16.1.17

Speech Arts

Today I handed out the three bible readings that the students need to practice for Speech Arts. They DO NOT need to MEMORIZE them but they should be familiar with the readings, as they will be given them at random to recite in front of the class. We will present them on Feb 1-3. 
Students will also need to learn a poem of their own choosing. We will have a classroom Speech Arts on Thursday, February 14-15. They may choose any poem they like but it needs to be a minimum of one minute in length orally. They must provide the title and author of the poem at the begining of the recitation. They need to memorize the poem and recite it in front the class. I have provided the students with a duotang of poems and they can choose one from the collection. If they are choosing one that is not itn the duotang, then please provide a copy for me for marking. 

REMINDERS:

No school next Monday.

The Grade 3's have an Apostle's Creed quiz on Jan 31. It will be fill in the blanks, but the words will not be provided. 

11.1.17

Home Reading

Class mass on Friday. Reading parts went home with students who have reading parts. Those who have not had a reading part will have one in the future class masses.

Today a blue folder went home labelled "Home Reading" please have a read through it.

We are starting a class book challenge. Students are asked to read 30 books in various genres (these are defined on the blog!) and to complete 20 tasks that practice vocabulary and retelling skills. These are concepts that were taught in class and are reinforced in our daily reading activities.


Students are able to choose books at their own levels (even the chapter books!) and are able to read independently or read aloud with someone. They are allowed to use books from home, our classroom or the library.

Here are the things that I expect to be handed in:
1.    The 30 Book Challenge Tracking sheet
2.   Response Tracking Sheet
3.   20 activities in the booklet

HAND IN THE ACTIVITIES AS YOU COMPLETE THEM. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY TO HAND IN THE WHOLE BOOKLET.

Students:
If you finish all 30 books and activities and would like a challenge round, please let me know and I can give some extra activities.

THE DUE DATE FOR THE WHOLE ASSIGNMENT IS MARCH 1st. 

4.1.17

Welcome Back

Welcome back! I hope you have had a relaxing break with lots of time with family and friends. It has been great to get back into routine and to catch up with one another. We still await the return of a few friends and hope they get back to school soon!

This month we are focusing on a few new things:

Religion: This month, we are learning the Apostle's Creed. There will be a test on Jan 31 for both grades. Grade two's will continue to work with Sister for First Communion Prep.

Reading: We are working on strategies from Reading Power (connection, visualize) using picture books. We are focusing on the work of Mo Wilhems. We will also be starting reading groups,where different groups will be reading material more at their level. A reading challenge will also be sent home next week and we will work on it until the end of term (March).

Writing: At this point, students should remember to write in full sentences and to answer questions in complete sentences. Grade 3 are expected to write short paragraphs (5 sentences). We are also starting cursive writing (YAY!), introducing proper letter formation and size. This is a great excercise for fine motor skills. The purpose is not to be able to do it perfectly, but to do the exercises as best as we can. In the past, we usually have a handful of students who are able to use cursive in their daily work by third term and we call them our "Happy Handwriters".

Math: We are starting with subtraction facts in both grade 2 and 3. We are focusing on word problems and regrouping (adding with grade 2 and subtraction with grade 3). It is important that they are able to log in to their Mathletics accounts at home if possible at least once a week for extra practice. These accounts are aimed at their own level and practices the skills they need more practice in. If you do not have their log in, I will send a notice home with log in information.

Socials & Science units are to be determined shortly.

Next Friday, Jan 13 is our class mass. Readings and parts will be given out on Monday for our readers to practice.

No school on Jan 23- Pro D (Workshop for for teachers)