Class Christmas Concert

Here are a few pictures from our class Christmas Concert. Like all presentations, this was entirely student-led. All I did was sit back and enjoy the show :-)

Great job everyone!

Some of my boys singing "Let it go"

Sugar Plum Fairy

Our class successfully pulled off their first class production - The Sugar Plum Fairy. Good job to everyone involved and special thanks to Niruja for taking the lead in coordinating the play, to Humza for making the props and to Navtaj for coordinating our class Christmas concert. You are ALL incredibly talented students! I am so thankful for all of you!

The class play was great! Good acting everyone!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Happy Holidays from my class to you!

My students and I had fun in the last few weeks of school decorating our classroom and our two Christmas trees! One parent brought in a HUGE real Christmas tree much to the students' delight and another parent sent in an artificial tree on loan to the class. Thanks to you both!

In the New Year we will be working on our "Thankful Tree" so stay tuned for the pictures that will be posted. 

Our huge Christmas tree!

Link to Prime Radicals

Link to check out other Prime Radicals episodes

www.tvokids.com/shows/primeradicals

Real life connections in Math

Today's Math class on Area was INTERESTING and a nice way to connect the lesson to a real life scenario. After taking up the homework, the students watched an episode of TVO'S Prime Radicals (Bunnies OK Corral). The episode looked at how to calculate perimeter and area in order to construct a corral for bunnies that escaped. Here's a summary of the episode:

Uncle Norm's neighbor Mrs. Pearplum's prized bunnies have escaped! The Rads need to find a way to help her build a better bunny corral... but what shape should it be so they have the most space using just the amount of fencing she already has? The Rads visit a local hobby farm to learn how perimeter and area work together to create the best bunny corral. Perimeter and area are important real-world concepts in their own right, and their relationship certainly is no less important. This relationship can be intuitively challenging. For example, it is not uncommon for students and even adults to believe-at least at first thought-that a fixed perimeter, such as a given amount of concrete curbing, yields the same area no matter how you shape it into a closed figure. In this episode, the focus is on the relationship between perimeter (a one-dimensional measure of length) and area (a two-dimensional measure of space). The purpose of the episode is to illustrate that 2D shapes having the same area can have different perimeters by using the real world context of construction.

Students enjoyed the part about how to make Pentomino puzzles.

Science lesson on Structures

Monday's lesson on Structures was a HUGE hit with the students! They already love the hands-on, practical nature of the Unit. After discussing the different types of structures (man made structures - bridges, buildings, cupboards etc / natural structures - reefs, mountains etc. / animal structures - beavers dam, rabbit's burrow etc. / insect structures - spider webs, anthills, beehives etc.) we talked about the different forces that act on these structures (gravity, mass, vehicles, people etc)

Next, it was time to get the students in groups to work collaboratively to build a structure, 21 cm from the top of the desk, using only the following materials : 6 sheets of paper, 4 pencils, scotch tape. The students were told that the structures would then be given a strength test using books. The load of the books would act as a force on the paper structure therefore attention had to be made to the shape. Students were free to come up with whatever design they could create but they were also given the option to fold the paper into rectangular prisms, triangular prisms or cylindrical prisms.

Here are some pictures of the challenge!

Look at the structure in this picture but also take a look at the books at the forefront. My students independently went to the library to borrow books on structures (already!)

New Science Unit

 New Science Unit - Forces acting on Structures and Mechanisms

In this unit students will develop an understanding of forces by designing and building mechanical devices and structures. They will identify the forces acting on and within structures and mechanisms and give simple descriptions of the forces. Students will also examine the effects of forces from natural phenomena on society and the environment.

Sounds interesting, right? I'm ready to begin! We're off to another Science adventure!

Drama Presentations

Last week's drama presentations culminated a wonderful cross-curricular activity that spanned a few weeks. In Literacy class the students looked at identifying Facts and Opinions. They examined print and video advertisements to also identify several advertising techniques (i.e. exaggerated claims, giveaway promotions, catchy jingles etc.). This tied in nicely with Health class and the whole unit on Healthy Eating and reading food labels. We questioned as a class the use of certain gimmicks to lure targeted consumers to buy certain products (mainly food) and whether these so-called 'nutritious' products were actually living up to the claims that were made in the ads. For Drama, the students had to work in groups to create a product, a name for the product and a slogan and then use some of the advertising techniques that were discussed in class to try and promote the product to would be consumers. The result, of course, was AMAZING! Take a look!

Math is FUN!!!!!

Learning about Perimeter can be fun! Last week we looked at measuring to find perimeter, calculating the perimeter of a rectangle and irregular polygons using standard units and using grids to find perimeter. That's when it got really interesting! My students each received a grid paper and were instructed to draw a mine-craft looking picture then calculate the perimeter of the shape/object drawn. The results were quite impressive. Here are some pictures:

Close up of Minecraft robot :-)

Les Phrases Bizarres !!!!!

French Homework on the weekend - Write 5 crazy sentences in French and draw a picture for each sentence. The results were indeed bizarre!!!!!


Take a look at a few examples ....

L'antilope aime manger la pizza - The antelope likes to eat pizza!

La tortue danse dans l'eau - The turtle dances in the water!

Le zèbre mange l’arbre ungali - The zebra is eating the ungali tree!

La tortue nage dans le lac avec le cochon - The turtle swims in the lake with the pig!

La classe de francais!

Bonjour tout le monde! Hi everyone!

This is my first post about French. C'est dommage, n'est-ce pas?

Here'a a snap shot of my students in class today working in groups to put sentences in the correct order. It was a great way to review some of the vocab from the Unit under study.

Social Issues

Last week's Social Studies class was super INTERESTING as we examined some of the social issues in Brampton. It was a GREAT discussion and I can't wait for the next class to get the conversation going about Poverty and what each level of government is doing to eradicate child poverty in Canada.

Take a look at the mind-map that the class came up with!

Social issues in Brampton

They spoke, I listened!

In a few of the 3 way Student-led conferences last week, several students candidly spoke of the need to get access to more French resources to support their learning in the subject.

I have now created an Edmodo account to share content with my students. Get ready for a burst of info! I have successfully used Edmodo for a number of years and I simply love it! I was a bit hesitant to start the year off with it because I just wasn't sure if my Grade 5 students would be ready to use this learning platform. Judging from their maturity and tech savvy, I think they are!

You spoke, I listened! Get ready to extend your learning beyond the classroom!

Close up of Eco-houses

Here are close ups of the students' Eco-houses. A lot of attention to details! - door weatherstripping, double glazed windows, well- insulated attics, flooring and walls with different materials. Wow! Grade 5 Smartians from the Planet of Smarts :-)

All independently made by the students - no parent input! Great job everyone!

Eco-houses are done!

Our Eco-houses are complete and were on display at our Student-led Conferences last week. Tomorrow is the BIG day to test which house is properly insulated by keeping an ice-cube the longest. The students are excited and so am I! You are all to be commended on a job well done! Your commitment and enthusiasm to work on the project during several lunch breaks is truly remarkable! #proudteacher

Here's a FYI tidbit for parents
In Canada, space heating accounts for over 60 per cent of residential energy use and, therefore, makes up a good proportion of your overall energy bill. Fortunately, there are several options that you, as a homeowner, can consider for reducing heat loss, including adding, or retrofitting, insulation to your house. A well-insulated and well-sealed house needs less heating in the winter (and less cooling in the summer), protects you from increasing energy prices, uses resources more efficiently, has less environmental impact, and is more comfortable to live in.

Eco-house Projects on display

Good job everyone!

3 Way Student-led Conference

Last Thursday and Friday's student-led conference went extremely well! I was so proud listening to my students articulate their academic and learning skill goals to their parents. It was clear that they are all fully aware of their individual strengths and areas in need of improvement. I love the fact that each student got an opportunity to share his/her work and explain to the parents why that particular piece of work was chosen. Not only was it a reflective exercise but most importantly leading the conference was a great way for the students to take responsibility and be accountable for their academic work and behaviour. Opening the lines of communication between students, parents and teachers is absolutely important.

Thanks to all the parents that came out - 23 out of 25!It was a pleasure meeting with you! Together, in partnership, we are working towards your child's SUCCESS!

Remembrance Day

Today's Remembrance Day assembly was a solemn occasion to pay tribute to all veterans that have served or continue to serve their countries in times of war, military conflict and peace. Thanks to Veterans Affairs Canada, I was able to provide my students with learning materials that speak about the significance of the day.

Our Postcards for Peace will be mailed to a Canadian Armed Force Base. Thanks for all you do!

Eco-house projects in the making

The culminating task for our Science Unit on Energy Conservation is sadly coming close to an end but not without a fun project to consolidate key concepts that were taught. Here are students busy working on their Eco-houses. The aim is to build a well insulated house that is energy efficient. It's a group challenge. Let's see which house will withstand the ice-cube test! Finished projects will be posted soon. Stay tuned ....

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” 
― Helen Keller