Good Afternoon Families of Room 16!

I am so excited about what is happening in our classroom. 

In literacy we continue to read and write every day. We are learning about myths, legends, fairy tales and other stories. When we get back from spring break we will be focusing on writing or rewriting stories that we have learned from our familes. A letter went home Wednesday, if you have any questions feel free to email me at wjmahon@cbe.ab.ca.

Math has focused on adding and subtracting decimals, grocery shopping using flyers and menu planning for our families. Over the break would be a good chance to let you children work with you to plan and shop using a budget. We have enjoyed this and have learned a lot. After break the focus in math will move to shapes, space and measurement.

The weather unit in science will be completed right after spring break, and I will let you know what units will happen next.

In social studies we are finishing up the section on the regions of Alberta and are ready to move on to more of the history and stories from both Alberta and Canada. We enjoyed an Alberta Online escape room that focused on using the information learned these past few weeks to help escape. We loved it.

Physical Education has focused on using hula hoops and scoops to work on both fine and gross motor skills. The students are learning teamwork, how to pass and catch with a scoop and how to use and work with hula hoops. After spring break we are hoping to do more phys. ed classes outdoors.

Art has involved sketching, painting and analyzing different pieces from different artists. We are currently focused on Leah Dorion's work. We will post pictures when they are completed. Today we took it a step further and enjoyed painting on the snow.

Conversations have happened in health around friendships, and the difference between small problems and big problems. These conversations can also happen at home. We will be moving on to hygiene and review healthy eating and activity habits after the break.

Have a great spring break and we will see everyone back on Tuesday, April 6th.

 Hello Families of Room 16!

The past two weeks have been fabulous. The students have done so much learning, interacting and building community and I must say, they are definitely making me so proud.

I will start off in the order of our daily schedule. The students have told me what to blog about so I am just following the ideas given.

Literacy 

- We read everyday in class. We are either reading independently, with a buddy (side by side not face to face), or with the teacher. When we read we are answering questions that are either literal (answers can be found inside the pages) or inferential (we have to really think about them). We have to make inferences and predictions as well as explain what we are reading. We are using different strategies to read words that are harder, or ask questions if we need more information.

- In writing we have been learning about myths. We are currently planning and writing our own myths. We are really working on adding descriptive language and detail to our stories.

Math

- Decimals is what we have really focused on. We have been comparing, adding and subtracting decimals to the hundredths. We continue to use our basic facts and the skills we learned to carry and borrow if we need to. We have also been learning about money and the connection to decimals. We are doing a meal planning activity next week and it is really exciting. It is on our Google Classroom so we can share it with our families when it is completed.

Health

 - We are learning all about friendships. We have spoken a lot about what a good friend is and how we are good friends. This conversation will continue for the next few lessons.

Art

- The focus this week and next week will be on the works of Leah Dorion, an Indigenous artist. We have read The Giving Tree and are now working on using her ideas and style of painting to create our own.

Science

- The water cycle and weather continue to be our focus here. We have learned the parts of the water cycle and how climate change happens through the greenhouse effect.

Social Studies

- We continue to learn about Alberta. Mrs. Mahon has even said she has also discovered something new, and in turn is changing our research project to incorporate more teamwork and less technology. We will be working more hands on to answer our questions. Ms Neal has also been really helpful in making this happen as well.

Phys Ed

- We have played a lot of different games and activities using hula hoops, as well as continued our traditional tag games to get us moving in the morning.

Fridays are our Land Based Learning Day

- We get to spend time outside focused on learning from the land,  making connections to nature. Today we learned how to filtre water because not everyone has clean water to drink.

Lastly, Circle

- In Circle we are always present, following specific expectations and listening carefully to others. We have been learning to share our feelings with our classmates. We start every morning with circle and always end the day on a positive note with circle.

Stay tuned for our blog in 3 weeks to get an update on what is happening in Room 16! Have a great wekend.

Mrs. Mahon's Marvelous Monsters.

 Good Friday Afternoon Families,

Learning is always happening in Room 16.

LA - Reading and writing are going well. We are learning strategies on how to read more challenging words and learning to answer questions that make us really think about what we are reading. At home, you can help by listening to us read and asking questions when we are done.

Math - We have come to the end of our unit on fractions. We have learned about equivalent fractions, how to make equivalent fractions and how to add and subtract fractions with common and uncommon denominators.

Science - We are learning about weather. We know about temperature, climate and different weather phenomena. We are learning how to write about what we see and feel when we go outside. We are using more descriptive language when we write.

Social Studies - We are learning all about Alberta. We are currently working on a project called Alberta Bound. Through a webquest we will be researching the land, resources, weather, climate, leisure activities and the traditional Indigenous territories of all of Alberta.

Art - We have finished our Jason Carter Art study using the medium of tinfoil to create pictures. We will be moving on to learning about Leah Dorion. She uses dots and colours to create pictures.

Reminders:

1. For March 11th and 12th, Conferences are going to be happening on the Thursday evening and Friday during the day. There is no school on Friday for students. Please book online through the MyCBE Account. If you have challenges booking a time, please let me know asap and I will see where we can assist, but I am unable to book for you.

2. We will be going outside often for learning in the next few weeks before spring break. Please ensure that your student comes prepared for any type of weather.

Have a great weekend,

Mrs. Mahon