Our Week at a Glance

This week, in French, we focused on le verbe "faire" and expressions with "faire".  To practise conjugating and using the verb "faire", click on one pf the highlighted verbs.  There is a different link for each "faire" - try them out!  We also continued reading our non-fiction text Le mystère du jeune pharaon.  Students have been super fantastic and very focused during Guided Readin activities in French, as well as in English.

In English, we continue to read our novel The Egypt Game during Tea Time and whenever we have a minute.  For Guided Reading this week, my guided group is focusing on analyzing features of non-fiction texts, while the other groups continue to make and support inferences about character traits, work with the word study words, read and discuss a related text in book talk , and write a reading response letter in their Reading Journal.  We are a busy class!

Word Study

Whole Group Read - students are using this text to make and support inferences

Discussion Group reads and discusses this text

Guided Reading Group - focus: features of non-fiction texts

I would like to share a reading response from last week's Guided Reading activities.  Some of the pictures are extra-large so they are clear enough to read.

In art, we have begun working on our Earth Day project.  Students are reusing old magazines to make a collage of the Earth.  Then they will write an Earth Day Report Card to give us ideas on how we can better care for our planet.  Students were lucky enough to have art two days in a row this week, as on Tuesday they participated in a comic drawing workshop.

Earth Day Collage

Comic Drawing Workshop

In Social Studies, we continue to study Ancient Greece.  This week, we have been studying the natural environment, and how the ancient Greeks used the natural resources from their surroundings to survive.

As you already know, in Math we have been exploring division strategies.  Every student can divide large numbers by a single digit number successfully, using a strategy that they have developed!  Moving from the concrete to the abstract has proved challenging for a few, but almost everyone feels comfortable with one of the paper and pencil strategies that we have worked with this week as well - our latest being short division. You can click on the link for a little lesson if you are unfamiliar with the strategy.  For some, the challenge comes from not knowing their multiplication/division facts.  Student should continue to practice multiplication facts at home.

These Math Wizards have been working on a challenge from Problem of the Week for the past two days (without a calculator). Click on the highlighted words to see the problem.

Working on problems of various operations

In Science, Mr. Kemsley has assigned the following project:

Hmmm....I wonder if you will be able to use what you are learning in Guided Reading about the features of non-fiction texts in your project for Mr. Kemsley....

Much to my surprise, my students have been dancing their little hearts out with Mrs. Lashley.  From Folk, to Waltzes, to Modern - they've got the beat!

Finally, just a reminder for students:  Your Health bitstrips were returned to you for revision after peer review.  You were expected to use peer and teacher feedback to improve your bitstrip and then resubmit it to me for evaluation.  Bitstrips are now OVERDUE.  Please make your revisions and submit ASAP or they will be evaluated as is.