I can recognize the various components of soil.

We read 'Dirt' by Steve Tomecek and pulled out facts about the components of soil.  We added our notes to the mind maps we started last week about sand, soil, gravel and clay.  We realized that Mr. Tomecek's book was not like the other nonfiction books we've read so far.  We are good readers and we noticed that he used cartoon drawings instead of photographs, there was no Table of Contents and there was not a glossary.  But, we liked how he gave us information that was easy to understand.  Tomorrow we will conduct and experiment using these four components of soil.

We used Mathletics during math today to practice our number sense.

Ask your child what station they went to in physical education today.

Fun Lunch orders went home today - due back THURSDAY
Book orders are due Thursday

3 Stars And A Wish

"I can help other people get their work done."
"I can run 12 laps of the gym."
"I can read musical notes."

So went our discussion about things we are good at.  We brainstormed all sorts of things we might be good at at school.  We then told our partner 3 things that we are good at in school.  Then we switched things around and talked about things we want to get better at.  My wish would be to ...
These are things we will share with you Thursday night or Friday morning.  Please be sure to book an interview time be going to the school website.

Sticker math this morning:

Sadie saw 22 chicken and sheep legs on

her way to the farm.  How many chicken 

and sheep did she see?

We started with 10 minutes of independent work.  Children could have circled the numbers.  Underlined the question.  Boxed the important words.  To help themselves get started.  They could have used pictures, numbers or words or a combination of all three.  They could have talked with a partner after the 10 minutes was up to see what they were doing.  They could have joined me at the carpet to go over a plan to get going.  Ask your child how they solved the problem.

Book orders due Thursday Nov. 16

Book a conference time on-line.

Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then

We used non-fiction text to add to our notes about sand today as we work towards being able to identify the properties of soil.  We found out that sand can be many colors including black!  Ask your child why sand might be black.

We continued to compare numbers today - everyone was rolling there own numbers with the math dice.  Choice was made by each child if they were going to roll tens, hundreds or thousands.  We are getting very good at using the greater than and less than signs.  Now we need further work on reading them!

We began a summary of Princess Hyacinth using a graphic organizer of: Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then to help us include the important details of the story.  We also re-read the story looking specifically for those elements.

Rememberance Day Assembly @ 10:30 tomorrow
Donations accepted for poppies
Wear service uniform

Comparing Numbers

We started comparing numbers today using greater than and less than symbols.  We worked all together to compare numbers and read the symbols and also created an anchor chart together to remember how to read the symbols.  Tomorrow we will practice on our own.

We looked at four different earth elements - sand, clay, soil and gravel and created mind maps to describe each one.  Tomorrow we will add to what we know when we read for information from non-fiction text.

Domino contractions was our game today.  We learned about two words coming together to make a new word and an apostrope taking the place of the letters that were dropped.  We are very good at recognizing contractions.

Remembrance Day service Friday @ 10:30 donations can be brought for the Poppy Fund.
Service uniforms can be worn by our Brownies and Cubs.

What makes a story a fairy tale?

Lockdown practice happened in our building around 9 this morning.  We did well as a large group sitting in a small space for about 20 minutes.  Ask your child how they felt during the drill.

Sticker math was a bit difficult this morning.  It involved three steps and three digit numbers.  Students will be working for 10 minutes before they can ask a question from now on.  They all know  to help themselves get going they must first read the question, then read the question again, circle the numbers, underline the question and box the important words and make a plan to get started.  Teaching them persistence when the going gets tough they must also have a question, not 'I don't get it' when they come to me.  I've told them it is not my job to tell them the answer but rather encourage them in their plan to answer the question.  I will ask them questions "Why do you think that will work?"  "How do you know that is the answer?"  To get them thinking like the math experts they are.

We had a friendly little competition in table groups to come up with all the elements a reader would find in a fairy tale.  Interesting answers to "What makes a story a fairy tale?" then we brainstormed all the fairy tales we knew.  Moving into reading the story, "Princess Hyacinth" we looked at it's fairy tale elements and completed a graphic organizer.

"Why do we wear a poppy?"

"Why do we wear a poppy?" was the question we explored this afternoon.  We had a look at a couple short videos to try and find the answer.  We found out that we wear a poppy to remember.  We wear a poppy because it was the flower that grew in the battlefields of WWI.  We wear a poppy for the people who gave their lives so we may have our freedoms.  In preparation for Friday's assembly we each made a poppy that will go onto our class wreath.  The students who belong to a service group (Brownies, Cubs, Cadet, Forest Rangers) are invited to wear their dress uniforms to take part in the service which will begin at 10:30 am.

Bill Nye the Science Guy is a favorite of all children in science.  Today we had a look at 'Rocks and Soil' and then answered 4 questions from the video.  We are working on answering in complete sentences and using capitals and periods properly.

We are getting really good at using place value to describe numbers.  Today some of us worked on representing numbers in different ways while others used Mathletics.  Just a reminder that Mathletics and Xtramath are available for students to use at home and are excellent practice.

Read 20/10

Boots✔
Snowpants✔
Toque✔
Mittens✔
Winter coat✔
All with names put in them please!!  My coat room is already bursting with winter clothing that appears to belong to no one.  PLEASE.  PLEASE.  PLEASE.  Put your child's name on their things.

Learning Plans

The learning plans that we will share with you at interview time on November 16 and 17 are well under way.  We started with a short video called "Soar" so we could talk about setting goals and the strategies that will help us accomplish that goal.  Ask your child about their literacy goal.

Beddington is currently collecting donations for the veterans food bank and toothbrushes for The Drop in Centre.

There is also a great competition going on for the worst mustache  - votes are each a loonie

Have a great weekend - stay warm