Monday Oct 31 Halloween:

late monday... took the kids out tricker-treating did not have time to put up the blog... will put it up tomorrow... hope you all had a safe night... we will have a quiet relaxing morning as you will all have been up way too late and eaten way too much candy... I know because I did too... take care and see you tomorrow Mr. W.

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People have asked me for some way, other than e-mail, for a way to leave comments or to ask us simple questions. So I have added a guest book. It is located on the right side just after" Important: Calendars, Lists, Pages, Worksheets" Take care and do leave us notes as we do enjoy communications with our parents.

Friday Oct 28th:

Notices:

November calendar went home today. Check for upcoming events.

The November calendar and November Food program are also posted on the side under "Important pages, calendars, etc"

Monday is Orange and Black day (no costumes)

Parents are always welcome in the class. Come and hang out or even clean out their desk if you feel so inspired.

We started the day with the weekly spelling test. The tests were marked and handed back to the students. The spelling test was followed by Art where we made mirror image cut out pumpkin designs. The pictures look very simple and effective but they are deceptive because they are not easy to make as they involve a fair amount of abstract thinking. Some of the students also worked on adding chalk pastel to the oil pastel drawings we did in our last art period.

Thanks to N for bringing in cookies for the whole class. Remember Monday is orange and black day, (no costumes) and if the students want to bring in treats for a little social that would be OK.

After recess we read and continued with the art project started before recess, as well the students who had finished worked on their mini books (not due until Tuesday the 1st). For math the students broke into their three groups. My group went to the computer lab where we used the Smart Board to work on problem solving with money. The students worked on questions like; how many different ways can you make 26¢ using coins, etc. These are the types of questions asked on the provincial FSA tests for students in grade 4, 7 and 10. Questions that check thinking and the application of math concepts rather than just computation.




After lunch the students went to buddies where the students made Halloween pumpkin lantern like things and read with the little buddies. After that I had a meeting so Mr. D the VP, came in and did an assignment with the students before we cleaned up and finished the day in P.E.

See you all Monday.

Thursday Oct 27 with Mrs O'Connor

Notice:
Spelling Test tomorrow

After silent reading we started working on our Rain Forest Unit. After a lesson we we made collages to represent the products we use that are made from items in rain forests.

We have started a unit called Friends For Life with Shauneen the YFC and are incorporating it into the Language Arts program. They all get their own workbook. Today after an introduction to the program the students interviewed each other.

Mrs Colleys math group went to her room and our group stayed in the class and continued working on math stories and questions.

After lunch we went to the library. If you still have a book out, remember to look under your bed!

When we returned we silently read our library books and then went outside for some D.P.A.(Daily Physical excersise).

Then it was time for Social Studies. Today we continued studying the map of Canada. The students were assigned an activity that had to follow Kate's cross canada trip. They had to look at the map and figure out if she went North,East,South or West during each each part of her trip.

They are really enjoying this Social Studies Unit. I think their are some future travelers in the class!

At the end of the day those that needed to cleaned their desks. I will see you all next Wednesday morning, have a safe Halloween!

Wednesday Afternoon: Computers, Music and Assembly

Wed afternoon began with a computer period. The students are using power point to write a story rather than make a presentation. This will take several computer periods as it is a new concept for a program they are just beginning to learn how to use. I did not assign a topic but said it had to be appropriate for grade 1 and up. Once they have tried it on their own I will assign a topic and further parameters for the next one.


After Computers the students went to music which was followed up by an assembly. Thanks to all those parents who managed to make it out to see the class perform. They did an outstanding job. At the assembly we also featured some of the mini pumpkins and work the students have been doing in their computer classes.



As there was only ten minutes left in the day after assembly we voted and had a quick game of silent ball until the bell rang.
Study your spelling for Friday's test. See you then...

Wednesday morning with Mrs O'Connor

C and Mrs M ready to start the day!We started a unit on Rain Forests today. I got the students to work in partners. They each got half of a heart, one half had a number and the other stars. The person with number 2 has to find the person with 2 stars etc. When they find each other they had to make a bridge. When we were in partners we shared everything we knew about Rain Forests. We then had an introduction lesson on Rain Forests.

In Social Studies we looked at the Countries in North America and the surrounding oceans.

After a lesson they had to fill out a map with a legend. They worked hard! Great job today everyone.

Look at our maps!

After Science and Socials it was time for math. Today my group worked on story problems. We wrote a fill in the blank story together with lots of numbers in it and then had to answer a sheet of math questions that went along with the story. Mrs M and her group worked hard on equations and Mrs Colleys group continued working on math srtrategies in her room. See you tomorrow.

Tuesday Oct 25 th: Pumpkin mini books and Halibut

Notices:

Assembly at 2:00 tomorrow our class is performing

'I' brought in some pictures for show and tell excellent and creative, thanks 'I'

'Y' turned her show and tell from yesterday into a great palm palm. 'Y' always tries hard to do her best at everything we do and share with others, thanks 'Y'

Students showing part of their new mini book that we began today.
I can't wait to read them when they are done.

We began the day with 20 min of Silent Reading while I took attendance and prepared the materials for the day. After reading the students were assigned this weeks mini-book. They are to write a book based on the pumpkin they, or any other class mate, decorated. The could say how it came to be, (for instance if they decorated their pumpkin like a cat they could write about a cat is becoming or the pumpkin is becoming a cat) or they could write a story where their pumpkin goes on an adventure.

After recess we had socials the students worked on how the Haida traditionally caught halibut. The students were assigned a one page report with illustrations on how the often 80+ kg fish were were ingeniously caught without modern techniques.

After Socials we broke into two math groups. One with Mrs. Colley worked on three number by three number subtraction. My group worked with subtraction with numbers like 5000 - 37 where they had to borrow and re-borrow as they went along. At first they were mostly mystified on how to do them but by the end all were easily completing them.

After lunch we had P.E. followed by Art. We worked with the medium of Oil pastels. The students had to use unusual colors to create a Halloween scene. Pumpkins could not be orange, grass could not be green etc. the only exception was ghosts could be white. This was our first time working with oil pastels and I wanted the students to explore working with the medium more than I wanted any specific product. We have worked with chalk pastels and Friday I will have them finish these pictures using the chalk pastels to solidify the different strengths and weaknesses of each medium.

Be sure and check out the photo gallery on the right as I am uploading quite a few new pictures today.

See you all tomorrow afternoon as Mrs. O is in in the morning.

Monday October 24: Halloween safety, Cree singers and Spelling

Notices:
Scholastic forms went home today
Ask your child about Halloween safety as we had a Safety visitor today

Three students brought in Show and Tell:
B brought in a Wasps nest
Y brought in a super duper double size palm palm maker
C brought in a special gift book from her grandmother

We started the day day with silent reading while I took attendance, this was followed by our regular spelling pre-test. This week we are using Halloween theme words for our spelling as well as the topic of our mini-books. The spelling words are listed below and at the side.

cauldron costumes skeleton goblin frighten vampire haunted werewolf potion Dracula zombie eerie ghoul Halloween witch cackle graveyard pumpkins safety

boo ghost owl trick mask candy howl wig broom bones doorbell scare treat spider mummy creepy prank spooky skull

After recess the students had their 40 min music lesson with Mrs. Awalt. Among other things they practiced the song they will be performing at the assembly at 2:00 on Wed. (please feel free to come and see your child singing or playing the percussion blocks)

After recess we had constable Walsh the community Liaison officer come in and show a video and talk about Halloween safety. As there was only 20 minutes before lunch after the presentation we used the time to make a small Halloween safety poster.

The scholastic book order forms went home today.

After lunch the students listened to and did a report on Ed Peekeekoot a song writer and singer from the Ahtahkakoop Cree First Nation. His musical message is full of images of the earth and the spirit and has a country ballad swing.

Some of the pumpkins are coming in decorated and they are super, and the students are very proud of them.

When the choir students came back we looked how the Coastal First Nations used simple hand tools (the adze) and steam from heated rocks to make large canoes. We then went to the computer lab to see the smart board in action. It is a great teaching tool and the students enjoyed taking turns using it.

Thursday Oct 20 With Mrs. O: Globes and Earthquake drills

In the morning we worked on Social Studies. Today we studied the Globe, a model of the earth.
We used the globe to locate the equator and understand that the equator divides the earth into two hemispheres, the northern and southern hemisphere. We also identified the North and South Pole. After the lesson the students completed a word match activity matching the words and definitions we learned.



Just before recess we took part in "Shake B.C." a time when all around B.C. people took part in a mass earthquake drill. We practice and have drills because it is important to be ready in case there is ever an emergency. We reviewed procedures and reminded the students to face away from the window when they are under their desks.



After recess we had a spelling test and then worked on math. Today I gave the students a worksheet that had the answers filled in and they had to identify the mistakes.



After lunch we went to the library. Students please remember to return your books in the box on Thursday morning before they are picked up. After library we went outside for a 15 min DPA break and did some relays. When we returned we worked on a Language Arts activity. The students were given funny situations and they had to write the answers as if they were writing an advice column. They had so much fun writing the advice that they didn't realize how much writing they produced. Some of the advice they came up with is hilarious, not to mention well written!

Halloween Pumpkin Design Contest

Notice:

Do not carve the mini pumpkins as they Rot really fast.

The parents group have provided a mini pumpkin for each student in the school to take home and, with their families, design a creative mini pumpkin character. The above picture is of some of the amazing designs submitted last year by some of our families. It is a creative and fun activity to do with your child. Bring the finished results back to school next week.

Wednesday morning with Mrs. O'Connor

We started the day silent reading and then started a maping unit in Social Studies. Today we looked at a map of the world. I gave the students a list of questions and a map. They had to name

the seven continents and the 4 oceans. After recess we worked on our Science projects we started yesterday went outside for some D.P.A and then worked on math as a group. I gave the same two pages of questions to all three groups so we can assess how everyone is doing after working on math strategies for the last several weeks.

See you tomorrow everyone.

Wednesday Afternoon: Computers and Music

Notices:
Most school photo's went home at the end of the day

No school Friday Province wide Pro-D-day

We began the afternoon in the computer lab working on a school wide project to see which student can create the best one or two sentence story along with an artistic illustration to go along with it. Each class in the school is working on the same assignment and the best three or four stories with illustrations, from each class, will be put into a mini school book in the library. The students worked hard and when they were finished they were allowed to go to the web site "cool math for kids" or continue drawing more pictures. The picture below shows a very creative and artistic sample done by one of our students.

Next week a mini pumpkin will be coming home for the family to decorate.

After computers we had music class with Mrs. Awalt. At the end of the music period our little grade one buddy class came down to see the class perform the numbers that they will be presenting to the whole school next Wednesday, the 26th, at 2:00 at the Safety assembly.


See you all Friday as I am teaching in the computer lab on Thursdays. (actually Friday is Pro-D-day so see you Monday)

Tuesday Oct 18:

We started the day with a poem called the 'Round Dance'. We read it together and then the students wrote it out, to practice their handwriting, then continued to illustrated it. They then finished working on their mini books based on "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus".

After recess we did a one page report on the origin of Halloween and then worked on three two digit number equations in math.

In the afternoon we played Bench ball in P.E. and then after catching our breath started working on our Habitat unit. We read Backyard Habitats by Bobbie Kalman and then started on a one page project due on Thursday. I will give the students time to work on it in class tomorrow.

Monday Oct 17th:

Learning rhythm and beat in Music

We began the day, and the week, with our regular spelling pre-test for the words that are going to be given in Friday's test. The words are listed below as well as on the right side of the blog. The students were told to take their pretests home along with a sheet of the words.

List One the angel list:

cot mop job dog Mom top pot mob log rod dot cob sod rob cod fog

List One the demon list:

frost golf chop job clock soft shock shop hot strong honk hop slosh long rob cost lock top drop snob

After spelling we read the book " Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems. The students mini book for the week is a take off on it like "Don't let the pigs clean your room." or "Don't let the wolf look after the sheep." The students loved the book and were quite excited about doing their own take off on it.

After recess the students went to music where they are still practicing rhythm and beat. They are learning to listen for and clap along to annotated music as a step in reading music. From the picture you can see that Mrs. Awalt also has some floor honkers where the students use their feet to tap out the rhythms. Very cool, we are so fortunate to have such a creative and talented music teacher as Mrs. Awalt. Our students will be performing at the safety assembly Wednesday the 26th so be sure to come along to watch.

After music we continued on with our math tricks of addition level in two groups as Mrs. M our assistant works with another class on Mondays.

After lunch we had choir. Those students not in choir listened to the music of and did a one page report on Chopin the astonishing piano player.

After choir we had Social studies. We looked at and talked about First nations protection crests. The students then designed a protection crest with four sections for themselves. the class brainstormed different things that can help protect you. They came up with Family, Friends, Knowledge or Love (things they have learned) and then an animal. They drew their crests. Those students who settled down to work and paid attention had a 15 min bonus computer period while the slower ones had extra time to finish their work.

I am absent tomorrow but have put in for Mrs. O'connor to sub for me. Either way I will see you all Wednesday.

Friday Oct 4: Spelling tests and Masks

Notice:

Keep bringing in the Entertainment books/envelopes.

Some of our students who have sold many Entertainment books.

We began the day with our weekly spelling test which was marked, recorded and passed back for the students to take home. Some of the students have been saying the easier of the two spelling tests is too easy. This is good as I purposely chose to start simple for the lower spellers to give them the feeling of doing well at spelling.

During math groups we again divided into three groups. A beginning group, a middle group and an advanced group. The advanced group came with me and we went to the library. At Tillicum we have been very successful at teaching reading as we understand that those students who are good at reading have strategies they use to think about text before, during and after reading. I am trying to take the same approach with math. I know students who are ahead in math have not only learned the basic facts and simple steps but are using strategies even if they don't know them. So to help my group I am pointing asking them to think about what they are thinking about what they are doing math. So with the advanced group we have been looking at the whole question first, rather than seeing the plus sign and beginning a robotic process of adding it. (The robotic step by step process does work but only teaches process rather than math thinking) An example of the approach I am using is I ask them to add 190 + 247. I then show them that the question is really 200 + 237 if they look at the whole question. They see that 190 is 10 away from 200 so they borrow 10 from 247 and add it to the 190 to make 200.

We ended with the question 530 +499 +399 + 299 + 199. Many of the advanced students still started to add it all together in the way they have been taught right to left... 0+9+9+9+9 = 36 carry the 3 then 3+ 9+9+9+9 = 42 carry the 4 + 5+4+3+2+1= 19 so it all adds up to 1926... it works but it is way easier to think of 499 as 500 and 399 as 400 etc. so the question then becomes 500+500+400+300 +200+ 30 which equals 1930 then - 4 = 1926. The advance group are beginning to get the idea of using strategies and tricks to make questions easier to work with.

Students working on mask one page reports

After recess until lunch we looked at pictures of a wide variety of First Nations masks and read about how the First Nations people use and have used masks for cultural dance and theatre, for battle, for decoration, for healing and for trade and sale. After our study of how masks have been used, the students worked on a one page report and then, in pairs, worked at making masks out of paper. As Halloween is approaching it is appropriate to look at First nations masks now and we will also be looking at many types of masks and how masks are used in a variety of societies, including ours, over the next few weeks. As I love masks and making masks this is only our first of many attempt to make masks this year.

After lunch we had buddies with Mrs. Dagg's class. The students helped with reading and an art project. We then had a work period for 30 min to catch up on work, to finish off the masks or to read and color. After that we ended the day in the gym with a rip roaring game of bench dodge ball with Mrs. Crystal's class.

Remember boys and girls dodge, dip, dive and dodge. Have a great weekend and see you all Monday.

Thursday with Mrs.O'Connor

Notices:

Spelling test tomorrow

Remember to put your books in the new library return box that Mrs. M made today!

Library is every Thursday. After taking attendance, and collecting books we did an art/team building activity.

I read the students the legend of "Warm Fuzzies," and then we made them. I recently saw this activity done in a grade six and the students enjoyed it so much I had to bring it to class. After reading the story, the students worked together to create them.

The finish projects were great and the students were really proud of them. Ask them to explain this project to you!

The students are still working hard in math everyday. It is nice to have Mrs.Colley, and Mrs. M help so the students can have lots of help. We worked on spelling, I told them to take it home for homework if they didn't finish, we are working on unit 3.

We went to Library after lunch and then organized our desks, I gave everyone a folder to put any loose papers or unfinished projects in. The students then had time to work on unfinished projects and we continued working on the Language Arts series I told you about yesterday.

Wednesday morning with Mrs. O'Connor

After taking attendance and silent reading we cooked up some special recipes in Language Arts! The assignment was to write a recipe about someone you admire. Some people wrote about friends,parents, siblings etc. The students took personal characteristics and wrote them in a recipe format. Add a cup of kindness and mix it with some fun etc.........

After recess it was time for Science.

Today, I read the book," One small Place by the Sea by Barbara Brehnner". This story examines what animals and plants make their habitat in tide pools. The students listened to the story and then answered questions and had a discussion on tide pools. After a quick 10 min fitness break we got into math groups and continued to work on math strategies until lunch.