This week and Halloween info

Hello room 317 families,
I hope you've had a great week! Pictures were sent home today. All students will receive a class photo when they come in. If you would like to order individual prints, you can do so online or ask the office for an order form. Our next round of class Scholastic orders are due this coming Thursday (Oct. 31).

Thursday is Halloween - always exciting at school. In our class this year, we will not be sharing food. If students feel compelled to bring a treat for their friends, dollar store stickers, erasers, pencils, glow sticks or spider rings (you get the idea) are great non-edible options. Students may come in costume if they choose, but please refer to the Principal's email for safety instructions. I believe this includes no masks (face paint is good) and no fake weapons. Save this stuff the evening. We still have Financial Literacy on Thursday, and we still have other work to do, so please reinforce to students that they must still be responsible learners and model good behaviour for younger students on this day. We will definitely squeeze in some time for fun as well!

In math, we have started our work in data management. Happily, we remembered how to make a simple bar graph. Each group collected data on a different question, set up their axes with choices and a scale and filled it in as a first activity. We have reviewed or learned the terms: moyenne, mode, médiane and étendue and have practiced calculating these based on data. Please ask your student what these words mean!

We have also all gotten connected to Netmath, a great French online math site. Through Netmath, I am able to assign activities and track each student's progress. Our homework this week is through Netmath.
One of the assigned activities is to do with line graphs - this may be a new way of presenting data for our students. We looked at some newspaper cutouts and some of my old bills today and we talked about when a pie graph, double bar graph, line graph are each useful, and when they're not. For instance, in a line graph, you can show the growth of money over time, whereas in a pie graph, you can only really see one result for one point in time, but if that's the goal, it gives you a very clear picture (e.g., for a yes or no question). Next week, we will continue looking at and creating various types of diagrams.

In Financial Literacy yesterday, we talked mostly about debt. Is debt good or bad? Can it be both? We reviewed how much it costs to get a post-secondary education and talked about two options for paying for it: a bank loan or OSAP. Anna outlined how they differ in how and when they must be paid back and students shared lots of opinions on which option sounded better. Then, we met our 6 characters. Ask your student what they remember about Lena, Wei, Andrew, Omar, Jayda and Kumar. Each character comes from a different situation. They may have a health issue, their family may be new to Canada, their parents may be together or separated, they have varying amounts of money in the bank, and each character has different interests and goals for the future. Based on the background information given, each group had to make a big decision for a character - will they go into debt and go to university? Will they work for a while and save up but not pursue their dreams? It was a challenging task because any choice had an impact on their overall happiness, stress level, health etc. Next week we will see the consequences of each group's decision!

In French, though many of us are still finishing our revisions in our personal narrative stories, we used our computer time today to start typing up our good copies. We are being very careful to make the changes suggested by our peer editor and myself. The writers are typing their story in a Google Doc that they have shared with me.

In Science, all students have now had at least a double work period to work on their brochure or report. Our students are a little ahead since I've been giving them time during our English periods. The updated due date for the grade 6 brochures/reports is next Wednesday, for grade 5s, next Friday. On this day, they will have more time to finish up in class, so many students did not have to bring anything home. I strongly advised that if students were not half done by the end of today, that they bring it home to work a bit before next class. Please follow-up with your student to see if they brought it home, or if they should early next week. I don't think many of room 317 students should need to do this as homework.
Last week, grade 6s got to do some hands-on science centres which included rubbings, looking at specimens under a microscope and sorting animal cards into groups. We used our notes to try to determine some characteristics of insects, in particular. Grade 5s will have some hands-on centres next week!

Have a great weekend!

Financial Literacy!

Dear families,
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

Test coming up!

Dear parents,
I want to take a few minutes to give you a subject update!

Firstly, in math, we have all but completed our first unit on place value. In this unit, we have looked at whole numbers (and how to make them easier to read by rounding them using a decimal), decimals, fractions (including comparing them by finding common denominators), percentages and the equivalencies between them.
The math homework this week will consist of review questions from all sections of the unit. We will have a pre-test on Wednesday, which I hope to send have sent home for review on Thursday. The actual test will be next week after students have had a chance to ask about things that came up on the pretest (so likely Wednesday). If you notice your student is having a tough time with any of the review questions, please remind them, as I have, that this week is the time to ask!
Next week, we will begin my personal favourite math unit: data management.

In French, we are continuing to work on our personal narrative stories. We are at the stage where we have done some flash writing to get our important memories down, and now I am prompting students to add to their writing by thinking about the most important part of the story, adding detail to it, reading over it from an actor's point of view, reading it over adding transition words, and asking themselves who/what/when/where/why questions. I expect that all students will write at least 2 pages as a minimum, but many already have more than this. Please ask your writer about their story topic - you would probably be the best person to help them recall more details about this event in their life.

In Social Studies, Ms. Peek is preparing all students for the student vote, which takes place next week! Both grades have had some research and an assignment to complete (posted on Google Classroom). They are encouraged to watch or listen to the leaders' debate tonight (Monday) at 7pm!! Our class can also listen in on Thursday in French.

In Science, we are working away at our first independent project. All students met the first deadline, of looking up some terms, during class time. Each student has selected one question to focus on for their research/writing component. Due to some other in-class work and similar deadlines in Social Studies, I have extended our research deadline until next Wednesday, October 16th. At this point, all students in both grades have had at least two double periods (our class had a bonus period as well) to work on research in class using books and online sources. Some students have completed enough research to answer their entire research question and have consulted at least 3 sources, so they do not have homework. Most students are about 2/3 there and perhaps just need to find one more source, or address the last piece of their question. The assignment has been copied on Google Classroom since last week, along with some helpful sites, and I have been advising students (again, since last week) not to wait until the last minute to work on this from home. I do not wish for anyone to have homework over the long weekend, or a lot to finish next Tuesday night. Please ask your scientist about this project, and if they have any research to complete at home in the next 9 days! Time management is a big part of this project!

In art, we have continued with our study of the Group of Seven. We spoke about who they are, their mission, inspiration, influences and style. We all completed a sketch of a natural landscape that we intend to paint in their style, and now we have started to work on our canvases. Do ask what scene your artist has decided to paint, and how they might choose to put a Group of Seven twist on it (for example, we talked about how the colours do not need to match nature exactly).

Last week, I mentioned that we had completed our first learning skills self-evaluation and that these would be coming home for signature. I am still missing 10, so if you have not been presented with this, please ask your student. A) I want to make sure you've seen it (I wrote comments), and B) I'm trying to save paper by using the other side at the end of October. Thanks!!

Finally, a reminder that shortly after this long weekend, it is picture day (next Wednesday the 16th)!

Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving to your families!
Tamara

Curriculum Night Recap

Dear parents,
Thanks to all who came out to Curriculum Night last Thursday. It was really nice to meet all of you. Thank you for your kindness.

If you couldn't make it, I have asked your student to bring home a couple things you missed.
1) Our class schedule, which should hopefully be in its final state
2) On the reverse of the schedule, a learning skills rubric (see below)
3) FAQs for Grade 6

The learning skills rubric outlines some specific skills which the grade 5/6 team has agreed to work on and report on in the Progress Report. Although there are many ways to demonstrate each learning skill, it can be overwhelming to focus on everything at once. We hope this will help us focus our teaching, help the kids focus on working on these specific skills so that they can be successful, and it will help us be consistent and fair in our assessments. In sharing this, and future learning skills rubrics with you, we hope that we can avoid any surprises on report cards. You know what I am looking for, and so do the kids. We went over this exact rubric at length on the 3rd day of school, and it is posted in our classroom. We will also do self-evaluations now and then so that they can check-in on how they are doing. They know, for instance, that they must speak in French with each other (not just with me), if they would like to get an E for Responsibility. I am trying to motivate them with a small incentive system. They also know that they need to have their agenda to write their homework each day - I provide reminders and time for them to do this. I would like my students to get the marks that they want, and I don't want them to wonder how they can do it. This is how they can do it! I think it is quite clear and self-explanatory on the rubric, but, as always, if you have questions, I welcome them. *The first self-evaluation was completed today (Tuesday) and after I review what students said, I will send the rubrics home so you can see how they are doing so far. Please initial and return. We will complete the second identical rubric at the end of October and hopefully we can show you some improvement!

At Curriculum Night, I also shared that I would like for our students - the oldest kids in the school - to be excellent role models for the younger children. I have not forgotten how it feels to be a primary teacher, and I know how much those kids look up to the junior students. This includes how we speak to each other, to adults and about ourselves. It includes how we dress for the weather, how we play outside, and how we deal with challenges. I know we can inspire others with our excellent behaviour!

Finally, I went over some forms of communication we are sharing this year. These include the student agenda, Google Classrooms, class Blog (this!) and the blue communication folder. I'm usually not bad at answering emails promptly, so feel free, but don't forget the '2', or you are talking to someone else! tamara.mitchell2@tdsb.on.ca

In class, we have been busy celebrating and preparing for some important days. Last week, we remembered Terry Fox and classes went for a run or walk with their gym teacher. In our class, we read a book about Terry's life and took some notes that we then used to complete some 'doodle art'. Each shoe contains some words, phrases, dates and/or numbers that were significant in Terry's life. We also practiced some design elements, such as different types of lines, shadowing and use of shapes. They are inspirational!

Monday was Orange Shirt Day, in honour of all those who lost their belongings and were separated from their families in attending residential schools - too many of whom did not return home. Our school held an assembly, and all classes provided some meaningful decorations for the walls. Our class contributed a clothesline of "Attachment Hearts". Sewing is not a common art activity these days, but it seemed fitting for this occasion. We hand-sewed our hearts, filling them with sage. To my absolute surprise, several of our students are accomplished sewers! All our hearts are beautiful and meaningful. Please read the full description, below.

I will be back soon with a subject update!
Have a great week, Tamara