It has been a busy second week in 5.1/5.2 as we dove into our curricular outcomes.
In Science, the focus has been on researching the 5 types of wetlands in Alberta. (Pond, Bog, Fen, Swamp and Marsh). The students collaborated with the other grade 5 pod to research and find the required information. (vegetation, animal/insect/bird habitats, 5 interesting facts about their wetland and the unique characteristics). They will create a poster and share their findings next week at which point we will be able to distinguish the similarities and differences of each type of wetland. In math, we explored place value. We talked through the concept of number as a class, the students paired up to work through various types of place value questions and then finished off the week with a check in. Many times throughout their education in math, students ask the question, “When will I ever use this?” So I have asked the students to question their parents/ guardians about your career and how you use math daily. It is only a conversation and doesn’t require a written response. Thank you for your involvement. In Humanities we have continued with the reading of Raven’s End. This story is set in the area of Mt. Yamnuska and Kananaskis Country, which is the area that Camp Chief Hector is located in. The students are learning about the flora and fauna of the area and also the geographic features. We have also been following the progression of hurricane Dorian as it heads west. This is allowing the students to learn how to plot coordinates and learn mapping skills such as reading legends on maps and determining what elements are shown on various maps. Geospatial awareness is being built and elements of geography are also coming into focus with this. Other news:
Thank you and have a wonderful long weekend. Heather Melville and Margaret Leland
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Humanities
We have completed our study of the Little Prince and completed our ABC project based on the characters, lessons and locations in the book or movie. We are continuing on with some reading comprehension. We also completed our last reading comprehension assessment for the year. We have begun a new mini project researching festivals in Canada. This will take us through the end of next week. 5.2 will be covering all the lessons for the sexual health portion of the Health curriculum by the end of next week. The workbook that the students will be using for this will then come home for completion and review with the parents. Math We have worked on areas and perimeter of rectangles last week and have continued our understanding of measurement by looking length, volume/capacity. We also looked at converting cm to mm and vice versa. We sharpened our estimation and measurement skills through an activity at school and at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Lastly, students worked on an open-ended word problem that dealt with perimeters and areas of rectangles. Science We discussed acids and bases and their characteristics. We did a lab where students used a homemade pH indicator - red cabbage juice - and tested a variety of liquids. Students will have their work on Seesaw. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary Thank you so much to our parent volunteers (Mrs. Crysdale, Mrs. Hobel, Mrs. Cowie, Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Judin, and Mr. Pidlisny), who joined us at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Heritage Park On Monday, we are heading to Heritage Park with all Grade 5 students and teachers. Students need to bring a bagged lunch and snack, sunscreen, water bottle, and hat. Please do NOT send spending money with your child as we will not be permitting students to purchase items at the park. Lastly, there are several students whose forms have not been signed digitally. Please have these signed ASAP. Thank you. Humanities
We have continued with “The Little Prince” reading and have been working on the ABC Novel project. Please ask your child about this project. There have been many significant life lessons that have been realized through the interactions with the characters. Have your child tell you about what they have remembered from these lessons. Math We finished our studies of decimals by comparing and ordering them. Seesaw assignments are available for parents to view. If your child does not have this in their Seesaw, it means they have not handed it in. We also started our studies of shapes by looking at quadrilaterals and different ways to classify/sort them. Looking ahead: measuring length, volume, and capacity Science We continue to see progress in our rock candy experiments. The water is slowly evaporating and the solutions have finally begun crystallizing. The other separation of mixture experiment we did this week is ink chromatography. Looking ahead: recycling sand and salt Health 5.1 we finished looking at the female reproductive system and the menstrual cycle. As before, please have a conversation with child about these topics. Looking ahead: Reproduction Humanities
We have continued to read the wonderful story of The Little Prince and become more familiar with the adventures and lessons that we can learn from the characters. The students are enjoying the story immensely, so please ask them about the storyline so far. We will be doing more reading comprehension next week. We will have an opportunity to explore some wonderful Inuit artwork in the next few weeks. Dr. Lynn Moorman from Mount Royal University will be visiting with us to share the stories and locations from the artwork. As usual, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Math We uploaded work on adding and subtracting decimals on Seesaw. Students also received their marked assignments on Seesaw on how to represent decimals and convert them to fractions. This week, we also continued working on predicting outcomes by looking at patterns ("What's My Rule?") Results of an independent assignment will be returned next week. Looking ahead: Sorting and ordering decimals. Science This week we conducted a classroom chemistry lab on how to make rock candy and discussed the science behind it. We will continue to let these crystals grow as wait time is critical to their growth. An assignment on seesaw was posted for students to explain the science behind this experiment. Please see to it that your child has finished it. Health 5.1 finished studying the male reproductive parts and their functions. As always please have a discussion about these topics at home with your child. Looking ahead: female reproductive parts and the menstrual cycle. Math/Science
We finished our discussion on how to compare fractions by looking at a subway sandwich problem; strategies on how to compare them were discussed in small groups and then shared as a class. Looking ahead: decimals, representing, reading, and adding them. In science, we continued our study of classroom chemistry by discussing how atoms behave in three states of matter (solids, liquids, and gasses). The homework that was assigned for completion by Monday is for students to take pictures of objects around the house that represent mixtures of: 1. solid + solid 2. solid + liquid 3. solid + gas 4. liquid + liquid 5. liquid + gas 6. gas + gas Humanities We have been working hard to finish up our poetry anthologies. Some students would have taken their iPads home over the weekend to finish up the last few poems. As a follow-up to our field trip to Fort Calgary we will be writing stories next week that will be based on the artifacts that they dug up in the archeology activity. Please have a discussion with your child about what they found in their dig and which of the four groups their artifacts would have more than likely belonged to and why. We have learned most of our marching and square dance routines that we will be using during our trip to Fort Steele. I expect within the next week or so to start our next novel study which will be The Little Prince. Fort Calgary trip Thank you to our parent volunteers (Ms. Miller, Mrs. Joseph, Mrs. Lewis, Mr. Miles, Mrs. Sudyk, Mrs. Munn, Mrs. Walker, and Mrs. Donnelly). We could not have done the trip without you. Fort Steele As we prepare our students for our trip with square dancing and marching at school, please take the time to acquaint yourselves with the details of the trip (see attachment), particularly if this is the first time you are sending a child to the Fort. The informed consent is now digital and you can sign it by visiting our website. Please go to the family zone link:https://fz.connectcharter.ca/myhome/default.asp. The parent book can be viewed in the forms section of this website. Health Students in 5.1 have begun our studies of human sexuality. Our first topic revolved around the general topic of puberty and personal hygiene that need special attention during their adolescent years. Looking ahead: development of physical characteristics. We encourage you to continue the conversation with your child about these topics as it is important to have open lines of communication particularly about topics on human sexuality at home. Math
We have focused our studies in math this week on comparing fractions. We looked at comparing fractions with common denominators, common numerators, and uncommon numerators/denominators. There is an upcoming quiz on Thursday, Apr. 18, next week. Students have a booklet they can use to help them study. Science This week in science we started the chemistry unit with two labs. The first lab called the “Penny Lab” involved students putting drops of water on a penny. This lab taught them about surface tension, cohesion and adhesion. You can see your child’s work on Seesaw. We also made Oobleck this week, it was super fun and super messy! Oobleck introduced the concept of states of matter being solid, liquid or gas. Humanities This week, students were introduced to a poetry unit. We reviewed styles of poetry that follow rules, such as a Haiku, Diamante, and Pantoum, and also looked at artistic poems such as Concrete and Black-out. Student have enjoyed working on their personal anthologies and creating a collection of their work. We also spent a class editing a paragraph filled with mistakes, and will continue to work on editing strategies. Students also watched a video on First Nations' value in ceremony and connection to the land, and discussed the history of residential schools. Students will continue to discuss what truth and reconciliation looks like. As always, we encourage daily reading. This week was also our last week with our student teacher, Miss J, who has taught over the last three months. We hope to see her subbing back at Connect after she graduates. Student Teachers Today is our last day with our wonderful student teachers. We thank them for their hard work and the genuine warmth they have shown throughout their placement with us. We will miss them and wish them all the best in their future! Math
This week in math we spent more time working on division. Your child should now be able to divide 3 digit numbers by a 1 digit number using any strategy (long division, the box method, big 7). The students did a check in this week on dividing numbers by 10 and 5, we have explored the relationship when dividing by these numbers. They have all posted their check in on Seesaw for parents to see. We have a check in on Monday where the students will have to divide 3-digit numbers by a 1-digit number. Science In science we continued to explore electricity. The students were challenged to create burglar alarms using their knowledge of circuits. They have all posted videos on Seesaw for parents to check out. We are getting closer to working on our final Ember electricity projects. Humanities This week, students spent the majority of their time developing and refining their National Parks posters. We have been really impressed by their attention to details, hard work, and focus this week. Students have been very engaged in their projects and have been involved in asking clarifying questions and improving the data they collected by finding out details and putting it into their own words. After completion of their posters, students will create presentations to share their learning with the class. We will take some time to focus on what makes a strong presentation, have rehearsal time and provide peer feedback, and make the slides visually appealing. Some students have started this, but we will be moving into this next week. Please ask your children about their National Park and something interesting they have learned that they'd like to share. Students have also continued with our class novel study and have read the next four chapters (Chapters 9-12). They will holds discussions next week based on their role. Students began a new reading comprehension booklet and focused on reading all the information provided before answering questions. Health We are still collecting food for the food drive until Monday. Two representatives from the food bank are coming in on Monday to collect the food and to teach the students about what the food bank does. Spirit Week Spirit Week is next week. Although not mandatory, we encourage students to show their school spirit by participating. Here are theme days next week: Feb. 25 - PJ/Bedhead Day Feb. 26 - Match Day Feb. 27 - Pink Shirt Day Feb. 28 - Character Day Math
This short week in math we continued to work through division. Our goal is to be able to divide 3 digit numbers by a 1 digit number. The students are able to use any strategy they would like, as long as they are able to get the answer. Over the past little while we have been working on dividing numbers by 10 and 5 to help the students understand the relationship between the dividend, divisor and the quotient. Today we had a check in on dividing numbers by 5 and 10. Science We continued to talk about electricity this week and the students have started to think more about what their Ember electricity projects will be. We talked about how electricity is measured in kilowatt hours in our homes. If you have an electricity meter on the side of your home, a great long weekend activity would be having your child read the meter. Today we started to look at electromagnets, the students were given a copper wire, battery and nail and had to figure out how they could create a magnet that would pick up a paper clip. We are going to continue to explore this next week and are hoping none of the students Google the answer to find out how or why it works. Humanities Students participated in small group discussions on the City of Ember novel study for chapters 5-8. Each student shared their role, and engaged in discussing the events of the book and making predictions. Students also started a new reading comprehension booklet about dropping populations of wildlife. They are continuing to work on their National Parks research and most students have begun their posters. Reminders Please remember to send a large lunch with plenty of healthy snacks to school with your child. We have noticed many students are eating their lunch earlier in the day and do not have enough food to last them. Health We have started exploring volunteering with the grade 5 students. We are going to have a food drive that will end on February 25th, representatives from the food bank will come in to present and collect any donations we have. See attachment for more info. Math
Students learned how to divide using two different methods: the box method and the big 7. Students practiced these strategies using different numbers. Parents, if you're unfamiliar with these strategies, I encourage you to get your child to show it to you. As stated in last week's update, they are more user-friendly, more forgiving than the long division algorithm that you (probably) and I learned. It also encourages kids to use their number sense to divide. Further, we went through different examples to learn how to divide by 5 by examining different examples and coming up with the relationships between 10s and 5s and how the quotients are impacted by this relationship. AMA how to divide 605 ÷ 5 by using their number sense. Looking ahead: long division algorithm as another for those whose times table has been mastered and more problem-solving activities Science This week in science we continued to learn about electricity, more specifically circuits. The students used alligator clips, light bulbs, switches and batteries to explore building series circuits with a working switch. The students then built the same circuit adding a second lightbulb to see what would happen. Most of the students were able to recognize that the second lightbulb was dimmer because the first lightbulb was slowing down the flow of electrons. The students learned how to draw circuits and discussed the difference between series and parallel, as well as real world applications. Lastly, we're just tying up loose ends on the weather unit, and there are a few students who have not yet submitted their work on the fabric testing lab and/or the construction of a weather measurement instrument. If you don't see an artifact/video/copy of their work on these topics in Seesaw, then more than likely your child has not submitted this. Please have a chat with them about uploading/submitting it/them. It's most likely almost done but just hasn't been submitted. Humanities Students have continued their research on the regions and have began a new project. Students are researching a Canadian National Park of their choice and are looking at the culture, history, geography, conservation, and stories of the park, in detail. They will create a coloured poster and later a presentation to share their knowledge with the class. In continuing the novel study of "The City of Ember", students led small discussions with table groups and shared their understandings and connections. We have now read the next few chapters, and students are creating responses in their new roles. The five roles are: Real Life Connector, Passage Master, Word Wizard, Creative Artist, Summarizer & Predictor. Students will have a chance to complete each role once over the course of the novel study. I encourage you to ask your child about their discussion role. If you have any questions or concerns about what is happening in Humanities, please let us know. Swimming Students will be going swimming on Monday (full day). Students will be leaving the campus around 9 am and should be back in time for bus dismissal in the afternoon. Please make sure that your child has brought with them the following: swimsuit, bagged lunch, water bottle, plastic bag (for wet swimsuit), and a towel. Further questions about this trip can be directed to Ms. Haigh at [email protected] or Mr. Schmeichel at [email protected] |