Another week of fascination, work and new insights for all of us in 6B! It is hard to believe that each week holds so many new and interesting things for us, but they do!
I'll start with the highlight of the week. In Social Studies we had a mock provincial election, complete with 5 parties, campaign posters and debates! This was led by our own Mr. Nardella, who guided the kids through the steps necessary to create an election. The excitement was high as we approached the polls, and there was little appetite to wait to see who won. In the end, it was our Wildrose Party winning a minority government, with an NDP official opposition, and the Liberal Party a close third. The PC's and the Alberta Party fared far worse, barely managing official party status! We will continue with this next week, seeing if the kids can debate and get passage of a bill before the Christmas break.
Next up was the finale of the Science unit Evidence and Investigation. We started the week with an experiment to determine the constitute colors used to make black ink (chromatography) and finished with our unit final test. We will do a little wrap up next week, but otherwise the Sky is the limit, as we start our next unit Sky Science (astronomy) in January (and it feels weird to say that already!).
In LA we finished up on our composition assignment looking at how to take the compact humor of a Garfield cartoon, create our own based on the pictures and then draw out the writing into a fully-formed paragraph. It was interesting to see how the humor developed (or didn't!) in the different paragraphs. And we are nearly done the Medieval Christmas work, fittingly just before Christmas comes upon us.
In CE we have spent the week exploring the meaning of our favorite stories about or from Jesus in the gospels. The kids are working on explaining what the stories are about and why they are important for us still. There is lots of enthusiasm around this assignment.
Just a note to let you know that next Friday we plan to do a pizza lunch, so there will be a notice going home about the cost (anticipated to be $5) to purchase the pizza. More details will also be coming out about our celebration day on the 23rd, so watch for that next week! Have a wonderful, warm and cozy, weekend and all the blessings of God be on you as we head into Christmas!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Week Twelve
This week was another wild and wonderful one in grade 6 and in 6B in specific!
We spent more time this week exploring and identifying the ways in which we can create amazing writing, by expanding our list of sentence starters to include the 'phrase' starter. This starter takes advantage of our old friend the preposition to create a bigger 'hook' for our sentence (draws our reader into what we are writing). Then we used this tool to create a composition about our favorite Christmas decoration or tree ornament. Working from memory, the kids were to describe their favorite ornament and why it was so special. I am looking forward to reading what they decided on! Meanwhile in reading we are working on wrapping up our medieval Christmas unit.
In social studies, Mr. Nardella continues to guide our group through the ins and outs of the provincial government. This week in particular we looked at the creation of a bill and the election process. We are all appreciative of the processes that go into ensuring our government works to represent the interests of the people of Alberta.
In science, we are finishing up on our Evidence and Investigation unit. In particular this week we covered fabric analysis, handwriting analysis and dye chromatography. I have also handed out a study sheet for the unit test next week to help guide the students in their preparation for the test.
In CE we had a great discussion around different stories to do with Jesus and the questions they raise in our heads. This lead to a great discussion talking about the Jewish identity and how anti-Semitism works and what it can lead to. I was very impressed with the level of thinking going on around this topic.
Finally, I wanted to make a quick note about the hampers and class gift exchange. The hampers are located in my room and I have sent home a complete list of the items we are collecting. As a class we divided up the list to ensure that we have some of everything coming in, and also to ensure that no one was bringing in more than could be afforded. However, if you desire to bring items, including gifts not on the list, above and beyond the amount your child volunteered for, you are welcome to do so, though it is not an obligation at all. While the gift exchange is something that the students wanted to do, and was organised by them. I did put a cap on the spending at $10, but I encouraged the kids to think about personal things they could do (baking, in particular, is always appreciated by others). Again, the intent of this is not to lay another financial burden on an already expensive time of year, but to have fun and continue to build community.
Have a great weekend and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.
We spent more time this week exploring and identifying the ways in which we can create amazing writing, by expanding our list of sentence starters to include the 'phrase' starter. This starter takes advantage of our old friend the preposition to create a bigger 'hook' for our sentence (draws our reader into what we are writing). Then we used this tool to create a composition about our favorite Christmas decoration or tree ornament. Working from memory, the kids were to describe their favorite ornament and why it was so special. I am looking forward to reading what they decided on! Meanwhile in reading we are working on wrapping up our medieval Christmas unit.
In social studies, Mr. Nardella continues to guide our group through the ins and outs of the provincial government. This week in particular we looked at the creation of a bill and the election process. We are all appreciative of the processes that go into ensuring our government works to represent the interests of the people of Alberta.
In science, we are finishing up on our Evidence and Investigation unit. In particular this week we covered fabric analysis, handwriting analysis and dye chromatography. I have also handed out a study sheet for the unit test next week to help guide the students in their preparation for the test.
In CE we had a great discussion around different stories to do with Jesus and the questions they raise in our heads. This lead to a great discussion talking about the Jewish identity and how anti-Semitism works and what it can lead to. I was very impressed with the level of thinking going on around this topic.
Finally, I wanted to make a quick note about the hampers and class gift exchange. The hampers are located in my room and I have sent home a complete list of the items we are collecting. As a class we divided up the list to ensure that we have some of everything coming in, and also to ensure that no one was bringing in more than could be afforded. However, if you desire to bring items, including gifts not on the list, above and beyond the amount your child volunteered for, you are welcome to do so, though it is not an obligation at all. While the gift exchange is something that the students wanted to do, and was organised by them. I did put a cap on the spending at $10, but I encouraged the kids to think about personal things they could do (baking, in particular, is always appreciated by others). Again, the intent of this is not to lay another financial burden on an already expensive time of year, but to have fun and continue to build community.
Have a great weekend and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Week Eleven
A short week, so a short post.
We have been continuing to work on the Medieval Christmas project with a composition on a Christmas tree thrown in for good measure. Again, I remain impressed with the work the kids are bringing to me and continue to challenge them to achieve higher. We hopefully will finish up on medieval Christmas in the next week and a half.
With Science, the highlight of the week was working on detecting latent fingerprints with various everyday powders, including flour, baking powder, corn starch, chalk dust (calcium carbonate) and powdered clay. It was a great time, identifying which powders (on different surfaces) worked the best.
In Social Studies, Mr. Nardella took us down the route of examining the roles and responsibilities in our provincial legislature. It is adding a new level of appreciation for what our government does for us in Alberta.
And in CE we continued to explore the teachings of Jesus and discuss the ways in which our faith applies to our lives.
Overall, another great week (though shortened) and topped off with a chance to meet many of you and discuss how your child is progressing. Have a great weekend and talk to you next week.
We have been continuing to work on the Medieval Christmas project with a composition on a Christmas tree thrown in for good measure. Again, I remain impressed with the work the kids are bringing to me and continue to challenge them to achieve higher. We hopefully will finish up on medieval Christmas in the next week and a half.
With Science, the highlight of the week was working on detecting latent fingerprints with various everyday powders, including flour, baking powder, corn starch, chalk dust (calcium carbonate) and powdered clay. It was a great time, identifying which powders (on different surfaces) worked the best.
In Social Studies, Mr. Nardella took us down the route of examining the roles and responsibilities in our provincial legislature. It is adding a new level of appreciation for what our government does for us in Alberta.
And in CE we continued to explore the teachings of Jesus and discuss the ways in which our faith applies to our lives.
Overall, another great week (though shortened) and topped off with a chance to meet many of you and discuss how your child is progressing. Have a great weekend and talk to you next week.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Week Ten
This was another full week, and we were very grateful to be able to have the time to go through everything we needed to do.
In LA we have been working on our Medieval Christmas unit. What we are doing is exploring many of the traditions that have come down to us from the middle ages in Europe, and some of those that have not. Each student is completing exercises, either in reading, word study or writing and then checking to see how they did. There is a large number of activities, so our hope is to have this unit completed just before Christmas. We are also writing a descriptive paragraph using a picture of a Christmas tree which will be due next Wednesday. I am again looking forward to seeing the amazing creations the class will be bringing forward.
In Science we spent the week examining footprints and fingerprints. The class was very keen to learn about these aspects of forensic science and especially enjoyed fingerprinting themselves using graphite (pencil lead) and tape. Make sure you ask to see your child's complete fingerprint set! We also learned the four classifications of fingerprints and how ridge characteristics further individualise the prints. All in all, we learned some cool new things.
In Social Studies we moved beyond the study of local government to examining the structure of our provincial government and the layout of the legislature in Edmonton. This was a good way for us to learn about how our political structure supports the processes of democracy in Alberta. We will be wrapping up our local and provincial government unit soon and hopefully start on ancient Athenian democracy before Christmas.
In CE we had a great chapel, continuing to examine the story of how God moved in history, through the life of Abraham to bring us closer to Him. And we spent some time in class examining salt and light, to see how the beneficial properties of these substances are analogous to how Christians are called to make this world a better place, simply by our presence.
All in all, a lot accomplished this week, and one that we enjoyed immensely (despite some weird weather!).
Have a great weekend, and I hope to see you all next week for interviews!
In LA we have been working on our Medieval Christmas unit. What we are doing is exploring many of the traditions that have come down to us from the middle ages in Europe, and some of those that have not. Each student is completing exercises, either in reading, word study or writing and then checking to see how they did. There is a large number of activities, so our hope is to have this unit completed just before Christmas. We are also writing a descriptive paragraph using a picture of a Christmas tree which will be due next Wednesday. I am again looking forward to seeing the amazing creations the class will be bringing forward.
In Science we spent the week examining footprints and fingerprints. The class was very keen to learn about these aspects of forensic science and especially enjoyed fingerprinting themselves using graphite (pencil lead) and tape. Make sure you ask to see your child's complete fingerprint set! We also learned the four classifications of fingerprints and how ridge characteristics further individualise the prints. All in all, we learned some cool new things.
In Social Studies we moved beyond the study of local government to examining the structure of our provincial government and the layout of the legislature in Edmonton. This was a good way for us to learn about how our political structure supports the processes of democracy in Alberta. We will be wrapping up our local and provincial government unit soon and hopefully start on ancient Athenian democracy before Christmas.
In CE we had a great chapel, continuing to examine the story of how God moved in history, through the life of Abraham to bring us closer to Him. And we spent some time in class examining salt and light, to see how the beneficial properties of these substances are analogous to how Christians are called to make this world a better place, simply by our presence.
All in all, a lot accomplished this week, and one that we enjoyed immensely (despite some weird weather!).
Have a great weekend, and I hope to see you all next week for interviews!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Week Nine
Because some of us went away, apparently Mother Nature felt it would be funny to bring us back to full-on winter! So it was actually not bad being back inside our warm classroom, with no windows to remind us of the snow and the cold that was swirling around outside.
And inside we got to jump into a whole bunch of new and interesting things too! For instance, our new schedule. We are now together a whole lot more as a homeroom group. The previous schedule was working well to create community, but it was creating some other pressures that weren't going away. So for the benefit of all the community of grade 6 here, we made some minor adjustments to the schedule. Here in 6B we are not significantly affected (I still do all the LA, Social and Science, with everyone now in CE with me) but it is nice to see my whole class more frequently. It gives me the flexibility of going overtime when I have back to back social and science classes, so that I can continue to make learning the priority and not the schedule!
Also, we have a new observer in our classroom too. Mr Nardella has joined us from St. Mary's as a teacher observer and will be with us for the next 6 weeks. I am very pleased to be able to pass on the things we are doing here in 6B for the benefit of his training, and to allow him to join our community to add his perspectives and enrich our learning (as he did already today, sharing about the authentication of art and how forensic science relates to that discipline).
Speaking of science, we jumped right into our new unit, Evidence and Investigation. It is a very interesting and challenging unit, as we learn all the skills of forensic science and how it works to solve crimes. Already we have talked about different professions that employ the skills of forensic science and how wide a range of occupations rely on forensic scientific knowledge.
In social studies, we are continuing our studies into local government. We identified the services local governments provide and which services different types of local governments do not provide.
In LA we finished our 'Scary Story' mini-unit with the presentations of what the kids made. It was very neat to see the original videos, stories and songs which were presented. Next week we will continue to create some compositions and get into more reading work.
In CE, I was very excited to have the entire 6B group with me. We are starting on the 'Sermon on the Mount' (Matt 5-7) and I have asked the kids to research the valuable properties of salt and light to have ready for our class on Tuesday. Memory verses are due on Tuesdays of every week now and I encourage the kids to prepare a few minutes every night by readin their verse at least once, so the verse stays in their heads more than a few minutes after the memory verse test.
I hope everyone had a great break, but is still excited to be back. I am very pleased with the new configuration and hope you and your child find it helpful too. All the best and I look forward to hearing any of your questions or concerns (only 7 days until report cards come out!) God bless.
And inside we got to jump into a whole bunch of new and interesting things too! For instance, our new schedule. We are now together a whole lot more as a homeroom group. The previous schedule was working well to create community, but it was creating some other pressures that weren't going away. So for the benefit of all the community of grade 6 here, we made some minor adjustments to the schedule. Here in 6B we are not significantly affected (I still do all the LA, Social and Science, with everyone now in CE with me) but it is nice to see my whole class more frequently. It gives me the flexibility of going overtime when I have back to back social and science classes, so that I can continue to make learning the priority and not the schedule!
Also, we have a new observer in our classroom too. Mr Nardella has joined us from St. Mary's as a teacher observer and will be with us for the next 6 weeks. I am very pleased to be able to pass on the things we are doing here in 6B for the benefit of his training, and to allow him to join our community to add his perspectives and enrich our learning (as he did already today, sharing about the authentication of art and how forensic science relates to that discipline).
Speaking of science, we jumped right into our new unit, Evidence and Investigation. It is a very interesting and challenging unit, as we learn all the skills of forensic science and how it works to solve crimes. Already we have talked about different professions that employ the skills of forensic science and how wide a range of occupations rely on forensic scientific knowledge.
In social studies, we are continuing our studies into local government. We identified the services local governments provide and which services different types of local governments do not provide.
In LA we finished our 'Scary Story' mini-unit with the presentations of what the kids made. It was very neat to see the original videos, stories and songs which were presented. Next week we will continue to create some compositions and get into more reading work.
In CE, I was very excited to have the entire 6B group with me. We are starting on the 'Sermon on the Mount' (Matt 5-7) and I have asked the kids to research the valuable properties of salt and light to have ready for our class on Tuesday. Memory verses are due on Tuesdays of every week now and I encourage the kids to prepare a few minutes every night by readin their verse at least once, so the verse stays in their heads more than a few minutes after the memory verse test.
I hope everyone had a great break, but is still excited to be back. I am very pleased with the new configuration and hope you and your child find it helpful too. All the best and I look forward to hearing any of your questions or concerns (only 7 days until report cards come out!) God bless.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Week 8
Another week down in 6B, and topped off with a well earned break.
This week we got some interesting work done despite heading into the break. In LA we worked on some projects to do with our scary stories. It is fun to see the level of interest and self-motivation in the different groups. Each group is taking it's own approach to explaining their story the best way they can. In composition we took a little break so we didn't have any work carry over the holiday. But in grammar we spent some time creating skits to explain how the parts of a sentence function. It was a lot of fun, and I hope to have a video of what we did up after the break (having left my camera in the classroom - argh!).
In Science we finished our Trees and Forests unit with our unit test. I am very proud to say that everyone improved in their performance from the first time we tok the test, usually between 30 & 100%. Next up is Evidence and Investigation, which always proves to be a very enjoyable unit.
In social studies we had a special guest visit us, Don Zech, chair of the Palliser School Board who came to tell us about how local government affects us at the classroom level. A big thank you goes out to Ms. Tiessen for arranging this special visit for us.
And in CE this week we continued With our investigation into the early ministry of Jesus wi th our assignment on the Gospel of Matthew. And we were ministered to by the rocking styles of Jon Buller.
All in all a great week. I hope you all have a great break and I look forward to seeing everyone back in j ust under two weeks.
This week we got some interesting work done despite heading into the break. In LA we worked on some projects to do with our scary stories. It is fun to see the level of interest and self-motivation in the different groups. Each group is taking it's own approach to explaining their story the best way they can. In composition we took a little break so we didn't have any work carry over the holiday. But in grammar we spent some time creating skits to explain how the parts of a sentence function. It was a lot of fun, and I hope to have a video of what we did up after the break (having left my camera in the classroom - argh!).
In Science we finished our Trees and Forests unit with our unit test. I am very proud to say that everyone improved in their performance from the first time we tok the test, usually between 30 & 100%. Next up is Evidence and Investigation, which always proves to be a very enjoyable unit.
In social studies we had a special guest visit us, Don Zech, chair of the Palliser School Board who came to tell us about how local government affects us at the classroom level. A big thank you goes out to Ms. Tiessen for arranging this special visit for us.
And in CE this week we continued With our investigation into the early ministry of Jesus wi th our assignment on the Gospel of Matthew. And we were ministered to by the rocking styles of Jon Buller.
All in all a great week. I hope you all have a great break and I look forward to seeing everyone back in j ust under two weeks.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Week Seven
We are coming down to the wire (metaphorically of course) with the upcoming Fall Break and then the report cards 2 1/2 weeks after that. By this time, we are all used to some of the routines, are adapting to the new requirements of grade 6 and getting to know each other very well.
LA the past week has been an amazing experience. I have been focusing on two things - descriptive paragraph writing and a scary story response unit. The neat thing has been to see how well the kids are adapting to the requirements we have been setting out (adapted from the things they will need to do on their test in June). The descriptive writing has been excellent, with everyone at least attempting to use the sentence starters and making good choices in excellent vocabulary. As well, the enthusiasm with which the kids are throwing themselves into the story unit has been exciting to watch. They have been put into groups to read stories like "The Monkey's Paw", "Sleepy Hollow" and a couple of others, then respond to them by either creating a comic strip, a movie poster, a business card (for the main character) or a song. They have all given a great deal of effort to chose the best project for their group and are working hard to make the best final product that they can. And we have been tying grammar and vocabulary into these larger works too.
In Science, we are wrapping up our Trees and Forest unit, with the unit test coming up next Wednesday and the Tree Trading Card assignment due on Thursday (and I won't be accepting any cards after Thursday either). We have spent this week reviewing as well as learning about how we can learn a tree's history by looking at the rings in a tree cookie and ways that humans use and protect forests. It has been a fun unit, but we are looking forward to examining fingerprints, footprints and blood evidence in our Crime and Investigation unit (coming up after the break)!
In Social Studies we have started a unit on Local (municipal) and Provincial government. This will take us up to December and will cover all the responsibilities and structures of government in our province. Currently we are doing an in-class project comparing and contrasting services provided by each type of government in Alberta.
In CE this week, we worked on exploring the book of Matthew, particularly the call of the first disciples and the ministry of John the Baptist. We are creating a re-telling of one of the stories from Matt 2-4 as part of this. And we had a great individual chapel with our grade 9 leaders, looking at the disruption sin brought to creation.
Just a small request; if you have any old magazines that you haven't recycled yet, can you send those to school? We use them for creating collages on paper and there is always a great range of pictures available in old magazines. Thanks so much for your continued contribution to our class and have a great weekend!
LA the past week has been an amazing experience. I have been focusing on two things - descriptive paragraph writing and a scary story response unit. The neat thing has been to see how well the kids are adapting to the requirements we have been setting out (adapted from the things they will need to do on their test in June). The descriptive writing has been excellent, with everyone at least attempting to use the sentence starters and making good choices in excellent vocabulary. As well, the enthusiasm with which the kids are throwing themselves into the story unit has been exciting to watch. They have been put into groups to read stories like "The Monkey's Paw", "Sleepy Hollow" and a couple of others, then respond to them by either creating a comic strip, a movie poster, a business card (for the main character) or a song. They have all given a great deal of effort to chose the best project for their group and are working hard to make the best final product that they can. And we have been tying grammar and vocabulary into these larger works too.
In Science, we are wrapping up our Trees and Forest unit, with the unit test coming up next Wednesday and the Tree Trading Card assignment due on Thursday (and I won't be accepting any cards after Thursday either). We have spent this week reviewing as well as learning about how we can learn a tree's history by looking at the rings in a tree cookie and ways that humans use and protect forests. It has been a fun unit, but we are looking forward to examining fingerprints, footprints and blood evidence in our Crime and Investigation unit (coming up after the break)!
In Social Studies we have started a unit on Local (municipal) and Provincial government. This will take us up to December and will cover all the responsibilities and structures of government in our province. Currently we are doing an in-class project comparing and contrasting services provided by each type of government in Alberta.
In CE this week, we worked on exploring the book of Matthew, particularly the call of the first disciples and the ministry of John the Baptist. We are creating a re-telling of one of the stories from Matt 2-4 as part of this. And we had a great individual chapel with our grade 9 leaders, looking at the disruption sin brought to creation.
Just a small request; if you have any old magazines that you haven't recycled yet, can you send those to school? We use them for creating collages on paper and there is always a great range of pictures available in old magazines. Thanks so much for your continued contribution to our class and have a great weekend!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Week Six
It was another short week (it seems like we have had more short than regular weeks!). But, as a compensation, we got to meet face-to-face, which is something I love.
As a consequence, we did not have a lot in all our subjects this week. We spent a good deal of time working on our writing skills this week. I was very impressed by the base level of skill the group brought to grade six this year. By focusing on a picture, looking at the details and trying to find a way to give emotion and depth to our descriptions, we were able to create some fantastic pieces of writing. Both the kids and I had a great experience doing this and we are all looking forward to creating some new pieces. In addition, we began to wrap up our reading comprehension work. I am getting a good sense of the level of understanding each student derives from a text and some of the things we can work on to deepen that understanding. It is exciting to see the kids enjoy a piece of writing, then demonstrate what they learned.
In science we spent a lot of time working on our trading cards. Truth be told, the kids are finishing this assignment much more quickly than I anticipated (which is a good thing). I can spend a little more time next week going over some final concepts and then use our extra time to study for the unit final, which is scheduled for Nov 2. The cards themselves are due on the 3rd of the November, but if they are handed in early, I am not opposed to that.
In social studies we looked at the concept of free speech, exploring some different ways to express our opinions in a democratic society. I am looking forward to seeing these final products next week.
We did not have CE this week, because of Teacher's convention. But we did do our memory verse and we have memory verses next week as well.
I do hope you have an enjoyable weekend. I recognise that it is not a long weekend for you, even though it is for your child. I appreciate the difficulties this may cause, but I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn more about my practise and to present to my colleagues some things I have learned. It is intended as a time that would improve my practise as a classroom teacher, and I hope I can bring this back to our room and make it a better, more enjoyable learning environment.
I wish you a very wonderful weekend and I had a great time meeting with you on Wednesday night.
As a consequence, we did not have a lot in all our subjects this week. We spent a good deal of time working on our writing skills this week. I was very impressed by the base level of skill the group brought to grade six this year. By focusing on a picture, looking at the details and trying to find a way to give emotion and depth to our descriptions, we were able to create some fantastic pieces of writing. Both the kids and I had a great experience doing this and we are all looking forward to creating some new pieces. In addition, we began to wrap up our reading comprehension work. I am getting a good sense of the level of understanding each student derives from a text and some of the things we can work on to deepen that understanding. It is exciting to see the kids enjoy a piece of writing, then demonstrate what they learned.
In science we spent a lot of time working on our trading cards. Truth be told, the kids are finishing this assignment much more quickly than I anticipated (which is a good thing). I can spend a little more time next week going over some final concepts and then use our extra time to study for the unit final, which is scheduled for Nov 2. The cards themselves are due on the 3rd of the November, but if they are handed in early, I am not opposed to that.
In social studies we looked at the concept of free speech, exploring some different ways to express our opinions in a democratic society. I am looking forward to seeing these final products next week.
We did not have CE this week, because of Teacher's convention. But we did do our memory verse and we have memory verses next week as well.
I do hope you have an enjoyable weekend. I recognise that it is not a long weekend for you, even though it is for your child. I appreciate the difficulties this may cause, but I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn more about my practise and to present to my colleagues some things I have learned. It is intended as a time that would improve my practise as a classroom teacher, and I hope I can bring this back to our room and make it a better, more enjoyable learning environment.
I wish you a very wonderful weekend and I had a great time meeting with you on Wednesday night.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Week Five
Another week, one we were very thankful for too.
We spent this week getting caught up on some of our class procedures. Now that we have everything in place, we are able to have a better sense of what we should be doing and have nailed down where we go and how quickly we go there. Getting from class to class and how we behave when we get there is a little thing that got lost in the shuffle the last few weeks, but it is an area we are working on to ensure it is up to the same quality standard as everything else we do.
All in all, four days was not too few to get through what we had to do this past week. I encourage you all to have your child let you know what they are up to and to not feel any hesitation to contact me with any questions you might have. Enjoy your weekend and I will update you again next week!
We spent this week getting caught up on some of our class procedures. Now that we have everything in place, we are able to have a better sense of what we should be doing and have nailed down where we go and how quickly we go there. Getting from class to class and how we behave when we get there is a little thing that got lost in the shuffle the last few weeks, but it is an area we are working on to ensure it is up to the same quality standard as everything else we do.
After the excitement of Evergreen Theatre last week, we had lots of catch up to do in all subjects. We spent time in LA doing some descriptive writing work, taking a picture and describing it accurately and learning how good word choice could bring that description to life. At the same time we worked on some reading comprehension exercises, where we were able to learn some interesting information about diverse subjects (Krakatau, Black Holes, Lewis and Clark, as well as the area in New York called the Five Points. Then the kids answered questions about what they had learned.
In Social Studies we began to wrap up our investigation into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We will finish our inquiry into that important piece of Canadian law next week.
In Science we took the knowledge we gained about scientific classification and classified tree types, leaves and even learned how to identify trees based on their leaves alone. This allowed us to get started on an assignment where the kids will research 4 different trees and make trading cards based on their research. The assignment and suggested websites can be found on the Trees and Forests page on the wiki.
In CE, we had another great week as we continued our investigation into the New Testament and how each gospel has its own character and was written for a different audience. In addition, memory verses went well this week and a reminder to all families that all groups will be tested on memory verses on Wednesday this week.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Week Four
Just a quick post this week, as I want to get out and enjoy Thanksgiving weekend!
I was so impressed and amazed by the final product the students put on with Evergreen Theatre this Friday! The kids worked hard all week creating and practising the play. I was surprised by seeing a different side to some students, who I would never have guessed at their natural acting abilities. And the chance to put our learning into a different way of expression was wonderful.
I am grateful to all the families I have in grade 6, for the chance to work with your children and how they stretch and deepen me. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, a happy Thanksgiving and blessed family time. I will try and get pictures up on the blog as quickly as I can and I may even add another post before Tuesday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I was so impressed and amazed by the final product the students put on with Evergreen Theatre this Friday! The kids worked hard all week creating and practising the play. I was surprised by seeing a different side to some students, who I would never have guessed at their natural acting abilities. And the chance to put our learning into a different way of expression was wonderful.
I am grateful to all the families I have in grade 6, for the chance to work with your children and how they stretch and deepen me. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, a happy Thanksgiving and blessed family time. I will try and get pictures up on the blog as quickly as I can and I may even add another post before Tuesday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Week Three
Hello and welcome to another Friday entry. The good energy and momentum we built in camp is continuing in our classes this week and it is exciting to see what is being accomplished.
In language arts this week we spent a lot of time looking at the structure of a letter and also how to understand how people communicate themselves, through the story "Mr. Henshaw." The kids worked on answering questions related to what occurred in the story and imagining how the characters might respond to each other based on what they read. It was a neat exploration, and I am looking forward to seeing the complete responses.
In social studies, we spent a lot of time talking about rights, freedoms and responsibilities. We looked at why rights and responsibilities need to balance each other, how they are important in a democratic society and what freedoms are fundamental and protected. We are starting a bit of an exploration of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well, and should get deeper into it next week.
In Science we spent a great deal of time looking at the parts of trees and how trees fit into the ecosystem of earth. Also, we had a quiz, which helped us to understand what we are or are not understanding. The kids this week also suggested building a small forest in the class room (out of recycled materials) to help them demonstrate their knowledge. So, if you have any ideas on the best ways to build trees without cutting down other trees to make materials, we are willing to have your suggestions to guide us. I personally am looking forward to helping the kids create this, to allow their strengths to shine through.
In CE, we started the week with a powerful chapel with Allison Springer speaking to us. We then moved through our memory verses and started to explore the New Testament, structure and books. It is very encouraging to be able to look at what we believe in school and I am glad we can be here to challenge each other to understand why we believe.
I wish you a very lovely weekend, even if we don't get the sunshine we have come to expect this past month. All the best, and please continue to stay in touch with anything you need to know about.
In language arts this week we spent a lot of time looking at the structure of a letter and also how to understand how people communicate themselves, through the story "Mr. Henshaw." The kids worked on answering questions related to what occurred in the story and imagining how the characters might respond to each other based on what they read. It was a neat exploration, and I am looking forward to seeing the complete responses.
In social studies, we spent a lot of time talking about rights, freedoms and responsibilities. We looked at why rights and responsibilities need to balance each other, how they are important in a democratic society and what freedoms are fundamental and protected. We are starting a bit of an exploration of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well, and should get deeper into it next week.
In Science we spent a great deal of time looking at the parts of trees and how trees fit into the ecosystem of earth. Also, we had a quiz, which helped us to understand what we are or are not understanding. The kids this week also suggested building a small forest in the class room (out of recycled materials) to help them demonstrate their knowledge. So, if you have any ideas on the best ways to build trees without cutting down other trees to make materials, we are willing to have your suggestions to guide us. I personally am looking forward to helping the kids create this, to allow their strengths to shine through.
In CE, we started the week with a powerful chapel with Allison Springer speaking to us. We then moved through our memory verses and started to explore the New Testament, structure and books. It is very encouraging to be able to look at what we believe in school and I am glad we can be here to challenge each other to understand why we believe.
I wish you a very lovely weekend, even if we don't get the sunshine we have come to expect this past month. All the best, and please continue to stay in touch with anything you need to know about.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Week 2
Well, another week has come and gone! This week certainly felt more like a whirlwind, considering that there was no school (for the kids) on Monday and we had a fabulous day out at Chestermere on Friday. I have included some pictures that you can access on the right.
We are beginning to move forward in all subjects, now that we have our routines and schedules down. The movement from room to room is beginning to go much better too. In LA we looked at a novel excerpt called "Jeremy and Sarah" about two kids who are sent to their aunt's for the summer when their father gets sick. It deals with some issues around emotions, honesty and dealing with others and led to some good discussion of what the students in the room thought of the particular situations in the story and how they related to their own life. We also wrapped up our first composition, which was supposed to be handed in by Friday (though I expect to see some coming in next week too).
In Science we began working on the different parts of trees, identifying the parts of a water cycle (and how trees are part of that cycle) and looking at how nutrients are cycled through different parts of the ecosystem. We are also having a quick quiz on what we have learned so far next Wednesday. I don't doubt that everyone will do a great job on it.
Social studies we started to learn about the concepts of Freedom, Representation, Equity and Justice - four foundational concepts that will guide our inquiries into the processes of democracy in Canada and throughout history. These are big, abstract ideas and we will make sure we revisit them often. Additionally, the students have been working on a textbook project with Mrs. Hazelton which was also to have been completed and handed in .
In CE this week we only had time to go over our verses, having missed our regular class due to Camp Chestermere. But we had a gripping, inspiring movie shown to us about the struggles children in East Central Africa face with the threat of abduction and enslavement in the rebel army which is fighting in Congo, Uganda and Sudan. Invisible Children challenged the kids to look into the world and see how they, as one person with the power of Christ, can change the world. It was an excellent presentation and led to good discussions back in our class.
And of course who can forget Chestermere. You likely have heard all the stories by now, so I don't need to go into specific details, but it was a fantastic day. The weather could not have been better (there seems to be a trend as far as our outdoor activities and weather so far this year!) and the kids had a very challenging and enjoyable time. Our speaker, Allison, will be around the school at various points this year, working with the kids to recognise their potential to shape their school environment for God's good purposes. And we did a lot more community building this day as well, making it, all-in-all, another excellent experience for our group.
Thanks so much for partnering with us in this journey and please continue to keep us up to date on what we need to know. And we promise to do the same from our end. Have a great weekend!
We are beginning to move forward in all subjects, now that we have our routines and schedules down. The movement from room to room is beginning to go much better too. In LA we looked at a novel excerpt called "Jeremy and Sarah" about two kids who are sent to their aunt's for the summer when their father gets sick. It deals with some issues around emotions, honesty and dealing with others and led to some good discussion of what the students in the room thought of the particular situations in the story and how they related to their own life. We also wrapped up our first composition, which was supposed to be handed in by Friday (though I expect to see some coming in next week too).
In Science we began working on the different parts of trees, identifying the parts of a water cycle (and how trees are part of that cycle) and looking at how nutrients are cycled through different parts of the ecosystem. We are also having a quick quiz on what we have learned so far next Wednesday. I don't doubt that everyone will do a great job on it.
Social studies we started to learn about the concepts of Freedom, Representation, Equity and Justice - four foundational concepts that will guide our inquiries into the processes of democracy in Canada and throughout history. These are big, abstract ideas and we will make sure we revisit them often. Additionally, the students have been working on a textbook project with Mrs. Hazelton which was also to have been completed and handed in .
In CE this week we only had time to go over our verses, having missed our regular class due to Camp Chestermere. But we had a gripping, inspiring movie shown to us about the struggles children in East Central Africa face with the threat of abduction and enslavement in the rebel army which is fighting in Congo, Uganda and Sudan. Invisible Children challenged the kids to look into the world and see how they, as one person with the power of Christ, can change the world. It was an excellent presentation and led to good discussions back in our class.
And of course who can forget Chestermere. You likely have heard all the stories by now, so I don't need to go into specific details, but it was a fantastic day. The weather could not have been better (there seems to be a trend as far as our outdoor activities and weather so far this year!) and the kids had a very challenging and enjoyable time. Our speaker, Allison, will be around the school at various points this year, working with the kids to recognise their potential to shape their school environment for God's good purposes. And we did a lot more community building this day as well, making it, all-in-all, another excellent experience for our group.
Thanks so much for partnering with us in this journey and please continue to keep us up to date on what we need to know. And we promise to do the same from our end. Have a great weekend!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Welcome!
Welcome to grade 6! For those of you families who are returning this year, welcome back to the grade 6 experience, and for those of you who are new to grade 6, you are in for a great year.
This is the first post in my weekly updates on what is happening in grade 6, and the reason I do it, is that it is great way for me to put out information to families that can be accessed at any time which is convenient for you. Generally I update it every Friday (though I do do the occasional Saturday update!) and I try to give a flavour of what the week was like in my classroom. Feel free to drop by here anytime, and I may even be able to include some pictures or video.
This week was a rollercoaster mixed with a whirling dervish of activities. I was so impressed with how well the kids have begun to adjust to the demands of our schedule and figuring out where they need to be, when they need to be there. The schedule and how to navigate it to find our classes occupied the majority of our first couple of days. We were able to begin to introduce subjects as well, for which Science, CE, and composition/reading being the main ones kids saw me.
In Science we began to explore what defines a tree, and then started looking at the parts of a tree too. I am hoping to get quite a bit further, including identifying the nutrient cycle and food chains next week. For now though, the kids simply need to finish off their title pages by Tuesday.
In CE, the kids were given all the memory verses they will be learning this year. We also talked about ways they can work with their natural strengths to best learn these verses every week. I definitely encouraged all of the kids to keep the verses somewhere that they do their work regularly, so they can look at the verses a little bit every day. Verse tests will be on either Wednesday or Thursday and make up the bulk of their mark in CE this year. I have also put out the challenge to memorise the 66 books of the bible in the correct order as a bonus "verse", so don't be surprised if you see your child working on that as well. Finally, we identified Matt 22:37-40 as the foundation for what we are doing this year in CE. I encourage you to look it up and discuss with your child why this verse is so important for Christ-followers to remember.
LA was a blast this week. We identified the things we want to achieve in our learning and started down that path. There was no assignments due, but we did create a composition in class called "My Memories of Grade 6". This was essentially the kids looking forward to June, imagining how their year went and describing how they reached their goals as if they had already done it. We will refine these pieces over the next week and then I can maybe post them when done. We also had our first book exchange of the year, started to re-familiarise ourselves with the library routines and look forward every Thursday having all our books in and avoiding any fines for late returns.
In Social Studies, our week centred on looking at the processes of democracy and decision-making. We learned about Autocracy, Oligarchy and Democracy as the three main categories of how groups of people have decided to guide the decision-making for themselves. We also finished up the Pro & Con debate on the use of cell phones that was begun the previous week at camp.
Finally, I want to thank you all of you who came out on Thursday night, for taking the time meet me and see where it is your child is learning. I so look forward to seeing the families of the people I spend so much time with during the week. If you didn't get a chance to come in, the please, come see me another time. And I am always available by e-mail too (quinn.barreth@pallisersd.ab.ca).
I want to wish you a great long weekend (again? already? ;-D) and look forward to updating you on our week next Friday.
This is the first post in my weekly updates on what is happening in grade 6, and the reason I do it, is that it is great way for me to put out information to families that can be accessed at any time which is convenient for you. Generally I update it every Friday (though I do do the occasional Saturday update!) and I try to give a flavour of what the week was like in my classroom. Feel free to drop by here anytime, and I may even be able to include some pictures or video.
This week was a rollercoaster mixed with a whirling dervish of activities. I was so impressed with how well the kids have begun to adjust to the demands of our schedule and figuring out where they need to be, when they need to be there. The schedule and how to navigate it to find our classes occupied the majority of our first couple of days. We were able to begin to introduce subjects as well, for which Science, CE, and composition/reading being the main ones kids saw me.
In Science we began to explore what defines a tree, and then started looking at the parts of a tree too. I am hoping to get quite a bit further, including identifying the nutrient cycle and food chains next week. For now though, the kids simply need to finish off their title pages by Tuesday.
In CE, the kids were given all the memory verses they will be learning this year. We also talked about ways they can work with their natural strengths to best learn these verses every week. I definitely encouraged all of the kids to keep the verses somewhere that they do their work regularly, so they can look at the verses a little bit every day. Verse tests will be on either Wednesday or Thursday and make up the bulk of their mark in CE this year. I have also put out the challenge to memorise the 66 books of the bible in the correct order as a bonus "verse", so don't be surprised if you see your child working on that as well. Finally, we identified Matt 22:37-40 as the foundation for what we are doing this year in CE. I encourage you to look it up and discuss with your child why this verse is so important for Christ-followers to remember.
LA was a blast this week. We identified the things we want to achieve in our learning and started down that path. There was no assignments due, but we did create a composition in class called "My Memories of Grade 6". This was essentially the kids looking forward to June, imagining how their year went and describing how they reached their goals as if they had already done it. We will refine these pieces over the next week and then I can maybe post them when done. We also had our first book exchange of the year, started to re-familiarise ourselves with the library routines and look forward every Thursday having all our books in and avoiding any fines for late returns.
In Social Studies, our week centred on looking at the processes of democracy and decision-making. We learned about Autocracy, Oligarchy and Democracy as the three main categories of how groups of people have decided to guide the decision-making for themselves. We also finished up the Pro & Con debate on the use of cell phones that was begun the previous week at camp.
Finally, I want to thank you all of you who came out on Thursday night, for taking the time meet me and see where it is your child is learning. I so look forward to seeing the families of the people I spend so much time with during the week. If you didn't get a chance to come in, the please, come see me another time. And I am always available by e-mail too (quinn.barreth@pallisersd.ab.ca).
I want to wish you a great long weekend (again? already? ;-D) and look forward to updating you on our week next Friday.
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