Friday October 25th

What a fantastic Open House! The students were excited and eager to show their families around the school Tuesday night. I enjoyed getting to speak with parents and I am looking forward to Interviews in November where we can have more in depth conversations. For those parents not able to make the open house, I will be sending a note home next week with available interview times. 

Language

Students are starting to take their stop and jots now and will be using their thought, connections, questions, and predictions about the books they are reading during Read to Self to a letter. Every other week students will write a letter in their Readers’ Notebook to communicate their comprehension/understanding of the books they are reading. Students have practiced writing a letter as a class with me and have sentence starters/ideas in their Readers Notebook to help them.

Looking for…

- proper letter format

- write a variety of ideas from relate, retell, reflect

- effectively communicates their ideas

- uses examples from the texts and explains their thoughts

Qualities	Level 4	Level 3	Level 2	Level 1
Ideas	Responses consistently include ideas from all comprehension strategies (relate, retell, and reflect) in every letter Shows evidence of critical thinking by demonstrating an understanding of characters and reflecting on the structure of the book	Responses includes ideas from a variety of comprehension strategies (relate, retell, and reflect) in most letters Includes thoughts opinions and feelings about what he/she has read in detail	Responses include ideas from a few comprehension strategies (relate, retell, and reflect) in most letters Includes some thoughts opinions and feelings about what he/she has read	Responses include limited ideas in letters Includes minimal thoughts and opinions about what he/she has read
Communication	Informative and original responses that demonstrate a high level of understanding Ideas and information are communicated in a clear and concise manner	Responses are well written and detailed Ideas and information from the text are communicated clearly	Responses written with some detail Ideas and information from the text are communicated with some clarity	Responses are brief or carelessly written Ideas and information from the text are communicated with minimal clarity
Explanation	Skillfully demonstrates an understanding of what is read by using specific examples and/or quotes from the book to support ideas	Demonstrates an understanding of what is read by using specific examples and/or quotes from the book to support ideas	Demonstrates some understanding of what is read by using simple examples from the book	Demonstrates a lack of understanding by including a few examples from the book

Next week the Grade 5 letters will be due. The following week November 4^th the Grade 4 letters will be due.

Math

In math we have been reviewing our multiplication facts. It is important students are practicing their times tables at home to reinforce what we are doing at school. We spent some time this week on word problems along with creating a bank of strategies we could use to help us solve multiplication problems (Gr. 4 2 digit by 1 digit, Gr. 5 2 digit by 2 digit) 

Grade 5 Anchor Charts 

                                                                  

Grade 4 Anchor Charts

End of October

Time continues to fly! It is almost the end of October and I am looking forward to our Open House at Irma Coulson P.S. We continue to focus on the 6+ 1 writing traits in language and the students will start to use their dot jots (thoughts) to write me a letter this week to display their understanding of their book they are reading during read to self.

In math we are moving into multiplication and division. Continuing to solve word problems using our problem solving pencil.

Grade 5

*divide three-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers

* multiply two-digit whole numbers by two-digit whole numbers

*solve problems involving the addition, subtraction, multiplication of whole numbers, using a variety of mental strategies

* multiplication tables to 12

Grade 4

* divide two-digit whole numbers by one- digit whole numbers, using a variety of tools

* multiply to 9* 9

*divide to 81/9

 * multiply two-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers, using a variety of tools

* multiply whole numbers by 10, 100, and 1000, and divide whole numbers by 10 and 100, using mental strategies

*solve problems involving the multiplication of one-digit whole numbers, using a variety of mental strategies (e.g., 6 x 8 can be thought of as 5 x 8 + 1 x 8);

Resources for all Subjects

http://www.hdsb.ca/library/pages/elementaryinternettools.asp

http://chatt.hdsb.ca/studentinternetresources/grade5

Math Sites

http://www.math-drills.com/algebra.shtml

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me5l/html/Math5.html

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-5

http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=29

Independent Projects, Friday Folders, and Learning Skills

Independent Projects!!!

Throughout the year students will be provided with three times to do independent projects. The focus of these projects is to give students the opportunity to share a topic, or passion of theirs through a presentation (ie. art portfolio, biography on a sport hero, research on Free the Children, or a science experiment etc). It is very open ended in the sense that students choose what they want to do and how they want to present it.  The work is done at home, while at school throughout the month I will call meetings to check in on how students are doing, and help with any guidance. At the end of the month a period will be set-aside for students to share their projects with their classmates and other students in the school. This is a great opportunity for students to display initiative and share their love of learning. It is optional, however I find many students enjoy doing the project!

Learning Skills

Students have taken time these past few weeks to reflect on how they can show all 6 learning skills.

Responsibility

-I can follow classroom rules and show mutual respect to others

-I can use my agenda everyday

-I can return my homework and notes on time

-I can make good use of my time in class and finish my work on time

-I can use positive comments to show others I care

Collaboration

-I can speak politely to others

-I can share my ideas and listen attentively to the ideas of others

-I can use problem-solving strategies to resolve conflicts in a positive way

-I can participate fairly in groups by doing my share, sharing ideas and sharing resources

-I can include others and make them feel valuable and respected

I can speak politely to others

-I can share my ideas and listen attentively to the ideas of others

-I can use problem-solving strategies to resolve conflicts in a positive way

-I can participate fairly in groups by doing my share, sharing ideas and sharing resources

- can help others when they need help

Independent Work

-I can do my best work and check my work before handing it in

-I can follow instructions and listen attentively so that I know what to do

-I can find help when I get stuck

-I can focus on my work and let others focus on their work

-I can do my best work and check my work before handing it in

-I can follow instructions and listen attentively so that I know what to do

-I can find help when I get stuck

-I can focus on my work without being distracted

I can respect my peers by not distracting them from their work

 Organization

-I can keep my locker, desk, classroom and environment neat and clean

I- can bring agenda, notes, lunch, homework and supplies I need to school on time and everyday

-I can choose the best tools and steps to complete my work

-I can set priorities and use my time wisely to get my work done

-I can keep my desk and work books neat and tidy

-I can use the garbage and recycling correctly and I encourage others to do the same

-I can choose the best tools and steps to complete my work

-I can set priorities and use my time wisely to get my work done

Self Regulation

-I can use success criteria to help me reach my goals and improve my work

-I can choose activities that suit my learning style and that match my learning goals

-I can try my best before I ask for help

-I can try to solve problems using problem-solving strategies before asking the teacher for help

-I can keep trying to work on a task even when it is difficult

-I respect my learning space, my teacher and my peers

-I can use success criteria to help me reach my goals and improve my work

-I can choose activities that suit my learning style and that match my learning goals

-I can ask for help when I need it

-I can keep trying to work on a task even when it is difficult

Initiative

-I can try new things with a positive attitude

-I can find ways to improve my work and take risks by trying new things

-I can help myself, and others, to do their best

-I can encourage myself, and others, to make good choices and make a difference

-I can  think WE before ME

-I can use positive comments to show others I care

-I can use my time effectively and hand in my best work on time

-I can focus and stay on task without being distracted

-I can try my best and try new challenges

-I can listen  attentively to the teacher and my peers

-I can follow the 5 classroom rules

-I can use my agenda everyday

-I can return my homework and notes on time

-I can make good use of my time in class and finish my work on time

-I can use positive comments to show others I care

-I can try new things with a positive attitude

-I can find ways to improve my work and take risks by trying new things

-I can help myself, and others, to do their best

-I can encourage myself, and others, to make good choices

Friday Folders!!!

Starting today students will be coming home every Friday with a Friday Folder. These folders are a way to communicate with you on a weekly basis and an opportunity for your child to share some of the work they have done over the past few weeks.  The folders will be sent home on Friday’s and are to be returned the following Monday. There are two pockets in the folder. The first pocket is “Sign and return.” Please go over these items with your child, sign them and send them back in the folder, as these items will be filed into your child’s “Student Portfolio.” The other one “To keep at home” these items are ones that have been completed in class and can stay at home with your child.

Reflection Form: This form is a way for you to add a comment about your child’s work.  This could be something they did well, and/or a next step for your child.  Please fill this form out, every time you see them in your child’s Friday Folder and send it back in your child’s folder on the following Monday. 

Miss. Flett J

         Friday Folder Reflection Form    

Name: __________________________________

Date: ___________________________________

Parent Signature: ­__________________________

Comments: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________