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Page history last edited by kate_webber@... 12 years ago

March 4, 2102

HAVE A LOOK! In our media studies and discussion about how to become more media literate the students had the experience of creating their own media posters. In the area at the top of the website there is an icon called GLOGS Click here to see the hard work they have done. I will be sending home an assessment of the learning goal- if the students can identify the bag of tricks advertisers and media use to convince you to buy something. To see the Class Glogs you can also click here

We will be having 2 assemblies this week. We have been working on a dance that we will be sharing on Wednesday, March 7th. This assembly begins at 9:00 a.m. and we are scheduled to perform closer to end of the assembly. I know some of the students are also performing with the primary choir at Tuesdays assembly as well. We hope to see you!

The students should be aware of this -but we are asking all students to bring a team Jersey for our dance performance on Wednesday. The theme is Hockey, but any team jersey will do!! THANKS!!!

(added March 4, 2012) Math website called Johnnie's Math Page. It is now included in the Math section of the website under Math Games. Or, click here

March 2nd, 2012

Hello Families. There are book orders, Pita pit forms and Spirt Wear order froms (hoodies) in your child's planner. I am hoping parents let me know (perhaps via email) if their child's planner is not coming home! The routine in our classroom is to do a check at each group that each child has their planner. Sometimes the trip from the desk to the backpack results in no planner! One of the Learning Skills on the report card is organization and I am always tracking students demonstration of this. I am always modelling, reminding and expecting organization of Planners and work at their desk. Sadly some mornings I do not have the students during first period and planner check becomes the student's responsibility to let me know if there are notes etc. I am also modelling this for students.

The students are working on a Hockey Dance to perform for the school in next week's Sharing Assemblies. We hope you can make it. The theme is about TEAMWORK and collaboration. We have been working on these lifeskills since grade 3 began! Sooo fun!

March 1st, 2012

There should be a permission form in your child's planner for the re-scheduled field trip to Joseph Schneider Haus. Please sign and return the form ASAP as we need to give them exact numbers of participants. There is a section to indicate if you still wish to volunteer as supervisor, or if you now have the opportunity with this new date. Thanks everyone!

Feb. 27th, 2012

Liam has completed his glog. See if he has included some elements from our bag of tricks (See below)

More student Glogs of "Car ads" click here

Feb. 23rd, 2012

As you are probably aware due to bus cancellations we were not able to go on our field trip to Joseph Schneider Haus. We have placed a call to see if there is availability for rescheduling. When and if we secure a date I will ask about supervision and confirm details.

In Science, we were brainstorming and thinking critically about the meaning of STRONG and STABLE. We wondered if something is strong, is it automatically stable? Or are all stable structures strong? To think critically about it I showed the students 2 video clips.

I will try to add the video clips here soon.

Please don't forget - there is a 2d shape test on Monday!! Please return your math folder and pre-test!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Feb. 22nd, 2012

Thank you so much to parents and family that helped with our skating sessions.

Today was a mad rush to get there on time, but we had fun!

In your child's backpack you should see a green math folder

and a stapled package with a parent letter about 2d Geometry.

We will be having a quiz on Mon. Feb 27th. Please be sure to look over the

work and the pre-test. I tried to give feedback. There are also extra activities

available on this site click here.

PARENT LETTER- click on picture below.

Welcome to Miss Eberhard! She will be spending some observation time with the students and her official placement will begin the first week after March Break. She will be working with us for 6 weeks. She has started her own page on the website. You can click on her tab above!

I just wanted to highlight a few students. In Daily 5 we work on making writing authentic and meaningful. Children write for a purpose. A few examples include Julia and Ashley's script. They are just working through how best to organize their roles and lines. Sarah has been working very hard on her narrative. Logan thought he should make the connection between Math and writing and gave life to 2d shapes and takes them on an adventure. Liam started a Rule Book for BOYS!! (I wonder if I will be allowed to read it?) Other writers such as Owen, Matthew and Abbie are fine tuning their glog ads. Ethan and Bailey are writing a Skylanders adventure. I have not mentioned all writers, but this is the MOST DIVERSIFIED writing class I have ever worked with. As the students generate ideas, I help them organize it and try to model what the different forms of writing look like! Congratulations Gr. 3 writers.

FIELD TRIP FRIDAY!

We will be visting the Joseph Schneider Haus this Friday.

Happy Family Day!

The students have been investigating how to read Media (commercials, print ads and internet). We have come to the conclusion that we need to be critical of the 'true' messages in media. By having this Lifeskill we will be informed buyers and make good choices based on research, not based on a BAG OF TRICKS that advertisers use to entice us.

Now it is our turn to become the media creators. It is time to advertise our cars! We are using a webtool called Glogster to create an all-in-one poster that persuades you to buy our car (pretend). The students started Glogster at school and they have a nickname and password for the site. We had to work through a few kinks, but we should be good to go now. The criteria for the project is that students focus on the BAG OF TRICKS (below) when designing their poster.

CHALLENGE TO STUDENTS- Look at Mrs. Webber's poster and see if you can find an example of each trick?

You can record your answers in your planner! To view and interact with the poster place your mouse on the word Glogster and choose View Full Size

Bag of Tricks Advertisers use to persuade us to buy their product:

JUMP on the BANDWAGGON-Ads suggest that everyone has their product, or promises anyone who has their product is cool
Language -Words like "new and improved" or "best ever" all tweaked to get your interest
Characters or famous people -Why would a famous person know more about a product? Are they just wanting us to have what they have? Why is there a tiger on cereal- what do tigers know about cereal?)
Music -When information is spoken to music or if there is a catchy song it grabs our attention and makes it fun. Does this mean it is a good product?
Special effects and graphics that are eye catching!

Upcoming Events:

Feb 22, 2012- skating at RIM. We are on the ice from 9-10 a.m. (please arrive on time we will be leaving the school right away)

Feb 24, 2012- Field trip to Joseph Schneider Haus (p.m.)

February 16th, 2011

Thank you so much for returning the signed slip of the report card and the ENVELOPES! I am busy filing the reports in the student's records.

Today we took photos and video of our cars. We are going to use this media in a great poster making web tool. We have been discussing how to read commercials and print ads in detail. We have decide that advertisers have a BAG OF TRICKS to persuade us to buy things. We are developing the lifeskill of how to read these ads so we can make good choices! We watched a video and the students have made a bag of tricks. We will reveal all of the tricks tomorrow!

We also started to read The Junkyard Wonders. Ask your child what the "Junkyard" really is!

February 14th, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day. Give all your loved ones a tighter squeeze today!

A few students have added Storybirds to their website. Perhaps you could read them as part of your Home Reading routine? Please enjoy Ethan's, Kylie's and Harjas's stories!

Any treats that were sent to school today should make their way home in the backpack. Thank you to all families for making the kids in Room 15 smile. They love the extras!

Congratulations to Julie. She independently problem solved and remembered her learning of how to embed an object on her website and was able to creat and adopt her own virtual pet! She also took all of the proper steps to embed it on her site. Click here to check out her pet (those who know her will not be surprised at the animal she chose!) Way to go Julia!

February 8th, 2012

Valentine's Day.

PLEASE remember we can not allow any students to bring in baked goods or other treats on Valentine's Day. If you wish to share cards with your friends please remember to make one for each friend in the class. Any treats attached to cards will be sent home at the end of the day. For a list of names from our class please click on the Grade 3 Pages icon at the side of the WIKI or click here

February 6, 2012

I hope you have had a chance to read the new calendar! My son and I are trying to get ready for the "dress as your favourite book character" day. In Math, we are working on 2d shapes and their attributes. The 2d shape investigations involve a lot of description. We have created an anchor chart for the students to use as criteria for high level responses to 2d shape questions. I call it Geometry Talkin'. An answer can be "just the bowl" or it can be the bowl, ice cream, syrup, whip cream and cherry on top!!!

February 2, 2012

BUILDING DAY!!!

To view a few pics of our TOY CAR Building Day click here.

Feb. 1st, 2012

Please look for February calendar and newsletter by clicking on the calendar and Newsletter link above (blue tab) Or click here

Thank you so much for helping the children find materials for their science projects! They are very exciting and I will take lots of pictures as they build! Once again, your support is truly appreciated.

I have sent home some student work. Patterning and Healthy Living work is all collected and can stay home now. With the communication we have via the website and planners I am not requiring that you sign and return the work. As always if you have any questions just let me know.

In reading and writing the students continue their daily goals and we have been using strategies for thinking deeper. To effectively communicate answers to questions we have a format to follow so we can make sure our answer is clear.

The students know this as P.P.C. It is simply a method for making sure your answer has everything it needs. The students can use it when they answer questions in any genre (Science, Math, Reading)

This is our anchor chart that the students use as a guide. It has the criteria of a great answer.

I will add student samples of answers soon. Stay tuned!

January 26th, 2012

The author visit was a huge success! What an energetic and fun presentation and lots of great tips about writing. Sigmund introduced to the students and teachers the writing R's. Right time, Right place, Right audience, and the Right feeling! So much to learn from such a great story teller! He explained that he has many downloadable books for your Smart devices. iBook is a free App and I, personally have already downloaded 2 FREE books by Sigmund Brouwer. Additional titles are available with costs between $2.99- $8.99. If students wish to bring their devices to school and use them for READ TO SELF they are more then welcome to load up their reading selections. As per our digital policy at Millen, devices are handed in to the teacher upon arrival at school, and locked until they are needed for learning.

Here is a link to one of his free downloads: Long Shot by Sigmund Brouwer. More available at the iTunes Store.

Science~There should be a blue parent letter in your child's planner about the Toy Car project. Please read and sign this letter. ThePlan for the project, which will be completed in class, will be coming home tomorrow (Friday) if all goes well in class. Beware, they are super excited! The materials collected at home must come to school (with the plan) by WEDNESDAY FEB. 1st. The students will be constructing their project, at school, THURSDAY FEB. 2nd. Presentations will happen the following week.

January 25th, 2012

I just wanted to add a bit of information about an upcoming project. To demonstrate what they have learned about forces, students will be building a project that MOVES using "recycled" materials. One force they may want to use is Magnetic force. Some students are very interested in my kit of rare earth magnets. I found this small kit of magnets at Lee Valley in Waterloo. 620 Davenport Road (519) 746-2555

This kit of various magnets (50 piece sampler) is about $20 dollars. There are also many individual magnets available. THE STUDENTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BUY the magnets. This is just an option.

For more information about the kit click here

The Science Project: BUILDING A TOY CAR THAT MOVES!

Students will be doing all of the planning and building of their project at school. The home connection involves collecting all of the materials they wish to use and testing if the force will make the object move. Assessment of student learning will be based on the construction of the project and their explanation of the forces it has. No parts of the project can be made at home.

Here is the CONTRACT the students will be starting at school. Building a Moving Car2012 3.pdf (please note: due dates are incorrect on this form) and the rubric expectations Building a Moving Car Rubric 2012 2.doc Notice they are making an agreement to follow their plan and revise without erasing. A parent letter will be coming home soon. We will begin the planning of the project this Thursday or Friday and constructing the project the week of Jan. 30- Feb. 2. I am excited to see how the students apply what they have learned about forces!!