Special Pyjama day for Pyjama Patrol on Monday!

At St. Anne we are going to have a pyjama day on Monday, November 30, 2015. On Monday, we would like students to wear their favourite pyjamas and please bring in a donation or a brand new pair of children’s sized pajamas to support the Pyjama Patrol Project. Students can wear pajamas, slippers, and bring in a stuffed animal if they wish. We hope everyone can participate and enjoy wearing their PJ’s to school!

Constructing Shapes in Geometry

Lately in class we have been learning geometry. One part of this that students often have difficulty with is constructing shapes using specific angles and side measurements. For example, in the video below, the question posed is to construct a parallelogram called BACD so that

• AC = BD = 5cm
• BA = DC = 2cm 
• angle ABD = 120 degrees and angle BDC = 60 degrees

When I teach students how to construct these shapes, I first ask them to make a sketch of the shape they are supposed to be drawing if possible. In this case, they should make a sketch of a parallelogram. They also need to stop and think at this moment about what they know about a parallelogram:

• opposite sides have to be equal and parallel
• opposite angles have to be equal 

At this point, students can sketch the parallelogram and  place the labels in the appropriate places. At this time, they can ensure they have the correct lengths and angles in all the right places as well, before they start actually drawing their shape using a ruler and protractor. To see how to draw the shape accurately, please watch the video below.

Digital Citizenship and Samaritans on the Digital Road

This week is Anti-Bullying week and so we are going to be teaching a number of lessons on Digital Citizenship, and good citizenship in general. These are excellent lessons that clearly show the importance of being a good citizen, as well as a good digital citizen, in our community and our lives. They are very connected to our religion program as well. The lessons on digital citizenship will include a culminating task that we will begin next week.

Please encourage your child to talk about what they have learned about being a good citizen throughout the day and how they can apply what they have learned in their day to day lives.

Have a wonderful Anti-Bullying week!

Monthly Blog Challenge is On!

Today we looked at our teams for the Monthly Blog Challenge and found out how we can read our teammates blogs. If you look under "Homework Links" on the right hand side of the page, you will see a link to the Monthly Blog Challenge site that I have set up, as well as the link to the teams.

This week we are focusing on writing a comment for our teammates. Click here to see the post I made with an example of a good blog comment as well as a link to the criteria for commenting that we will be using.

I am hoping that students enjoy reading each others work and are motivated to do their best writing. Blogging is a skill that students will be influenced by for a long time, so it is important to learn to use blogging skills appropriately. If you have any questions about the Challenge, please feel free to contact me at school. 

Next Science Unit: Electricity

We have begun our second science unit this year, which we will be studying until the end of January. 
Here is what we will be covering in this unit:

Big Ideas:

Fundamental Concepts: Energy 
Big Ideas: Electrical energy can be transformed into other forms of energy.

Fundamental Concepts: Systems and Interactions 
Big Ideas: Other forms of energy can be transformed into electrical energy. 

Fundamental Concepts: Sustainability and Stewardship 
Big Ideas:

• Electrical energy plays a significant role in society, and its production has an impact on the environment. 

• Society must find ways to minimize the impact of energy production on the environment.  

Specific expectations:

1.1 assess the short- and long-term environmental effects of the different ways in which electricity is generated in Canada

1.2 assess opportunities for reducing electricity consumption at home or at school that could affect the use of non-renewable resources in a positive way or reduce the impact of electricity generation on the environment 

2.1 follow established safety procedures for working with electricity

2.2 design and build series and parallel circuits, draw labelled diagrams identifying the components used in each, and describe the role of each component in the circuit

2.3 use scientific inquiry/experimentation skills to investigate the characteristics of static electricity 

2.4 design, build, and test a device that produces electricity

3.1 distinguish between current and static electricity

3.2 use the principles of static electricity to explain common electrostatic phenomena

3.3 identify materials that are good conductors of electricity (e.g., copper, gold, silver, aluminum, water [when it has a high mineral content]) and good insulators (e.g., glass, plastic, rubber, ceramics) 
3.4 describe how various forms of energy can be transformed into electrical energy
3.5 identify ways in which electrical energy is transformed into other forms of energy 
3.6 explain the functions of the components of a simple electrical circuit  
3.7 describe series circuits (components connected in a daisy chain) and parallel circuits (components connected side by side like the rungs of a ladder), and identify where each is used.
3.8 describe ways in which the use of electricity by society, including the amount of electrical energy used, has changed over time

Here is a blendspace page that covers most of the expectations in this unit. 

How to write a Blog Comment

Today we learned about how to write a blog comment according to specific criteria. Here is a picture of the anchor chart we have in our class to remind how to make a good blog comment:

We also made a blog comment together based on a blog entry we wrote on Friday. Here is a good sample blog entry and comment:

The little red wagon was screaming at the children. It begged them to take it down the hill. The three children, a small boy named Joey, a girl in a beautiful white dress named Mags, and an older blond boy named David who was obviously the leader of the pack. The The girl in white jumped into the front, and the littel boy behind her. David pushed the red wagon from behind down the steepest part of Mulberry Hill. David pushed and pushed and pushed. He was small, but he had strength like no other boys. As he ran behind the wagon, it started to roll ever more quickly. He could taste the sweat from running rolliwng down his head and into his mouth. The fresh crisp autumn air filled his nostrils with smell sof broken leaves and pumpkin pie. The wind pushed at him and the wagon as it accelerated faster and faster own the slope. Suddentl ythe wagon jumped like it had a mind of its own.

Comment:

Mr. Pouliot, Your hook  sentence was really good and it made me want to read more. You may want to check your spelling in the future because some words were spelled incorrectly. I remember when my brother was riding a bike with me in autumn and I could feel the same way as the story was when it said about the air in my nostrils and pumpkin pie. Have you ever had an experience like this Mr. Pouliot?

Finally, here is the link to the criteria we will be using to assess and evaluate blog entries and comments. We will be reviewing these in class as well.

In math, we are beginning to learn about how to construct shapes using specific attributes such as angles and side lengths. Today we focused on making triangles with specific lengths for each side. In order to do this, we need to use a ruler and a compass. Tomorrow we will be learning about how to construct different shapes using a ruler and protractor. If you have a geometry set for your child at home, please try to ensure they bring it to school as it will be very helpful for them in completing their work.

Geometry has begun and The Great Crepe Battle

In math, we have begun learning about 2D geometry. Our first lesson was a review of how to use a protractor to measure angles and we learned about a new type of angle - the reflex angle. Today we learned about classifying shapes according to attributes and learned about concave and convex shapes. Next week, we will begin constructing shapes according to specific parameters. Students usually have a difficult time with this concept. It is helpful if students have their protractors and compasses for this lesson, so please remind your child to bring his/her geometry set next week.

In language, we finished reading a script called "The Great Crepe Battle" which is an adaptation of the Ballad of John Henry. Since we are learning about the skill of sequencing, we identified the main events in the story in random order. Students are arranging the events into the correct order and making a comic strip about it using Bitstrips, or by drawing it on paper. I left the choice to them.

Change to Homework Routine

This week, I will be implementing a small change to our homework routine. I would like to be able to connect our math lessons more directly to homework, so that students can either practice the material we learned in class that day, or examine the material beforehand in order to do a rich learning task with a little background knowledge.

To this end, I will be changing the math part of our homework routine a little bit. For math homework, there will be items due throughout the week instead of only on Mondays. Students will write down their homework in their agendas and I will post it on the blog as well. All other homework - Raz-Kids, Literature circles, and Xtramath - will remain due on Mondays. If you have any questions about our homework, please feel free to contact me at the school.