*UPDATE: March 2 - March 9

Dear Friends,

This will be our last week of school before the March break!  We have a lot to finish up and a couple field trips!

Social Studies and Drama
*Folklore, history and personal narratives are all weaved together in our program.

How can folktales tell you about a civilization?

Civilization = any type of culture, society, etc., of a specific place, time, or group: Greek civilization.


Social Studies focus: Early Civilizations (Gr.5)                   Medieval Times (Gr. 4)

*Activity: Stories from my Past
What is your personal narrative, or life story?  We shared our own stories about different themes such as most memorable birthday or vacation, or greatest fears.  How descriptive were you in the 30 seconds you had to speak?

*Activity: Memory Maps

Goal - tell stories in role

Success Criteria:

-tell an accurate story from the perspective of a charater (Kiliken, Old Man) in the African folktale The Orphan Boy
-select visual images from the character's journey, such as cultural symbols or items, people, objects, or setting
-organize the images, or memories, in a way that's easy to see, understand and follow
-create an overall map of important events and relationships from your character's point of view

                                                                   African Folktale

March Break
What plans will you be making for an awesome break? If you make a must-do-activities list, bring it to class and we can share ideas. Do you know of a good resource or website that has ideas or information on March Break activities for kids and families? If so, post it in the comment section!

To get you started, here are some websites I found:
 http://www.seetorontonow.com/
www.rogerscentre.com/SpringFling
www.toronto.ca/parks/marchbreak.htm
http://toronto.about.com/od/eventsattractions/a/marchbreak.htm



French
*Retest later this week (possibly Friday)


Reading and Writing

Do you think that Family Day is worth its cost to Ontario residents?

*We did some reading in class of articles from a news source and 2 websites.  What was the most important thing you learned about Statutory Holidays?

*We are writing persuasive letters to Dalton McGuinty, Ontario's Premier and leader of the Liberal Party, to convince him to keep Family Day or discontinue it.

Success Criteria

-use features of a formal letter (date, greeting, body, salutation, signature)

-identify the issue and your point of view/opinion

-create an argument to support your point of view including 2 strong reasons and 1 opposing reason (show a different point of view) with examples (personal, current events, facts about Family Day)

-organize your argument in paragraphs with topic sentences

-use inclusive language (i.e. hello, thank you, I appreciate) and descriptive language

-produce a neat, organized and revised final draft

Resources for Research

*For more information on Family Day in Canada, visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Day_%28Canada)

*Questions to research - Inquire for yourself and ask some questions

(How much does Family Day cost the province?  Are most families using Family Day to do spend quality time with each other?)

                                                        The Honorable Dalton McGuinty

Example of  a Persuasive Letter

Read the following letter. Using the Success Criteria, what level would you give it? Why?

Fri.Feb. 23, 2012
Dear Mr. McGuinty,
     Hello.  My name is Dorit Perlmutter and I am a teacher at Jesse Ketchum Public School in downtown Toronto (just north of your office).  I'm writing you today because I do not support Family Day and believe this provincial holiday should be discontinued. 
     We live in an expanding city with many needs.  The cost to afford Family Day comes at a high expense to Ontario.  The money could be better used to pay for improving transportation, adding more garbage bins to the streets or even build food banks to help the homeless.  Family Day is too expensive.
     We already have a two-day weekend, unlike some countries, to set family time.   It takes some planning but often on Sunday afternoons, my family goes to the movies or plays Monopoly. 
     I understand that Family Day can bring some families closer.  However, it may just come at too high of a cost.  Perhaps we can promote the important of families with a cheaper alternative, like putting posters around the city of families doing different activities together.
    Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.
    Sincerely,
    D. Perlmutter

Math
*We had a quiz on the following topics:
-using a grid to find perimeter and area of polygons
-linear dimensions
-relating units of measure
-solving measurement problems
What new questions might you have about measurement?

*We continue to learn about Measurement.

 When might you use non-standard units of measurement?

How might you measure area and perimeter for figures that are not polygons, such as a footprint or your hand?

Science
*The correct response to the blog's science survey was: STILL OBJECTS DO NOT PRODUCE A FORCE.  This statemenet is in fact FALSE.  Still objects DO produce a force.

*New unit in March and April - Understanding Matter and Energy
Changes in Matter (Gr.5)                                                   Light and Sound (Gr.4)

 

Special Events

*Wednesday - Spirit Day (wear Jesse Ketchum school colours red and black)

                     - Yorkville Gallery Walk (9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)

                        

                 Why is ART important? How does ART change over time? How can ART influence, inspire and/or change people?  How can ART represent a civilization?

*Friday - Spirit Day (wear pajamas)
          -Going to see The Lorax (focus on environmental themes - see website link below to play the game)

Visit the link to play Save the Trees:

http://origin-www.seussville.com/games/lorax/

 

*NEW INFO: Friday February 17 - March 1

Dear Friends,

Learning Skills Success Criteria for TERM 2 are now posted in the classroom.  What are your learning, social and personal goals for the next 4 months?

   Storytelling at Jesse Ketchum          *Storytelling has begun! Students have chosen short stories and teachers are available at recesses and lunches to provide support. The event will happen after March Break, giving you plenty of time to either get on board if you haven't already or to continue practicing!

For Aboriginal people, storytelling is both a gift, and a very old custom, sanctioned by the people, to teach, entertain, and remember.  

Criteria for Good Storytelling

Yorkville Art Gallery Walk

*On Wednesday March 7th, we will be taking a neighbourhood stroll in the morning to visit 5 art galleries. 

I'm looking parent volunteers! Please hand in the form with your name and signature as soon as possible.

                                                        Visit http://www.kinsmanrobinson.com/

                                                        Artist Norval Morriseau, Aboriginal art

                                                       http://www.leonardogalleries.com/

                                                                 Visit http://www.gevik.com/

PPT - Presentation Series

*Make sure you use the success criteria when preparing for your presentation.  See the side panel for the crieria.

                                         Why are visual aids so useful in a presentation? 

                                      What visual aid has been used most effectively so far?

Art and Media
*We are in the process of creating a classroom cookbook.  We identified the features of a recipe.  They may include:
-Name of food or recipe (heading)
-Background or history of the recipe (subheading)
-Ingredient list (subheading)
-Prep time/Cook time
-Instructions (subheading)
-Image
We are typing up our selected recipes on the school computers using the above features.

*Next steps: Analyze cookbook covers. 

What features are used?

How does the overall layout and design appeal to you?

Later, we will be creating our own cookbook covers for our classroom cookbook.  Whose cover page will make it onto the final edition? 

Math
*Apply our knowledge of transformations, symmetry and congruent shapes to create colourful tessellation patterns.

How are transformations used in this tessellation?

*Next steps: Measurement
-estimate, measure and record length, perimeter and area using a variety of strategies

How do you measure the area of a rectangle?

What is the relationship among different units of measurement?

Science
*Design, build and test structures!

What simple machine is displayed below?

Why do people use this machine?  How does it make work simpler?

What forces are being used?

*We will be working in special groups to read non-fiction texts about science

TAKE THE QUIZ!

True or False: Pulleys and gears change the speed, direction, and motion of, and force exerted on, moving objects.

True or False: It is impossible to measure forces to determine how they affect structures and mechanisms.  This information is not needed to guide the design of new structures and mechanisms.

Drama & Reading
*Learn about the elements of drama to communicate feelings, ideas and stories

The elements of drama are:

1) role/character

(consider the inner and outer life of a character; sustain roles; vary positions -full front, back, profile)

2) Relationship

(between characters)

3) Time and Place

(setting)

4) Tension

(using audio, visual and stage effects like lighting to heighten suspence and engage audience)

5) Focus and Emphasis

(identify key emotions, themes, draw audience attention to specific aspects of drama)

How are the elements of drama used in the above images?

*Continue reading from the novel Run by Eric Walters. Keep a reading journal.  Apply reading strategies, use drama and art to develop your understanding and make connections with the text.



Thursday Feb. 9, 2012

Dear Friends,

It's great to read your comments below.  If you can't find them, just scroll down to the bottom of a post and click on the COMMENT word.  The page will reload and up will come all your comments.

Writing & Health & Media
*We're writing our opinions about food advertisements.  What are features of an advertisement? Why do you prefer certain ads over others?

Success Criteria
-select a food advertisement
-identify the product
-use 3 strong reasons to support your opinion
-present your opinion and justification clearly

Math

*We continue to solve word problems. The big idea is to use strategies to solve.  Strategies we've used in the class include working backwards, make a table/chart, guess and check, I.C.E. (illustration, calculation, explanation), use manipulatives and following the 4-step method (see below).

Try this problem: D"Wayne was playing marbles with his friends.  In the first game, he lost 2 marbles.  In the second game, he lost twice as many as in the first game.  In the last game, he won 8 marbles.  D'Wayne finished with 25 marbles.  How many marbles did he start with?



THE PROBLEM SOLVING CHECKLIST:

-read problem and underline the question

-frame key words/numbers

-solve by using pictures/chart

-solve by showing calculation/s

-solve by explaining your answer using math vocabulary

-check your calculations

*We've also been performing transformations in geometry.  Look at the tessellation patterns below.

How do these artists create tessellations? What transformations are used to make a tesselation?

Where can you find examples of tessellations in the world around you? At home? In nature?

M.C. Escher

In Islamic Buildings

In Architecture



Science

*We will use technological problem-solving skills to DESIGN, BUILD, AND TEST stable structures. 

What types of forces act upon structures?

Tension pulls

Compression pushes

How do we build structures to withstand the forces?

LET'S START COLLECTING NEWSPAPER! BRING INTO CLASS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Special Events
*Artist and Dub Poet Michael St. George is visiting us on Friay February 10, 2012. 

You can hear watch him perform on this youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL7ejZWor9E

Think of an open-ended question to ask him. 

What inspires you to create and perform poetry?

When do you like to read/write poetry best? Why?

How can poetry be used to encourage peace and equality in the world?

What effects can poetry have on people?

Now, think about or create your own poem that focuses on SOUND, RHYTHM, METAPHOR, or has  a STRONG MESSAGE.  That is Dub Poetry. The way the words sound and how they're spoken is important!

*Report Cards are going home on Monday February 13, 2012. Parent interview forms distributed Thursday February 9, 2012.  Interviews for Thursday February 16, 2012 or Friady February 17, 2012.



February 1st

Dear Friends,

February is Black History Month.  Think about fairness and equality.  How are they achieved:
-at home
-in school
-in your country
-in the world?

You are encouraged to bring in stories, articles, poems, art or music (cd) that relate to Black History.

Skating
*The Ramsden Park supervisors have confirmed that the skating rink should be available for Thursday 2nd and 9th!

The Presentation Series ("P.P.T")
*The purpose of the PPT is to inform the class about something, somebody or someplace that you know about.  Use your rubric (marking guide) when practicing your speech.  Your PPT will be marked on the following things:
-speaking skills (loud, clear, tone of voice, expression)
-apporpriate language (choose interesting and positive things to say - information, anecdotes)
-visual aids (poster, diagram, item)
-non-verbal cues (eye contact, facial expression)

Math
*We've been practicing our problem solving skills this week. Here is your Success Criteria for solving word problems:
-frame key information in the problem
-determine what the question is
-identify a strategy to use that will help you solve the problem (i.e. work backwards, draw a picture, make a chart, guess and check, use manipulatives/make a model)
-use correct calculations
-explain the answer using words and/or numbers from the problem

A problem posed in class was:
A PLANT CAN PRODUCE 9 STRAWBERRIES.  THESE ARE PACKED 27 STRAWBERRIES TO A BASKET.  HOW MANY PLANTS WILL IT TAKE TO PRODUCE 30 BASKETS OF STRAWBERRIES?
(Teacher's tip- this is a great problem to solve by drawing a picture.  I can also work backwards by writing "It will take ___ plants to produce 30 baskets of strawberries.  I know this because...")

Media
*What are the features of a restaurant menu?  How do menus compare to each other from different restaurants?  If you could create a menu for your family, what would it look like?

Collect take-out menus if possible and bring them into school. 

Science
*What do you know and want to know about Structures and Mechanisms?
Gr.4 - pulleys and gears
Gr.5 - forces acting against structures

You wrote facts and questions and posted them on our KWL chart in class. I'll share some of your notes below.

Here are some of your thoughts on what you know:
-a force is something pushing while another pushes back
-buildings are structures
-structures have to be stable
-if a structure is skinny at the bottom and fat at the top it would fall over
-people use pulleys and gears to help them get things done fast

Here is what you want to know:
-how do you make a pully?
-how do forces work?
-do humans use forces with their hands?
-how does wind happen? (is wind a force?)
-how are we stronger than the wind when it hits us?