Our Final FULL Week!

Well the year is starting to wind down and I am really going to miss these kiddos! It is amazing to sit down and see how much they've grown this year! They have all begun to take charge of their own learning and discovery and just blow me away every day.

This week we started off with writing letters to our Grade 2 Teacher's! This was so the students could introduce themselves, talk about what they liked best about school and give next years teacher a little information. However! Whoopsie! Our letters got stuffed in our Kanga pouches on Wednesday! If you see them, would you mind sending them back?

In Math, we spent some time talking about Volume and the space something takes up. To compare the volume of different containers students worked in centers with tubs of water, macaroni and fuzzies to see which containers would hold more or less.

 

In Science, we have been discussing the needs of animals and their types of habitats and shelters. This week we started off learning about all the different types of shelters and where you would find them.


Then in groups, students were given different animal habitats and worked to do a little research project on the animals that live there and how they survive.

And of course, we had a big wonderful day at Miquelon Lake (Minus some pesky mosquitoes)! We spent the morning touring the forest using our senses to taste, touch, smell, hear and see all different things. In the afternoon, we spent some time searching for signs of a beaver! We saw a beaver lodge, beaver trail and trees chewed by beavers! To see all the photos from our day click here.

And last, but not least OUR BOOK SALE! 

Our book sale ran all week, with each book costing 25 cents! After the week, our total sales were $170.00!!!! Which brings our final total to donate to the Stollery up to ....

$875.51!!

I am beyond proud of how our class worked together and would like to thank Mrs. Kiss' Grade 6's for helping us ensure the book sale ran perfectly! A big thanks to all the donations to help our entire fundraiser, from the Leduc Recreation Center, Dairy Queen and of course our Parent Volunteers!

Our cheque presentation to the Stollery will be on Tuesday at our Year End Assembly, at 10:30 am. 

Monday afternoon will be our classroom party! 

Whoa, Big Week!

What a big week in Grade 1!

In Language Arts this week, we talked about the oi & oy vowel patterns and the sound they make. Students got in pairs, and Read to Someone a short story about oi & oy words. Afterwards we brainstormed as many words as we could that you hear that sound and played Wordo (or BOINGO)!

In Science, we are wrapping up our unit on Plant Needs! We took a peek at our flower we have growing to talk about the life cycle of plants! We know that most plants start as seeds, move to seedlings, and then adult plants that will release seeds and the cycle starts all over again!

This week we talked about how we use plants as humans. We know that we can eat plants, such as fruits, vegetables and some seeds. Then we went further to think about what in our world comes from plants. We came up with lots of things we eat, use and wear that come from plants! In partners, students used chromebooks and slides to create a slide presentation that shows what items come from plants.
Here is a sample of what we did! And Another!

In Social, we talked about how things have changed since the past, especially in terms of transportation, games, and how we spend our free time.

In Math, we are still talking measurement! This week our focus was on weight and area! When we worked on weight we talked about how we use a scale to tell if something is heavier or lighter. As a class, we compared a few objects to see which were heavier and lighter. Then students were in small groups comparing classroom objects to see which were heavier and lighter and had to share their findings with the class.

Next, we talked about surface area and how we measure it. We compared a piece of paper to the back carpet and decided which takes up more area? In small groups they covered their desk tops with cards and measured the surface area. Once they had a number, they measured chair seats to compare which had the larger area.

  Next Week: 
Book Sale in the Library Tuesday - Friday! 25c a book! All proceeds go to our Stollery Fund.

Miquelon Lake on Thursday! This field trip is exploring the lake area, so dress appropriately! Rain boots and closed toed shoes are recommended. Mosquitos are crazy this year, so feel free to pack some OFF!

This week in Math, we have begun our Measurement unit! Our goal this week has been to compare objects by ordering them based on height/length, weight and width. We have been working to use phrases such as "longer than/shorter than," "Taller than/shorter than," "fatter than/thinner than" to compare objects as well.

Our first activity to practice this was measuring and ordering stuffies!! Jenna was kind enough to bring in a large collection of stuffies for us! In small groups they organized 3 stuffies based on their length, weight or width. Then they shared with the class using comparison statements. 



Next, we discussed how was can use a pencil to compare to objects. In pairs students searched the room for objects that were longer than/shorter than or "about" the same size as a pencil. We use the word about because we are just comparing and not measuring exactly in standard.
 



In Science we are continuing with our Needs of Plants discussion. We checked in on our beans which are starting to grow some roots and stems! They logged their bean's change in their bean journals, drawing a picture and describing what changes they could see.

Also this week, we focused on the functions of each plant part. Trying quizzing your child asking these questions:
What does a stem do for the plant? Whats an example of a stem we eat?
What do leaves do for the plant? Can we eat them?
What do the roots do for the plant? What roots do you eat?

Our classroom plants are starting to sprout! This will help us see all the different stages of the plant life cycle. So far, we have seen the seed which has now sprouted into a seedling and soon we will see what comes next!

In Social, we are continuing to discuss the past and share the changes in our lives with our yarn projects! Some of these kiddos have seen lots of new homes, brothers, sisters and new beginnings! It has been great to share and hear everyone's stories and see how diverse we all are!

In Daily 5 and Language Arts, we have been trying to focus on how to write a story. During our 5 minute quick writes, students have been given a picture and are practicing how to write a beginning by introducing our elements: characters (who is your story about?) setting (where are they?) and problem (what are they trying to do?).
In Daily 5, during work on writing they have had two different writing prompts. After reading Aliens in Underpants Save the World, they were given a picture of aliens in a space ship and started writing their own stories about the aliens! They have really been doing great with their stories and we're working on building strong endings.



We also spent some time focusing on the Diphthongs "ou" and "ow" and the sound they make. In groups, they were given one word and had to come up with rhyming words that would belong in the same family.
Afterwards, they got together and Read to Someone, a short story with "ou" and "ow" words, highlighting the letter patterns when they found them.




We also had our final swimming lesson this week! Report cards for lessons went home on Wednesday.


Next Week: 

PATs start for Grade 6 - We are going to be soooo quiet in the halls!
All Library Books must be returned by next Friday.
Miquelon Lake Forms are due June 17th.

Growing in Grade One!

We are busy busy busy!!! I can't believe its already June!

The week started off with our visit to Fort Edmonton Park!
We had an absolute blast, even in the rain! It was just spitting so we managed to stay pretty dry! This was a great way to talk and cover our Social curriculum goal of learning about life in the past. Students were taken on a tour on 1885 Street and saw first hand what life was like for Edmonton's early settlers. No electricity, heat, running water, farm living and school was very different!

To see the full album of our day click here.

When we returned to school, we did a little writing about what life would be like in 1885 for children. They would definitely have to work very hard and do lots of chores. The school house would have all different grades in one room and all they would have is chalk and slate! Students wrote about "If I lived in 1885.. " and reflected on how life would have been for them.

In Science, we are planting! This week we focused on the parts of a plant and what they need to survive. We have started growing some little flowers in our class, taking care of them and making sure they have water, air, sunlight and nutrient filled soil!

We also have each started our own little bean plant! This will show us what goes on inside a seed and how a plants life cycle begins. As our bean plants grow we are observing them in our bean journal to record the different stages of the life cycle.

We also mixed a little Science in with Art! After looking at a book about plants and their parts, we made our own plant part posters with labels.

Next week, we will focus on the function of each plant part and how they help the plant survive.

In Math, we are closing up our unit on Adding and Subtracting to 20. We are still working on solving story problems, making sure we focus on the words that tell us if we need to add or subtract! Next week we will begin our measurement unit.

Next Wednesday is our last day of swimming lessons! It's been lots of fun and the kids have been really great during their lessons.

Friday was Western Day! These kiddos can really rock a country look!

The Black Gold Rodeo is on this weekend!

Next Friday, Alix Mac School Band will be performing at our school in the morning.

Have a great weekend!!