Springboarding into learning!

I can't believe it is over a month ago that I last posted. It is definitely time to update you on what is going on in our classroom.

We dived right into our new units since the break. This term our Social Studies unit is all about Exploration. We will be looking at what happens when the European explorers and First Nations cultures interact. Students have already learned a bit about the Vikings and Christopher Columbus. Today we began a little book about the reasons for exploration.

Our current math unit is geometry. We are enjoying a very different type of math that is equally valuable for students. We are trying to understand properties of 2D shapes such as parallel lines, right angles, sides and vertices, so that we can apply that knowledge to 3D shapes. Please keep up with the basics at home for math homework. In order to prepare the students for grade 5, my expectation is that students will have their basic addition and subtraction facts (up to 10 + 10) as well as memorized most of the multiplication tables. We will also continue to review these facts weekly at school.

In reading, we have started book clubs. Our theme is Earth Rescue. Students were placed in one of six book clubs. They will be practicing making connections, asking questions, and summarizing main ideas in this unit. At the end of the unit, we will begin a language arts project where students will choose an issue and write a persuasive speech to present to the class. More to come home later on this assignment.

We are also participating in a mini iPad project as part of the VSB district inquiry into personalized, digital learning. This year, I have been part of this group along with four other teachers from Wolfe. Students worked most of the day Monday to begin their projects. They are creating a iMovie that is a commercial persuading people to do something to save the earth. They have to incorporate video, photos, and audio into their movies. I will try to share these in some way when they are finished. We have two more sessions next week to finish!

Today we enjoyed a fabulous presentation by Project Soul as a school. Many thanks to the PAC for helping out with these performances. Tomorrow we will be creating a recycled art project for Earth Day. Hopefully, students remember to bring in any recyclables they have lying around.

As you can see, we have been quite busy in the last three weeks. Please watch the planner closely for information around homework and project deadlines.