Our first week back from winter break has already flashed by and it was a great start to a new year. Here are next week's current events speakers;
Tuesday - Naoko
Wednesday - Michael
Thursday - Annabel
Friday - Robinson
Tuesday - Naoko
Wednesday - Michael
Thursday - Annabel
Friday - Robinson
We welcomed Kevin to our room on Monday I was very proud of the class for making him an integral part of everything we do from day one. While I am sure it is still a bit overwhelming, he really has made a great transition.
We are busy with reading and writing doing book clubs with a novel called In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson doing a lot of work with Theme or the big picture. One of the important questions to ask when you are reading a book is Why was this book written? It will take us three more weeks to complete this then the rest of the year students will form their own book clubs choosing from books I have selected.
Writing is looking at persuasive prose. This can be in the form of an essay, debate or personal letter but always has to have several key components. Students will also be reviewing the writing of a paragraph and how to make sure this is correct. By the end of the unit students will have chosen two ways to write as they try to persuade someone about something that interests them.
Our new math unit is the longest in the year. It is multiplication and division of fractions. As always, it is not just a how to do it but also why does it work and how can you prove that it works. Students are learning models that prove what they do is real. This unit is also very heavy with problems solving having more than half of each lesson with problems associated with the learning.
We started Genius Hour this week. This is a time set aside in class for students to learn about something they would not normally get to learn about in school. Something they are greatly interested in or have a passion about. We are brainstorming ideas and coming up with questions to research and present. Just before spring break, we will present the ideas to the rest of the class and maybe some interested observers.
Monday folders resume on Monday and there is all the marking from before winter break and this past week. It will be quite full. Please sign it, keep the work and have a look over what your student is doing in class. Also a reminder that the second quarter report card comes out next Friday. It will be sent to you in your email.
As we prepare for the Chinese New Year holiday I would like to request advanced knowledge of students who will be leaving early or returning late. This way I can properly plan for the class. Please send me an email if you know this will be your family. I thank you in advance for this.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. I will gladly set a time up to meet with you.
Harold Daw
