grade3ups

Friday, June 25, 2010

2010-06-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
We did one final riddle, answered it, and wrote the date.

MATH
The students worked on a cumulative review of questions from the entire year.

LUNCH
Cargill treated the students and staff to a hot dog lunch, which included pop or juice, chips, and a popsicle. After lunch the Cargill staff put on an informational session on this year's crop - Canola. This included letting the students see plants from the field, seeds, and products made with Canola oil.

CLEAN UP & FUN
The students packed up their desks and then we went to the gym and built and flew gliders. Then the students and Miss Riddell walked down to the ice cream shop for a treat. Upon returning to the school the students got everyone in grade three to sign an autograph sheet. We read a bit more of our 39 Clues book but didn't quite finish it before it was time to head out to the buses or home.

* Remember to pick up your report card between 9:00 and 12:00 on Wednesday, June 30th.

Thursday, June 25, 2010.

2010-06-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

SARAH PLAIN & TALL
The students watched the video of the book this morning.

MATH
The students did the Show What You Know section in lieu of a test for Geometry. Tomorrow we are doing a cumulative review of the whole year.

HANDWRITING
The students wrote out the entire alphabet and the phrase "A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

SOCIAL
The students had some time to work on their Social reports as only two people got their homework done!

*Tomorrow we are going for a hotdog lunch at Cargill if it is not raining. If you can't eat hotdogs or it is raining you will need to bring your lunch. Bug spray will also be a good thing to have.

* One more day of grade three for this year!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010.

2010-06-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

MATH
The students worked with toothpicks and marshmallows to build skeletons of pyramids and prisms. They learned that the toothpicks were edges and the marshmallows were vertices.

AWARDS DAY
Congratulations to all our winners!

ART
We decorated envelopes for our Cheer Up Cards that will be delivered to the Cancer Clinic this summer.

*Tomorrow is Spelling so remember your study sheet for an extra sticker.

Monday, June 21, 2010.

2010-06-21T15:25:00.001-07:00

HANDWRITING
The student's copied today's riddle, answered it, and wrote the date.
"How many apples can you put into an empty box?"

FRENCH
The students finished reading a story about the insects and a raindrop.

MATH
We reviewed what edges, faces, and vertices are in pyramids and prisms.

SCIENCE
We read about composting and learned that fruits, vegetables, bread, grass clippings, leaves, and other organic material can be composted. You shouldn't put meat or fish in your compost pile as this can attract rats and mice. When the peels and other materials have been acted upon by bacteria and fungi they turn into humus. Humus can then be added to your garden and this will help the soil to provide nutrients for plants. Composting is like recycling in many ways.

* The answer to today's riddle is: "Only one because then the box isn't empty."
* The mosquitoes are exceptionally bad on the playground so you may wish to send bug spray with your child.

Friday, June 18, 2010.

2010-06-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, answered it, and wrote the date.
"What goes into the water pink but comes out blue?"

MATH
We are working with pyramids and prisms. Pyramids have one base while prisms have two bases and bases are also counted as faces. Both shapes are made up of faces (shapes), edge or sides, and vertices or corners.

COMPUTERS
The students made cheer up cards for patients at the Cancer Clinic.

* Have a great weekend!
* The answer to the riddle: "A swimmer on a cold day!"

Thursday, June 17, 2010.

2010-06-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, answered it, and wrote the date.
"How do you stop squirrels playing football in the garden?"

FRENCH
We did our quiz on insects and their hiding places.

SWIMMING
We had grey weather but it didn't rain and the mosquitoes weren't too bad.

SCIENCE
We proofread a section on dirt. We also read about soil in the Arctic regions of Canada. The students did a final comparison of all the soils in Canada.

MATH
We finished up some Math corrections on polygon questions.

*Tomorrow is the SCC Free lunch.
*The answer to today's riddle was: "Take awya their ball."

Wednesday, June 16, 2010.

2010-06-16T15:46:00.001-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, answered it, and wrote the date once.
"Why didn't the dog want to play football?"

MATH
The students did pages 214 & 215 on sorting polygons by the number of sides on each polygon.

LANGUAGE ARTS
As Mrs. Soloski was away on the grade 6 field trip Miss Riddell taught Language Arts. The students practiced their Spelling words using the SmartBoard. They then did a listening activity which involved hearing a backwards word and then reversing it and matching it to a picture. For example: nip N-I-P becomes pin when turned around.

The students then read Chapter 6 of "Sarah Plain and Tall." In the chapter Sarah tells the children about the sea and Anna and Caleb tell her about winter. The students did questions on the chapter. Many students also had time to think of things from nature that would remind them of Unity and that they would take with them if they moved. Some examples were leaves, acorns, and special rocks.

SCIENCE
The students corrected a letter about the bedrock layer of the soil. This layer is the bottom layer of rock beneath the soil, which may eventually be turned into soil through erosion. We also read about the Canadian Shield and learned that the soil there is very shallow, eventually too shallow for trees to survive.

MATH
The class watched a BrainPop on polygons. We learned a 7 sided polygon is called a heptagon and a 10 sided polygon is called a decagon. Polygons with lots and lots of sides are called by the number of sides and gon. So, a 25 sided polygon would be called a 25-gon.

* Remember your Spelling and French study sheets for extra stickers tomorrow.
* Remember your bathing suit and towel, and any parents coming to the pool will want to bring bugspray.
* The answer to today's riddle is: "It was a boxer."

Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

2010-06-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

COMPUTERS
The students all took a Star Reading test this morning.

FRENCH
The students practiced their vocabulary for the test on Thursday. We also read a story about a group of insects who saw other insects trapped in a raindrop.

MATH
Today the students sorted polygons. The polygons were usually sorted based on the number of sides they contain. For example: All polygons with three sides go in this pile and all polygons with more than three sides go in this pile.

FINE ARTS
We decorated our gift bags for our Father's Day gifts.

SHOW & SHARE
Students talked about swimming, going to the lake, a trip to Mount Rushmore, visiting the zoo, and other summertime activities. We also saw Kale's bow and everyone got a chance to pull it back.

Monday, June 14, 2010.

2010-06-14T15:03:00.001-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, tried to answer it, and wrote out the date.
"What job does Count Dracula do for the Transylvanian baseball team?"

MATH
The students finished up the first section on identifying polygons. They learned that polygons don't need to have sides of the same length but they do need the same number of sides to be called a specific polyogn. For example: a triangle must have 3 sides but those sides can be various lengths.

SCIENCE
The students proofread a note about the layer below subsoil which contains no organic matter to help plants grow. We also read about the West Coats region in British Columbia and the Yukon, which has mountains, coastline, and dry arid regions. In the Okanagan valley many fruits are grown and the soil there is very fertile.

MATH
We had some extra Math time.

*The answer to today's riddle is: "He looks after the bats."

Friday, June 11, 2010.

2010-06-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
Today the students copied the following riddle, answered it, and solved it.
"What would you find on a haunted beach?"

FRENCH
The students worked on their vocabulary for this unit.

MATH
The students worked with various polygons and became familiar with their proper names.

TRIANGLE - a polygon with 3 sides and 3 corners
QUADRILATERAL - a polygon with 4 sides and 4 corners
PENTAGON - a polygon with 5 sides and 5 corners
HEXAGON - a polygon with 6 sides and 6 corners
OCTAGON - a poly gon with 8 sides and 8 corners

SCIENCE
The students proofread a letter about subsoil, which is the layer where plant's roots go to get nutrients and water. They also read about soil in the prairie provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba.

LIBRARY
Today the student's could only take out AR books. All books should be back to the library by next Friday, June 18th.

* The answer to today's riddle is: "A sand-witch."

Thursday, June 10, 2010.

2010-06-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
Today's riddle was: What feature do witches love on their computers?

MATH
We are working with various polygons. A polygon is a shape which has straight sides and is closed at the corners.

MINI RELAY FOR LIFE
The students did an awesome job of dressing up for their teams. We raised $164.90. Five survivors shared their stories with the students and Miss Riddell made a DVD to show what a full fledged relay is all about.

* Mrs. McKinney will be in tomorrow as Miss Riddell is away.

* The answer to the riddle is: They love their spell checkers.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

2010-06-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, answered it, and wrote the date.
Why didn't the skeleton fight the monster?

FRENCH
We learned the names for various insect body parts today.
les ailes - wings
la tête - head
les pattes - feet
les antennes - antennas
le thorax - thorax (chest)
l'abdomen - abdomen (stomach and butt)

MATH
Miss Riddell went through our Fractions test and then introduced our new unit on Geometry.

SCIENCE
We corrected a paragraph about the different layers of soil. The top most layer is called topsoil and contains organic material, that is things that were once alive. Humus is also a large ingredient in this layer. We also read about the soil found in the St. Lawrence River Valley and around the Great Lakes. It is very fertile and many fruits, vegetables, and grains are grown there.

SHOW & SHARE
We heard about summer plans for motorbiking, camping, moving, and swimming.

* Tomorrow is Relay day remember to dress in your team's theme and bring a loonie.

* The answer to today's riddle was: He didn't have enough guts.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010.

2010-06-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

ASSEMBLY
We started the day with the second last assembly of the year and Mr. English's announcement that there are only 14 days left of school.

MATH
The students wrote their test on fractions and everyone did very well. Great job!

SCIENCE
The students did some proof-reading of a letter about the difference about soil and dirt. Did you know that someone who studies dirt is called a pedologist? We also read about the climate and soil in the Maritimes and discovered that P.E.I. produces enough potatoes to make 10 million bags of potato chips each year.

SHOW & SHARE
We heard about summer holiday plans to go camping, swimming, and travelling to Victoria, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

* Spelling test tomorrow.
* Friday's swimming is cancelled as the pool is not opening until Saturday.

Monday, June 7, 2010.

2010-06-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

COMPUTERS
Today we watched the third video about Scratch and the students started to create a small video of a conversation between two characters.

FRENCH
The students practiced their insect vocabulary and we did an activity where we found a variety of insects climbing, walking, flying, and hopping in a picture.

MATH
The students did some extra practise questions before their fractions quiz tomorrow.

FINE ARTS
The students worked on gifts and cards for Father's Day.

* Swimming may start on Friday, but the pool may not be open then so this is subject to change.

* On Thursday we are having a mini Relay for Life from 2:10-3:10 pm. The students will have a note tomorrow telling the theme of their team. They are to dress accordingly for Thursday and bring $1.00 to donate to Relay for Life, which is being held in Wilkie on June 18th.

Thursday, June 3, 2010.

2010-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
Today the student's copied a riddle, answered it, and copied the date.
"What do you take when a monster invites you to dinner?"

FRENCH
The students practiced the insect and hiding place vocabulary and then answered some questions about impossible and possible scenarios.
For example:

La sauterelle saute sur une feuille. (The grasshopper hops on a leaf.) This would be possible.

La fourmis vole sous une pierre. (The ant flies under a rock.) This would be impossible.

MATH
The students finished their Show What You Know review pages and most had time to work on their extra practice booklet for multiplication and division.

SCIENCE
We watched a BrainPop on erosion. It discussed how erosion can be caused by wind, running water, waves, and glaciers.

LIBRARY
The students took out books and heard a story about a class who get some chicks and the adventures which occur as a result.

* Tomorrow is Track & Field (attempt number two). Remember your sunscreen, bug spray, hat, runners, and lunch or money for the booth.

* The answer to today's riddle: You take someone who can't run as fast as you can.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010.

2010-06-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, answered it, and copied the date.
"What monster is the most untidy?"

MATH
The students continued worked on comparing fractions. They also started the final section before their exam next Tuesday.

COMPUTERS
The students watched the second Scratch video and learned how to change their sprite's colour.

SHOW & SHARE
We saw a powerpoint on Sarah, the black lab.

* Parade forms are due tomorrow if you'd like to go in the Rodeo parade.
* The answer to today's riddle was "The Loch Mess Monster."

Tuesday, June 1, 2010.

2010-06-01T16:55:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our new student "Lymbert."

HANDWRITING
Today the students copied a riddle, an answer, and the date.
Why do we dress boys babies in blue and girl babies in pink?

FRENCH
We continued to practice vocabulary on insects and the places that they can hide from the rain.

MATH
Students finished up page 199 on comparing fractions.

SCIENCE
We watched a BrainPop on soils and did the quiz that followed. We learned that soil is made of humus (dead plants and animals and other organic matter), rock, air, and water. The most humus is found in topsoil where plants grow. The other layers of soil are called horizons and below that is found bedrock. Rocks can be broken down by weathering or erosion. Nutrients from one horizon can leach down into the next lower horizon.

SHOW & SHARE
We met a snake named Viper and a dog named Buddy. We also heard about several other pets and saw pictures of them.

* Track and field has been moved to Friday providing that the weather is dry.
* The answer to today's riddle is: Babies can't dress themselves.

Monday, May 31, 2010.

2010-06-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, answered it, and copied the date.
Why did the girl take a pencil to bed?

MATH
The students worked on comparing two fractions.

For example:

2/3 is greater than 1/3

2/6 is less than 5/6

3/6 is equal to 1/2

SCIENCE
The students compared two soil samples and looked at how the colour, texture, weight, smell, and other properties were the same or different.

SHOW & SHARE
The students shared more about their pets.

* The Spelling test will be tomorrow.
* Today's riddle's answer is: To draw the curtains.
* Track and Field will be on Friday, June 4th.

Friday, May 28, 2010.

2010-06-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

No Track Meet today due to the wet weather.

HANDWRITING
Students copied the following riddle, an answer, and the date.
Why did the boy put his bed in the fireplace?

FRENCH
The students worked on a wordsearch to practice the new vocabulary for this unit.

MATH
The students finished working on page 194-95. Some students had homework.

FINE ARTS
The students worked on a 'ducky' art project with Mrs. McKinney.

* The answer to today's riddle was: So he could sleep like a log.

Thursday, May 27, 2010.

2010-05-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
Today's riddle was:
"How did the invisible boy upset his mother?"

MATH
The students worked on labelling fractions using words and numbers.
For example:

2/10 or two tenths

We also discussed that the numerator is the top number that shows the number of parts being counted or shaded. The denominator is the bottom number that shows the total number of parts.

ROUGHRIDER PEP RALLY
We went to the gym and cheered on our nominees Dawson and Jessica. Honorable mention went to Megan and everyone showed their pride and had some Rider green on today. The winner who will ride on the float was Jessica! Good job grade three!

SCIENCE
We watched a BrainPop video on changing landforms by erosion or weathering. This might be the wearing away of rocks, shoreline, or soil by wind and water. It also showed us how caves are formed and how plants and expanding ice can crack and breakup rocks.

SHOW & SHARE
This week's theme is pets and we got to meet Jessica's dog, Lazer, and heard about Easton's dog, Ranger, Thomas's cats, Boris and Paul, and Kale's dog, Buddy. We also heard about some pets who passed away or went to live elsewhere.

* Tomorrow is Track & Field if the weather cooperates. If not it will be classes as usual. Mrs. McKinney is subbing for me Friday and Monday.

* I'm not sure when the next Spelling test will be as it depends on the track meet but Mrs. Soloski will let the class know on Monday.

*The answer to today's riddle was: He kept appearing. :)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010.

2010-05-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
Students copied the following riddle, answered it, and wrote the date.
"What do you get when you cross a zombie with a boy scout?"

FRENCH
The students practiced their new vocabulary words for insects and their hiding places.

MATH
The students finished working on page 192 and many had time to work on their extra practice booklets for multiplication and division.

SCIENCE
Today we discussed how air, water, plants, and animals all help to make soil through erosion, decay, and tunnelling among other things.

LIBRARY
Ms. Hatzel read us a book about a boy asking to keep the many animals he brought home. Then we signed out new books.

* Tomorrow is Rider Pride Day so wear your green. The biggest U.P.S. Roughrider fan will be chosen and the winner will get to ride on a float during the Rodeo Parade on Saturday, June 5th. The committee is videoing the event to make it a part of Unity's bid for Riderville.

* The answer to today's riddle was: A creature that can scare little old ladies across the street. :)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010.

2010-05-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, guessed an answer, and wrote the date once.
"Why did the boy take a clock and a bird out on Halloween?"

MATH
The students continued working on fractions.

COMPUTERS
The students started using the Scratch programming language today. You can download a version for home use at the web site. The students don't have accounts yet as we are just practicing on our school computers.

POWER OUTAGE
Our afternoon was a little skewed with 2 short power outages so we finished another chapter and a half of our 39 Clues novel.

* Tomorrow is library class so remember your books. Rubber boots might also be a good idea.

* Today's riddle's answer is: It was for tick or tweet.

Friday, May 21, 2010.

2010-05-21T15:11:00.001-07:00

HANDWRITING
The class copied the following riddle, answered it and wrote out today's date.
"Why did the vampire bite the computer?"

FRENCH
The students practiced saying, hearing, and writing the names of the insects that they are using in this unit.

MATH
The students used Cuisinaire rods, which are different coloured rods with each colour being a different length. They compared one colour to another and made fractions for the different lengths.

For example 1 white rod is 1/10 (one tenth) of an orange rod.

SCIENCE
We read a book on BookFlix about different kids of worms and read the book "Diary of a Worm." We discussed how worms create tunnels that help the soil have more air, eat items in the soil to add to its richness, and need to come to the surface when it rains.

SHOW & SHARE
We saw track and field ribbons and heard about the student's favourite and least favourite events. We all wrote a message for Riley and Miss Riddell posted them to the "Rallying for Riley" page on Facebook. We also started "Get Well" cards for Mr. Middleton who has been away all week.

*Have a great long weekend!
*The answer to today's riddle is: "He wanted to get on the Inter'neck'.

Thursday, May 20, 2010.

2010-05-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, an answer, and the date.
"Why did the cat sit on the computer?"

MATH
The students used pattern blocks to cover shapes. They realized that if a shape can be totally covered with one other type of shape you can make a fraction. For example:
a hexagon can be covered with 6 triangles and therefore each triangle is one sixth of the hexagon.

The students then did a page of questions labeling fractions.

SCIENCE
The students are starting a new unit of soils. Today we watched a Brain Pop on soils. We learned that soil comes in three basic layers: topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock. Soil that contains lots of humus is darker and moister. Humus is the matter in soil that contains bits of decomposing plants and bugs. Soils may be sandier or have more clay in certain areas.

SHOW & SHARE
Today we heard about favourite events, saw track ribbons, and examined a pair of track shoes with spikes.

ROUGHRIDER PICTURE
The whole school, wearing white shirts, joined UCHS and St. Peter's to create a giant white "S" on the football field. Mr. Soloski and Mr. Feser took pictures from a cherry picker. The mosquitoes weren't too bad and the picture should look very cool.

* The answer to today's riddle is: So he could keep an eye on the mouse.
* Don't forget that tomorrow is Spelling test day.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

2010-05-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

COMPUTERS
The students finished up posters showing a multiplication and a division story problem. We also started to use Twiducate, which is a micro-blogging site where the students can talk to their classmates. To login students need to type in grade3 and their initials.

FRENCH
We wrote notes on the places an insect might hide from the rain.

MATH
Students worked with shapes that were either divided into equal or unequal pieces.

FINE ARTS
The students made "les papillons" otherwise known as butterflies. Our classroom has many flying friends above our heads.

*Remember to wear a white top tomorrow for the Roughrider picture.
*Mrs. Leclerc, her husband, and new baby visited the school today. Tinsley is so tiny and sweet. :)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010.

2010-05-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle, an answer and the date.
"Why was the computer in pain?"

MATH
The students started a new unit on fractions. Today they dsicussed how to share things equally.

SCIENCE
The students wrote their Matter exam.

SHOW & SHARE
This week's theme is Track and Field.

*The riddle's answer is: It had a slipped disk.

Monday, May 17, 2010.

2010-05-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students copied the following riddle into their books, answered it, and wrote the date.
How do computers make a sweaters?

FRENCH
We started a new unit on "La Goutte de Pluie" which is about insects caught in a rainstorm.

MATH
The students and I went through their Math tests. The students did very well. The class average was 87%,

SCIENCE
We were going to practice for our test but over half the class couldn't find a sheet we needed so we cleaned desks instead.

LIBRARY
Ms. Hatzel read us a Robert Munsch story about "Cookies".

*I will be gone tomorrow and Mrs. McKinney will be subbing for me.

* Remember to study for Science and bring back you study sheets.

PS The answer to the riddle is "They make sweaters on the Interknit." :)

Friday, May 14, 2010.

2010-05-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "wh" words such as where and which. They chose three to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
The students wrote the Unit 8 test on multiplication and division.

COMPUTERS
The students started to create posters of one multiplication and one division story that they wrote for Math class.

SCIENCE
The students did a little finish-up on their study sheets and worked on story problem sheets from Math.

* Have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 13, 2010.

2010-05-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
Today the class brainstormed "ch" words such as cheer and each. The students chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

FRENCH
The students worked on several extra zoo animal pages to wrap up our unit.

MATH
The students worked on solving story problems written by their classmates. Tomorrow is our test on Unit 8.

SCIENCE
The students worked on a review sheet about matter. We are going to have our test on Tuesday. I'll send the study packages home tomorrow.

SHOW & SHARE
We saw and heard about special memories from when the students were babies, about dinosaurs, about hockey keepsakes, a puppy, and everyone's most special person . . . our Moms.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

2010-05-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The class brainstormed "th" words such as with and Cathrine. They then chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
The students continued to work on the "Show What You Know" section in preparation for our test on Friday.

SCIENCE
The students completed a word search, a crossword, and a page of riddles on matter and its states. Our test will be next week.

SHOW & SHARE
We saw a favourite rock with a part that looked like a moon, a book about monstrous plants, pictures, and toys from when the students were babies.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010.

2010-05-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

ASSEMBLY
We had a short assembly this morning where we celebrated birthdays and had a few quick announcements.

FRENCH
The students wrote their Zoo animal quizzes and did quite well. Many knew that the bonus sentences:
Il est jaune, brun, et moyen.
Il a une criniere.
described a lion.

MATH
We reviewed writing division word problems. These are tricky as the students need to make sure they can divide the item they choose into groups that make sense. Dividing a dog into legs just doesn't work.

An example of a good division story problem might be:

There were 15 dogs. There were 5 kennels. How many dogs would go in each kennel?

15 ÷ 3 = 5

OR

There were 6 pizzas. There were 2 delivery trucks. How many pizzas did each truck deliver?

6 ÷ 2 = 3

SHOW & SHARE
Today we saw baby pictures and a special hat that were special items about memorable moments.

ART
We made butterflies using mirror images of our names. The students also listened to another chapter in our "39 Clues" book.

* The first part of the book orders arrived today. We are expecting another box soon.

Monday, May 10, 2010.

2010-05-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students braintormed "sh" words such as shoot and push. They chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We discussed how some word problems can be solved with a chart and by multiplication.
For example the problem:
If Megan has 2 shirts and 3 pairs of pants, how many outfits can she make?
can be solved by making a chart:

TOPS-----BOTTOMS--------OUTFIT
shirt 1------pants 1-------------1
shirt 1------pants 2-------------2
shirt 2------pants 1-------------3
shirt 2------pants 2-------------4
shirt 3------pants 2-------------5
shirt 3------pants 1-------------6

or 2 shirts times 3 tops equals 6 outfits

2 x 3 = 6

We also started our SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW section. We will be ready for a test at the end of this week or the start of next week.

SCIENCE
We did a discovery activity on items that absorb water. Cloth, cotton balls, cardboard, and newspaper all absorbed water. Wax paper, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and styrofoam did not absorb water. It is useful to know what will absorb liquids if you are drying dishes or cleaning up spills.

ART
We made some colourful fish to fill up our bulletin board and listened to more "39 Clues: One False Note".

*Remember to study for the French quiz tomorrow!

Friday, May 7, 2010.

2010-05-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed open e words with a long e sound such as she, he and be. They wrote three words three times and the date.

FRENCH
We watched our improved Zoo photostories. Our zoo animal quiz will be on Tuesday, May 11th. A study sheet was sent home today.

MATH
The students continued working with arrays, multiplication and division questions.

SCIENCE
Students attempted to float the boats that they had designed earlier this week. Most floated quite well.

LIBRARY
Ms.Hatzel read the class a story and the students took out new books.

I forgot to send home the Show & Share schedules so we'll move Day 2 sharers to Day 3 next week.
Have a great weekend and enjoy your Mother's Day surprises!

Thursday, May 6, 2010.

2010-05-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed open o words that end with an o and have a long o sound such as hello and silo. The students wrote three words three times and the date once.

MATH
The students continued working with arrays and related multiplication and division sentences. For example:

3,4,12 could make the array

XXXX
XXXX
XXXX

or

XXX
XXX
XXX
XXX

and the sentences:

3 x 4 = 12
4 x 3 = 12
12 ÷ 3 = 4
12 ÷ 4 = 3

COMPUTERS
We redid our recordings for the Zoo Photostories. The pronunciation was much better this time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to KAITLYN!

**Remember that tomorrow is library day. Please bring back your books!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010.

2010-05-05T16:26:00.001-07:00

HANDWRITING
We practiced handwriting "Happy Mother's Day!" on bags in which to put our presents.

FRENCH
We viewed everyone's zoo PhotoStories and discovered we need to redo our recordings so that our pronunciation improves.

MATH
We finished up yesterday's page. A few students have homework to complete.

SCIENCE
The students designed boats that we will test tomorrow to see if they float or sink.

SHOW & SHARE
We saw a robin's egg, a nest, a goose's egg, a drawing of two bugs and a bird, and a toy bald eagle. We also heard some facts about peacocks.

The pizza lunch was a big success. ;)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010.

2010-05-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ow" words that have a long o sound such as yellow and fellow. They chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
The students further explored created arrays to help solve division problems. An array is an arrangement of objects in equal rows.

SCIENCE
The students performed a discover activity about items that float and sink. They discovered that wood, candles, corks, paper, plastic spoons, styrofoam, and toothpicks float and that rocks and metal spoons sink.

SHOW & SHARE
The students discussed bees, ladybugs, bald eagles, hawks, piders, and cardinals in our bugs and birds theme.

* Pizza lunch tomorrow!

Friday, April 30, 2010.

2010-05-02T11:22:00.001-07:00

COMPUTERS & FRENCH
The students added music to their Zoo PhotoStories and finished them up. We will post them to their blogs next week. The students also explored a great new web site for practicing Spelling words called Spelling City. It has fun games to practice the word's correct spelling and the word's meaning. One game is Hang Mouse and it is really neat.

MATH
The students finished up the pages from yesterday and many spent time working in their extra practice duotangs.

FINE ARTS
What we did today is a secret as Mother's Day is coming soon!

*Remember that there is no school on Monday as the teachers have a PD Day. I'm at a conference so will also be gone on Tuesday. Mrs. McKinney is subbing for me that day. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 29, 2010.

2010-04-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "aw" words that say "ah" such as awful and fawn. They chose three to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
The students continued work on division and repeated subtraction. They are still working on writing good story problems, which require division.

SCIENCE
The students did a discovery activity about solids that do or do not dissolve in water. They discovered that salt, sugar, instant coffee, and hot cholocate powder dissolved while sand, coffee beans, and rice did not dissolve. A few students have homework to finish up the questions. The questions need to be answered in complete sentences, which include capitals, punctuation, and correct spelling.

SHOW & SHARE
We heard about orioles and some bugs. We also saw a shell collection. This theme is bugs or birds.

* Tomorrow is school colour day so wear your red and black.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010.

2010-04-28T14:30:00.001-07:00

FRENCH
The students worked on recording the sentences for their PhotoStories.

MATH
The students learned how division is like repeated subtraction.

15 ÷ 3 = 5 is similar to 15 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 = 0

or

10 ÷ 5 = 2 is similar to 10 - 5 - 5 = 0

The students did a partner activity and worked on page 291.

ICE CREAM SUNDAES
The class enjoyed ice cream sundaes with chocolate whip cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and sprinkles (or some combination of the above). While they enjoyed their treat we read two more chapters of the next "39 Clues" book.
Image from Flickr by CDaisyM

LIBRARY
Ms. Hatzel read us a story called "Pollution! No Problem!" The students then took out two AR books in their ZPD range. Almost everyone needs 10 points to qualify for a Tier I prize.

*Tomorrow is the last day for book orders to be handed in.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

2010-04-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "au" words that say "ah" such as autumn and haul. The students chose three words to copy three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
Students continued work on page 288. We reviewed the steps for writing a good division story problem because for question number six the students wrote four story problems and solved them.

A good division story problem includes the following:

Statement #1

- Must have a noun and a verb.
- Should tell the total number of things in the problem. (You must be able to divide this number!)

Statement #2

- Must have a noun and a verb.
- Should tell the number of things in each group.

Question

- Must have a noun and a verb.
- How many groups of things are there?

C.O.P.S.

Example: 20 ÷ 4

There are twenty puppies altogether. There are 4 kennels. How many puppies can be put into each kennel?

COMMUNICATING SKILLS
The students completed page 93 on homonyms.

SOCIAL
The students completed a couple of pages on mapping. (Janice you can pick up Jessica's book tonight or wait until tomorrow.)

COMPUTERS
The students continued work on their Zoo PhotoStories by adding in the words they will record.

*Remember your bowl and spoon for ice cream sundaes tomorrow!

Monday, April 26, 2010.

2010-04-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "wa" words that say "wah" such as waltz and water. They chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

FRENCH
We finished crediting our pictures with the photographers' names and added transitions to our slides.

MATH
We continued work on division be making equal groups.
For example:

10 divided into 2 equal groups

XXXXX
XXXXX

equals 5 in each group.

SCIENCE
We did an experiment about how two liquids either mix together or stay separate. When liquids don't combine it is usually because they have different thicknesses or are oily.

SHOW & SHARE
We heard about the hobbies of rock collecting, collecting car cards, and model cars.

* Remember tomorrow is this week's spelling test.

Friday, April 23, 2010.

2010-04-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The student brainstormed "al" words that say "ah" such as baseball and fall. They chose three to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We discussed how to write a division story problem using the steps below and then finished up page 285.

DIVISION STORY PROBLEMS

Statement #1

- Must have a noun and a verb.
- Should tell the total number of things in the problem. (You must be able to divide this number!)

Statement #2

- Must have a noun and a verb.
- Should tell the number of things in each group.

Question

- Must have a noun and a verb.
- How many groups of things are there?

C.O.P.S.

Example:

There were 16 legs. Each dog had 4 legs. How many dogs were there?

SCIENCE
We did an experiment where we heated an icecube in a pan on the stove and observed it change into water (melt into a liquid) and then change into steam (evaporate into a gas.) The class also finished their Earth Day posters.

SHOW & SHARE
We heard about hobbies today including: singing, playing the piano, playing hockey, playing baseball, drawing, and collecting gems and rocks. We also read most of chapter three in our new 39 Clues book.

Have a great weekend! I'll see the choir members at 2:00 pm at UCHS on Sunday.

Thursday, April 22, 2010.

2010-04-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

COMPUTERS & FRENCH
Today the students continued to work on their Zoo PhotStories. They titled their presentations and labeled each picture with the name of the photographer.

MATH
We continued work on division by making groups out of larger numbers. The students need to remember in a division question that the biggest number goes first.

So 4 ÷ 16 = 4 would not be correct,

instead it should be written as 16 ÷ 4 = 4.

FINE ARTS
The students worked on posters that advertise something we can do to save our Earth.

CLEAN-UP
The grade three class cleaned up down 3rd Ave. E. to the Anglican and United Churches, around the churches, and down the alley behind the United Church. We got one big green garbage bag of garbage and a few recyclables. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon to be out enjoying the fresh air.

*The grade 3-6 choir had been asked to sing "Imagine" at the Music Festival's Final Performance, at UCHS, on Sunday, April 25th at 2:00 pm. Please return your note if you are able to attend.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

2010-04-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "at" words that say "ah" such as father and grandfather. They then chose three words to write three times and they wrote today's date once. We finished up with some silent reading and stickers.

MATH
Today we looked at division for the first time. The students explored taking a number and dividing it into equal groups.

For example:

8 divided into 4 groups would look like this:

XX

XX

XX

XX

Which means 8 ÷ 4 = 2

where 8 is the total number of items,

4 is the number of groups, and

2 is the number in each group.

SCIENCE
We watched a BrainPop on Humans and the Environment. It talked about CONSERVING, CLEANING UP, and CHIMING IN. We need to convserve energy and non-renewable resources by turning off lights, turning down the heat a few degrees, reusing things, and buying less. We need to clean-up our Earth by putting garbage in the garbage as well as recycling whenever possible. We need to chime in and tell our family and friends about things they can do to save our Earth.

Tomorrow is Earth Day so remember to pack a garbage-free lunch if possible. Also, bring work, gardening or dish gloves for our In-Motion garbage pick-up. We are starting our garbage pick-up at 2:40 if any parents would like to join us.

Photo from Flickr by morgantj.

SHOW & SHARE
The new theme is a favourite book or hobby. Today we heard that our classmates enjoy building models and collecting hockey cards. We also heard about the books "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Adventure Quest."

** Today's chicken lunch was not as yummy as hoped for, some of the chicken was a little pale, so as a result on Wednesday, May 5th all the students in the school will receive 2 pieces of pizza (from the Co-op) and a milk (from the School Community Council) at no cost. There will be no choice in the type of pizza the students receive, so if your child is a fussy eater then they will need to bring a lunch that day.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010.

2010-04-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

MUSIC FESTIVAL DAY!
This morning the Choir members went to the gym and performed their two songs. They got 87% for "Imagine" and 85% for "My Favourite Things" plus lots of nice compliments from the ajudicator.

Mrs. Cooper spent the morning with the non-choir members of the class and they worked on Math, finished their good-bye cards for Keagan, and read silently.

Our poems went well. The students received an 83% for "Jeremy's Room" and an 84% for "Rock 'N' Roll Band." The ajudicator thought we were shy (She obviously doesn't see us in class)but that we did a great job.

SCIENCE
We watched a BrainPop on States of Matter and took a quiz. We learned that besides solids, liquids, and gases matter can exist as plasma (electrically charged gas found in stars, fluorescent lights, and lightning) and colloids (a mixture of two states like Jello).

LIBRARY
Ms. Hatzel read us a funny book about a poor hippo and his friends. The hippo had a toothache and I don't think many of us would like to have the hippo's friends.

Remember tomorrow is the chicken strip lunch.

Monday, April 19, 2010.

2010-04-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

POEM PRACTICE
The students practiced their poems for Music Festival and did a good job. They are ready for tomorrow. Remember to wear white tops and black bottoms.

READING
The students also silent read. The Accelerated Reading Program is now going to award prizes to students who have accumulated points, based on their ZPD Reading Levels. Students will receive points for every AR test they complete. The Accelerated Reading Program strongly reccommends that students read for at least an hour each day. Some of that time is alloted for during school hours but some needs to be done at home for students to be successful readers.

MATH
The students created array posters today and then practiced using arrays to solve multiplication and addition questions.

For example:

XXXXXX
XXXXXX
XXXXXX

can be represented in the following ways:

3 x 6 = 18 or 6 x 3 = 18

6 + 6 + 6 = 18 or 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 18

COMPUTERS
The students started creating a zoo PhotoStory for French. Today we inserted pictures of ten different zoo animals and a beginning and ending slide

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE COMPETING IN THE MUSIC FESTIVAL THIS WEEK!

Friday, April 16, 2010.

2010-04-16T14:40:00.001-07:00

POEMS
We practiced our poems and read silently.

MATH
We had extra Math time today and everyone got through their assignment. It dealt more with arrays.

SCIENCE
We did a word unscramble activity using words from yesterday's BrianPop on States of Matter. We also cut out our fishtanks from Art.

SHOW & SHARE
We heard about more Easter adventures and Ramani explained that she didn't celebrate Easter because in the Hindu religion they have other holidays.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the sunshine!

Thursday, April 16, 2010.

2010-04-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

POEM PRACTICE
We practiced our poems for Music festival and then silent read.

MATH
We discussed how arrays can help in multiplication.

For example:

X X X X
X X X X
X X X X

This array has 3 rows of 4 items. The corresponding multiplication sentence would be:

3 x 4 = 12 or the repeated addition sentence would be 4 + 4 + 4 = 12

* Arrays always need to be written with the number of rows first and the number of items in each row second.

A story problem for the above array might be:

There are three dogs. Each dog has four legs. How many dog's legs are there altogether?

ASSEMBLY
We had our second assembly this week and the grade three students did a wonderful job of reciting their poems. The grade three students in the grade 3-6 Choir also sang "Imagine" and "My Favourite Things". We also got to hear the K-2 Choir sing two songs, and the grade five and six classes did their poem recitations.

SCIENCE
We watched a BrainPop on States of Matter. It discussed how the boiling point at which liquid turns to a gas is also called the point of vaporization. The melting point where a solid turns to a liquid is called the point of fusion. In a gas the molecules are spread out and randomly bounce around. In a liquid the molecules clump together and move more slowly. In a solid the molecules form a lattice structure, similar to an array, and move so slowly that they only vibrate. Some solids change directly to gases, which is called sublimation. An example of the this is solid carbon-dioxide or dry ice, which changes directly into a misty vapour with no liquid state.

SHOW & SHARE
We heard that the Easter Bunny brought lots of chocolate to the grade three students most of which has already been eaten. Other Easter treasures included keychains, a RoughRider baseball cap, and a special set of hockey nets and sticks.

Remember the playground is still quite wet and rubber boots and splash pants are a good idea for recess times.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

2010-04-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

SILENT READING
We practiced our poems for Music Festival. They are sounding quite nice. Then the students read and got their stickers for their sticker charts.

JUNIOR GENIUS
The grade three class then spent the next hour exploring the grade six student's Junior Genius projects. We were only going to stay twenty minutes but they were so well done we ended up staying longer. Projects ranged from dog sledding to R.C.M.P. dog training, honey bees to ants to mosquitoes, drum making to drawing, Ancient Egypt to the Dubai Towers, the Bird's Nest Stadium to the New Dallas Stadium to the Great Wall of China, Ancient Greek Myths to the Canada Line, hockey helmets to motor cross, and hummingbirds to curling.

FINE ARTS
The students read a story called "The Catfish Palace" in Language Arts and we re-read the story and the students created their own fish tanks.

Due to the snowy weather all recesses were inside today and some of the buses didn't run. Please make sure you wear appropriate outdoor clothing tomorrow. Also, please wear white tops and black bottoms for our Assembly performance of our Music Festival poems. Assembly will start at 12:45 pm in the gym.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010.

2010-04-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

ASSEMBLY
We had a special assembly this morning as the Shriners visited and shared information about Fire Safety and Burn Prevention. This event was co-sponsored by Mr. Scott Gilbert of SGI. After the presentation the grade four class performed their two songs for Music Festival. They did a wonderful job.

SCIENCE
We discussed some corrections needed to questions from yesterday's experiment and then we watched a BrainPop video on Changing States of Matter. It discussed freezing, melting, evaporating, and condensation and how these changes occurred in water turning them to water vapour (a gas), water (a liquid), or ice (a solid). Afterwards the students took a five question quiz.

SHOW & SHARE
This week's theme is Easter. The students today shared stories about what the Easter Bunny left at their houses. Some gifts they received included a Wii game, a baseball bat, a dancing and singing chick, a Ripstick Wiggle Board, and NHL KinderSurprises.

Then we enjoyed cupcakes for Jessica's birthday. Thanks to her Mom for the yummy treat!

Monday, April 12, 2010.

2010-04-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
We actually had poem practice for Music Festival and then did some silent reading.

FRENCH
The students discussed animal body part's names in French and then they looked at some mixed up animals. They finished with a listening activity.

MATH
The students did page 276 where they looked at how many pom-pom people they could fit in a box if they could only use rows with the same number of people in each.

For example:

3 rows of 5 pom-pom people would fit 15 in a box

XXXXX
XXXXX
XXXXX

This can be shown as 3 x 5 = 15 or 5 + 5 + 5 = 15

SCIENCE
The students predicted what would happen to water, cooking oil, shampoo, orange juice, and honey if they were left in a freezer for 5 hours. Then they discovered that water, shampoo, and orange juice froze solid and cooking oil and honey became slushy (part liquid and part solid.)

LIBRARY
The students heard "Alligator Baby" by Robert Munsch. Mrs. Greenwald chose this book as Friday is her last day at U.P.S. before she has her baby. We hope it isn't an alligator baby! Ms. Hatzel will be subbing for Mrs. Greenwald until the end of June and someone new will be hired in the autumn. We ran out of time during library as the clocks were wonky after all the power outages on the weekend. So we plan to return tomorrow for a few minutes.

Thursday, April 1, 2010.

2010-04-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

COMPUTERS
The students all took a STAR Reading quiz so that we know their ZPD range for the Accelerated Reading program.

MATH
The class continued work on page 274. Most students finished and had time for their Extra Practice booklets but some students will have homework the first day back.

BRENDA BAKER CONCERT
The grade three's walked to St.Peter's School and enjoyed a concert by Canadian Singer/Songwriter/Author Brenda Baker. If you click on the link you can hear part of a crowd pleasing song called "Megamunch."

HAVE A SUPER EASTER!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

2010-03-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

FRENCH
The class went to the computer room to finish up our blog posts on our "Wild Zoo Selves." You can see them at ClassBlogmeister.

HANDWRITING
Today was the last sound for "ough" in words such as cough and trough. Once again there weren't too many words to choose from so we wrote two words four times each and the date once.

MATH
We continued work on multiplying and repeated addition.

SCIENCE
We finished our discussion of solids that melt. Melting can be useful in eating (butter on popcorn), cooking, drinking (water from ice), and arts and crafts (glue gun melting a glue stick).

SHOW & SHARE
Here are a few more riddles shared:
1. Why don't cows get the exact number in Math?
2. What is a dog's favourite kind of cake?
3. What do you call a dinosaur that wears cowboy boots and a cowboy hat?
4. Ten copycats were sitting in a boat. One jumped overboard. How many were left?

Answers:
1. They are always rounding up.
2. A 'pup'cake.
3. Tyrannosaurus Tex.
4. None, the rest would all copy and jump overboard too.

We finished "The 39 Clues: Maze of Bones" and after Easter we will start "The 39 Clues: One False Note."

Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

2010-03-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ough" words which say "ooo" such as through and slough. Since it wasn't a very long list the students wrote two words four times and the date once.

MATH
The students worked on questions that revolve around repeated addition and multiplying. For example:

The question 5 x 2 = 10 can be thought of as 5 groups of 2 and therefore can also be written as 2+2+2+2+2=10

and in reverse the question 3+3+3+3=12 can be thought of a 4 groups of 3 so can be written as 4 x 3 = 12.

SCIENCE
Today's activity had to do with melting various solids. A pat of butter, a chocolate Easter egg, a rock, a sugar cube, an ice cube and a candle were all left in the sun for an hour. The students predicted which solids they thought would melt, soften, get warm, get hot or change shape. Then they looked at the actual items and saw how close they were in their predicitions. The most surprising item was the sugar cube which didn't even get warm and which many students thought might melt.

SHOW & SHARE
More funnies from today include:
1. What do maids do in their freetime?
2. What did the wizard say to his witch girlfriend?
3. Where do spies go when they die?
4. How can you find a lost train?

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Boo!
Boo who?
Oh, don't cry!

Answers:
1. They play 'mop'scotch.
2. Hello gore-juice!
3. Double o heaven
4. Follow its tracks.

Megan also did a magic card trick.

*Remember tomorrow is the last day to order the chicken lunch for later in April.

Monday, March 29, 2010.

2010-03-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

COMPUTERS & FRENCH
Today we combined our classes and the students created a Wildself and then wrote French sentences to describe themselves. Next class we'll be adding these to our blogs.

MATH
The students worked in pairs to explore how multiplication and repeated adding could give the same result.
For example:

3 x 4 = 12 is the same as 4 + 4 + 4 = 12

FINE ARTS
A big thank-you to Mrs. Highton for helping us make a bunch of bunnies today. The students also made spring photo frames.

Friday, March 26, 2010.

2010-03-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ough" work that say "ah" such as brought and thought. The students chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We practiced our Music Festival poems and then worked on finishing up page 270. Many students had time to work on some extra sheets of multiplication questions as well.

SCIENCE
The students had seven minutes to write down solids, liquids, and gases that could be found in the classroom. Then the class did a tour of the school, and a quick jaunt outside, and added a few more items to their charts. The students concluded that solids were the most common form of matter and gases the least common.

SHOW & SHARE
The current theme is jokes, riddles, and magic tricks. Here are a few funnies from today.

1. What is the difference between your teacher and a train?
by Old Shoe Woman from Flickr
by dok1 from Flickr

2. Is a hammer useful in Math class?

3. What will Mom say if you get a bruise on your banana?

4. Why wouldn't the bike move?

Answers:

1. Your teacher says, "Spit out your gum" but a train says "Chew, chew, chew!"

2. No, you need a mulit"plier".

3. Be quiet and eat around it.

4. It was too "tire"d.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, March 26, 2010.

2010-03-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
Today's letters were once again "ough" but today they said "uff" as in rough and enough. Again it was hard to get more than a few words. The students chose three from our completed list to write three times and wrote the date once.

FRENCH
We added pictures of dolphins and rhinos to our collection of Zoo animals for French.

MATH
We kept working on page 270 but also discussed how our Story Problems are slightly different for multiplication. The steps now look like this:

1. Statement #1
Sentence (noun and verb)
Number of groups

2. Statement #2
Sentence (noun and verb)
Number of things in each group

3. Question(noun and verb)
How many altogether? How many in all?

4. C.O.P.S.

Example:

Jessica had three dogs.
Each dog had four legs.
How many dog's legs altogether?

3 x 4 = 12

SCIENCE
We actually spent this class working on our poems. Everyone has a line of their own to learn. I'll send home copies of the poems over Easter.

LIBRARY
Ms. Hatzel read us the new Robert Munsch book about a girl who literally gets put in a book and finds out it's not as neat as she thought it would be.
It is called "Put Me in a Book."

Report cards are due tomorrow. Thanks!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

2010-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students discovered there are not many words that have an "ough" which has a "long o" sound. Two we know are though and dough. Can you think of the third one that the students found? The students wrote two words four times or three words three times and the date once.

MATH
We started our new Multiplication and Division Math unit. Today we discussed how counting groups of things is faster than counting each thing individually. The students learned that a Multiplication sentence should look like this:

The 3 is the number of groups.
The 4 is the number of things in each group.
The 12 is the total number of things or the product.

The students started working on page 270.

FINE ARTS
Today we finished our Easter baskets. Who knows what the Easter Bunny may put in them? We also practiced our poems for Music Festival and read some more "39 Clues".

SHOW & SHARE
We had a bonus show and share today and saw a Bionicle and a deer antler.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

2010-03-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ou" words that say "ow" such as mouse and pound. The students then chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

FRENCH
Today we searched for pictures of bears and giraffes for our upcoming zoo PhotoStory project. We found some cool photos like the one below from Flickr by Just Being Myself.

MATH
The students took their two most recent story problems and turned them into Publisher posters, which will be displayed on a bulletin board soon!

SCIENCE
We discussed our findings from the liquid discovery acitvity we completed yesterday.
The students also finished up their story problem sheet corrections from Math.

SHOW & SHARE
Today we heard about the General Lee car from The Dukes of Hazzard, an Indian temple at the end of a 15 kilometer hike, a spring shopping spree, and a shell collection.

Congratulations to Megan for getting third place at the Zone level for her Black and White Remembrance Day poster!

Welcome to Mr. Exley who is subbing for Mrs. Soloski, who is at a Math course until Friday. Tomorrow is the weekly Spelling test. Students please bring back your signed, blue study sheet for a bonus sticker.

Monday, March 22, 2010.

2010-03-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ow" words such as brown and prowl. They chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

POEMS
We started to work on the two poems that the students will be performing at the Music Festival.

MATH
The students continued to work on story problems, both solving and writing.

SCIENCE
The students looked at various liquids and described how they looked, felt, and poured. Words to describe liquids included: various colours, clear, and cloudy. The liquids felt sticky, smooth, wet, slippery, chalky, hot and cold. The liquids poured quickly or slowly depending on the thickness. The honey and the syrups poured slowly while the water, juice, and vinegar poured quickly and even splashed a little bit.

SHOW & SHARE
Today's students shared mini hockey sticks, mini Stanley Cups, hockey cards, Captain
Underpants books, favourite sports, and a moose antler.

Report Cards were sent home today. Please return the Report Cards, and their envelopes, by Friday. Thanks!

Friday, March 19, 2010.

2010-03-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

COMPUTERS
The students and I searched for zoo animal pictures on Flickr to use in our upcoming PhotoStories for French.

FRENCH
We continued searching for pictures and found some great ones.

MATH
I went over the Addition/Subtraction test with the class. The student's marks are in their planners. We also worked on some stroy problems written by the students.

FINE ARTS
The students started to weave Easter baskets. It proved to be trickier than it looked.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, March 18, 2010.

2010-03-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ic" words such as electric and Olympics. They then chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We wrote our Unit 3 Math Test on Addition and Subtraction.

SCIENCE
We played Matter Bingo to practice common terms in our unit.

SHOW & SHARE
This week's theme is free choice so we saw some hockey medals, a picture drawn by a father, magazines featuring the Olympics, and heard about a fun trip to Calaway Park. The class continued to listen to me read "39 Clues: The Maze of Bones." We're in the middle of chapter fourteen.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

2010-03-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The class brainstormed a list of over 100 words that could be made from the letters in HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! and then chose three to write three times. They also wrote the date once.

MATH
The students finished up the Show What You Know pages and corrected them so everyone is ready for the test tomorrow. Remember to bring your study sheet back for an extra sticker.

FRENCH
Today is "le dix-sept mars" so we practiced some words St. Patrick's Day words in French. The students also worked on a Math/colouring activity and a word find sheet.

COMPUTERS
We watched a Brain Pop video on St. Patrick's Day. Did you know that Saint Patrick was kidnapped from England at sixteen and worked as a slave for six years in Ireland? He left and later returned and spread the word of Christianity to the Emerald Isle and founded many churches, schools, and monasteries. He died on March 17th, which is why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day on this date.

The students also proofread their blog entries from yesterday and made corrections before they were posted.

Thank-you to Mrs. Wilson for the shamrock cookies. Yummy!

LIBRARY
The students chose new books before we packed up to head home.

Tomorrow is supposed to be colder so dress appropriately. Tuques, mittens, and warm jackets would be a good idea. Thursday is also the day of the sub lunch.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010.

2010-03-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ck" words such as black and chicken. They chose three "ck" words and wrote them three times each and the date once.

MATH
We continued working on our Show What You Know sheet to pepare for our test on Thursday.

PHYS. ED.
It was plus 17 so the class went outside and played a rousing game of soccer.

SCIENCE

The students answered the question that went with our discovery activity about solids and their properties.

COMPUTERS
Each student added an article to his/her Blog about their favourite Olympic sport.

Remember to wear green tomorrow!

Monday, March 15, 2010.

2010-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "se" words that say "zz" such as cheese and please. Students wrote three "se" words three times and the date once.

FRENCH
The class added notes on the panda, penguin, and moose to our zoo section.

MATH
The students continued to work on the "Show What You Know" section.

Some strategies that were used include:

DOUBLES STRATEGY

Ex: 6 + 7 =

If you know the double 6 + 6 = 12 and 7 is one greater so,

6 + 6 = 12 + 1 = 13 and therefore

6 + 7 = 13

NEAR TEN STRATEGY

Ex: 3 + 8 =

If you know that 2 + 8 = 10 and 3 is one more than 2 then

2 + 8 = 10 + 1 = 11 so

3 + 8 = 11

RELATED FACTS STRATEGY

Ex: 17 - 9 =

If you know that 9 + 8 = 17 then you can see the answer to the above question is 8.

Test on Thursday, March 18th.

SCIENCE
We discussed the properties, such as colour, size, texture, shape, and weight, that we used to describe various solids from Friday's discovery activity.

SHOW & SHARE
Students shared a green John Deere blanket, a story about a green vest, a green spider, a green dinosaur, and a variety of stuffies including a green turtle, a green owl, and Sumi, the Paralympic mascot.

*Spelling test tomorrow.

Friday, March 12, 2010.

2010-03-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "se" words that say "ss" such as mouse and horse. The students chose three "se" words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We started the "Show What you Know" section for this unit after finishing last day's corrections. Our test will be next Thursday, March 18, 2010.

SCIENCE
We did a discovery activity looking at various solids (from coconuts to salt) and describing them using properties such as colour, size, shapr, and texture.

SHOW & SHARE
Today the students shared a green hummingbird WebKinz, pictures of green items, a green John Deere tractor, books, and a snake (stuffed) named Venom.

Good luck to Megan at the Figure Skating Carnival tonight.

Thursday, March 11, 2010.

2010-03-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

COMPUTERS
The students took a STAR Reading test to see how their reading levels have improved since we last took one in November. They also had a little bit of free time and many created cool pictures using Tux Paint.

FRENCH
We added information about the crocodile, walrus, and parrot to our duotangs and reviewed the other animals we have done.

MATH
We reviewed the parts of a good story problem and wrote the following one together.

Answer: Jordan had 103 stuffies.

Step One: Think of a question for the answer.
93 + 10 = 103

Statement #1

Jordan has 93 stuffies.

Statement #2

Jordan's Grandma bought him 10 more stuffies.

Question

How many stuffies does Jordan have altogether?

We checked for COPS in our problem.

Next the students worked on finishing page 122. Anyone not done in class has a little bit of homework.

FINE ARTS
Today we made a torn paper picture of a leprechaun and his pot of gold.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

2010-03-10T23:03:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
The students brainstormed "ere" words that say "air" such as where and there. They also thought of some French words including mere and pere (which should have accents.) The students then chose three words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We continued discussing criteria for a good story problem and the students came up with the following list:

Statement #1
- needs to be a sentence with a noun and a verb
- needs a number

Statement #2
- needs to be a sentence with a noun and a verb
- needs a number
- needs an adding or a subtracting word

Question
- needs to be a question with a noun and a verb
- needs a question such as How many more . . . ? or How many left . . .? or How much . . .?

All three parts need to be checked for COPS.
Capitalization
Overall Appearance (neatness)
Punctuation
Sentences (make sense)

Examples:

Kale had 23 cookies.
He ate 17.
How many cookies did Kale have left?

Megan had 39 books.
She bought 15 more books at the Book Fair.
How many books does she have altogether?

SCIENCE
We used the information we discovered yesterday about states of matter to fill in a worksheet in our duotangs.

SHOW & SHARE
This week's theme is "Something Green" and we saw lots of RoughRider gear, a turtle stuffie, and a motorcycle. We also saw a drawing of a leprechaun and heard about who likes the colour green. The students send a big thank-you to Mrs. Leeson for sending some green mint jelly leaves and "gold" coins for a special treat.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

2010-03-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

ASSEMBLY

FRENCH
We added notes about the leopard, kangaroo, and ostrich to our duotang.

MATH
Today we discussed what we need to include in a good written story problem and continued on page 122.

SCIENCE
The students worked in groups to act out what molecules do in solids, liquids, and gases. We discovered that in solids molecules stay close together and don't move as much because they are so close together, liquids are further apart so can move a bit more, and gases can fill up the whole space so move more than in the other two states.

LIBRARY
We did have library today, as well as visiting the Book Fair. The Book Fair is on until Thursday at last recess.

Friday, March 5, 2010.

2010-03-05T14:40:00.001-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "ear" words that say "air" such as pear and wear. We didn't come up with very many words, only four, so students wrote all four words three times and the date once.

MATH
We are working on page 122 which involves being given an answer sentence and then having to write a word problem, either addition or subtraction, that works for the answer.

SCIENCE
We watched a Brain Pop Jr. on the three states of matter. Then we did an activity categorizing items into gases, liquids, or solids. We finished up with a five question quiz.

DANCE
In the gym students spread out and did the Macarena, YMCA, and the Bird Dance. Everyone got a good In-Motion work out. Afterwards we read another section of the book "39 Clues: The Maze of Bones."

*Remember that there is NO SCHOOL for students on Monday and the Book Fair starts on Tuesday. See you then!

Thursday, March 4, 2010.

2010-03-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "are" words that say "air" such as prepare and beware. The students chose three to write three times and wrote the date once.

FRENCH
Today we added information on the gorilla and snake to our duotangs.

MATH
We discussed and shared some of the problems that were written yeaterday and then started work on page 122. This is the last section for the unit and we should have our Unit Test at the end of next week.

Today's useful startegy was counting on:

358 = 349 + _______

349 --> 350 --> 358
1 + 8 = 9

So 358 = 349 + 9

SCIENCE
We reviewed what we know about matter, molecules, gases, liquids, and solids. Then we did page 39 in our duotangs (a fill-in-the-blanks activity) and labeled pictures of gases, liquids, and solids.

SHOW & SHARE
Today we heard about Jasper, United States, Scotland, India, and Cuba. Please remember that this is SHOW and share. Many students are forgetting to bring something to show and just sharing. A new topic list and schedule for Show & Share for the rest of March went home today.

Study for Spelling tomorrow and remember sub lunch orders are due tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010.

2010-03-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "air" words today such as stairway and chair. The students chose three "air" words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
Today the students explored how to write an addition and a subtraction word problem when given some information. The students worked in pairs and used the following information to write the problems.

"Lu-Anne and Fisher helped clean up in the gym. Lu-Anne picked up 243 bean bags. Fisher picked up 206 bean bags."

SCIENCE
We actually did computers during this time as we couldn't get onto the World Math Site this morning as it was super busy. Everyone played several games and their points will go to our school's total.

SHOW & SHARE
Today we heard about or saw items from Jamaica, Texas, Mexico, Moose Jaw, and Victoria, British Columbia.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010.

2010-03-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

COMPUTERS
The students worked on the World Maths Day site on the laptops.

FRENCH
The students added notes about dolphins, rhinos, camels, and monkeys to their duotangs.

MATH
This was the last day to work on page 119 and some students started an extra practice sheet.

FINE ARTS
The students listened to poems from the book "Elympics" by X.J. Kennedy, which showed elephants pareticipating in Winter Olympics. The students then chose their own animal and created a poster for that animal's Olympics.

Monday, March 1, 2010.

2010-03-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Well March certainly came in like a lamb, I hope it doesn't go out like a lion.

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "ex" words that say "x" such as except and expect. Students picked three "ex" words to write three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We're almost finished page 119.

SCIENCE
Today we defined the terms molecule, matter, gas, liquid, and solids and wrote the definitions in our duotangs.

SHOW & SHARE
Our new topic is a postcard or souvenir from another country and today we heard about Australia, Mexico, Cuba, Egypt, and DisneyLand.

Tomorrow Miss Riddell will be away and Mrs. Ganzer will be her substitute. Be good!

Friday, February 26, 2010.

2010-02-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
Today we brainstormed "en" words that say "n" such as end and then. The students chose three "en" words and wrote them out three times and then wrote the date once.

FRENCH
We added notes about the hippo, the bear, the giraffe, and the bison to our duotangs.

MATH
We continued work on page 119 using three digit subtraction.

OLYMPIC FUN DAY
Our Olympic Fun afternoon kicked off after our TeleMiracle hot dog lunch. The students were divided into teams of six with each team representing one of nineteen different countries. We met in the gym and sang O Canada before taking the Athlete's Pledge. Next students headed outside for our own Torch Relay led by Mrs. Maljan, our mayor. Then it was off to the events, which included biathlon, luge, bobsledding, curling, sledge hockey, and a break for hot chocolate and cookies. The afternoon wrapped up with a draw for TeleMiracle prizes and a rousing U.P.S. cheer.
Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the end of the real Olympics from Vancouver!

Thursday, February 25, 2010.

2010-02-25T22:07:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
Today the students brainstormed "ef" words that say "f" such as effort and chef. The students then chose three "ef" words to write out three times and wrote the date once.

MATH
We continued ot work on page 119 using three digit subtraction methods.
Students explored a new strategy which works if all the digits being subtracted are smaller than those from which they are subtracted.

Example:

583 - 262 =

500 - 200 = 300
80 - 60 = 20
3 - 2 = 1

300 + 20 + 1 = 321

COMPUTERS
The students went to the World Maths Day website and logged in. They got to design their own avatar and then played Math games with students form around the world. World Maths Day is next week on March 3rd. The students took their logins and passwords home so they can practice at home.

OLYMPIC FUN DAY TOMORROW
Remember tomorrow is our Olympic Fun Day in the afternoon. Bring your skipants. We're also having our hot dog lunch for TeleMiracle.

Wedndesday, February 24, 2010.

2010-02-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed words with an "el" that says "l" such as elephant and bell. The students chose three "el" words to write three times each and wrote the date once.

FRENCH
We reviewed our colours in French and started learning about some zoo animals. Today we discussed the colour, size, and one distinguishing feature of the elelphant, tiger, zebra, and lion. The students also got time to colour pictures of these animals in their duotangs.

SCIENCE
Today we started our unit on matter. The students, in groups, were given word cards and asked to sort them in a way that made sense. Eventually we discovered that all of the items could fit into a category of either a gas, a liquid or a solid.

SHOW & SHARE
Today we saw some more books on space, some spaceship modles, and some drawings.

Tomorrow is a Spelling Test so remember to study your words.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010.

2010-02-23T16:16:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "es" words that say "s" such as guess and best. The students chose three "es" words to write three times each and the date once.

MATH
We went over yesterday's problems and worked with a partner to figure ot a method for subtracting three digit numbers.

One Method involves counting on.
For Example:

402-128

128 --> 130 --> 200 --> 400 --> 402
2 + 70 + 200 + 2
274

So,
402-128 = 274

A second Method involves using hundreds, tnes, and one blocks. In this method you sometimes need to borrow a ten to give more ones or to borrow a hunder to give more tens.

A third Method involves counting backwards.
For example:

402-128

402 --> 400 --> 200 --> 130 --> 128
2 + 200 + 70 + 2

So
402-128 = 274

SCIENCE
We did a pre-test on Matter. We used the laptops and took the pre-test using Survey Monkey.

SHOW & SHARE
Today everyone shared pictures they had drawn of the Solar System or planets. Megan also made a model of the Earth out of paper and tape.

Monday, February 22, 2010.

2010-02-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "em" words that said "m" such as empty and temperature. The students then wrote three "em" words three times each and the date once.

FRENCH
We are starting a new unit on Zoo animals. Today the students reviewed all the colours and how they are spelled in French.

MATH
Today we did a review sheet to practice solving adding and subtracting in word problems.

COMPUTER
We worked on sending e-mails and attaching a picture in the e-mail.

SHOW and SHARE
Our topic for this week is the Solar System. Students shared books about space and pictures they had drawn of the solar system and various planets. It was out of this world.

Friday, February 12, 2010.

2010-02-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed words with a "y" that makes the sound in words such as "your" or "yawn." Then the students chose three "y" words to write three times and the date once.

MATH
We played the Tic-Tac-Toe game to practice adding two digit numbers.

AFTERNOON
We went skating with the grade one and two students. We walked to the rink and skated for almost an hour before walking back to school. On the way back we saw an Inushuk someone had made in their front yard. The Inukshuk is the symbol for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. This Inukshuk has a Saskatchewan Roughriders emblem on its chest.

Back at the school we handed out our valentine cards and filled up our Stegosaurus mailboxes. Next everyone opened their valentines. Finally we had treats and watched a video about Charlie Brown's Valentine's Day. Then it was time to pack up and head home,

Next week there is no school as it is Winter Break and Teachers' Convention. Have a happy Family Day everyone!

Thursday, February 11, 2010.

2010-02-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "y" words that say "long e" such as candy and happy. We wrote three "y" which say "long e" words three times and the date once.

SCIENCE
We wrote our Science test on the Solar System. Then we worked on a Valentine's booklet.

MATH
We worked on page 115 using the Mental Math strategies we practiced yesterday.

LIBRARY
Everyone got stocked up on books for the break.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010.

2010-02-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed words that end in "y" that makes a "long i" sound such as why and Tyrannosaurus Rex. If you picked short words under 4 letters you wrote 5 words three times and if you chose longer words then you wrote three words three times. For both you wrote the date once.

MATH
We did the Explore activity on p-114 and figured out different ways to use mental math to subtract two-digit numbers. There are four different ways which may be used.

(1) Use a "friendly" number.

73 - 48 =
You can think 73 - 50 = 23 because 50 is friendlier than 48.
Then you need to add the difference between 50 & 48, which is 50 - 48 = 2, to your answer.

So 23 + 2 = 25

Therefore 73 - 28 = 25.

(2) You can count up to the number.

85 - 57 =
You start with 57 and add 3 to get to 60 and then you add 20 to get to 80 and then you add 5 to get to 85 or 57 + 3 = 60 + 20 = 80 + 5 = 85.

So 3 + 20 + 5 = 28

Therefore 85 - 57 = 28

(3) Use doubles.

63 - 30 =
You know that 30 + 30 = 60 and 3 more equals 63 so 30 + 3 = 33

Therefore 63 - 30 = 33

(4) Match the ones.

76 - 38 =
It is easier to do 76 - 36 = 40 and then since there is a difference of 2 between 38 and 36 so you subtract that 40 - 2 = 38.

Therefore 76 - 38 = 38

Then we started page 115.

COMPUTERS
We wrote a five sentence paragraph about our favourite planet and posted it to our blogs at Class Blogmeister.

DANCE
We practiced our solar system facts by showing the rotation and revolution of the Earth and moon around each other and the sun. We also lined up the Earth, sun, and moon in order to show a solar and a lunar eclipse. Then we had a race to see who could act out each planet and move across the gym. Our Solar System Science test is tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

2010-02-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

ASSEMBLY
We had a short assembly so no handwriting today. We did some silent reading.

FRENCH
We wrote our quiz on the Winter Olympic sports.

MATH
We practiced strategies for 2 digit subtraction on the SmartBoard using tens and ones blocks and borrowing from the tens as needed.

SCIENCE
We re-watched the BrainPop on eclipses and did the quiz.

SHOW & SHARE
The class shared a red monster truck, a heart picture made with yarn, two red truck pictures, and told about a special red rock with garnets in it.

Monday, February 8, 2010.

2010-02-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "oy" words such as Lloydminster and enjoy today. We chose three to write three times and wrote the date once.

FRENCH
We reviewed the Winter Olympic sports in French for our quiz tomorrow.

figure skating - le patinage artistique
speed skating - le patinage de vitesse
luge - la luge
bodsledding - le bobsleigh
hockey - l'hockey
curling - le curling
snowboarding - le surf des neiges
downhil skiing - le ski alpin
cross-country skiing - le ski de fond
ski jumping - le aut en ski
free-style skiing - le ski style libre
biathlon - le biathlon

MATH
We did a review sheet on estimating and solving 2-digit subtraction questions.

SCIENCE
We completed a review sheet to use for studying for our test on Thursday on the Solar System.

Friday, February 5, 2010.

2010-02-05T09:09:00.000-08:00

COMPUTERS
We went to our blogs at Class Blogmeister. Everyone wrote a paragraph about the Winter Olympics, which are starting on February 12th.

MATH
We did all our corrections on page 112 and silent read. The grade threes are trying to read 100 books. Each time they complete a book they may fill in a square on the poster. When all 100 squares are coloured in Scholastic will make a donation to the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.

FINE ARTS
We made Dinosaur Valentine Mailboxes in Fine Arts. We also enjoyed some birthday cupcakes.

Thursday, February 4, 2010.

2010-02-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "oi" words such as coin and noise. Write three "oi" words three times and the date once.

MATH
We spent the whole class working on page 112. Be careful to read the instructions as some questions need estimates and some just need to be solved. Show your startegies as often as possible.

SCIENCE
We watched another BrainPop on the moon. One fact that was reinforced about the moon is that it doesn't make its own light but instead reflects the sun's light. We did a 5 question quick quiz.
Then we watched a BrainPop on eclipses. We learned that there are two main types of eclipses.
A SOLAR eclipse happens when the moon is between the sun and the Earth and the sun's light is blocked. A solar eclipse can make a bright sunny day as dark as night. Solar eclipses are rare. This is a picture of a solar eclipse that occurred in France in 1999. The picture is from Flick and was taken by Luc Viatour.

A LUNAR eclipse happens when the Earth is between the sun and the moon and the Earth's shadow makes the moon a dark red colour. Lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses. The following a picture of the sequence of a lunar eclipse that occurred in England in 2007. The picture is Flickr and was taken by Keith Marshall.

SHOW & SHARE
Our new theme is Valentine's Day or something red. Today we saw a red maple leaf picture, a red Swiss ballcap, and were told about a red hockey jersey, and that red was someone's third favourite colour. We also heard about a book called "Arthur's Valentine" by Marc Brown.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

2010-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed words with an "le" which says "l" such as triangle and circle. Write three "le" words three times and the date once.

MATH

We reviewed subtraction methods such as the one below:

and this one:

from our "Math Makes Sense" textbook. Then we started work on page 112.

SCIENCE
We continued work on our Groundhog projects and listened to the next chapter of "Book One - The 39 Clues - The Maze of Bones" by Rick Riordan.

LIBRARY
Mrs. Greenwald read us a book about being unique called "Leon The Chameleon" and then we quickly took out new books.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

2010-02-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed "tion" words which say "shun" such as invitation and attention. Write three "tion" words three times and the date once. Watch the February joins.

MATH
In partners the class did the Explore activity on page 110, which involved estimating and then sovling a 2 - digit number.

The class also discussed 3 strategies for solving 2 - digit subtraction.

Strategy 1

Use Base Ten Blocks:

54 - 36 =

54 5 ten blocks and 4 ones blocks

36 3 ten blocks and 6 ones blocks

Look at the ones blocks and since you can't do 4 - 6 you need to borrow from the tens.

Now you have

54 4 tens blocks and 14 ones blocks
36 3 tens blocks and 6 ones blocks

Now you can do 14 - 6 = 8 and you can do the tens blocks 4 - 3 = 1

So you have 1 tens block and 8 ones blocks or 18.

So 54 - 36 = 18.

Strategy 2

Use counting on to the larger number.

36 + 4 = 40 + 10 = 50 + 4 =54

So 4 + 10 + 4 = 18

54 - 36 = 18

Strategy 3
Use counting backward to the smaller number.

54 - 4 = 50 - 10 = 40 - 4 = 36

So 4 + 10 + 4 = 18

54 - 36 = 18

SCIENCE
We found out that the Groundhog saw its shadow so only two students predicted correctly that we'll have six more weeks of winter.
We read an article on Groundhog Day and answered questions about the story.
We coloured a groundhog and his hole and put together a picture of the groundhog, his hole, and the shadow he saw.

Monday, February 1, 2010.

2010-02-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

HANDWRITING
We brainstormed words with a "ph" that says "f" such as elephant and alphabet. Choose three "ph" words to write three times and write the date once. Be careful how you join the "brua" in February.

FRENCH
We practiced the Winter Olympic Sports names in French.

MATH
We discussed how estimating answers should look for a question such as:
67
- 51

For example an EXCELLENT estimate would look like this:

67 --> 70
51 --> - 50
20 The estimate is 20.

a GOOD estimate would look like this:

7 - 5 = 2 --> 20

a SATISFACTORY estimate would look like this:

20

a HAVING DIFFICULTY estimate would look like this:

16

We continued to work on page 108.

SCIENCE
We watched a BrainPop on the moon and learned the following:
* The moon revolves around the Earth every 27.3 days.
* A lunar month is 29.5 days because the moon revolves around the Earth but the Earth is also turning.
* A lunar month is the time from one fullmoon until the next.
* The moon is 380,000 kilometers away from the Earth.
* The moon is made of igneous rock with a core of iron and sulfur.
* The moon's rocky crust is made up of plains and sea beds or marias.
* The moon's surface doesn't change because there is no atmosphere so there is no wind or other weather to move things around.
* The gravity on the moon is 1/6 th of Earth's gravity.
* The first man set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969.

We also predicted whether the Groundhog would see his shadow and predict that there will be six more weeks of winter or whether he wouldn't see his shadow and predict that spring will come more quickly.

SHOW AND SHARE
We heard about a pottery shard, a special mini hockey stick, and a Dinosaur book.

Thursday, January 28, 2010.

2010-01-28T14:58:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
We brainstormed words with a "bossy e" or a "silent e" that make the other vowel say its name in words such as:
cave --> long a
Pete --> long e
ride --> long i
cove --> long o
cute --> long u
We wrote one word for each vowel three times and the date once.

Math
We explored strategies for estimating the answer when subtracting two digit numbers.
For example:

68 - 23 = ?

1) Round to the nearest 10.

68 --> 70
23 --> 20 70 - 20 = 50 So 50 would be your estimate.

2) Just look at the tens.

68 has 6 tens
23 has 2 tens 6 - 2 = 4 So 4 tens or 40 would be your estimate.

3) Leave the top number alone and round off the bottom number.

68 --> 68
23 --> 20 68 - 20 = 48 So 48 would be your estimate.

We started to work on page 108 making sure to only use estimates and to show how we estimated.

Science
We watched a Brain Pop on the Earth's structure. We learned that the Earth has three main layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core.
We wrote notes about each layer and did the Brain Pop quiz.

Fine Arts
We finished our Olympic Rings collage from yesterday.

No School tomorrow as it is a Professional Development day for staff members.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010.

2010-01-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

Computers
We practiced sending and reading e-mails. We sent secret message e-mails by typing our message using a Wingding font. Then the receiver had to reply to the message and change it to a readable font and send a reply.

French
We wrote notes in French about the mascot named Sumi. We also worked on a wordsearch about the Winter Olympics.

Math
We did corrections and then played the Tic-Tac-Toe adding game on page 107.

Fine Arts
We painted a large sheet using the Olympic ring colours of yellow, red, blue, and green. Then we traced and cut out 5 black Olympic rings. Next day we'll assemble our collages.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010.

2010-01-26T21:36:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
We brainstormed "eigh" words that have a long a sound such as neigh and sleigh. We wrote three words three times and the date once.

Math
We worked on the three digit adding questions in our duotangs. One question involved writing a story questions, solving it, and explaining the solution.

Example:

Story Question
Thomas collected 375 hockey cards and Jessica collected 468 hockey cards. How many cards did they have altogether?

Solve

375 + 468 = 843

Explanation

375 = 300 + 70 + 5
+ 468 = 400 + 60 + 8

300 + 400 = 700

70 + 60 = 130

700+ 130 = 830

5 + 8 = 13

830 + 13 = 843

Assembly
We had a special guest today - Lorna Tuffs. She ran in the Olympic Torch Relay. She brought her torch even and wore her special outfit. She talked about how the run was set-up and how she felt carrying the torch. It was very interesting. Mr. English also unveiled Olympic Rings that are going on the roof of the school. They looked very neat.

Science
We added Earth to our planet chart and watched a BrainPop on Earth and took a quiz.
We learned Earth is the only planet with life because we are at the perfect distance from the Sun to have a temperature conducive for life. Also, we are the only planet with water, an oxygen atmosphere, and carbon, which is the building block for all life.

Show and Share
This week is a free topic so we heard about 3D books, Hot Wheels cars, a hockey card game, hockey on the weekend, and Bakugans. We're sending get well wished to Thomas's grandpa after his hospital stay.

Monday, January 25, 2010.

2010-01-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
We brainstormed "oo" words that have a short u sound such as book and good. We wrote three words three times each and the date once.

French
We wrote notes about the mascot Quatchi in French.

Math
We compared our strategies for solving three digit adding questions and read over page 102.

Science
We added Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto (a dwarf planet) to our chart.

Friday, January 22, 2010.

2010-01-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
We brainstormed "u" words that say ooo such as tulip and June. We wrote three words three times each and the date once.

Math
We finished page 101 and worked with a partner on creating a strategy for adding three digit numbers (page 102). We also estimated how much money was raised at yesterday's Coin Drive.

Computers
We spent a double class practicing our e-mail skills. Everyone took home their logins, passwords, and a class address list.

Thursday, January 21, 2010.

2010-01-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
Today we brainstormed "oo" words that say ooo such as school and cool. Write three words three times and the date once.

French
We watched this video on the Olympic Mascots Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi. Then we wrote some notes in French about Miga.

Math
We did the page 100 activity with a partner and did the first question on page 101 by ourselves.

Coin Drive for Haiti
We met in the gym with many community members and covered the gym lines with coins. The money raised will go to the Red Cross to help the people of Haiti.

Science
Working in partners, pairs researched a planet, and found out the following information:
Appearance
Length of Day (in Earth hours or days)
Length of Year (in Earth hours or days)
Composition
Moons
Special Features
Size (in kilometers or related to Earth's size)
Next we pooled our information for Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

Show and Share
More favourite books included "Geronimo Stilton", "Magic Thief", "Dinosaur Cove" (a series), "The Mouse and the Motorcycle", "Mary Kate and Ashley - Two of a Kind", and a books about pirates.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010.

2010-01-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

Computers
We started working with our school e-mail accounts today. Everyone's e-mail login and password plus a class list of addresses will be sent home to parents later this week.
Remember these IMPORTANT E-MAIL RULES:
1. Don’t share your password.
2. Remember e-mail is like a postcard.
3. Use appropriate language in your e-mails.
4. Don’t send chain e-mails.
5. Remember pictures and stories belong to the author.
6. Be respectful, responsible, safe, and build relationships.

Math
We continued working on page 98 using estimating and adding strategies.

Science
We started a chart of information on each planet and organized our duotangs.

Show and Share
Some more popular books were shared today. They included "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs", Robert Munsch's "Playhouse", "Rebel Power Play", and more "39 Clues" books.
You might want to check out the 39 Clues web site.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010.

2010-01-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
We brainstormed "ue" words that say ooo such as Tuesday and glue. Write three words three times and the date once.

French
We finished our notes on the Winter olympic Sport names in French.

Math
We did the Explore and Connect sections on page 96 and started page 98.

Fine Arts
We made flying saucers and designed aliens who might live on a planet ion our solar system.

Monday, January 18, 2010.

2010-01-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
We brainstormed "ew" words that saw ooo such as grew and knew. Write three "ew" words three times each and the date once.

Math
We finally finished p-89 on estimating.

Science
We watched a BrainPop on Pluto.

Show and Share
The class is presenting their favourite books and authors. Today we heard about Joke books, "The 39 Clues" series, hockey books by Mike Leonetti, and "Beastquest" books.

Friday, January 15, 2010.

2010-01-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
Today we brainstormed "ui" words that make an ooo sound as in fruit and suitcase. Write three "ui" words three times each and the date once.

Math
We finished page 89.

Science
We watched a BrainPop on Neptune. You can watch this video instead. I'm not sure this link will work without a password.

In-Motion
We participated in In-Motion activities with the rest of the school this afternoon.

Thursday, January 14, 2010.

2010-01-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

Handwriting
We brainstormed "ir" words with the sound as in birthday and girl. Write three "ir" words 3 times each and the date once.

Math
We continued working on page 88&89.

Computers
We tried to Build a Dinosaur by going to the following site at The Indiana Museum
Once there go to the Dinosphere section and then go to the Build a Dino part at the bottom.

Dance
We pretended to be different dinosaurs hatching from an egg and moving around. We also did a group dance where students chose two dinosaurs and danced out a story. Then the rest of the class tried top guess their dinosaurs.