March 18th Update

What a fantastic week in 3C!

LITERACY

Our read aloud time with Wonder is going very well! The students are participating in some great conversations, making thoughtful predictions and making several connections to the book! There are so many times in reading this book each year that students engage in some higher level thinking...it really pushes them. One of the occasions that offers this opportunity is when Mr. Browne's precepts are introduced. Mr. Browne is the fifth grade English teacher and he introduces a new precept each month to his students. A precept is a quote or saying that is important in shaping who we are. The September precept was:

When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.

The students and I discussed examples of when we are put in the situation to make this choice and how we can or should handle it. One example that came up that is relevant for student life was a student claiming to be the fastest runner in the school. We talked about how if that person is not the fastest runner, you could tell them that they are wrong and maybe engage in an argument with them. That would be choosing being right. On the other hand, you could ask yourself, "Does it really matter that they think that they are the fastest, even though I know that they aren't?" Asking yourself this question might lead you to reply with, "You sure are a fast runner!" and letting it go. That would be choosing to be kind.

The October precept was:

Your deeds are your monuments.

This was a tricky one...we had to take apart the words first to figure out what it meant. I asked the students was a deed was. Many of them mentioned the phrase, "doing a good deed," and from this we figured out that a deed was an action/thing that someone does. Then we started discussing monuments. We talked about the monument for the four RCMP in Mayerthorpe and a Terry Fox monument in Thunder Bay. We figured out that a monument was something that people remember you by. From this discussion we decided that Your deeds are your monuments means that people remember you by your actions towards them. This lead to an amazing discussion about how you want people to remember you. What actions do you want to be remembered for?

These mindful discussions are EXACTLY why I feel the need to share this book with my class each year! They are at the perfect age to start thinking more deeply about what they read. We are at the time in their literacy development that they can start reading to learn instead of just focusing on learning to read. 

The students are also making some strong connections to the different characters in the book. They have strong feelings about Jack, Summer, Julian, Charlotte and August. I ask them to consider who they would want to be more like? What character traits do you value in each character?

Writing time is also very exciting right now! We are diving into the wonderful world of JoAnne Moore's sentence writing! I love this time of year! The students really start seeing the power of word choice and how they can be the authors of the most amazing sentences! JoAnne Moore focuses on two main components with sentence writing:

1) Specific Verbs - using the perfect verb to describe an action

• Instead of just plunking in went into a sentence, students have brainstormed specific verbs for how a specific noun moves. For example, a bear may have trudged, charged or lumbered, while a mouse may have zipped, pitter pattered or scrambled.

2) Question Word Sentence Starters - what, where, when, how (ly), how (ing), who

• (What) The young mouse zoomed behind the fridge to get away from the cat!
• (Where) Behind the fridge the mouse zoomed to get away from the cat!
• (When) In a flash the mouse zoomed behind the fridge to get away from the cat!
• (How - ly) Quickly the mouse zoomed behind the fridge to get away from the cat!
• (How - ing) Sprinting, the mouse zoomed behind the fridge to get away from the cat!
• (Who) Benjamin the mouse zoomed behind the fridge to get away from the cat!

The students have been super eager to share their sentences each day! Here are a few samples of the fantastic writing that has been happening in 3C this week!

During our Working with Words time this week, we tried out a new activity called What Looks Right?  During this activity, I offer two spelling patterns to make the same sound. When spelling a word, we try both spelling patterns and circle the one that looks right. Sometimes, both of them end up being right so we end up discussing the definitions behind each spelling of the word. The students really have enjoyed this activity! It's a great spelling strategy to use during their writing! Try spelling it one way...if it doesn't look right, try a different spelling pattern.

NUMERACY

This week we focused on two main concepts in math. First, we examined the tricky world of problem solving. Problem solving is quite challenging for most students. They struggle to figure out what the question is asking of them. What do they need to do to find the answer? We discussed certain key words that pop up in most problem solving questions and how if you find the key word, you will know what to do to answer the question.

Addition: in all, all together

Subtraction: difference, how many more

We will continue to revisit this topic until the end of the year to build students' confidence with this concept.

After problem solving, I introduced the concept of rounding to the students. Jump Math does a fantastic job introducing this concept to students. We first examine numbers on the number line and determine which multiple of ten (0, 10, 20, 30, 40...) comes right before and right after the number.

Once the students understand that concept, I introduce the rounding rule that we learned when we were kids. Five and up, round up. One to four, round down. Students then practice rounding numbers to the nearest ten. 

This week coming up, we are going to apply our new rounding skills to the concept of estimating. Students will learn how to round two addends to the nearest ten and then add them up to get an estimate of the original sum.

Thank you to all of the families that came out for Student Led Conferences! If you missed it and would like the package sent home, just email me and I'll send it home with your child.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR THIS WEEK

• Spell-A-Thon pledge money is due on Tuesday
• Library - Tuesday
• Crazy Sock Day - Wednesday
• Family Dance and Cake Walk - Thursday
• PD Day - Friday