Week seventeen

In gym this week we continued practicing our hockey skills. Some of the skills we learned for shooting were wrist shot and backhand, No slap shots though, because they are not safe! We got to play hockey games this week too! It was super fun!

  

Next week in gym we have the opportunity to learn snowshoeing! After we learn the basic skills, we will get to play games using them.

For snowshoeing it is very important that we wear all of the proper gear! I need to wear proper winter boots so I can put on the snowshoes, I need a winter coat, mittens and a toque. It has been very cold in Calgary the last few weeks and even though the weather is supposed to be nice next week we need to be prepared! 

Room 7 will be going snowshoeing Tuesday and Thursday
Room 8 will be going snowshoeing Monday and Wednesday

We named our class fish.. Fredrick! (His nickname is Fred) Fredrick Peter Mannerings is his whole name. He likes to sleep most of the day and hide in his leaves. His favourite food is bloodworms and he loves one on one conversations. He gets shy in big groups. 

This week in Language Arts we read a book called "Unspoken." This was a wordless story. After we read the book, using the one page with an eye showing, we used this as a picture prompt to imagine and draw who we thought was behind the wall. This book was about the underground railroad. It was about the olden days. This book also gave us an opportunity to talk about what freedom is and how important it is for us to learn about peace, respect and showing kindness to everyone.

      

  

Yesterday EVERYONE WAS HERE!!!! ALL 53 students and 2 teachers... soooooo we had a dance party. It was so exciting and one of our friends danced SO HARD that his glasses FLEW off!! Wow.. it was fun!

Room 7 got to see baby Lena this week. She sure is getting big! She's gained 2 pounds since the last time we saw her! She just keeps getting cuter with every visit!

This week we started subtraction in math. We got into partners, we worked together to see what strategies we already use for subtraction. Next we will teach each other the strategies we know for solving subtraction problems.

Also, this week was a big week for us in the technology department. On Tuesday we got to use the iPads again to record our addition strategies using the Explain Everything app. Then, on Thursday we worked together to put these videos up on IRIS. Make sure to check it out! Because we were so great with the technology and helping each other to upload to Iris our super teachers let us play some math games together online.

Check out my Iris post, I can log into Iris any time at home to show off the work I have uploaded! All I have to do is put in my student number as my log in and then put in my password.

https://iris.cbe.ab.ca/Account/LogIn?ReturnUrl=%2F

Here are some great websites for practicing math skills at home!

http://www.coolmath-games.com/

Basic Addition and Subtraction

http://www.fun4thebrain.com/murb/murb.html

http://www.arcademics.com/games/ducky-race/ducky-race.html

http://www.arcademics.com/games/jet-ski/jet-ski.html

http://www.arcademics.com/games/alien/alien.html

http://www.arcademics.com/games/island-chase/island-chase.html

http://www.arcademics.com/games/kitten-match/kitten-match.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/popup/popup_addition.htm

Multi Digit Addition and Subtraction

http://www.math-play.com/soccer-math-adding-two-digit-whole-numbers/adding-two-digit-numbers.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fruitshoot/fruitshoot_subtraction.htm

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fruitshoot/fruitshoot_addition.htm

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/addition-and-subtraction

http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/mathfact/mathFact.htm

CJFS is making the library into a space where children can learn and explore different things. The "library" is now transforming into a space called the Learning Commons. Some of the new gadgets and learning tools we got were some coding LEGO, new iPads, LEGO with motors and Ms. Luzzi came into all of the classroom to ask for our input and suggestions of how we can make this learning space better. The questions she asked us were How do you like to read?  and What space do you like to read in? 

This week we got to go the Learning Commons with Mrs. Craig and explore the new LEGO kits. We worked in small groups and collaborated to build with the LEGO to try and make a device that moves. Within our groups, we worked in pairs, one of the pairs got an A book and the other got a B book. Once each of the pairs were done their book, we put the two parts together to create the device. This was a fun and challenging activity!

    

    

    

After a week of all our recesses and lunches being inside Miss Klem and Miss Kolb were very impressed with how tidy we kept our coat racks! They looked amazing all week! They were also very glad to see everyone coming to school prepared for the cold weather! Keep it up Room 7 & 8! 

  

Until next week,

Love, Room 7 & 8

Week Sixteen

We got a pet fish! We still have to come up with a brilliant name for him, but he is here and we already love him! Write a comment if you have a suggestion for his name!

In social studies we learned about natural resources. While we were doing social studies we had computers and text books that we used to research different facts about Alberta's natural resources like water, oil (oil sands), coal, wood, iron, minerals, fossils and many more. We connected this back to when we learned about the First Nations and how they used the buffalo, which is also a natural resource. While we were researching we learned the importance of taking notes and putting the information into our own words. We learned how to be super flexible and patient during this activity! The first day we got the laptops the cart wasn't turned on so all of the laptops were dead!

  

  

  

  

In gym we are learning about hockey and how to stick handle and shoot the puck. In stick handling practice we learned about how important controlling the puck is. We did laps around the gym with our sticks and pucks to see how well we could do without looking at the puck. We learned about the snap shot and a wrist shot, soon we will be as good as some of the NHL players on the Calgary Flames.

  

Mrs. Craig visited us this week to teach us about some apps on the ipads. We learned how to edit pictures, we learned about Skitch and we used Book Creator. Mr. Southworth even came in and showed us his sick guitar skills on garage band. He rocked it!

      

  

Open gym started this week. Grade 3's get to go to the gym in the mornings on Thursdays and grade 4's get to go to the gym in the mornings on Fridays. We are allowed to use any gym supplies we want to and it is so fun, we can even continue to practice our hockey skills!

In science we continued to learn about light and shadow. We did centers that had prisms, books about light and shadow that we could research with, there was the water in the cup station that showed us about refraction, and a station with mirrors that showed how reflection works. During our centers we recorded our research like the real scientists we are and had to draw what we saw and write down what we thought was happening. Then we watched a Magic School Bus episode called "How to make a Rainbow." We learned that: When you put a flashlight through a prism you can see all the colours of the rainbow.

  

    

  

  

We did "Sart" (science art) this week. We got glass jars and flashlights and got to trace out shadows and practice shading.

        

We get to do free choice today because it's Friday and because we did such amazing work this week! Our insane teachers emptied the ticket jar we were shocked and appalled! But we understand that it's a new year and we have some new students so we are going to start off 2017 with a fresh jar of opportunities to win sweet prizes!

With love,

Room 7/8

Alberta's Resources

Here are some links that tells all about Alberta's Natural Resources:

http://engagingstudents.blackgold.ca/index.php/division-ii/soc-d2/social-4/4-1-alberta-a-sense-of-the-land/alberta-s-natural-resources/ 

This one is very informative:

https://www.alberta.ca/environment-natural-resources.aspx