Dear Division 3 families,
Happy Hanukkah to all of those in our community who are celebrating today! Wishing your family peace and light this holiday season.
Here is an update of what we worked on in Division 3 in late October and November.
Happy Hanukkah to all of those in our community who are celebrating today! Wishing your family peace and light this holiday season.
Here is an update of what we worked on in Division 3 in late October and November.
Visual Arts
Around Halloween, we went with a fall theme and created these stunning nighttime pumpkin scenes with oil pastels on a black background. See the amazing artwork in the slideshow below! (Hover over the picture below and press play or use the arrows to see all the pictures).
In November, we focused on a Remembrance Day art project and many students entered the Legion Art contest.
In November, we focused on a Remembrance Day art project and many students entered the Legion Art contest.
Math
In late October and early November, we spent a lot of time reviewing and learning some Grade 6 concepts that the Grade 7 students would need in order to solve problems for the FSA (Foundational Skills Assessments). Some of these concepts included decimals and percentages, regularities, and plotting coordinates on a cartesian plan. All students worked on the online practice problems for the FSA, which covered a wide variety of math concepts. Everyone also tackled the FSA word problems, which involved many steps and some critical thinking skills. Bravo everyone!
After the FSA, we went deeper into patterns and relations, working on concepts such as variables, basic algebraic expressions, table of values, and cartesian plan. We will wrap up this topic and assess students' learning this week. We will then focus on geometry and measurement concepts for most of December.
After the FSA, we went deeper into patterns and relations, working on concepts such as variables, basic algebraic expressions, table of values, and cartesian plan. We will wrap up this topic and assess students' learning this week. We will then focus on geometry and measurement concepts for most of December.
Integrated Science, Health, P.E. and French Language Arts Unit: Human Body, Health & Wellness
We are studying the main systems of the human body using various sources of information in French, including textbooks, handouts and educational videos. Together, we organize our learning into a mind-map of each body system, practicing the skills of organized note-taking. For each system, we take note of the functions, main organs, possible illnesses or injuries, and how to keep the system healthy/safe. Simultaneously, in Health and Physical Education, we have been learning about the 5 components of physical fitness and assessing our fitness level according to each component. Students will now determine which area of their fitness needs the most improvement, fix a goal that they could realistically achieve before the end of the school year, and develop a plan in order to meet this goal. We will continue this unit in December, focusing on the nervous and digestive systems as well as mental health and nutrition.
 Our word wall for the human body systems (and James Bob, le squelette) |  Group-generated mind-map of the respiratory system |
Integrated Social Studies and English Language Arts Unit:
Conflicts, Wars & Remembrance Day
 | In connection with Remembrance Day, we used the book War Stories by Gordon Korman as a novel study to explore the themes of conflict and war. The book explores different perspectives on war through various characters, including a World War II veteran, a young 12 year old boy (who glorifies war and war-based video-games) and his dad (a history teacher), as well as the young descendants of a member of the French Resistance who have suffered intergenerational trauma. |
 Remembrance Day Art by Mika | As a class, we are looking more broadly at the big question: "Can humans live in peace?" We are trying to discover the main causes of conflict between human groups by learning about the history of various wars. Individually or with a partner, students have chosen one war (current or past) to focus on, inquiring about the historical context, causes and consequences of the conflict. Students have prepared a PowerPoint presentation to summarize their key findings and will be presenting it to the class this week. |
French grammar and spelling: Mots de la semaine/dictée
École Cobble Hill has set a school-wide goal to improve students' French oral and writing skills this year. At our grade level, students will focus on using correct verb conjugation in oral and written communication and work towards mastering the correct spelling of a list of frequently used words in their writing. We have been working on understanding the basics of conjugation with Verbathon (verb sorts), and students are now learning to choose the correct form of a verb within a sentence. We have also assessed students' current spelling ability for the first half of the list of frequently used words that we will be studying over the next few months.
Starting this week, we will focus on a list of 10-12 French spelling words each week (Mots de la semaine) and we will have a spelling quiz (dictée) on Fridays. Many of the frequently used words on our list are homophones (ex: a/à, et/est, mes/mais, c'est/ces/ses/sais/sait). Therefore, students also need to learn how to choose the correct spelling of words depending on the context/meaning in the sentence. There will be a few levels of difficulty for the weekly "dictée" to provide appropriate challenge to those who already master most of the week's spelling words. See this week's example: students will either fill in the blanks in the sentences or learn to write the full dictée (which also uses conjugated verbs and words from our science unit).
There will be some class time provided to work on grammar and spelling each week, but it is expected that students will also study at home.
Starting this week, we will focus on a list of 10-12 French spelling words each week (Mots de la semaine) and we will have a spelling quiz (dictée) on Fridays. Many of the frequently used words on our list are homophones (ex: a/à, et/est, mes/mais, c'est/ces/ses/sais/sait). Therefore, students also need to learn how to choose the correct spelling of words depending on the context/meaning in the sentence. There will be a few levels of difficulty for the weekly "dictée" to provide appropriate challenge to those who already master most of the week's spelling words. See this week's example: students will either fill in the blanks in the sentences or learn to write the full dictée (which also uses conjugated verbs and words from our science unit).
There will be some class time provided to work on grammar and spelling each week, but it is expected that students will also study at home.
Indigenous Perspectives and special guests: Corinne Chow and Harvey George
Last week, Corinne Chow, our Metis cultural educator, shared stories about the cultural significance of moccasins for the Metis and their Indigenous "grand-mothers". Mme Chow taught the students how to stitch and they began to stitch their own miniature moccasin. We will continue the sewing project tomorrow.
Also, we look forward to welcoming local elder and cultural presenter Harvey George in our class for a few visits over the next two weeks. Harvey will share Indigenous perspectives and stories in relation to some of the topics covered in class.
Also, we look forward to welcoming local elder and cultural presenter Harvey George in our class for a few visits over the next two weeks. Harvey will share Indigenous perspectives and stories in relation to some of the topics covered in class.
Samples of learning and FSA results
Later this week, I will send a few samples of your child's work from October/November in their portfolio duo-tang for you to review with your child. Please look over your child's work, initial the samples, and return the portfolio to school as soon as possible so we can add more samples of current projects before the break. For the Grade 7 students who did the Foundational Skills Assessments (FSA), their work is currently being assessed by an independent team at the district level. The FSA booklet and results will be sent home when they are returned to us, hopefully in December.
As we head into December, we will continue with our current integrated units (Human Body and War), do a lot of geometry-based math and artwork, and work on a French reading fluency project (Reader's Theatre) to practice reading accurately, fluently and with expression. Students are also working on a musical performance with Cecily for the Winter Showcase on December 7th. For the performance, students in Division 3 will have an option to wear an "ugly Christmas sweater" or a normal sweater with winter accessories such as toque/earmuffs and scarf.
Have a great December everyone!
Sincerely,
Nathalie
Have a great December everyone!
Sincerely,
Nathalie
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