a few images from the Island School Outdoor Education experience, beginning our Goal writing exercise, and using the agenda to keep track of Homework

Island School

There are a lot of photos to organize and sort out, but I thought I would post up a few.  The trip was fantastic!

Goal Setting writing exercise

Brainstorming:  What do we know already?

This is an activity that should begin near the start of the year.  Now that our BIG trip for the Term has passed, we will begin to settle more into the world of curriculum.  This mini unit will happen over a few days.  To begin with, we will glance at a few visuals, to get our brains working around this important topic.

http://www.newfoundbalance.com/new-year-new-goals/

The idea of creating SMART goals will be explored in the coming days.  To assist with this exercise, we will be doing some brainstorming around what is important and narrowing in on what we want.  For homework, we will be looking at this planning sheet.

This is not due until Wednesday.  I would like your son or daughter to share it with you, so that you have a sense of what is important to them for this school year.

As we take this page to the next stage of writing, we will look at a story on Ashley Cowan, who is now 30 years of age, and a solo swimmer:  http://www.soloswims.com/cowan.htm

Olympic athlete, Laura Wilkinson, talks about the importance of having goals?
Who is she?

Fourteen years later, she discusses her preparation and how goals have provided her with a sense of direction.

I have put the class names on the homework chart and will begin to record items that have and have not been completed.  I post Homework on the front board and encourage students to use the agenda that they paid for.

Here  is what the Homework board, in the classroom, looks like today:

I won't post this everyday, but this gives you an idea of where reminders are posted in the classroom.

Homework

Community Circle sharing of Island School memories

Day 4:  JUMP Math Multiplication

Pathway/Goal Setting chart

any outstanding forms for the office

New York Times exercise, small steps in developing sentences and paragraphs, a look at the Homework/Assignment board and chart

Last week we looked at an old copy of the New York Times inferencing activity pertaining to the garbage strike in Lebanon. Yesterday, the first image was posted for this school year for students to check out. Here is the link to the image that we will explore in our journals:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/whats-going-on-in-this-picture-sept-12-2016/?_r=0 

Here is a teaser image, from the page:

Checking out the full sized image before journaling

Similar to learning the basics 1-10 Multiplication table, understanding how to write a paragraph is an important thing.  I remember last June, during a planning session, Mr. Fuller (Grade 4/5) suggested I try teaching my Sentence unit in conjunction with the skill of paragraphing.

First, we began working on a KWL (what we know, what we want to learn, and what we learned) chart on the topics of sentence writing and paragraphs.  We will add to this as we move forward:

I often used YouTube videos, in conjunction with handouts, in-class lessons, and practice time. The following videos will assist us when looking at the type of sentences we will work with.

Proudfoot example:

Today, we only worked on practicing Simple and Compound sentences.  We will return to these videos and explore Complex Sentences at another date.  Here are some of the students at work:

One of the groups, who  posted up a sign claiming themselves to be the Diva group, wanted to present.  This is not the best quality, but here is the video:

A shot of the sentences, awaiting my feedback after the trip to the Island School.

This is a topic or post we will have to return to. Learning how to write a variety of sentences and a solid paragraph does not happen in one day.  It is my hope that we will carry these skills into the other subject areas.

Although some of my students found this song annoying, this is a short and catchy video to explain the workings of a basic paragraph.

I have not started recording things on the Homework chart in the back of the class.  In light of the Cross Country Check Up link I posted yesterday, I will confess that there will be homework and assignments from time to time.  Generally, I have two methods to help the students keep track of the work:

This is on the front board.  Most students will write down what they need to do in the agenda.

An image of the Homework/Assignment chart from several years ago.  A simple smile acknowledges the completion of an assignment and a red X indicates that you have something to complete.  

I may not bring my computer to the Island School and will not blog until the weekend. At that point, I will post some images from our trip. See you soon! Thanks for helping your son or daughter prepare for this trip.

http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/island/logo.gif

Developing Room 28's Class Expectations, Island School packing list, looking at Multiples and Factors, Curriculum Night and Cross Country Meet # 1 date

To be edited:

Island School Packing list

I gave out a short homework assessment, just to see how the students did on the Day 1 JUMP Math approach to learning the 1-10 Multiplication tables.  Tomorrow, the goal is to learn the 9 times table.

I showed the class a method -- known as the Lattice approach -- that could be done, based on the weekend's homework.  In theory, the students had to learn the 1-5 tables.  With this approach, a question, such as the one posted below, could be completed:

The approach on the right is one of many methods that can be used.  The Lattice approach is on the right. As the 1-10 tables are mastered, we will be able to explore a variety of methods and approaches to ensure the students are comfortable and competent in the learning.

Curriculum Night is on Thursday, September 29, 2016:  

1730-1930

The first Cross Country meet will be on Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at Ashbridge's Bay. 

More details to follow. 

Cross Country Check-Up (CBC) on the "homework debate"

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/checkup

The podcast is available for a listen.  There is a nice balance of adults and students speaking.