming the months and seasons. You can name a month and ask which month comes before and goes after that month.

Math:

Your child brought home basic facts to practice. Please have them complete the work to build faster recall.

Photos of the Week

 Learning Intentions:

• I can listen to a story read aloud
• I can recall key details about a story
• I can make connections between the story and my life
• I can use my senses to provide more detail about a story
• I can make predictions based on prior knowledge

This week, the students continued their novel study on Charlotte's Web. Through reading chapters 1-4, the students have practiced active listening skills. Through conversations and comprehension questions, the students have worked on retelling key events from the story. The students revisited the three types of connections: text to self, text to text and text to world and how they help the reader relate to the story. Finally, they focused on how to describe Wilbur's world through the senses. They answered what the farm looks like, sounds like, tastes like, smells like and feels like from Wilbur's perspective. They are excited to see what happens next in the story!

Learning Intentions:

• I can describe things based on the time of day (morning, noon, afternoon, evening)
• I can use non-standard units of time to describe how time passes
• I can measure how long it takes to complete a task 
• I can understand the sequence of the days of the week
• I can understand the sequence of the months of the year
• I can use a calendar to help understand when important events take place
• I can use my knowledge of time to solve word problems

This week, the Grade 1 and 2 students focused on the concept of time and how we can measure time in different ways. The Grade 1 students spent a lot of "time" learning about different vocabulary to describe different times in the day such as morning and evening. They also focused on describing time by using the seasons and the days of the week. The Grade 2 students focused on measuring time using non-standard units, the months of the year and calendars. They also using their mathematical knowledge to solve word problems around time. The students will continue to explore these concepts within time next week!

Supporting Your Child at Home:

• Literacy: Please continue to read and write with your child at home. We are seeing an increase of confidence in the students and we want to continue to push them to feel good when they are reading or writing. 
• Math: Please continue to practice addition and subtraction basic facts so students can solve these problems quickly and with accuracy. 

Photos of the Week

 

 Learning Intentions

• I can hold a cricket bat the right way.
• I can practice hitting a ball from a tee or gentle toss.
• I can throw a ball toward a target.
• I can follow simple cricket rules during games.
• I can show fair play and respect during competition.

Students participated in a Cricket Residency this week. The instructors started our sessions off by sharing the fact that cricket was declared Canada’s first national sport in 1867 by Sir John A. Macdonald (lacrosse replaced it 1.5 years later). Skills lessons for cricket included: batting skills, bowling skills, running skills and fielding skills. Your child should be able to explain how to hold the bat, how to hit the ball and how points are scored. This was a great opportunity for students to learn a bit about this popular sport and to try it out for themselves.

Learning Intentions

• I can share my ideas through pictures, letters and words.
• I can use sounds I hear, and UFLI lessons, to help me spell words.
• I can add details to make my writing clearer.
• I can write stories, facts, and opinions for different purposes.
• I can organize my writing with a beginning, middle, and end.
• I can edit my writing for spelling, punctuation, and neatness.

In Literacy this week, students have also been working on their skills. Over the past few weeks, students have had opportunities to further develop their ability and creativity as writers. As developing authors, they are practicing applying expressive words – such as adjectives. Whether they had a picture prompt or a word bank, they practiced building engaging stories. Students also created some unique, new ice cream flavour names that featured alliteration. These combined experiences should help them to appreciate the writer E.B. White as we read their classic novel: Charlotte’s Web.

At Home Learning:
Literacy:
Ask your child to write step-by-step instructions for a simple activity, like brushing your teeth. They should include words such as first, next, then, and finally.

Math:
Your child brought home basic facts to practice. Please have them complete the work to build faster recall.

Photos of the Week

 

 

 

 Learning Intentions:

• I can explain that sound is made by vibrations.
• I can identify and explore different sources of sound around me.
• I can describe sounds as loud or quiet, and high or low.
• I can investigate how sound travels, bounces, and can be absorbed.
• I can use what I know about sound to create and test simple musical instruments.

This week in Science, we have explored sound through hands-on science investigations! Students learned that sound is made by vibrations and discovered how sound can travel, bounce, and even be absorbed by different materials. They explored sound sources indoors and outdoors, tested loud and quiet sounds, compared high and low pitches, and experimented with how sound behaves through fun stations. Using stories, videos, and inquiry activities, students are building scientific vocabulary, asking great questions, and thinking like young scientists. We finished off our week by creating straw pan flutes. We are excited to learn a song on them next week.

Learning Intentions:

• I can measure and compare length using metric units. (Grade 2)
• I can estimate and check the size of objects using measurement tools.
• I can explore and describe area and perimeter.
• I can compare and measure capacity and volume.
• I can use measurement skills to solve real-life problems.

In Math, students continued exploring measurement through videos, songs, stories, hands-on activities and independent practice. They learned about perimeter and area and practiced estimating and measuring in cm, mm, and m. They even had fun measuring one another. The students explored capacity and volume by comparing how much different containers can hold. Towards the end of the week, the students applied their understanding of measurement to accurately measure the length of straws in the creation of their pan flute.

At Home Learning:

Literacy:
Just 5-10 minutes of play a day helps build vocabulary, sound awareness, and confidence in reading and writing! You could make silly alliteration sentences (same starting sound) together: “funny frogs flip fish fast” or add a sound word (onomatopoeia) to your sentences: “…with a SPLASH!”

Math:
Encourage your child to measure household objects with a ruler or tape measure, and to estimate before checking. They can also explore capacity by pouring water between cups and containers and discussing which holds more or less. Baking with your child is also a great way to practice measuring in real-life.

Science:
Go on a sound scavenger hunt and identify sounds you hear inside and outside.

Photos of the Week

Run Club!

 

Spring Dance!

 Learning Intentions:

• I can tell you about different types of energy. 
• I can notice light, sound and movement energy.
• I can describe how things move using direction, pathways, speed and movement.
• I can describe how fast or slow something moves.
• I can change how something moves. 
• I understand that forces (push and pulls) can change movement. 
• I can tell you ways to help take care of the Earth.

This week in Science, the Grade 1/2s started a new unit on Energy. Grade 1s are focused on Movement Energy and Grade 2s are focused on Light and Sound Energy, however we will be exploring all three concepts through a connected unit. The students started the week by learning about the different types of energy and how energy makes things happen, such as how light energy provides light for us. The students practiced sharing their initial thoughts for the unit using a more structured worksheet focusing on True and False, Multiple Choice and Fill in the Blank, in order to gain a better understanding of how to complete these types of tasks. On Tuesday, the students participated in a field experience opportunity where they observed different types of movement, light, and sound energy within our schoolyard. On Wednesday and Thursday, the students experienced how things can move in different ways and practiced the different terminology to describe how things change. They tested how different objects could move at different speeds and in different pathways. We also spent time exploring and reflecting on Earth Day on Wednesday and how we can all help take care of our Earth. 

Learning Intentions: 

• I can tell you what a noun is and identify it in a sentence. 
• I can tell you what an adverb is and provide examples. 
• I can share my opinion on a topic and gives facts to support my opinion (persuasive writing). 
• I can create a narrative from a picture. 
• I can use my understanding of synonyms and antonyms to find words that have the same or opposite meaning. 
• I can work in a small group to practice literacy skills. 

This week, the students participated in another set of literacy centers where they practiced skills taught in the previous weeks. One center focused on identifying nouns in a sentence through a write the room task where they went on a scavenger hunt to find the different cards around the room. Another center was focused on identifying words that are adverbs and finding different examples of adverbs in a word search and a maze format. The next one was a persuasive writing task where they made a simple plan and wrote a letter to convince a family member that they should get a cat. Then, they focused on writing a narrative story based on an April themed rainy-day picture. This center was intended to help the students practice for our upcoming school wide writing prompt on May 5th. Finally, the students compared two words and identified if they were synonym or antonym pairs. They worked in small groups as they rotated through the different centers. 

Supporting Your Child At Home: 

• Math: Your child has brought home a math page with basic facts. Please have them complete the page to help them build quicker recall in these facts. 
• Science: What can you do as a family to help take care of the Earth? Brainstorm some ideas and make a plan together!

Pictures of the Week

 

 

 

 

Learning Intentions
I can talk about my culture
I can create an artifact that helps show my culture
I can describe my cultural artifact
I can explain what is special about my artifact
I can share my ideas with others

This week in Social Studies, students planned and built an artifact to represent their culture. This was an opportunity for students to delve into their family’s history or to better understand their Canadian identity. In our lessons, diversity was defined as “When many different kinds of people learn, live and share ideas together in one place.” And, students explored diversity in both our country and in our classroom. On Wednesday, they shared their learning by hosting their ‘Culture Artifact Museum’ to share their artifacts, and the stories behind them, with our Grade Three friends.

Learning Intentions
I can build my foundation reading and writing skills
I can build my phonological awareness of letters, sounds and how they are represented
I can collaborate with my group
I can use my understanding of short vowel sounds to write three letter words
I can use digraphs, blends and heart words in my writing
I can use various spellings to showcase different short and long vowel sounds
I can use UFLI lessons to strengthen my literacy skills
I can build my comprehension skills and retell information from a text

After our Spring Break, students started working in leveled Literacy Groups four days a week. These 30-minute sessions are anchored in UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) lessons. This enables students to work in smaller groups on targeted literacy activities. All students underwent testing, combined with classroom observations, to determine which group would best help build their literacy skills. Ending the year with a strong focus on Literacy will help students strengthen their reading and writing abilities and prepare them for the next grade.

At Home Learning:
Literacy:
Ask your child to write 2–3 sentences about their day, remembering capitals, spaces, and punctuation. Ask them what the difference is between an adjective and an adverb. Ask them what 3 question words help us to identify adverbs (how, what and where).

Math:
Your child will bring home basic facts to practice on Monday. Please have them complete the work to build faster recall.

Photos of the Week