Week 29

We had a wonderful, busy and exciting week.

We had a special presentation on Monday. Frisbee Rob came and him and his sponsors donated 30 special Frisbees for us to use at school. He also challenged us to put away digital screens (ex: cellphones, TVs, iPads), when you are eating with your family and friends, one hour before bed and at all times in the bedroom.

In Science, we started planning our moving devices. First, we made a rubric to understand what our design needed. We determined what a 2 Needs Tweaking, 3 Standard and 4 A-class designs. Based on the criteria for our design we sketched our moving device, next we labeled the different materials we will needs for the different parts, and we wrote a description about how the device is powered and how the different parts move. 

We have read Chapter 2 in the book Ticket to Curlew. In this chapter we learned about that word “deed”. A dead is a contract for ownerships for something, such land. 

We had our 2nd Mad Minute this week! We recorded our progress. We will continue working our practicing and trying to beat our previous record. This will help us get better at our mental math. 
  

In Math, we have been doing arrays. We use arrays to group objects in rows and columns. We created arrays using beans by grouping them in rows and columns, then created repeated addition sentences and then turned our repeated addition sentences into multiplication sentences. We tried to make as many different arrays with the beans and drew them in our math booklets.  

How to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrvGXGYj_7o

Next week we will be starting to learn different multiplication strategies. We are starting with the Area Model. Please take the time to practice the the strategy. There are practice questions as well as the solutions below.

How to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdYV6i-kXcA

Practice Questions: 
3x16=
4x36=
9x42=
2x215=
3x326=
7x873=

Solutions:
3x16=48
4x36=144
9x42=378
2x215=430
3x326=978
7x873=6 111

Given that next week is shorter than usual, we will not be having daily 5, and there will be no spelling pattern to practice. 

Reminders:

• Continue collecting materials for building our complex machine cars. You can bring: wooden sticks, bottle caps, straws, duct tape, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, sting, CDs, tape, plastic bottles, rubber bands, balloons, hot glue sticks, pipe cleaner and springs. 
• There is no school on Monday, April 22nd next week.
• Please return your library books on Tuesday, April 23rd 

• During the week of April 23rd - April 26, the theme for the school will be"Keeping our School Green and Clean."  Panorama Hills School will be partaking in the following:

Tuesday, April 23

Beautiful Bathrooms

- Only use one paper towel after washing your hands

- Keep the bathrooms clean

Wednesday, April 24

Litterless Snack

- Use reusable packaging, less waste and a water bottle  

- Bring garbage home however, composting is available in the classroom

Thursday, April 25

Fabulous Classroom

- Pick up any toys, game pieces, paper etc. used during green tubs and centres

- Pick up after yourself (E.g., backpacks, jackets, hats, mittens, shoes, etc.)

Friday, April 26

Classy Classrooms

- Tidy up and organize your classroom before the weekend

Week 28

In our novel study Ticket to Curlew, we read Chapter 1. In Chapter 1 a boy named Sam moved from Jericho, Iowa to Curlew, Alberta. They moved to Alberta because they wanted to build a farm. Advertisements promised that Alberta's soil was rich and ready for farming. We learned some interesting words, for example an adze is for cutting and shaping wood. 

In Science we researched websites about wedges, pulleys and screws. We chose a car to build after watching videos of how to make a balloon powered vehicle, gravity powered vehicle, spring powered vehicle, mousetrap powered vehicle and elastic/rubberband powered vehicle.

In Social Studies we had to put ourselves in a settlers perspective. We created a mind map about what we might bring in our trunk. We chose items that were important to us and that we would use in our daily lives in our new home in Alberta. 

In Math we learned about arrays. Arrays are when objects are in grouped. You can group items based on what you see. For example, if you have 30 items in total you may have 10 groups of 3 items, 3 groups of 10 items, 2 groups of 15 items, 15 groups of 2 items or 6 groups of 5 items. To help us with our division facts, we also played Divide and Conquer.  

During Sophie's passion project, we learned about the most popular baby names in 2016. We also learned about the most popular names in the world. Amelia and Mohammad are the most popular names in the world.

During Lucy's passion project, we learned about coding. We learned about coding vs hacking and that you need to code before you hack. Hacking is illegal. Coding uses symbols, letters and numbers. Coding is needed for making games, such as Fortnite and Apex.

During Mekhi's passion project, we learned about live streaming. We learned about a youtuber, named Ninja who made $500,000 from his live streaming. You can stream by playing games.

Our spelling pattern next week: 

Focus: If a word ends in y preceded by a vowel, add s to make the plural.

holiday + s = holidays

If a word ends in y preceded by a consonant, change y to i and add es.

copy + es = copies 

Some examples include:

holidays

parties

stories

flies

birthdays

copies

duties

ladies

counties

valleys

groceries

hobbies

libraries

highways

batteries

injuries

cherries

melodies

surveys

communities 

Reminders:

• Start collecting materials for building our complex machine cars. You can bring: wooden sticks, bottle caps, straws, duct tape, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, sting, CDs, tape, plastic bottles, rubber bands, balloons, hot glue sticks, pipe cleaner and springs. 
• There is no School Friday, April 19th next week.

Have a marvelous, spectacular, supercalafrajalisticexpialadocious, relaxing, warm, magical and amazing weekend!

Mad Minutes: Practice Reminder

Please take the time this week to practice for our Mad Minutes this Friday. Students be given 1 minute for each section to answer as many addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts which is a total of 4 minutes. We will continue to use the same facts below for every Mad Minute. We will be challenged to beat our previous record. 

Please see the links below to help you practice your Division Facts. We will be watching is video and playing this game in class on Thursday.

What is Division?
https://www.youtube.com/user/mathantics/search?query=division  

Division Practice Game:
Divide and Conquer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti58wdHJ8pA 

Week 27

We had a joyful, warm and delightful week!

In Read to Self we had to make a reading goal based on teacher feedback and choose an area of fluency to work on. We will be working on this goal during Read to Self and Silent Reading for the next 2 weeks and will document progress at the end of 2 weeks.

We started analyzing paragraphs using the THIEVES strategy. First we had to read through the paragraph. Then we had to find the main idea and build off the main idea to find the supporting ideas. When determining our main idea we had to choose a sentence that had specific details. When finding our supporting details we had to relate the sentences to the main idea. This will become an option during Work on Writing and an activity we can practice when we are finished our work. 

In Science we explored the website Ed Heads and learned about simple machines. On the website, we have been scanning a virtual home for simple machines. For example in the bedroom we discovered a secret compartment which contained a ship. We learned that the ship's bow is a wedge and the propellor is an inclined plane. 

We had the chance to use a weigh scale to measure the force need to pick up items vs. the force needed to drag items across an inclined plane. 

In Social Studies we have been working on our Settler advertisements. First we researched the pros and cons of coming to Alberta. Then we planned a rough copy of our advertisements which needed at least 6 reasons to come to Alberta, a title and an eye-catching slogan. Lastly we plotted this information onto our final copy. 

In math we started two new games called Jeopardy and Bingo. During our games many students got pretty competitive and used their brains to calculate multiplication facts.

Passion Project!

This week, Gurpreet presented her Passion Project on Red Tailed Foxes. We learned that they can live in dens or old trees. Thank you for sharing!

Our spelling pattern next week: 

Focus: If a singular word ends in x, ss, sh or ch, you usually add es to make it mean more than one.  

fox + es = foxes 

axes 

bosses 

shoes 

kisses 

waxes 

foxes 

splashes 

ashes 

crashes 

matches 

sandwiches 

toothbrushes 

eyelashes 

sashes 

ditches 

flashes 

churches 

clashes 

Have a great weekend!

Reminders: 

• Mad Minutes: Next week we will be having our first Mad Minutes. Please take the time this weekend and next week to practice for our Mad Minutes next Friday. Students be given 1 minute for each section to answer as many addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. We will continue to use the same facts below for every Mad Minute. We will be challenged to beat our previous record. 

Week 26

We had an awesome, magnificent and warm week. 

In Science we have been continuing to build our simple machine parks. Some of us have started filming our videos and uploaded them onto IRIS. We added a description for our videos. 

In Social Studies we have been working on our come to Alberta advertisement posters. First we created a plan with a title, slogan and six reasons of why settlers should come to Alberta. Then we made a good copy using our plan.

In Math we reviewed our check-in quiz this week. To help us prepare for the quiz, we practiced solving word problems using the CUBES strategy. On the quiz we had to choose a subtraction and addition strategy that we were most efficient at using to solve the problems. We had to explain why we used this strategy. 

We have been working extra hard to show our families what we are capable of in our learning! We did a role play with peer(s) to prepare for what we are going to say to our families during student-led conferences. We will be sharing our progress and process in the work we doing in school.

Please have a wonderful SPRING BREAK!!!

Reminders:

• Student Led conferences are on Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22. Conference bookings can be make through the PHS website.
• Spring Break is from March 22nd to March 31st. School will resume on Monday, April 1st.

Week 25

This week we had a wild, amazing and marvelous week. 

In Science, we have been building our Simple Machines park. Based on our plan and our criteria, we are in the process of continuing to gather materials, build using our tools and continually revising our plan to match our playground equipment. 

In Social Studies, we have been reading our textbook to learn about the settlers and how they first came to Alberta. We have been using a chart to organize the pros and cons describing the positive experiences and the struggles that settlers faced when coming to and living in Alberta. 

• A pro was that settlers could purchase a colonist car to travel with. The colonist car were versatile in that you could transport your personal belongings and then make room for sleeping. 
• A con was that they had to share 1 bunk and 1 meal when traveling to Canada by ship. Once they arrived on the East coast of Canada, settlers had to take a long ride to Alberta by train. This took around 8 days. 

In Math, we had our practice check-in quiz on Wednesday and then our actual check-in quiz on Thursday for addition and subtraction strategies.

In Language Arts, we have been working on revising our Cat/Rat Perspective using peer and teacher feedback. Some of us are printing our final copies.

This week, we also had a drama performance by grade 10 students from Diefenbaker Highschool. Their performance was hilarious, hysterical and amusing.

Reminders:

• Student Led conferences are on Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22. Conference bookings can be make through the PHS website.
• Miss Kreze will begin Music tests starting next week. Please have your child practice the material provided.
• We will not be having Daily 5 next week due the shorter week.
• Spring Break is from March 22nd to March 31st. School will resume on Monday, April 1st.

• We will be constructing playground parks for our simple machine unit, so please continue collecting items to use for the project such as, popsicle sticks, cardboard, straws, bottle caps, string, cardstock, pipecleaner, rubber bands, plastic lids/containers, tinfoil, thimbles, buttons, toothpicks, sticky tack, etc. If you have a glue gun and/or Lego people that you are willing to bring in that would be very much appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

Week 24

In Science, we started the week with our field study. On our field study we went outside and tested the playground equipment. To document our observations we...

• named the equipment (ex. slides, monkey bars, climbing rock ramp, seesaw, spinning seat, spinning banana)
• identified the motion (friction, gravity, push, pull)
• observed the speed (increasing, decreasing)
• named the type of simple machine (inclined plane, wheel and axle, lever)
• drew a diagram and identified the different parts 

In Math, we reviewed the C.U.B.E.S. strategy to help us solve word problems. 
C - Circle the key numbers
U - Underline the question
B - Box the math words
E - Equation with an equals sign
S - Solve and check

In Social Studies, we have been researching the pros and cons about coming to Alberta as a newcomer. From our research we found out that Newcomers were offered 160 acres of free land with a registration fee of $10, however, they were required to build a house, prepare farmland and live on the land for 3 years. This would be a pro because you get 160 acres for $10, but would be a con because there are a lot of conditions like having to prepare the farmland.

We have been using peer feedback to edit the initial draft of our Rat or Cat Perspective writing. We had to read our peer feedback and determine if it was effective or ineffective feedback to use. Effective feedback is when the reader gives specific feedback by providing evidence/examples from our writing. Ineffective feedback is when the reader gives non-specific feedback, such "You did good!, I like your work!, You included voice!". 

Our spelling pattern next week: 
The vowel pairs ai and ay make the /ā/ sound you hear in waist and fray. Diphthongs are different from vowel pairs in that the 2 vowels blend together to make one sound. The diphthongs oi and oy make the /ōi/ sound you hear in voices 

Some examples include:

voices

sprain

noises

disloyal

employ

waist

destroyed

fray

broiling

swaying

displays

praised

disappoint

railroad

royalty

appointed

crayon

boiling

soybean

spoiled

Reminders:

• We will be constructing playground parks for our simple machine unit, so please continue collecting items to use for the project such as, popsicle sticks, cardboard, straws, bottle caps, string, cardstock, pipecleaner, rubber bands, plastic lids/containers, tinfoil, thimbles, buttons, toothpicks, sticky tack, etc. 
• If you have a glue gun and/or Lego people that you are willing to bring in that would be very much appreciated.