I've yet to find an online link for the permission form slips, which is probably the biggest request from parents, but I have been working hard at updating the Project Outlines page here. From there, I think you'll be able to see what we've been working on in class and get a sense of what the next steps are. I've even posted the lit circle roles so you can print out any sheet you might lose track of.
We're pictured in the school newsletter this week, practicing Banethi. I'm excited by the opportunity to learn this dance alongside students and we look forward to showing you more at the Winter Concert.
I also have to thank the class in general for doing so well on our first field trip Tuesday and the Grade 6's in particular for making me look good in front of the SciHigh folks by remembering all about DNA from last year.
This week will culminate with a Halloween party. We've posted a sign-up sheet in the classroom and I'm hoping to get a nice mix of savoury, sweet, healthy and tempting treats. The current plan is to participate in the school's Halloween parade and then retire to the classroom to watch some of the Simpson's Halloween episodes. Mr. Eckler's class usually hosts a costume contest for the kids and we're hoping a good time will be had by all.
Thanks to everyone I saw at the Fall Fair today for stopping to chat!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Check it out!
I've just uploaded our animations -- the result of several weeks hard work with Mr. Jenkins. Though all the animations are together in the one video, I've marked the times for individual shorts in the notes so you can find your favourites more easily and watch them over, and over, and over again.
This week, we welcomed a new artist and a new student teacher:
Andrew Suri will be teaching us Banethi, a dance form based on Martial Arts from Northern India. We hope to put together a concert preformance from the moves he teaches us for the Winter Concert in January.
Ms. Benakis comes to us from Nipissing University. She will be with us for the next two weeks, spearheading a new math unit on Patterning and the Government unit for Grade 5 Social Studies as well. After Halloween, she'll return to North Bay and then return to us again in December for another 3 weeks.
In the next while, we have two trips and another visitor planned. On Tuesday, we'll be visiting Central Commerce to watch a free performance of Romeo and Juliet. On October 21, we have an afternoon with the folks from Sci High and, on November 4th, we have a trip to listen to a holocaust survivor speak. Forms have gone home for both trips. Though the play and SciHigh's visit are totally free, we have to pay for TTC on November 4th.
In class this week, we'll finish up presentations from the biography project, begin lit circles and also begin to get into the meat of science and social studies as well. As always, if you have any questions, please email me (lisagoegan at hotmail.com) and remember to keep checking the agenda daily to keep up to date with daily work and assignments.
This week, we welcomed a new artist and a new student teacher:
Andrew Suri will be teaching us Banethi, a dance form based on Martial Arts from Northern India. We hope to put together a concert preformance from the moves he teaches us for the Winter Concert in January.
Ms. Benakis comes to us from Nipissing University. She will be with us for the next two weeks, spearheading a new math unit on Patterning and the Government unit for Grade 5 Social Studies as well. After Halloween, she'll return to North Bay and then return to us again in December for another 3 weeks.
In the next while, we have two trips and another visitor planned. On Tuesday, we'll be visiting Central Commerce to watch a free performance of Romeo and Juliet. On October 21, we have an afternoon with the folks from Sci High and, on November 4th, we have a trip to listen to a holocaust survivor speak. Forms have gone home for both trips. Though the play and SciHigh's visit are totally free, we have to pay for TTC on November 4th.
In class this week, we'll finish up presentations from the biography project, begin lit circles and also begin to get into the meat of science and social studies as well. As always, if you have any questions, please email me (lisagoegan at hotmail.com) and remember to keep checking the agenda daily to keep up to date with daily work and assignments.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A brief note:
Many thanks to those parents who showed up to Curriculum Night tonight! For those of you who couldn't make it, I've posted my program goals, a parent friendly version of my year-long plans.
Several of you mentioned the website, which was lovely, and I wanted to let you know that now you can enter your email address in the sidebar to be notified when new content is posted.
I also wanted to let you know that this week has been very busy indeed and several students are away for Thanksgiving tomorrow as well, so I'm delaying the division and problem solving quiz until next week.
I hope to spend my Thanksgiving eating lots of turkey and reading the latest Terry Pratchett novel. I hope you have a lovely long weekend as well!
Several of you mentioned the website, which was lovely, and I wanted to let you know that now you can enter your email address in the sidebar to be notified when new content is posted.
I also wanted to let you know that this week has been very busy indeed and several students are away for Thanksgiving tomorrow as well, so I'm delaying the division and problem solving quiz until next week.
I hope to spend my Thanksgiving eating lots of turkey and reading the latest Terry Pratchett novel. I hope you have a lovely long weekend as well!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Update on curriculum flow...
Dear Parents,
We've had a busy and productive week. Students storyboarded their animations and a couple of the groups began filming their stories on Friday. Next week, we'll continue to film, add sound tracks and then screen the final products. One of the nice things about this project is that it incorporates music, drama, visual art and some language.
In math, we've been practising long division and going back over double digit multiplication for students who need the practice. On Monday, those students will retest multiplication and, on Friday, there will be a short quiz on Division skills and Order of Operations (which you might also remember as BEDMAS*).
In language, we're finishing up the biography projects so that reports and presentations can begin after Thanksgiving. This week, everyone managed to finish up their rough drafts and get three peer edits, which I'm very excited about. On Monday, I'll begin conferencing with students who are ready with the following:
1. A finished second draft, preferably typed and double spaced.
2. A complete bibliography, timeline and portrait.
3. A plan for their puppet including a list of materials they need and what items are in each hand.
4. A list of the questions they plan to ask in their puppet interviews.
Students spent much of today working towards these goals. As always, some are ahead of others but I'm hopeful that many will be ready to go on Monday.
Over the next week, I'll confer with students individually and work with them to complete final drafts and write answers for the interview questions they ask. Around mid-week, we'll use some class time to work on puppets, so please help students remember to send extra materials they need for the puppets to school starting Monday.
With the biography project well on its way to being done, our next shift in focus will be towards Science and Social Studies. For the grade 5's, the municipal election will become a focal point for the government unit. For the grade 6's, we'll focus on Aboriginal issues in the news. For both, the upcoming visit from SciHigh will be an exciting opportunity to explore biology. We'll extract DNA from a banana, look at how police find DNA evidence at a crime scene, and look at some model animals used in research.
Finally, I know there's been a lot of paperwork flowing back and forth in recent weeks. I've been doing my best to stay on top of it all myself and want to thank all of you for doing the same.
All my best,
Ms. Goegan
*ie:
B= Brackets
E= Exponents
DM= Division and Multiplication
AS= Addition and Subtraction
We've had a busy and productive week. Students storyboarded their animations and a couple of the groups began filming their stories on Friday. Next week, we'll continue to film, add sound tracks and then screen the final products. One of the nice things about this project is that it incorporates music, drama, visual art and some language.
In math, we've been practising long division and going back over double digit multiplication for students who need the practice. On Monday, those students will retest multiplication and, on Friday, there will be a short quiz on Division skills and Order of Operations (which you might also remember as BEDMAS*).
In language, we're finishing up the biography projects so that reports and presentations can begin after Thanksgiving. This week, everyone managed to finish up their rough drafts and get three peer edits, which I'm very excited about. On Monday, I'll begin conferencing with students who are ready with the following:
1. A finished second draft, preferably typed and double spaced.
2. A complete bibliography, timeline and portrait.
3. A plan for their puppet including a list of materials they need and what items are in each hand.
4. A list of the questions they plan to ask in their puppet interviews.
Students spent much of today working towards these goals. As always, some are ahead of others but I'm hopeful that many will be ready to go on Monday.
Over the next week, I'll confer with students individually and work with them to complete final drafts and write answers for the interview questions they ask. Around mid-week, we'll use some class time to work on puppets, so please help students remember to send extra materials they need for the puppets to school starting Monday.
With the biography project well on its way to being done, our next shift in focus will be towards Science and Social Studies. For the grade 5's, the municipal election will become a focal point for the government unit. For the grade 6's, we'll focus on Aboriginal issues in the news. For both, the upcoming visit from SciHigh will be an exciting opportunity to explore biology. We'll extract DNA from a banana, look at how police find DNA evidence at a crime scene, and look at some model animals used in research.
Finally, I know there's been a lot of paperwork flowing back and forth in recent weeks. I've been doing my best to stay on top of it all myself and want to thank all of you for doing the same.
All my best,
Ms. Goegan
*ie:
B= Brackets
E= Exponents
DM= Division and Multiplication
AS= Addition and Subtraction
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