Heart Maps

 Our focus this week has been on developing ideas in writing through HEART MAPS. Over the course of several days, students were asked to brainstorm personal characteristics, values, interests and emotions that populate their hearts and that make each of us unique and different. They then were asked to select about 15 of the most powerful "pieces of their heart" and design a heart map. The results are absolutely beautiful and are a testimony of our students' creative minds and their boundless potential as writers.

On Thursday, we enjoyed a presentation of the BC Sustainable Energy Association on Climate Change and are encouraging families to participate in the Climate Change Showdown. All students have been taking home a booklet to be filled out by the family and returned to the school in a month. We will then be able to enter in a contest. More information about this can be found HERE.

Please remember that this is another short week. There will be a ProD day on Friday and Thursday is an early dismissal day. Students will be dismissed at 11:15 am and Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled in the afternoon. All of the confirmations with interview times have been sent home on Friday. The schedule will also be posted outside the classroom door. Hope you all have a wonderful week!





Focus on Math



Our focus this month is on Math and getting every student of Division 4 started on building a strong foundation for the multiplication basic facts. Together we are building an extra large multiplication times table in the classroom and we learn different strategies for multiplying two numbers. By using flashcards, students are practicing their "anchor" facts, including x1, x2, x10 and review doubles. Always remember to connect the multiplication facts to everyday life, i.e. 3x8 crayons in a box; or 2x6 eggs in a carton. If you would like to reinforce the multiplication basic facts at home, please feel free to print out the flashcard sheets, cut them into cards and write the correct answers on the back. These cards are a great way to practice multiplication at home or on the go! Practice makes perfect!
In Language we started a unit on developing stronger ideas as writers. Last week we discussed heart maps and started brainstorming ideas for our heart maps that included our values, our fears, our emotions, our personality, our insecurities and the way we perceived the world around us. Each student came up with forty items to be included in their own heart maps and I was amazed by their insight and thoughtful contributions! I love helping students to stretch their minds as writers! Can't wait to show off the heart maps we created in my next post.
On Friday we participated in our school's Remembrance Day Assembly, and I was proud of my students as we performed a rendition of the peace song "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream" together with our little buddies from Division 8. What a moving performance! Thank you so much to Amanda's mom and Zac's mom, who both volunteered in our classroom this week! We love seeing parents and always invite them to help us learn!



Halloween Fun

What a fantastic, fun-filled week we had to celebrate Halloween and continue to settle into the new routines and responsibilities of an intermediate classroom! I am proud of our students, can already see some tremendous progress and am amazed by our students' commitment to stretch their minds and embrace new learning opportunities.

Thanks so much to those families, who provided some healthy and very delicious treats for our Halloween party with our little buddies on Thursday. It was great to see so many vegetable trays and fruit platters, which kept the "sugar highs" to a minimum ;) We all had fun at the party and enjoyed spending time with our little buddies from Division 8. A special thank you to Jacob, who helped Ms. Walker with the clean-up and showed some excellent leadership!

 

In other news, in Math we will focus our attention to MULTIPLICATION and the recall of basic multiplication facts. This is an extremely important skill, which will be critical to ensure success in math in higher grades. It is crucial to support this learning goal through regular practice at home. Flash cards and drill sheets will be sent home and I encourage you to spend 10-15 minutes each night with your child and practice the facts we are working on - similar to the spelling words you are practicing at home. Each week on Monday, I will administer a quick quiz to assess the progress. Extra blackline masters for the flashcards will also be available on this blog. Watch for a link on the top of the page. Of course you can also use the flashcards, which are available in retail (dollar stores or Walmart).

Our class will be performing a song at the upcoming Remembrance Day Assembly on Friday, November 8 at 11 am. If you are free, please consider joining us in the gym.

As always, I thank you very much for your support and hope you enjoy these glorious autumn days!