A special guest came in this morning to teach the students drama – my daughter, Jaden Jackson! Jaden is in her third year of a four-year joint Theatre and Drama Studies program at the University of Toronto-Mississauga and Sheridan College. The students enjoyed participating in the breathing, mirroring, miming and movement activities Jaden had planned for them. Hopefully, she will be able to return for more drama fun before the end of the school year.
I have posted our Hot Chocolate music video featured in the school’s virtual Holiday Showcase this week in Google Classroom! Enjoy!
I wish everyone a fantastic holiday break! See you in January!
Hip, hip, hooray,
This Friday is pyjama day!
WEJ Wildcats will need to remember to follow the rules,
That although we are in pyjamas, we cannot sleep at school!
Super comfy is what we’ll be,
As we shout out, “Yippee!”
Pyjama days are so much fun,
It will be a relaxing day for everyone!
The students have been working hard on their biography poster projects. Many of them have nearly completed their poster (writing and colouring). The posters and biography books are being sent home with the students today. This will give the students plenty of time to refine/finish their poster, plan their costumes, and rehearse (memorize?!) the information on their poster before the presentation week (next week!). Since the students will be dressing up as their chosen figure, it might be best to have them present their poster information in the first person (e.g., “I was born….., In my childhood, I……, etc.) when they speak to the class. A prop or two might also add interest!
The schedule for the student presentations is below. Parents, please double-check your child’s backpack on the morning of their presentation to ensure that the costume, props (if any), poster, and biography book(s) are 100% packed (please!)
Here is the schedule:
Monday, December 16th: Jamie, Sayesha, Leo, Sarrinah
Tuesday, December 17th: Alex L., Emily, Miranda, Mustafa, Yixiu, Nathan, Logan
Wednesday, December 18th: Lydia, Ruby, Yixiao, Alice, Noah
Thursday, December 19th: Alex P., Andy, Ethan, Lucas, Vidhun
The students are SO excited to see each other’s presentations and costumes!
Here is the formal RUBRIC we will be using to assess the Biography projects:
Today, the students will participate in The Hour of Code, a worldwide initiative by code.org to introduce computer programming to millions of students and encourage them to learn to program. The event occurs during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 9-15). We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students enter as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. Since this initiative began several years ago, over 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code. This year, my students are joining tens of millions of students worldwide in over 180 countries! Please check out the links under Computer Science on the right-hand side of this blog page to watch various brief videos promoting the Hour of Code, and let your child try the other coding tutorials offered to students (look under Coding Activities on the right-hand side of this blog page for some student favourites from previous years)! All the puzzles and creative activities at the site are designed to teach students computational thinking and the basics of computer programming. Students solve each puzzle by programming visual code blocks to achieve a goal.
The Hour of Code is just the first step on a journey to learn more about how technology works and how to create software applications. To continue this journey, students are encouraged to try taking a longer course at https://hourofcode.com/ca/learn
Happy coding!
On Friday, the students conducted an experiment exploring the effect that struts and ties have on the strength of a structure. Working in partners, the students first created a basic cube structure using toothpicks and jumbo gumdrops and tested its ability to support a load (duotangs, books, pencils, etc.). The students then designed and built a second cube (with additional toothpicks and gumdrops) but used struts and ties to help strengthen or reinforce their cube structure. As you can see from the pictures below, the students were really engaged in the activity and demonstrated some ingenuity in their designs!
In Reading, we have been looking at the literary genre of the biography. Students have had the opportunity to hear different biographies read to them (e.g. Terry Fox) as well as self-select their own biographies to read during independent reading time. The students each chose one biography to focus on. This week, they have started working on a biography poster project on their person of choice. Students will first fill in a planning sheet as they read their chosen biography and record important facts and events in their person’s life. After completing their planning sheet, they may start the good copy of their biography poster. The students are also expected to plan out what clothing their person would have worn during their era.
Ultimately, students will come to school with a costume, dress like their chosen person of interest, and orally present the information on their poster to the rest of the class! Parents are encouraged to help their son or daughter with their child’s costume. You do not need to go out and buy costumes. Instead, try to make do with what you have at home. The Dollar Store may be an option for those who want to go over the top with accessories or props. The more creative, the better! Do a Google image search at home with your child to help get a visual of their person. Students do not have to memorize their presentation, but the more confident and comfortable they are with the content, the better it will come across orally. We will continue to work on the posters in class all this week. The posters will then be sent home mid-next week so the students can start practicing and preparing for their presentations at home. Presentations will occur the week of Dec. 16th (the last week before the winter holidays). Please let me know if you will be leaving on an early holiday that week, and we can arrange to have your child present the week before (or in January).
Click below to see the Biography Poster Rubric, a blank copy of the poster, and two level 4 examples of finished good copies of the poster from a previous year…. This will give you an idea of what is expected of your child. Again, work on the poster will be completed in class, and then the posters will be sent home next week for practicing and rehearsing at home.
In Math, the students have been learning about measurement. Specifically, your child has been learning how to estimate and compare lengths in millimetres, centimetres, and metres and how long a kilometre is. The students are learning to calculate, measure, and compare areas and perimeters. We will also be comparing measurements involving capacity and mass. Throughout this time, you and your child can do some activities such as:
Your child can estimate and measure various lengths (for example, the height of the refrigerator or another appliance, the perimeter of your living room, or the distance from your house to the street using standard (e.g. cm, m) and non-standard (e.g. footsteps, paces, etc.) units.
Students should complete the assigned missions related to measurement in Knowledgehook. There are also Google Slide questions to complete and turn in in Google Classroom. They can also visit Math Three Under the Sea and complete the activities under Perimeter for review. Another good way for your child to reinforce his/her learning of these measurement concepts is to complete the practice tests at Nelson Math 3 (under Chapter 5: Measurement—Lessons 1-5). Remember, practice makes perfect!
Last week, the students worked with charcoal in art class to draw famous structures from around the world (a cross-curricular art activity – part of our study of Strong and Stable Structures in Science). We discussed how charcoal is a wonderful art tool for creating works with dark and light areas, tones (value), and shades of grey. I printed off various dramatic black-and-white photographs of famous structures that the students could try to draw. I was delighted with the striking images the students created! Here are some photos. They did a great job! These drawings are proudly displayed on the back wall of our portable.
