Friday, December 21, 2012

Night shot in AMG community

We had our final spelling dictation today.  All of the spelling work for Unit 5 was due to be handed in along with a Reading Response.

I am hoping that we will get through our presentations for our Media products before we begin our class celebration this afternoon.  Here are some of the photos (not the best shots, I used my Blackberry) of the poster that will be presented today:

Here are a few low resolution photos of the presentations from Friday:

Have a safe and joyous holiday!  
See you in 2013.

If I am correct, this is the 200th post for my blog.  Cool.

The class worked on a Reading Response this morning.  I thought I would use a news story that was new and decided on the issue of the GM plant in Oshawa moving the production of the Camaro to the United States (Lansing, Michigan).  We watched the news story at this CBC website: 

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2318849140/?sort=MostRecent

Here is a Youtube clip of when the production first began in Oshawa back in 2010.

The article I used for the response came from the Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1304501--gm-in-oshawa-to-lose-camaro-production

Here is the Reading Response I modelled in the class:

Tomorrow the class will be presenting their sales pitch to the class.  Each student will have an image of their poster on the Promethean Board and then presenting their script.  Using the checklist, the students created jot notes and then a script.  Some typed and some wrote.  Today they shared them with one another, practicing for tomorrow's presentation.

I shared my script with the class and highlighted the items from the checklist to show them what they needed to cover.

The checklist used to keep students on task for the assignment

HOMEWORK
- spelling final dictation and class work
- presentation of Media scripts
- Reading Response #6

Monday, December 17, 2012

Due to morning appointments, I was absent but we had a full afternoon of work.

I thought it was important to have a discussion today about the tragic events which took place in Connecticut over the weekend.  Many students participated and I wanted the class to have an opportunity to ask questions about the incident and validate some of the concerns or fears they had.  For all of the victims, both living and dead, may you rest in peace.

We are in the closing stages of completing The Hunger Games.  I am hoping that we will be able to watch the film as part of a celebration on Friday afternoon before the holidays.

HOMEWORK
- write out spelling list words three times each
 (all of the words 16x3)
- Complete spelling homework sheet for Friday and prepare for final dictation  this work will be reviewed again on Wednesday; come with any questions you might have about Unit 5

THERE IS NO SCHOOL TOMORROW DUE TO THE LEGAL ETT JOB ACTION.  SCHOOL WILL RESUME ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19.
 

Thursday, December 13, 2012

For those of you who need a reminder about the Media assignment. here are a few things:

Checklist for both parts of assignment and persuasive words

Proudfoot sample

Success Criteria for assignment

As we prepare for a short quiz tomorrow in Math, Ariane (not pictured), John, and Kiara helped solve and teach the class about the following EQAO question using the problem solving method  we have used over the past week:

homework:

- short King Henry Math Quiz using the problem solving method

 have a pleasant evening
please check the blog from the last few days to see samples of questions done using the King Henry method

12/12/12

a photo from:  https://www.facebook.com/events/477499815635054/

We did a journal entry this morning based on an episode from the Twilight Zone.  Here is the question on the sheet I handed out:

As usual, I try to model an answer for the class.  Here is my response, for the students to see.  It is based on a true story from last night!

Another example of a problem solving question we did in class:

Here is one of our hard working students, Ariane, completing this same Math question and her answer:

This is a mini research assignment we are doing in Science.  It is designed not to be too long but still requires some research skills.

HOMEWORK
- EQAO questions 22& 33 using the problem solving method
- jot notes to be completed for Media project (this was due today and only a few students completed this!)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

For homework tonight is a question from the Grade 6 EQAO assessment.  We spent some time practising a problem solving question using the method I introduced to them last week.  They worked in small groups and then I wrote up the answer using the KMWC template.

 This particular method of problem solving emphasizes breaking down the question into smaller parts for a clearer understanding of the problem.  For homework, one of four EQAO questions were assigned to be completed.  Here are the questions:

Yesterday, we concluded our Science lab on the dissolving jawbreakers.  I am in the process of grading them and disappointed that more students did not complete the Lab.   

dissolved candies (digested by water and vinegar)

The lab had to do with the process of digestion.  We will be doing a short research project on some aspect of the digestive system. 

To demonstrate how the initial steps of digestion takes place, each student placed a cracker in his or her mouth and observed how the saliva began to break it down.  The saliva contains amylase which begins the process of breaking down starch (chemical digestion).  After holding the cracker in the mouth for one minute, the mechanical digestion began with the chewing.

cracker holding and chewing (mmmm!)

 The Media project will be coming to an end.  The Art portion is expected to be complete this week.  I revised the Success |Criteria chart to make it clear what is expected of the assignment.  I also created an example of the jot notes, based on Matthew's project, for the sales pitch (presentation to class) on the product.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Ms. Tai dropped by the class today to see the Promethean board in action as we proceeded on our problem solving unit.  Here is the question that I posted (I noticed that I had made some errors when I was creating the question and solved them in the following image).

Using the model of KMWC (what you know, how you can model the problem, what the question wants you to do, and what information you can cross out), we began to problem solve in the class.

John and Monique volunteered to do the calculations involving conversion from millilitres to litres and the total amount of Coke in the six-pack.

I began this unit by getting the students to understand that most things we encounter on a regular basis are challenges or problems we may need to solve.  For instance, if I was an Electrician (which is what I would like to be if I wasn't teaching) and had to do some installations for Kenny, I would need to think about a few things.  I used the same KMWC template to guide my thinking.

 Just last night I had to do an emergency repair on my kitchen sink and had to do some quick problem solving (I know some basic plumbing, I took some photos to show the salesperson at Lowes, and needed to figure out what pipes and parts I need so I don't flood my kitchen).

rusted!

I did not get a chance to post the Science Centre photos but did find my cable in the class so I could upload them.  Here are some of the images:

In class we began an experiment using 4 candies placed in the identical volume of water (40ml) and vinegar.  In 2 of the cases, the candy was crushed and in the other 2, the candies were left whole.  For homework last night, which was not done by a number of students, they had to write an educated guess, or hypothesis, of what they think was going to happen.  It was to be done in a chart that they copied into their notebooks.

We will be concluding this lab on Monday.  Here are some photos:

The initial drop in the vinegar and water

About 30 minutes later

I recently took a photo of the homework tracking chart for you to see, not in any specific detail, how your son or daughter is progressing in relation to the work that is assigned on a regular basis.  Here is the photo.  Before the end of the school year, I would like to send home an informal Progress Report (one generated by Room 52) on the work habits since our Parent Teacher interviews about a month ago.  If you have any concerns or questions, please write me a note in the agenda or call me at the school.

 

HOMEWORK
- complete Rewrites for Monday 
- have your Math tests signed
- show parent(s) your Art/Writing mark
- complete hypothesis work  for four jars and candies
- re-read Malala article
Enjoy your long weekend.

eating 1 gram of mini marshmellows

group shot just off the bus near the Science Centre

sun reflection 1 from Room 52

sun reflection 2 from Room 52