I hope you had a great Thanksgiving long weekend!
At school, we are starting to wrap up our first few projects of the year so that we can start some new stuff!
In math, we've completed our test and I will get those marked and sent home for signature ASAP. We will be starting our unit on Data Management and Probability soon, but there has also been an amazing addition to our math program. We are fortunate to be participating in a Financial Literacy program for the next 8 weeks. Our instructor, Anna, is fantastic and will be introducing us to the ideas of budgeting, planning ahead, the concepts of interest, credit and net worth. In our first session today, we talked about what financial literacy is, what role money plays in our life (can it make us happy? unhappy?) and generally, what do we need to save for (education, housing, family, retirement), and how much do those major items cost? Some students were surprised how much 4 years of college/university would cost, or how much their family likely spends just on rent or a mortgage. Over the next 7 sessions, we will meet 6 characters experiencing different, but realistic, financial situations, and we will get to make some choices for them. It will be fun, but I think it will be extremely educational! Anna gave us two simple homework tasks today: to thank our parents for providing for us (now that we know how much we cost), and to ask you about finances - specifically household costs. I think it is so great that our class has the opportunity to start learning about this stuff now - I know this was never part of what I learned at school! Financial literacy workshops are every Thursday in the afternoon until Dec. 5. If possible, please avoid afternoon appointments on Thursdays until then so that your student doesn't have to miss this!
In Social Studies, our students have been learning about the different political parties in preparation for the student vote tomorrow! I just asked them for some of their positive and negative opinions about each party, and they are super engaged and well-informed. Can't wait to see how it turns out.
In Science, students have researched their chosen question and are ready to present their findings in either a brochure or report format. Because Science and English are integrated this year, our research skills, critical thinking skills and writing, are important elements of our science projects. Our class spent some time looking at various brochures to see what elements are generally included and why they are important to this kind of text. From our collection of ideas, we have made a list of what we must include in our report or brochure. Students may use one of my pre-made templates, but many are choosing to format it themselves, which is great! I am hoping good copies can be done entirely at school, but some students are keen to bring it home to keep working. We also need to make time for some science centres during our fly-by science periods!
In French language, we have now completed our diagnostic reading assessment for the fall. Students read (or listened to) a French informational text and answered comprehension and opinion questions on it. I will be using the results from this to inform my first round of reading clubs which I hope to start very soon.
We have also done all we can (drawing it, acting it out, adding detail, thinking about the intro/conclusion, partner reading) to extend our personal stories, and now we are beginning the revision process. Using a checklist, students are editing their work in a different colour so that I can see the improvements they are making. A partner will then give it a second look using another colour, and finally, I will read each story and make some final corrections.
This week's grammar homework is a beginner's guide to using a Bescherelle (verb guide). Students who purchased on from our first Scholastic orders have now received it, so it is a good time to start learning how to use it. For students who do not own a hard copy Bescherelle, not to worry, great verb guides are available online. I have linked one to this blog, as well as to our homework assignment. I have been showing students how to use this version, in addition to the hard copy. This week, we are focusing on finding verbs in the alphabetical index, finding the correct page, and then using the appropriate pronoun to find the conjugation of the verb in the present tense or passé composé. I've tried to give some challenges by not saying "il", but rather, a proper name, for example, so that students will have to think a little about which pronoun could replace it. While the verbs I've used in the homework this week should all be easily copied from the Bescherelle pages, some students have noticed that other verbs are in the index, but do not have a page in the book. This is because there are groups of verbs that follow the same rules for conjugation, so it is not necessary to include them all. Throughout the year, we will learn some general rules that apply to many verbs and practice applying them, and we will learn how to transfer rules from verbs included in the Bescherelle to others not included. Lots to do, but one step at a time.
I can't wait to share the final Group of 7 style paintings with you. Some are complete and look amazing! I love watching the painters mix their own unique shades on their parchment paper. Every artist is asked to answer 2 questions about the Group of 7 once their project is complete. What did we learn about the group in general, and how does our final painting reflect their style.
The next Scholastic orders came home today and orders are due by Oct. 31. I am also still waiting for signed learning skills rubrics from a handful of students. If you have this at home, or haven't seen it yet, please do ask your student for it and then send it back. I want to make very sure you've seen this, and then would like to use the other side in October. Thanks!
Finally, our grade 5s and 6s are lucky to be participating in either a steel pan or strings program - another opportunity I never had living out in the country. This year, grade 5s will participate in the strings program (on day 4s) and grade 6s will have steel pan (on day 3s). Thankfully, since our grade groups will be sticking together, I can try to plan activities for the other half of the class that don't need to be made up, but when a group misses work time, they know they will need to use the rest of their time very wisely in order to avoid getting behind. This is even more important for members of junior choir (day 5), as this is their choice, and the rest of our class continues on as normal. I absolutely support jumping on every extra opportunity (sport, art, music) that we can, but I also expect our students to be responsible about finding out what they missed and making sure they are caught up. We talked about this on the first choir day, and there were no concerns.
Talk to you soon, Tamara