Dear Division 5 parents,
It is so great to see all the students back after the long break and to hear of their adventures! I hope you all enjoyed some family time together over Spring break.
Report cards came home before the break. I am available to meet with you or talk on the phone if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's progress. Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time.
It is so great to see all the students back after the long break and to hear of their adventures! I hope you all enjoyed some family time together over Spring break.
Report cards came home before the break. I am available to meet with you or talk on the phone if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's progress. Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time.
Carnaval Writing
Following the big day of Carnaval activities on March 6, students worked on writing a paragraph in French about the Carnaval. We worked on building a paragraph using a 'sandwich' graphic organizer. Students planned their ideas for the paragraph in the organizer, then they wrote a sentence for each idea. After I helped editing their sentences, they made a published copy of their paragraph. I was very happy with all the great writing that came out of this, and the writing is now displayed in the class. Visit your child's eportfolio to see their writing and my assessment for this activity, as well as other assessments that were uploaded before the break that you might have missed if you haven't checked the portfolio recently.
What is going on in the class this week?
Concours d'Art Oratoire
This week, we are focusing on finishing our speeches for the Concours d'Art Oratoire. We need to pick our best speeches for next Friday (April 6), and with two 4-day weeks, we need to work on this daily. Some students will need to work on their speech at home this week in addition to the time given in class, while others are done writing their speech and are ready to practice.
Tomorrow, we will work on making a plan (structure) for our ideas: at least 3 main ideas with 2-3 details per main idea. The plan will have to be finished tomorrow in order to be ready to write the speech on Thursday. We will work on our speech on Thursday, and I expect that some students will need to keep working on their speech over the long weekend. If you want to support your child in this process, please visit my Concours d'art oratoire resource page for all the details about the contest, criteria and speech planning process (there is an English version of all the documents for your reference).
Please note that the whole class is scheduled to go see the Concours at École Mount Prevost on April 10. A permission form for this trip will come home tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we will work on making a plan (structure) for our ideas: at least 3 main ideas with 2-3 details per main idea. The plan will have to be finished tomorrow in order to be ready to write the speech on Thursday. We will work on our speech on Thursday, and I expect that some students will need to keep working on their speech over the long weekend. If you want to support your child in this process, please visit my Concours d'art oratoire resource page for all the details about the contest, criteria and speech planning process (there is an English version of all the documents for your reference).
Please note that the whole class is scheduled to go see the Concours at École Mount Prevost on April 10. A permission form for this trip will come home tomorrow.
Math
We started the week with an Easter-themed Pop-Art Math coloring activity to practice either multiplication or division facts (see above). This morning, we played a new division fact game and we reviewed different ways to multiply. Tomorrow, I will assess where students are with their multiplication skills to see what kind of support they need to keep progressing in multiplication.
Over the next few weeks, we will be practicing our division facts in class and at home to get ready to start working on long division. While we practice our division facts, we will also be working on 2 digit by 2 digit multiplications and on fractions.
Over the next few weeks, we will be practicing our division facts in class and at home to get ready to start working on long division. While we practice our division facts, we will also be working on 2 digit by 2 digit multiplications and on fractions.
Language Arts
In addition to the Concours d'Art oratoire, we are working on reading comprehension in French Language Arts. In English Language Arts and Social Studies, we are finishing our storyboard on the (real) story of John R. Jewitt. There is also a homework package for English reading comprehension and English writing that is due on Tuesday April 3. We have new spelling words for Words Their Way this week, but we will keep the same words for two weeks and the test will be next week.
Science
In science, we are starting a new exciting inquiry and design project this week. We introduced the topic today: Energy. Students will design a Rube Goldberg-inspired machine, focusing on how their machine transforms energy. After seeing the videos of a Rube Goldberg-inspired machine today, some students were getting excited and were already thinking of ideas for their machine... But, before they are ready to design their machines, students will first spend a few weeks inquiring about energy and its various forms, energy transformation and devices or machines that transform energy. More details on this project will come home as we advance on our inquiry.
Music
This term in music students will be studying recorder. Each student will need his or her own soprano recorder to bring each day. I will sent a note from Cecily with all the details tomorrow in your child's agenda.
Have a great spring!
Nathalie
Have a great spring!
Nathalie