Friday September 28th

 Was it just me...or did this feel like a longer week than normal?

Thank goodness it's Friday.  

Here is the plan for today.  

Period 1 and 2 is Language.  We'll talk a little bit about reconciliation, watch this CBC kids video and discuss 'Orange Shirt Day'. What is Reconciliation? | CBC Kids.

Then the kids will have some time to work in partners for Reader's/writer's workshop.  I'll also introduce the kids to English Prodigy.  We'll talk a little about nouns and homophones.

Period 3 is math.  We'll play a cool dice rolling game where the kids practise making 10.  

Period 4 is gym with Mr. D.

Period 5 and 6 we'll discuss 'Orange Shirt Day' a little more.  Then we'll collaborate to make our own giant 'Orange Shirt' poster.  ​​What is Orange Shirt Day? | Articles | CBC Kids

We might even get to watch an episode of Wayside while we work....

Have a great weekend everyone.

Thursday September 28th

 Here is the plan for today:

Period 1 is reader's workshop.  After we read some BFG, we'll talk about how visualizing helps us to keep focus.

Period 2 is writer's workshop.  We had some pretty successful writing yesterday when we set 'dot goals'. We'll keep that going with the addition of just trying to keep a pencil in our paper.

Period 3 is gym with Mr. D.

Period 4 is math.  We'll be looking at Mental Math strategies for adding.  Today we'll be looking at 'counting on' and 'making 10's'. 

Counting on https://www.splashlearn.com/math-vocabulary/counting-and-comparison/count-on

Making tens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9h4skGoWJ8&themeRefresh=1

Period 5 We'll do a bit of science, learning a little more about what exactly a force is.

Period 6 is Library.  If we have some time at the end of the day we'll try and do some math prodigy problems.

Wednesday September 27th

 Here is the plan for today.

Period 1 we'll finish up our 'cubist autumn' trees for Red light.  Then we'll read some more form the BFG.   For reader's workshop we'll continue to focus on 'choosing engagement' and we'll talk about finding 'just right books'. 

Period 2 is writer's workshop.  We'll set 'dot goals' and see if we can write enough to reach our goals.  

Period 3 and 4 is math .  We'll do an estimation mystery.  Then we'll talk about how we can use estimation/rounding to add approximate numbers.  The work will be sort of like this: Estimating Sums & Differences Worksheets

Period 5 is Music with Mrs. Haynes.  

Period 6 is possibly science...possibly just a finish up periods...I like to see what kind of shape the kids are in last period before I decide with how to proceed! 

Tuesday September 26th

 Happy Tuesday.

Here is what is coming up today.

Periods 1 and 2 -we spent a lot of time trying to solve this impossible magic square.   https://www.transum.org/software/SW/magic_square/magic_square.asp.  It was a great lesson in just getting the kids to 'try' instead of giving up.  Our mantra this year is 'It's okay not to know...but it's NOT okay NOT to try'.  Then we started 'The BFG' as our class read aloud (please don't (re)watch the movie until we've finished the book).  Then we did reader's workshop...focusing on consciously choosing to stay engaged in our books.  The class was so good that I took them outside for a little bit before lunch.  

Period 3 we're having our special presentation about Violence in Video games.  

Period 4 we have the chromebooks.  We'll be practising our skip counting on math prodigy.

Period 5 is Science, we'll do a little experiment about pushing and pulling.

Period 6 is 'the arts' with Mrs. Haynes.

Monday September 25th

 Happy Monday everyone!

Here is the plan for today:

Period 1 we have a special guest coming in...Muhammad Anwar.  He's an engineer for Canada Post.  He'll be working with our class throughout the year, talking about his experiences as an engineer and hopefully inspiring some of our kids.

Period 2 we'll do 'weekend round up' and share the highlights of our weekend, plus we'll do reader's/writer's workshop, focusing on staying quiet, and focused.

Period 3 and 4 is math.  We'll be looking at skip counting by 50's, 100's and 200's.  

Period 5 is French with Mme. O'Neil.

Period 6 will either be Science or 'finish up' depending on our energy levels.  

Friday September 21st

 Here is the plan for today:

Period 1 we'll do a little Terry Fox work.  Then we'll do some prep. work for Tuesday's workshop on Violence in Video games.

Period 2 is student choice 'reader's/writer's workshop'.  They're allowed to work in partners on Friday if they wish.

Period 3 is math.  I'm hoping to finish our scavenger hunt from yesterday.  Those who are finished early will be able to play prodigy. 

Period 4 is gym, and Mr. D is taking them for the Terry Fox run.

Period 5 and 6 is art.  We'll be making 'cubist trees' in the style of Picasso.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday September 21st

 Here is the plan for today:

Period 1 reader's workshop. Our mini lesson will focus on 'waking up our brain' by asking questions to make sure we're still engaged in our books.

Period 2 is writer's workshop.  We'll focus on 'silencing the "it's no good" voice in our head when we're writing.

Period 3 is gym with Mr. D.  We'll continue to work with Dan from the Toronto Rock to develop our lacrosse skills.

Period 4 is math.  We're continuing to work on rounding (to the nearest 10 and 100).  I've set up a scavenger hunt around the room.

Period 5 we'll do some of the science we started earlier this week.  Looking for different uses of forces (push and pulls).

Period 6 we have library.  We'll find some books and read and relax at the end of the day.

NOTE: tomorrow is the Terry Fox run!

Wednesday September 20th

 Here is the plan for today:

Period 1 is reader's workshop.  We'll focus building stamina and talk about when your mind begins to wander, retell what you remember and jump back into your book.

Period 2 is writer's workshop.  We'll talk about about picking the right tool to help us write (pen, pencil etc...)

Period 3 we have math.  A lot of us were lost with 'rounding' to the nearest 10 and 100...so we'll continue to practise that: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s83mkUrcEC1nGuVqPTAvreYdddJCQCzp/view

Period 4 we'll be working with a member of the Toronto Rock to learn some Lacrosse basics.

Period 5 we've got Mrs. Haynes for Music.

Period 6 we'll either finish up science or work on Math prodigy (more rounding)...lets see how the day goes and if there are even computers available 

Tuesday September 19th

 Here is the plan for today.

Period 1 is read aloud and reader's workshop.  Our mini lesson will focus on 'keeping your eyes and mind on your book' (building stamina).

Period 2 is writer's workshop.  We'll continue focusing on building stamina...with the motto 'Keep the pencil (or pen) in your hand'.

Period 3 and 4 is math.  We'll talk about rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and 100.  Why it's useful.  We'll play a couple of games as a class and then do some independent work to consolidate our knowledge.

Games:

https://www.iknowit.com/lessons/c-rounding-tens-hundreds-9999.html

https://www.abcya.com/games/rounding_numbers

Period 5 I'm hoping to start our first unit of science.  Forces causing movement.  We'll talk about what a force is and examine some examples of 'push and pull'.  

Period 6 is music with Mrs. Haynes.

Monday September 18th

 Here is the plan for today.

Period 1 we'll finish up some art from last week during 'red light'.  Then we'll share the highlights of our weekends during 'weekend round up'.  I will also read a chapter or 2 from Sideways Stories from Wayside School.

Period 2 I'll let the students choose if they want to read or write independently.

Period 3 and 4 is math.  We'll continue to look at Place Value.   Specifically at composing and decomposing numbers.

Period 5 is French with Miss O'Neil.

Period 6 is 'desk clean up' and some mindfulness activities. 

Friday September 15th

 Here is the plan for today.  

We'll do a red light math activity to start the day.  Then period 1 we'll do reader's workshop.  We'll talk about how partners can help us develop fluency.

Period 2 is writer's workshop.  We'll talk about how partners can support and encourage us with our writing.

Period 3 is math.  We'll be talking about expanded form. Then we'll do some work with expanded form. 

Expanded Form Video -

Period 4 is gym with Mr. D.

Period 5 and 6 we'll do a little bit of 'doodle' art...and hopefully get outside to enjoy the nice weather for a bit. 

Thursday September 14th

 Here is the plan for today:

After our 'red-light' activity, we're supposed to have our first 'practise fire drill'.  Not sure how long that will take.  After that,  I'm hoping to talk about 'break reads' (after reading for awhile, you take a break). 

For writer's workshop we talk about how we can "stay focused' when writing, and what to do when we start losing focus. 

Period 3 is gym with Mr. D.

Period 4 is math.  We'll continue to work on Place Value.  I've got some work from yesterday for us to finish.  

Period 5 I'm hoping to continue to work on Internet safety while using the chromebooks.  

Period 6 is our first library session.  We'll do a book exchange and hopefully have some free time at the end of the day. 

Wednesday September 13th

 Should be another great day today...I can feel it!

Period 1 and 2 we'll have our first assembly of the year (Grades 1-3) at the church.  The assembly will focus on diversity and equality.  

Period 3 and 4 we'll do some math.  We'll talk a little more about place value and how to read and write whole numbers.  The students will make creations out of Base Ten blocks and then count up the value of their creations. 

Take at look at some of our creations:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_3ZNbCKzfvS6UeNMjS6lGlakwspKz1j0?usp=drive_link

Period 5 is Music with Mrs. Haynes.

Period 6 I'm hoping to practise logging into the chromebooks and then learn about internet safety playing this fun interactive game made by Google called Interland. 

https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland

Also...please see the previous post about Terry Fox and Pizza/Sub day information is coming home today.

Tuesday September 12th

 Here is the plan for today.

Period 1 -reader's workshop.  We'll look at what sort of place we need to do our best reading (the perfect reading spot...eg, bright, quiet, sitting up etc...)

Period 2 -writer's workshop.  We'll talk about our 'dream writing space' and we'll look at some places famous authors wrote in.  Then we'll write about our own perfect writing spot.

Period 3 and 4 is math.  We'll look at Place Value.  We'll talk about reading numbers, and representing them with Base Ten Blocks.  We'll play the place value game...feel free to play at home (a deck of cards [ace to 9] or 10 sided dice will work). 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R7UYwiR6Q5aLlkUlorLgEz5O9bEpV4qT5zTmWMICnIo/edit?usp=sharing (try and make the biggest or smallest number you can)

Period 5 I was hoping to practise fire drill routines...but depending on the weather, we may just stay inside and enjoy some quiet mindfullness time.  

Period 6 is music with Mrs. Haynes.

Terry Fox information

 

#TerryFoxSchoolRun #DearTerry

Dear Terry, Thank you for dreaming big and making a difference for families affected by cancer. 

This year, our school is proudly taking part in the annual Terry Fox School Run, on Friday, September 22nd, to continue Terry's dream of a world without cancer. 

Please click on the link and support our school's fundraising efforts today! 

Terry Fox Run - Glenview

Monday September 11th

 I usually get to school pretty early...so you'll see a lot of these 'predictive' blogs.

Here is the plan for today.

Period 1 -redlight we'll finish up our name-tags and self-portraits.  Then we'll do our Weekend Round Up, where we sit in a circle and share highlights from our weekend.  Then it's reader's workshop.  We'll continue to focus on building stamina.

Period 2 is writer's workshop.  We'll talk about building our writing stamina, and how to use our 'writer's notebooks' (e.g., circling tricky words, being quiet, writing the date).  

Period 3 and 4 I'm hoping to get the class familiar with logging onto the chromebooks -remembering their log in information.  I'm also hoping everyone can join our google classroom and then after that we'll play some Grade 3 games off the ABCya website: https://www.abcya.com/grades/3/numbers.  I'd like to get the class outside for a bit of time as well.

Period 5 we have our first French class with Ms. O'Neil.  

Period 6 I'm leaving open for 'finish up'/free time.  

Friday September 8th

 Happy Friday.  

I will just say it again, this class rocks!  I loved this first week and I am excited for the rest of Grade 3...fingers crossed it goes as smoothly as week 1!

I'm going to try and blog before the day begins....here is the plan for today.

Period 1 -red light activity, finish our warm/cool colour name art.  Then we'll have a class discussion about fair vs. equal.  Then we'll read and try and continue to build our Stamina.  

Period 2 is writer's workshop, we'll get our writer's notebooks and decorate them and hopefully even start writing in them.

Period 3 we'll start with a 'name game'...see if we can remember everyone's name.  Then we'll do an estimation mystery (ESTI mystery).   We'll practice using hundreds charts to figure out the answer.

Period 4 is gym with Mr. D.

Period 5 and 6 we'll do some self portraits...half our faces will be our own drawings...the other half will be filled with pictures of things that symbolize us.  I'm also hoping to get outside with the other Grade 3 classes as some point during this block.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday September 7th

 Alright...day 2 halfway done...and so far it's been even better than day 1!  I love this class.

Here is what we did (and what we're doing) today.

Period 1 we practiced our morning routine of doing the quiet 'red light' activity posted on the Smartboard.  Then we talked about our class rules:

1. Be respectful
2. Be kind
3. Take responsibility
4. Try your best
5 Have fun!

Then we read chapter 1 of Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Mrs. Gorf).  Then we tried to build up our 'reading stamina'.    I encouraged the class to bring books from home if they're reading good ones they want to continue in class.

Period 2 we did some singing and dancing to the 'walking song'.  Then the kids did a 10 word spelling quiz, just so I could see how they sound out certain words.

Period 3 (right now) they're outside in the shade with Mr. D for gym.

Period 4 we'll play the game we played as a class yesterday called Sum it Up. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1krMht5rRAHa61ruRE7XFbnzNLyK4qofEU8Q9tK20g3o/edit

We might even try to sing and record Willoughby Wallaby Woo...

Period 5 and 6 we'll talk about how we can make our classroom an even better community, we'll do a little name art that involves warm and cool colours...and if we're lucky we might even get some free time. 

UPDATE:  our version of Willoughby Wallaby Woo:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Z3zVnpN6ivgqOAKV2tahocXb1Q22f_P/view?usp=drive_link 

(eat your heart out Raffi)

Wednesday September 6th

 Wow....what a great first day.  I got a good feeling about this class...they already seem amazing.  Nice work parents!

Here is what we did today.

Period 1 and 2 we had a some popcorn and shared some interesting facts about ourselves.  We read the book First Day Jitters and talked about whether we were excited or scared (or somewhere in between). We also discussed class/school and lunch rules.  

Periods 3 and 4 we made some pretty awesome play d'oh creations and shared the with our friends.  Then we 'tried' to sing Willoughby Wallaby Woo...with all of our names incorporated.  I was considering posting it to this blog...but I just listened and I could only hear my terrible singing and playing...so I'll save you the pain. Stay tuned....I hope to get the Grade 3's to sing louder and prouder.  

We also played a fun class vs. teacher game of 'Sum it Up'...I won (of course).  

We came up with a list of class rules.  

Period 5 they have Mrs. Haynes for music. 

Period 6 we'll discuss the day, sign our names to the class rules....go over the day and enjoy a little free time.  

Sending home some paper work today, including my first day letter and tentative schedule.  

Thanks for raising such great kids.