daw.com - January 24

What a great week we have just completed.  There were several times this past week I had to offer Kudos to the class for their outstanding work and behavior.  It was fantastic.​

We started off with the dissection of a pigs heart and also looked at the inflation of pigs lungs.  We did not get the best results with the lungs but I think everyone got the idea that they are not a muscle but rather an organ.  The heart dissection went off great with everyone able to find the four chambers of the heart, several valves and even a few of the arteries and veins.  Who knows, maybe there is a budding doctor or medical researcher among the class.  We also talked about how this all comes about with respect being the key component of the discussion.

Students have also been to centers involving the skeletal/muscular system, digestive system, respiratory system and will finish next week with nervous system and sensory system.  There is a lot over overlap in these systems but this is something we want them to learn about.

We spent two days wearing heart rate monitors and the students where quite enamored with the change in their heart rates over time and depending on the activity.  There was one interesting comment from a student about how relaxed they must be during math since that was when their heart rate was the lowest.  I admit I would like to think so, but I am not sure that is class wide.

We are well along in completing the scripts to our section of the Monkey King production to be held later in the year.  First drafts are now complete so edits and rewrites will be finished this week.  We are using the new Office365 system to do this and with one minor hiccup, everything has gone smoothly. I am particularly glad to see the leadership from several class members in getting this completed.  I really have left it almost entirely in the students hands.

This week sees us finishing the first of three units on fractions, decimals and percent with the second one completed before Chinese New Year and the third about two weeks after.  It is a hard section of math for students but so important as the move on in their math studies to middle and high school.  There are some students struggling so we are going slow to make sure everyone really gets the most out of the learning.

We will make our way to the kitchen next Friday at 1:30pm to bake Cinnamon Muffins.  All is set and we are ready to be the best bakers we can be.  This is in conjunction with the math unit since so many of the measurements are fractions.  After the muffins have baked, I am sure they will be consumed by the whole class.  Please feel free to join us in the kitchen on the main floor beside the PTA store and cafeteria.

I am planning the Literature Circle/Book Clubs for students and hope to do some teaching of this during the week so we can use this fantastic method of learning about reading for the rest of the year.  Students will have some choice over the books they read, but they do have to be at the level their reading is at currently.

As always, if there are questions you have or problems you see, let me know and I will gladly set a time up to talk with you.

Harold Daw

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daw.com - January 16

​A new year is upon us and already it has been quite a week.  I hope everyone had a restful holiday.  I really enjoyed seeing my family and being back in Canada for a VERY cold Christmas break.

I want to let everyone know that our class picture will be on Tuesday January 20 so I would ask that everyone dress up nicely.  It is a non-PE day so students do not need to worry about having to change in and out of gym clothes during the day.  An order form was sent home on Friday for families that want to order a class picture.  Bring the form and the money on Tuesday to give to the photographer.

This week we have returned to many of the things we were doing before break.  Regular homework started again but this time with a look at Synonyms and problem solving. This will continue for several weeks to come.  I am hoping that reading is a nightly activity in your house now and that it continues every day of the week.  Being a well read student is part of being well educated.  20 minutes every night should not change any routines in the household.  Homework packets are always due on the last day of the week - usually a Friday.

Monday folders will return next week with many items in it as we completed several projects this past week.  They should also be signed and returned by Friday of each week.  The student's work is yours to keep.

We are now in the Human Body unit and I have indicated to the class that while some people look at this with almost an unkind eye, really it should be held in awe.  To think that the machine we call a body works all by itself for 24 hours everyday, is truly a magnificent thing to behold.  The emphasis of this unit is on living a healthy lifestyle as well as learning about the human body and how its various systems integrate to keep us happy and healthy.

Starting next week the students will rotate through seven(7) stations representing various systems and contexts of the human body.  They will be involved in disecting heart and lungs, looking at lung capacity, working on wellness excersizes and many more concepts.  There is also some front loading of information reguarding the skeletal and muscular system happening.

I am quite pleased that for the most part, students bring very healthy snacks.  During our unit on the Human Body, I would like to ask that this both continue and become a discussion at home.  It is certainly part of what keeps us healthy.  It also makes learning far better when a student's body is happily satisfied with the intake of food.

We also started to write our part of the Monkey King.  This is a performance that will happen as part of the Performing Arts classes later in the year.  To start off, each class is given a section of the tale and this has to be written in a script to be performed.  It is the student's responsibility to complete this as they are the ones performing the play.  I have reviewed how to write a script, the technique of script writing and we have already divided into two groups for Act 1 and and Act 2 of the performance.  Students have listed the characters (cast) and already started writing the script for each act.  I find this very exciting as I have done a lot of acting in my life and also written a script that was performed at another school I worked at.  I am hoping this motivates them to really put their heart and soul into the performance.  As time comes closer, I will also help them with the choreography and blocking of the performance.

Our math unit on fractions continues and I have to admit that the students are finding this a little more challenging than some of the other units.  I have slowed down somewhat to really make sure they understand what I need them to know about fractions, decimals and percent.  We should finishe the unit later next week but I am not goping to rush this as these concepts are very important to future math.

As part of this unit I am hoping to get into the kitchen and do some baking of muffins.  So much of cooking is fractions (in the imperial measurement system) that it should help students make a real world connection with fractions and baking.

I had students repeat their explorer presentations this week as I was not pleased with their past effort.  It was amazing to see the improvement.  I take some of the responsibiluty for this as we ran out of time just before Christmas break.  We covered what is really needed for a great presentation.

As always, if there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Harold Daw

daw.com - December 12

This will be my last blog post for 2014.  I have to admit that time has passed very quickly but overall I am very satisfied with the growth and learning of my class.

Next week is a bit mixed up as it will primarily be to complete projects followed by some celebrations at the end of the week.

Monday will see our PBL exhibition finally take shape.  All the pieces are complete and ready to be displayed.  The entire hallway in the 5^th grade area will be taken over by the PBL Timeline project.  I think it important that parents know this is entirely a student project.  I presented the idea to the class, they selected the formatting of the exhibition, how the pieces would be displayed, divided up the work load among all members of the class and proceeded to complete both the research and products.  All this will come to a conclusion on Monday.  I will complete the assessment for this project next week and send it home after the holidays with the Monday Folder.

Explorer projects are also now complete (for the most part).  On Monday and Tuesday students will video tape each other and then produce an aura and post it on Arasma.  This aura’s will be available outside the classroom for the whole month of January.  All you need is the app or you can stop by and borrow an iPad from me to view the work.  It has been quite a journey and I am satisfied with the outcomes of the students.

We have also completed our Speculative Fiction stories and I am in the midst of producing our first class book.  I should have this out to students upon their return after the Winter Break.  Every student will get a copy.

We have also completed out first novel study of the year so next week students will be doing their first video reading journal entry and also have a poster to complete on the impacts of the characters in the story.  We will continue with book clubs in the New Year.

Thursday is the annual grade 5 Winterfest and there are tons of great activities planned, an buffet lunch and then a movie in the afternoon.  This is always a welcome respite for the grade 5 students at this time of year.

Please remember that on Friday all students are dismissed at 11:30 and there is only one bus for the day.  There are no ASA or afterschool sports this day.  All students are expected to go home at dismissal.

I  would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you the best of the season and warm wishes for a relaxed and restful break.  I look forward with enthusiasm to seeing everyone again in the new year.

Harold Daw