Reading feedback/Field Trip photos

Dear Parents,

It was good to meet with many of you over the February reports. A number of parents asked about reading levels for each grade, so I thought I've post a link showing the connection between the letter levels, DRA levels, and what each grade is expecting, more or less.

When we talk reading, there are two main components: Decoding and Comprehension. At first, we want to make sure that decoding is happening and build fluency, but particularly as students go up the grade levels, more often we're asking them to prove their understanding of a text, and that can be trickier to quantify.

So as students begin to approach end grade 1 level decoding skills, I'm really shifting my focus to building their ability to write about their reading and express their understanding.

Here's the chart I'm talking about:
http://rsd407.org/curric/elemglance/readingbenchmark/DRA-BookLevelChart.pdf

I also had a great conversations about sharing resources and was really excited to have these books come in from Carver's family to support our literacy program. We've read a number of books about jazz and blues artists this month and listened to at least one song from each artist. Muddy Water's Mannish Boy has been the favourite, I think, which is interesting because Nina Simone's Feeling Good was way more polarizing last week. 

We also had a field trip this week at HPNC. Last time, we learned about squirrels. This time students speculated that we'd learn about another animal and my favourite guess was mountain lion. What we really learned about was noticing animal clues, like food clues, footprints, scat, or bits of fur and feathers. Students explored these inside, then we took our birdfeeders outside and went for a hike to notice some of these things.

 So that's what we've been up to this week. I'm looking forward to seeing all the animal projects coming in on Monday. Students have been excited to share.

Best,
Ms. Goegan

What's inside an animal?

Dear Parents, 

We're working on a unit called Living Things, where we're exploring different things that are alive. Students are working on a shoebox diorama of an animal at home, and at school, we're exploring what we know and what we want to know about these things in general. 

Today, we reviewed the 7 things that all Living Things do

1. Take in food

2. Get rid of waste

3. Move

4. React 

5. Grow

6. Reproduce

7. Breathe

Then I gave students an outline of an animal and asked them to show me how they do those things. Here are the results

One elephant has a tube straight through. The other has bones in its legs, a stomach with food in it and somewhere to excrete waste.

On the left, there's a backbone, a heart, a "tummy tube" and some bones in a complicated geometric arrangement. On the right, there's a brain, a heart, a "pee tube", a "butt tube" and a muscle. 

On the left, the crow has eyes and a heart. On the left, it has blood flowing around the crow. 

"Moves with feet. It grows when it eat good thing. Eat with mouth. Breathe with its gills"

The fish on the left has a heart and eyes and a brain. There are tubes that could indicate gills or circulation or digestion. On the right, there's a brain, eyes and a clear digestive system (the arrow pointing to the stomach is cut off).

There are little fish inside the bigger fish, but I'm not sure whether those are baby fish or things it's eaten. The fish on the right has taken a more descriptive route: "Food makes growth. It moves with its flippers.It gets energy from food. It makes waste by giving bad food."

Both Octopuses have brains and suckers on their tentacles. One has bones and is also giving off waste. 

This camel has lungs, a heart, food in its hump, bones in its legs, and a bum...but no real connection between the parts.

I hope you find their drawings as fascinating as I do. It's always interesting to know how what we know starting out, so we can make connections. 

I also had students ask some big questions they want to know the answers to:

How does a fish move in water?/How do octopus suckers work?/How do rabbits ears work?/ Do animals breathe at different speeds?/Can an elephant's tusk crack?/Can fish tails bend?/How do trees reproduce?/Why do people have toes?

How do plants know to react?/What do muscles look like?/How do elephants have babies? /Does everything reproduce? /How do bones move?/ Do worms see? /Why do flowers have petals?/Does grass ever stop growing? /Can a bird's beak crack?

I love these questions and I look forward to answering them with students over the coming weeks. 

Sincerely,

Ms. Goegan

The next two weeks will be busy

Dear Parents,

We will be having a Valentine's party next week. Students are invited to wear pj's or onesies and to bring a stuffie. Snacks are welcome. We would love the loan of a boombox and CDs as the wifi reception in the room is not ideal. Someone also suggested they would bring a pinata (which I am okay with, if it happens, and also okay, if it does not). Several parents have also asked if students can bring in pets: this came up during our brainstorming session, but unfortunately, no. Stuffies will have to suffice.

If students bring Valentines, they need to ensure they are not excluding students, and bring one for the entire class. I can provide a list of first names. ***See bottom of post***

Next week is very busy. Here's a break down for you:

1. Monday is the 100th day of school. Themed "100 day" activities are planned, but there will not be a party.

2. Tuesday is "Sharing Music from Home" day in Music.

3. On Wednesday, reports will go home.


4. Thursday we will also have a school performance from Red Sky Productions (which introduces students to some of the issues in reconciliation) in the afternoon.

5. Thursday is also Valentine's Day, as outlined above.

6. On Thursday and Friday, report card interviews will occur.I prefer to meet with all parents every term where possible. I can also set up phone interviews if regular interview times do not work for your family. You can sign up online for your preferred slot. Here are the links:

Thursday night:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UU5RM3RFdlRBWTR0fGRlZmF1bHR8NWFhNzhlOTEyMmUzYTc5ODI3NjFlYmU1NjBiMzc1OTg

Friday morning:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UU5RM3RFdlRBWTR0fGRlZmF1bHR8NWFhNzhlOTEyMmUzYTc5ODI3NjFlYmU1NjBiMzc1OTg

Please feel free to email, if you have difficulty booking.

7. Upcoming events: February 21 is our class trip. I still need parent volunteers.

8. Upcoming events: February 25 is our habitat project due date. Please let me know if more information or resources are needed.

Please let me know if there's anything else I may have forgotten.

Thanks and regards,

Ms. Goegan

***Here's a list of the first names of students for Valentine Cards:

Lauren
Desmond
Jaheem
Cameron
Sabriel
Lukas
Brandi
Leif
Carver
Elora
Noel
Izabelle
Miles
Adriano
Alyssa
Leah
Lila
Lachlan
Eddie