Nov. 1 - Month at a Glance

Here are some important dates coming up in November:

• Nov. 4 - Picture Day
• Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day
• Nov. 18 - PD Day
• Nov. 30 - Early Dismissal (Noon) 

Also, please remember to call OSTA (613-224-8800 ext 2580) and your child's classroom on the days they will not be able to attend school.

What have we been up to in October? A lot of descriptive writing! Students created monsters in art and had to come up with some descriptive words and phrases to describe them during Language. 

They turned out pretty good! All the students' work can be viewed on the Seesaw app that we use in the class. 

In math we have turned our attention to place value. We always start our math block with a number talk as we discuss various ways that we can do mental math in our head. Students found 3 different ways that they could solve the following math problem (Use a 100s chart, and 2 different ways of breaking a number down into its place value)

We've also had access to many non-permanent vertical surfaces which have been great for solving math problems!

Oh, and Halloween is always a hit, isn't it?

Time to begin some poetry with Remembrance Day coming up!

Sept. 25 - Early Dismissal Reminder and Seesaw

Just a reminder that Wednesday, Sept. 28 -there is early Dismissal for students at noon.

I want to highlight a new app that we are using in the class called "Seesaw" (Website: http://web.seesaw.me/). It's a pretty neat app that allows students to upload examples of their work that can be viewed by parents. At this stage, I have been documenting some examples of the students' work, but eventually they will take full control of uploading their own work for their parents to view. I'll be sending home a letter early in the week to explain how parents can access and comment on their child's work. It will hopefully be a great way to connect at home to what we are doing at school!

Sept. 22 - First Day of Fall! / Music in Math

The First Day of fall has arrived! Today we were learning a little bit about the change of seasons and what we can expect in the upcoming months. Along with reading Leaves, Leaves, Leaves! and talking about how nature changes during the fall, we also discussed our favourite holidays and some upcoming birthdays. Students then wrote in their journal about their favourite, or least liked, changes in the season!

In Math, we have also been incorporating music into creating our repeating patterns.

Our Learning Goals for a Math Block

We created a pattern, then made the pattern again using Google Music Lab to show how our patterns could sound:

1/2 did you know that you can make patterns with music? #googlemusiclab @McHughEduCentre pic.twitter.com/XsVKrSJnPi

— Kevin Ledlow (@KLedlow_ocsb) September 21, 2016

The next day, we pulled out some instruments and the students had the opportunity to conduct their patterns to the class - giving each student a colour / shape to correspond to what they were going to play.

Conducting a pattern!

The students have had a lot of fun making and playing their repeating patterns. Now to dig into some growing and shrinking patterns!

Sept. 20 - Has it been 2 weeks already??

Well, it's the start of the third week of school so it's time to get this blog rolling!

A lot has happened in the past two weeks! Everyone was very excited to be starting school on the first day of school and that positive atmosphere has really been showing in the classroom!

First day of school survey

The first few weeks of school are all about getting to know one another and building on routines that will carry us throughout the school year. We have been practicing our oral communication as we students get to know one another and interview each other.

A couple of students' interviews

Our language block starts off slowly but develops throughout the school year as we start to build our reading and writing stamina. We started off the year practicing reading on our own and staying in our spot without moving for one minute, but by the end of this week we'll be up to 3 minutes (not including the time we spend reading as a class or listening to reading on Raz kids).

In Math and in Language, we have spent a bit of time beginning to co-create classroom alphabets and number lines as reference points.

In math, we have been learning about repeating patterns and students have had the opportunity to create them on their own and in a group. We've also been practicing our active listening skills and knowing when to add details. We had a leader cover up their pattern and need to explain it to the other students. I overheard detailed descriptions ("it's like a staircase going down") and a lot of positive communication ("Can you please slow down?" "Can you say that again?") from the students.

In art, we have started the year by looking at all the different things that you can do with a line. The students showed many different ways to create a line and then we named them as they used them in their art. Their were quite a few race tracks appearing out of our line art over the past few weeks!

This week we will be continuing to identify patterns in math - looking at numerical patterns and different ways to make repeating pattern (with a bit of music involvement!) - and continue to open new language centers. Stay tuned as the blog will now be updated weekly throughout the school year.

Welcome to the 2016-2017 School Year!

Hello and welcome to the start of a new school year! I hope that everyone enjoyed their summer and is ready for the exciting start to the upcoming school year. 

This site will be kept up to date throughout the year and will serve as a way to show what we are working on inside of the Primary class. You will be able to see what we are learning about in the class and some of the language that we use to discuss our learning, what educational apps we like to use, see examples of student work, and some of our classroom projects! We are sensitive to issues of confidentiality and will not be posting any student names or the faces of any students. 

The calendar will be updated regularly to inform you of upcoming school events such as PD days and holidays, special days (Spirit week, Field Trips), and other dates of importance (ex: STEAM meetings). In the "Contact Information" tab you will find phone numbers for the class and to contact student transportation.

There are a number of educational links at the side that connect to a variety of sites that we use or will be using in the classroom. Future blog posts will expand on some of these educational apps and how we use them.

If you have any questions about the blog, or any concerns in general, please do not hesitate to contact the classroom staff.

Let the fun begin! I thank you for your enthusiasm, openness, and commitment to all of our students. Grade 1/2 is sure to be a wonderful experience for all of us!