Wednesday 19 December 2012
Bursting with Pride! School Spirit at its Best!
The final tally was $750.00! We came together as a school community to support L.A.W.S. and it was a roaring success! On Monday Rufus (the Saint Bernard) and David C. (the V.P. of L.A.W.S.) stopped in to thank us and to tell us a little bit about all of the wonderful work L.A.W.S. does for the community. He was overjoyed with our donations and Mrs. T. and I could not have been more proud! When the idea came to us we never guessed that it would be such a success! Congratulations to everyone and thank you once again for all your contributions!
Our Christmas Writing! Language Learning in December!
The grade ones are continuing to work on writing interesting sentences with details. They are reminded to read over their sentences to make sure they make sense. When they edit their sentences they are looking for their own mistakes to correct. They should be recognizing missing or the incorrect use of capital letters, missing punctuation, misspelled word wall words, proper letters sizes and spacing between words, etc.... This is something that can be practiced at home. Even if you encourage your son or daughter to write one sentence each night. It's a great opportunity to practise the word wall words for that week. Use flashcards with word wall words and mix up the words. Now put the words together to make a sentence! Don't forget to use flashcards for the different types of punctuation and name the words that would need a capital letter. We used our sentence writing skills to write Christmas sentences. You can see them on the red and green lights which are decorating our bulletin board.
The grade twos are learning to use the wonderful sentences they learned to write in grade one for writing powerful paragraphs! They know what a topic sentence is and why it is important in a paragraph. They are becoming more skilled when writing the detail sentences that support the topic sentence. They really do love to write and read and it warms my heart to see them eager to work and express all of their wonderful ideas! Editing is still and area that needs work but it too is coming along! Sometimes those simple mistakes are the hardest to find! All of our paragraph writing skills are also displayed on the bulletin board! The grade twos worked in groups of two or three to write their own Christmas paragraph. We brainstormed the topic sentences together and each group then chose the topic sentence they wanted to turn into a paragraph! The silver ornaments shine just as brightly as our paragraphs!
Ho Ho Ho Ho'tastic work everyone!!!
The grade twos are learning to use the wonderful sentences they learned to write in grade one for writing powerful paragraphs! They know what a topic sentence is and why it is important in a paragraph. They are becoming more skilled when writing the detail sentences that support the topic sentence. They really do love to write and read and it warms my heart to see them eager to work and express all of their wonderful ideas! Editing is still and area that needs work but it too is coming along! Sometimes those simple mistakes are the hardest to find! All of our paragraph writing skills are also displayed on the bulletin board! The grade twos worked in groups of two or three to write their own Christmas paragraph. We brainstormed the topic sentences together and each group then chose the topic sentence they wanted to turn into a paragraph! The silver ornaments shine just as brightly as our paragraphs!
Ho Ho Ho Ho'tastic work everyone!!!
Thursday 22 November 2012
The Grade One - Miss Spider Bulletin Board
Math and language inspired by one story! Fabulous party lists, cool doubles counting and number sentences, and great problem solving team work!
Keep practising those sound chunks!
en, en, pen!
aw, aw, paw!
ou, ou shout!
Keep going...don't stop...!
Keep practising those sound chunks!
en, en, pen!
aw, aw, paw!
ou, ou shout!
Keep going...don't stop...!
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Learning with Miss Spider - Turkey patterns and Super Sentences!
We have been very busy and I have been neglecting the Blog! I hope to make up for that with a couple of posts to catch you up!
It was great to see so many parents at the Student-Led Conferences! I know how excited the students were to show off their hard work! Don't forget you are welcome to come in any time to look at your child's progress and/or to chat with me about any questions, concerns, or curiosities you may have.
Our Grade One Miss Spider bulletin board has grown to include our math word problems, our Miss Spider party lists, and our spider doubles in math. I will take one more picture of the finished product before we start to dismantle it for our new work.
The Grade Two turkey feather patterns have already gone home along with the artful number patterns that followed shortly after. We used a T chart to display the growing or shrinking patterns of the feathers on each turkey. The number art patterns were a little more challenging but I had confidence in everyone's ability and determination. Everybody rose to the challenge and they did a wonderful job!
The last picture shows how the grade twos have been building Super Sentences with details! In our sentences we try to include the noun, a verb, adjectives, and words that tell when and where! When we mixed up our sentences and read the details we laughed at the very silly, mixed up sentences.
My next post will show our counting songs! Stay tuned!
It was great to see so many parents at the Student-Led Conferences! I know how excited the students were to show off their hard work! Don't forget you are welcome to come in any time to look at your child's progress and/or to chat with me about any questions, concerns, or curiosities you may have.
Our Grade One Miss Spider bulletin board has grown to include our math word problems, our Miss Spider party lists, and our spider doubles in math. I will take one more picture of the finished product before we start to dismantle it for our new work.
The Grade Two turkey feather patterns have already gone home along with the artful number patterns that followed shortly after. We used a T chart to display the growing or shrinking patterns of the feathers on each turkey. The number art patterns were a little more challenging but I had confidence in everyone's ability and determination. Everybody rose to the challenge and they did a wonderful job!
The last picture shows how the grade twos have been building Super Sentences with details! In our sentences we try to include the noun, a verb, adjectives, and words that tell when and where! When we mixed up our sentences and read the details we laughed at the very silly, mixed up sentences.
My next post will show our counting songs! Stay tuned!
Tuesday 6 November 2012
Tuesday 9 October 2012
Making words and sentences come alive!
Starfall Reading, Games, Activities,
Learning and Fun! The grade ones have been enjoying the activities
and games on the Starfall website! There are so many excellent learning
experiences to explore! Click on the link and check it out with your
child tonight. Learning and practising but they won’t even know it’s
happening because they will be too busy having a blast!
Hey Grade 2s… check this out! This is my newest find on the Internet! Or as my son says..."the newest breakthrough in descriptive writing"! He should know... he came home all excited and he couldn't wait to show it to me. Now I'm excited about sharing it with you...here's the link… Make your own pic lit! We have been working on writing super sentences in class! We have talked about adjectives, nouns, and verbs. Most recently we have been learning how adjectives and descriptive words help the reader to visualise our writing. This website is a wonderful way to learn new and exciting words and you can create your own SUPER SENTENCE with just the click and drag of a mouse! Some of the pictures and words are above the grade two grade level but there are many great ones to pick from!
Mrs. Wolynice's PicLit...check it out!
Hey Grade 2s… check this out! This is my newest find on the Internet! Or as my son says..."the newest breakthrough in descriptive writing"! He should know... he came home all excited and he couldn't wait to show it to me. Now I'm excited about sharing it with you...here's the link… Make your own pic lit! We have been working on writing super sentences in class! We have talked about adjectives, nouns, and verbs. Most recently we have been learning how adjectives and descriptive words help the reader to visualise our writing. This website is a wonderful way to learn new and exciting words and you can create your own SUPER SENTENCE with just the click and drag of a mouse! Some of the pictures and words are above the grade two grade level but there are many great ones to pick from!
Mrs. Wolynice's PicLit...check it out!
Tuesday 2 October 2012
New Favourite YouTube Videos!
I have posted a few new YouTube videos that we have been using in class. Most have been used for the grade ones but the twos have enjoyed reviewing their chunks of sound in the “Double Phonics Chant”. Both classes are encouraged to search for chunks of sound in the words they see every day!
You may even want to turn the reading of the sound chunks into a race! How fast can you read… an, et, and, in, it, ant? When you get really fast mix them around and try again! Grade twos should be using small chunks as well as the large chunks and spelling patterns we have learned, (i.e. ake, ent, ur, ir, ar, or, and, ite, etc…).
Don’t forget to search my old Blogger posts for more EXCELLENT videos and ideas!
Coming soon...pictures of our new language bulletin boards!
Grade One Language Stations
We have been very busy
learning the rules and routines and we have been working very hard!
Sometimes our work doesn’t even seem like work!
Our language and math stations are a great example of the work we can’t
wait to start! This picture shows one of
our grade one language stations. The
students are using magnets and sticky notes to create their own sentences using
the word wall words we have learned and sounding out (for the words they do not
know).
Tuesday 18 September 2012
Wednesday 29 August 2012
Sneak Peak Before the First Day of School
I'm at school (and I have been here for many days) working hard to get everything ready for all of my grade ones and twos!
I only took pictures of the tidy areas! I can't wait to see everyone! I hope you have all received your letter and you are just excited as I am for the first day!
Well I better get back to work. There's still so much to do! Enjoy the sunny days! I will see you very soon!
I only took pictures of the tidy areas! I can't wait to see everyone! I hope you have all received your letter and you are just excited as I am for the first day!
Well I better get back to work. There's still so much to do! Enjoy the sunny days! I will see you very soon!
Saturday 28 July 2012
FREE homeschool printables and resources for parents - SparkleBox
FREE homeschool printables and resources for parents - SparkleBox
There are just too many great downloads so this link has them all! Everything from notes for the tooth fairy to a checklist for packing your backpack (an excellent new independent routine to start). They even have organizational tools and daily routine/communication sheets. Hope you find it useful! It's a great site to check into often or to follow on Google+! Enjoy!
There are just too many great downloads so this link has them all! Everything from notes for the tooth fairy to a checklist for packing your backpack (an excellent new independent routine to start). They even have organizational tools and daily routine/communication sheets. Hope you find it useful! It's a great site to check into often or to follow on Google+! Enjoy!
Number formation worksheets 10-20 (SB3305) - SparkleBox
Number formation worksheets 10-20 (SB3305) - SparkleBox
Good Morning! The Link above is a download for the grade one students who may still need some help forming and recognizing their numbers to 20. So if you are looking for some summer refreshers or you're hoping to get a jump start on September these sheets are a lot of fun and the SparkleBox website is an excellent resource! Happy Counting!
Good Morning! The Link above is a download for the grade one students who may still need some help forming and recognizing their numbers to 20. So if you are looking for some summer refreshers or you're hoping to get a jump start on September these sheets are a lot of fun and the SparkleBox website is an excellent resource! Happy Counting!
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Wednesday 23 May 2012
New Math Stations for Fractions, Balancing Equations, and Money
I have included a few photos of some of our new math stations. The grade ones and the grade twos have begun working with probability, and fractions and we are reviewing equal equations, problem solving, and money concepts.
Many of the students continue to need more practice with their addition and subtraction strategies. Please try to practice a few each night. I.e. skip counting, adding doubles, adding ten and nine, etc....
In language we are preparing for our spring writing assessment. The grade ones are learning to write a friendly letter and both classes are learning PERSUASIVE writing.
The grade ones are working on stating their opinion and including, interesting and exciting, supporting details. The grade twos have been looking at advertising and the persuasive way advertisements convince us to buy things we don't need.
We continue to practice all of our reading strategies when we read. I have begun the reading assessments and your child will soon receive, (if they have not already received one), a certificate with their reading level at the beginning of the year and their reading level now! I am so proud of their progress!!! The grade ones should be reading at a level 16 and the grade twos should be reading at a level 24 at this point in the year. Don't forget to continue reading over the summer. Even if they are not at grade level yet a summer of reading can give them that needed boost!
Many of the students continue to need more practice with their addition and subtraction strategies. Please try to practice a few each night. I.e. skip counting, adding doubles, adding ten and nine, etc....
In language we are preparing for our spring writing assessment. The grade ones are learning to write a friendly letter and both classes are learning PERSUASIVE writing.
The grade ones are working on stating their opinion and including, interesting and exciting, supporting details. The grade twos have been looking at advertising and the persuasive way advertisements convince us to buy things we don't need.
We continue to practice all of our reading strategies when we read. I have begun the reading assessments and your child will soon receive, (if they have not already received one), a certificate with their reading level at the beginning of the year and their reading level now! I am so proud of their progress!!! The grade ones should be reading at a level 16 and the grade twos should be reading at a level 24 at this point in the year. Don't forget to continue reading over the summer. Even if they are not at grade level yet a summer of reading can give them that needed boost!
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Open House Math Stations
Small but mighty! We had several students away and only one visitor but we still had a fabulous time working on our math stations!
I have included a few pictures from our busy afternoon. I will be away Thursday and Friday but when I get back I will have lots to share with the students! I will be at a big math conference and I am very excited about the opportunities and the learning! I can't wait to tell the students all about the math!
I hope everyone stayed dry on such a soggy day!
I have included a few pictures from our busy afternoon. I will be away Thursday and Friday but when I get back I will have lots to share with the students! I will be at a big math conference and I am very excited about the opportunities and the learning! I can't wait to tell the students all about the math!
I hope everyone stayed dry on such a soggy day!
Friday 4 May 2012
Group Problem Solving
Just a quick glimpse into our afternoon! The grade twos worked in groups to solve our math problems. We are continuing to use the 4 step problem solving method. We recently completed a math assessment and now we are working on improving our responses so that our final assessment will be top notch! I'm so proud of all of my mathematicians! 
Monday 30 April 2012
Strategies!
I have included a picture of the mental math strategies that we are working on in class. It would be wonderful if the students could practice a new math strategy each night or even each week. These strategies will continue to strengthen their math skills well beyond grade one and two!
The APE strategy is used when answering questions during our reading and writing lessons. We will continue to practice these skills in class while we get more familiar with the A.P.E. model for answering questions. I hope to include some sample answers so that you can see the criteria we use. You may also see this used when I assess the work the students complete in their daily writing activities. I hope the picture will help you to see what I am referring to in my comments.
When reading nightly with your child it would be helpful to ask your child questions about the story. Make sure that he/she is giving full sentence answers to the question, (not one word answers). I.e. Why was Anna angry at the party? Anna was angry because the dog jumped up and ate her cake. In the story they talked about the dog having cake all over his face. That happened to a friend of mine and it made him very angry because it was his cake.
The APE strategy is used when answering questions during our reading and writing lessons. We will continue to practice these skills in class while we get more familiar with the A.P.E. model for answering questions. I hope to include some sample answers so that you can see the criteria we use. You may also see this used when I assess the work the students complete in their daily writing activities. I hope the picture will help you to see what I am referring to in my comments.
When reading nightly with your child it would be helpful to ask your child questions about the story. Make sure that he/she is giving full sentence answers to the question, (not one word answers). I.e. Why was Anna angry at the party? Anna was angry because the dog jumped up and ate her cake. In the story they talked about the dog having cake all over his face. That happened to a friend of mine and it made him very angry because it was his cake.
Math Art!
We were very busy Friday creating our math art. We have been talking about sharing equally and creating equal groups to represent our introduction into multiplication and division. The students did a beautiful job. The students also learned how to represent their sharing as an addition sentence. I.e. 2+2+2+2=8 (the grade twos are beginning to understand the equal sharing as a multiplication sentence as well - 2x4=8).
Just a sneak peek! Hope everyone had a restful weekend!
Just a sneak peek! Hope everyone had a restful weekend!
Sunday 8 April 2012
Hoppy Easter
I hope everyone is having an EGG-citing Easter! The Easter Bunny made a mess at our House! I hope he behaved himself at yours! I had 18 eggs on the table but when I turned around there were only 5! Can you help me figure out how many are missing?
Thursday 29 March 2012
My NEW Favourite Learning Site!
My course is almost over and I am hoping to be checking in more often! I just wanted to pop in to post a couple of our experiences today. When your child got home today did you ask... "what did you do today at school?"...and was the answer "nothing"? Well I beg to differ! We got to experience some very entertaining math lessons today! Just check out the links below!
Learning the Importance of Place Value!
We even took a trip to... Math Park!
Learning the Importance of Place Value!
We even took a trip to... Math Park!
Tuesday 28 February 2012
More Goodies! Parent ideas, tips, and resources!
More Goodies
Parent Resources and Tips
GAMES!!! WOO HOO!!! This site allows you to choose an age level grouping and then a category. There are many games to strengthen concepts and strategies (but don't tell the kids they will think they are just playing)! This website is definitely worth exploring! Let me know if you find any more worth taking a look at in class or any I should be adding to my Blog! I would love to get your feedback!
Math Games
P.S. Just click on the underlined title and that link will take you right to the site!
Parent Resources and Tips
GAMES!!! WOO HOO!!! This site allows you to choose an age level grouping and then a category. There are many games to strengthen concepts and strategies (but don't tell the kids they will think they are just playing)! This website is definitely worth exploring! Let me know if you find any more worth taking a look at in class or any I should be adding to my Blog! I would love to get your feedback!
Math Games
P.S. Just click on the underlined title and that link will take you right to the site!
Let me explain...
I apologize for my absence recently. A two day
workshop in Toronto, starting my 3 month math specialist course online, report
cards, a broken washing machine, ...let's just say life has gotten a little busy!
There aren’t enough hours in the day! Hopefully
you haven't given up on me altogether and you are continuing to check in with
my Blog!
I am currently working on the math calendar and language
calendar for March. I will be listing
the new strategies and concepts that we will be working on and I will include
more details about each in my Blog. I am
starting with a few websites and videos that may help. Yikes...look what time it is...off to make
dinner...I’ll be right back! In the mean
time check out this site! P.S. I love it
when the kids come into class and they tell me that they were on the Blog! COOL!!!
Mental Math Strategies
Math Games, Worksheets, Practice, ...
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