Math Unit 7

We have completed unit 6, taken a test and also done our midyear assessment -which we do after unit 6. Now Its time to begin Unit 7. In this unit we will be extending the basic multiplication and division skills that we learned in the first half of the year. We will be reviewing multiplication and division patterns, extending basic multiplication facts, practicing making estimates of costs and exploring ratios.

We are now onto math journal 2. We will still be working on completing pages that we missed in math journal 1 when we have time and for homework.

Some really great parent events coming up...

February 17th - 7:30 pm - Our literacy consultant, Myra is coming to speak to parents about literacy, reading to kids and how to choose books. Myra works with the staff in school and she has excellent advice and practical tips on making literacy more meaningful to our kids! Don't miss out on this opportunity to meet her!

Feburary 23rd - 8:30pm - Parenting discussion group for Moms and Dads - "When they don't listen" - how to deal with misbehavior.

Our morning meeting this week...

At this weeks morning meeting we again reflected on the meaning of 'being a good friend' and thought about how we like to be listened to by our friends and how a good friend listens and responds...

we reflected:

• How I like my friends to listen to me...


• I like my friends to listen to me when...


• When my friends listen carefully to me, I feel...


• When I'm talking I don't like it if my friend...

Social Studies - National parks and National Holidays

We have learnt all about Yellowstone National Park and how it became the first National Park...

We discussed all the special landforms, animals and plants that are there and the geysers that make it famous around the world! We have created together a 'cause and effect' book about the dangers that face bison!

We have learnt about Veterans day - and how it evolved into a day of rememberance for soldiers who fought in WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War. We have worked on the skill of creating and using timelines to show the main sequence of events on a subject. We learned about the Vietnam War memorial and how even though it was a controversial war, Americans needed a place to show respect, honor and appreciate the veterans. We have created our own memorial in our classroom! We are also practicing our 'letter writing' skills by writing a thank-you letter to a veteran!

Science - Completed Unit A Life Science...

We have now completed the four chapters in Unit A - Life Science!!!

We had a test on chapter 4 and on the whole of Unit A. In pairs we reviewed a chapter and created a poster for the class on the main ideas of the chapter:

• How plants live and grow
• How do animals live grow and change
• How are ecosystems different from each other
• How do animals and their environments interact

The Book Sale

We will be visiting the book sale together with our class on thursday at 11:45 am. Each child will have $10 to spend. Please send in the money by wednesday.

In addition the sale is open every day of the week for parents!

Completing our non-fiction writing...

Wednesday is our deadline for completing our writing piece in best! On wednesday I will be collecting each students writing and on Thursday we will be having a publishing party!

We have learnt so many strategies for non-fiction writing...

• Writers include diagrams, labels and charts to help the reader understand.


• Writers include 'extras' in their books, like fun fact pages, 'how to' pages etc


• Writers plan the layout of their book and how much text and illustration they will have on each page.


• Writers make their book 'reader friendly' and easy to understand for their reader.


• Writers write with 'voice' to make their books more interesting.


• Writers use punctuation purposefully to make their writing more exciting to read.


• Writers include dedications and acknowledgements to thank and recognize people that made the subject they wrote about meaningful to them.

It's very exciting to see how every student has applied these strategies to their own writing piece!!!