December 11 - December 15

Learning Outcomes

Math 

-Solve problems using addition and subtraction

-Solve problems using multiplication and division of natural numbers

What Did Students Do?

Students were given open ended problems to solve.  These were problems that had many right answers.  In solving these problems we were looking for effective strategies that could be used to come up with a logical answer.  There was no one correct answer for these problems. 

Students were able to work together to solve the problem, "How many words do you say in one day?"  Students used many different strategies to solve this problem such as counting the amount of words they say in a minute and multiplying by 60 and then by the amount of hours they are awake.  Other students estimated how many words they said during different times of the day and then added them all together.  It was amazing to see them work through this problem together.  

Another problem students did independently was "About how many times does a Canadian student use an internet browser?"  Students were required to work on this problem independently and were asked to explain the strategy they used to come up with their answer.  Strategies ranged from estimating the amount of times they use a browser in a day and multiplying by calendar days, to estimating out an entire month and multiplying by 10 school months, subtracting days they do sports and adding to days they spend more time online. 

Learning to solve open ended problems that have many correct answers is a skill that students will continue to work on throughout the year.  

Ask your child:

-How did you go about solving these two problems?

-How do you feel when you are asked to solve problems without a correct answer?

-What helped you to find success in your problem solving? 

-Do you think you are getting better at using strategies to solve problems such as these? 

Upcoming Events:

December 18 - 22     Spirit Week

    Monday - Festive Hat and Hair Day

    Tuesday - Elf Day

    Wednesday - Silly Sweater Day

    Thursday - Grinch Day

    Friday - PJ Day

December 19th & 20th - Winter Concerts

December 22    - Fun Snack

December 22 - Last day of classes before Winter Break

January 8th - First day of classes after the break 

December 4 - December 7

Learning Outcomes

English Language Arts

-Develop creative expression through the use of organizational processes, methods, and tools.

-Arrange and express ideas logically, using interesting details and transitions between                 sentences or paragraphs.

-Create written texts in a variety of forms and structures

What Did Students Do?

Students read books and information online to learn about the celebrations of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Christmas.  They then organized their information into who, what, where, when, why, and how.  Students took their information and wrote a paragraph on the celebration they researched.  Within their celebrations, students looked at how light was represented.  They will now create a piece of artwork to show this light.  Be sure to take a look at the student's work at our holiday celebration.  

Here is one student's paragraph about Hanukkah

Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah all over the world. This year Hanukkah starts on December 7. Hanukkah changes every year depending and is on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar. You celebrate Hanukkah to remember the festival of light and to hang out with your family. The story of Hanukkah is that there was a war and some people treated the Jewish people very badly because they didn’t like them.  A bunch of Jewish people were hiding and there was only enough oil left to burn their candles for one day but the candles burned for 8 nights. Hanukkah celebrates this miracle. You light a candle every night and watch them burn. When you light the candles you do a prayer and after the prayer you open presents. You can play the Dreidel game to get chocolate coins.

Ask your child:

-What celebration did you write about?

-How is light used within their celebration?

-What special gift were you given this week to celebrate Hanukkah?

Upcoming Events:

December 18th – 22nd Spirit Week   December 19th Winter Concert   December 20th Winter Concert   December 22nd Fun Snack    December 22nd Last day of classes before Winter Break   January 8th First day of classes after the break

November 27 - December 1

Learning Outcomes

Math

I can multiply natural numbers to one hundred thousand

What Did Students Do?

Students learned to multiply two digits by two digits using the stacked method of multiplication.  They then learned the lattice and grid methods of multiplication.  They learned an efficient way to multiply numbers with 0s in them, taking off the 0s to multiply and then adding them back on later.  This was especially helpful with the grid method.  Most students said they preferred the stacked or lattice method of multiplication.  Moving forward they will be able to choose the method they prefer to solve multiplication problems.  

We continued our work with problem solving this week, splitting into two groups as Mrs. Gordon is spending some time working with us during her Learning Leader time.  Students are learning strategies for solving problems and are learning to persevere through challenging work.  

Ask your child:

Show me how to multiply two digits by two digits using each of the methods.

Which method do you prefer?

Do you need more practice with multiplication?

How do you feel about solving word problems? 

What are you most looking forward to this month at school?