Our class began a new novel read aloud, I Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Share with a family member your first impression of this novel. How is it similar or different to other novels we have studied this year? Did the author hook your interest? Why or why not?

Homework:
Go on the blog and open pages to the math vocabulary that we will be studying connected to Shape and Space.  Beside each term write what you think the word means.  Include an example and a non-example to assist you with your understanding.  On top of each word, mark your understanding of the word with a number and circle it: 1- I don't know, 2 - I have heard it, but I am unsure, 3-I think I know what it means, 4-I understand this word. You may use the link below to assist you:

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mesg/html/math6web/index.html?page=glossary

Our Identity presentations are tomorrow.  Please remember to finish your 5 W's cue cards about the history of your family.  If you are sharing an artifact(s) (3 at the most), remember it is your responsibility to take care of it.  Your speech should be 2-5 minutes long.

Reminder:
April Calendar coming home today.

Our class has been busy working on descriptive narrative writing. We have been focussing on adding details, suspense and great hooks to our stories. Today we began designing our Junk Monster characters! Share with a family member your plan for creating your junk monster. Begin to think about the character traits of your monster, as well as special adaptations it might have.

Homework:
- Please bring any recycled material you would like to add to your Junk Monster art sculpture. We will be building our sculptures in class tomorrow.

We have been discussing and using our critical thinking around the idea of 'identity'.  Please share with a family member what you think identity is.  How can a group of people 'shape the identity' and a sense of belonging of Canada? Be sure to ask a family member what is their experience in response to this question.

Homework:
Our personal identity presentations are on Friday.  Be sure to be preparing responses to the 5 W's about your identity.  Please look for an artifact to include in your presentation.  The task criteria and assessment are posted in D2L.

Reminder:
Sport Club is tomorrow, March 31-3:15-3:45.

Our class began a new novel study, Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. Share with a family member your first impression of this novel. How is it similar or different to other novels we have studied this year? Did the author hook your interest? Why or why not?

Homework:
Continue to practice your basic facts at home! Try the Factor Tree game on http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/category_g_2_t_1.html. Look for patterns in the equations.

Welcome back!  We are moving into the final 3 months of our learning journey.  We will be busy in the next few months focusing on our Social Studies inquiry unit of the identity of Canada, our final science study will be of Evidence and Investigation, including a field trip to Rothney Astrophysical Observatory in May. In math our learning takes us into Space and Shape, including measurement, shapes and transformations.  We will be developing our narrative writing skills, as well as composing newspaper articles.  Our provincial achievement tests for Grade 6 begin on May 12, with writing.  We continue exams in June:  June 15-Reading, June 16-Math, June 17-Science and June 18-Social Studies. Please share with a family member which learning you are most excited for and why?

Homework:
Read! Read! Read!  Our Best Character Ever book project, which will focus on characters in fiction, is due on April 29, 2016.  Look for the project criteria and assessment in D2L this week.

Be proud your accomplishments as a learner and a leader in our school!

Have a wonderful Spring Break! Classes resume Tuesday March 29. 

Terrific work sharing our learning with the school in our class assembly! Be proud of your leadership and courage.

Have a wonderful Spring Break! Classes resume Tuesday March 29. 

Our class finished our novel study of The Breadwinner. We have been working on a critical thinking response to this powerful book. Share with a family member your written response posted on a google doc. Why did we read this book?  How has the main character Parvana changed? What virtues did the characters demonstrate? How is the government of Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban different from our Canadian government?

Homework: 
Practice your division skills on the following websites:
http://www.mathplayground.com/visual_division/dare_to_share_fairly.html
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/grade_g_2.html

Reminder: 
- Sports Club tomorrow, Thursday, March 17 - 3:15-3:45.
- No school on Friday, March 18.

Our class finished our novel study of Underground to Canada. We have been working on a critical thinking response to this powerful book. Share with a family member your written response posted in D2L. What was the main idea of this novel? What can we learn from the characters in the book?

Homework: 
- How did the characters in Underground to Canada show the virtues? We will be sharing our ideas in class tomorrow.

Reminder: 
- Our class assembly is tomorrow morning (March 17) at 11:00! Please remind your families to attend!

We are finished sharing our amazing Engineering projects!  Today we completed our self-assessment on our projects.  Please share with a family member your assessment and explain why.  There are many different categories to share:  Project Proposal, Daily Reflections, Task Management and Collaboration and finally your Project Evaluation.

Homework: 
Please add to our google doc at least 10 words that describe wellness.

Reminder: 
- Pizza lunch is tomorrow (March 16)
- Sports Club is on Thursday, March 17-3:15-3:45

We have been applying the scientific method to record our plant experiments! Our class designed experiments and created a google doc to collect our information. Share with a family member your google doc. How did you use your five senses when completing your observations? What conclusions did you draw from your data?

Homework: 
Watch the Scientific Method on BrainPOP Junior. Try the quiz! What connections can you make to our experiments in class?

Reminder: 
- Pizza lunch is tomorrow (March 16)
- Room 2 Assembly is March 17 at 11:00. Please invite your families to attend and celebrate our learning!

Our class has been preparing our representations of wellness.  Our representations include skits, advertisements, puppet plays and posters.  In addition to showing what we know about wellness, we will also be using French vocabulary in our presentations. Please share with a family member which aspect of wellness your group is focusing on.  Why is this important to you?

Homework:
Try out your multiplication of decimals on the following link:
https://nrich.maths.org/5632

Reminder: 
- Pizza lunch is Wednesday, March 16.
- No school on Friday, March 18.  It is a Professional Development Day.
- Grade 4/5 will be having a celebration of learning assembly on March 17 at 11:00.

Our class has been working hard preparing for our assembly! Share with a family member the learning we will be sharing with the school and community. Please invite your families to attend our celebration of learning on March 17 at 11:00!

Homework: 
Play Salute with a family member! What patterns do you notice when we are multiplying numbers?

Reminder: 
- Pizza lunch is Wednesday March 16.
- Room 2 Assembly is Thursday March 17 at 11:00.

Thank you for an exciting week of learning! Have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you for an exciting week of learning! Have a wonderful weekend.

We had an exciting day at Telus Spark Science Centre today! Share with a family member the excellent session we did on Math in Motion and the engaging dome show presentation on the rain forest. What connections can you make to our field trip today? What new questions do you have? We will share in class tomorrow. Thank you to School Council and our parent volunteers for this amazing learning opportunity.

Homework:
Please continue to read a novel for our next Best Book Project! We will be discussing this project in class soon.

Reminder:
- Sports Club is today (March 10) from 3:15 to 3:45.

We had an exciting day at Telus Spark Science Centre today! Share with a family member the excellent session we did on the water cycle and the engaging dome show presentation on the rain forest. What connections can you make to our field trip today? What new questions do you have? Thank you to School Council and our parent volunteers for this amazing learning opportunity.

Homework:
Please continue to read a novel for our next Best Book Project! We will be discussing this project in class soon.

Reminder:
- Sports Club is today (March 10) from 3:15 to 3:45.

In our novel study of The Breadwinner, we have been discussing and sharing our critical thinking by utilizing an interactive writing wall. Please share our most recent discussion about the life expectancy in Canada compared to Afghanistan.  What do think are the reasons for this difference?  Support your thinking with specific evidence for our novel.

Homework:
Try out your multiplication of decimals on the following link:
https://nrich.maths.org/5632

Reminder:
-Pizza lunch orders are due tomorrow, Thursday, March 10.
- Our Telus Spark field trip is tomorrow! Our bus leaves at 9:00, please arrive to school on time. Remember to bring a healthy snack, water bottle and a bag lunch.
- CBE Transportation Services information

Our class has been working on our narrative writing skills! We have been discussing what makes an excellent piece of narrative writing. Explain to a family member the importance of thinking of our reader when we are writing and our class writing goals. What goal did you set for your narrative writing? Why did you choose this goal? What strategies are helping you achieve this goal?

Homework: 
Change this story beginning so it has an interesting hook:
"Hi, my name is Kate. This is the story of how I was chased in the desert by a coyote."
What type of hook did you use?

Reminder: 
- Our Telus Spark field trip is tomorrow! Our bus leaves at 9:00, please arrive to school on time. Remember to bring a healthy snack, water bottle and a bag lunch.

Our class has preparing to share our engineering projects with other students. We are completing our project reports including our self-assessment of our building projects.  Please share your project report with a family member.  Discuss the task criteria, the rubrics and refer to the exemplars of excellence.  What have you earned for each section of your report: Proposal, Daily Reflections, Task Management and Collaboration? Can you support your thinking with specific examples?

Homework:
Learn how to read the electricity meter in your house by going to the following:
http://www.wonderville.ca/asset/energy-meter-madness
Be sure to try out Transmission and Electromagnets too.

Reminder:
- Telus Spark field trip is Thursday March 10.
- Sports Club is Thursday March 10.
- School Council is tonight (Tuesday March 8) at 6:30. Please invite your parents to attend! 

Our class has been busy preparing for our assembly on March 17! We have been researching interesting facts about the environment, recycling, waste and energy sources. Share with a family member the interesting Did You Know fact you will be sharing in our class iMovie. What are some ways that individuals, our class, our school and community can help protect the environment?

Homework: 
- Play Race to Zero subtraction with a family member.

Reminder:
- Telus Spark field trip is Thursday March 10.
- Sports Club is Thursday March 10.
- School Council is tonight (Tuesday March 8) at 6:30. Please invite your parents to attend!

Our class has been working on our adding and subtracting strategies with decimals in Math! We have been solving authentic problems using Boston Pizza menus to calculate our totals and change.  Some strategies we are using including regrouping, expanding numbers left to right and compensating to change numbers.  Explain to a family member how each of these strategies work. What other strategies do you use for addition of subtraction of decimals?

Homework: 
Try out your addition and subtraction strategies on the following link:
http://www.math-play.com/decimal-math-games.html

Reminder: 
- Our class is going to Telus Spark for a field trip on March 10! Please remember to return your signed Acknowledgment of Risk as soon as possible.

Our class has been working on our subtracting strategies in Math! We have been solving problems using regrouping, thinking of addition, and the zero zapper. Explain to a family member how each of these strategies work. What other strategies do you use for subtraction? How are these strategies similar to addition?

Homework: 
Try solving the Difference Sudoku puzzle:
http://nrich.maths.org/5798

Reminder: 
- Our class is going to Telus Spark for a field trip on March 10! Please remember to return your signed Acknowledgment of Risk as soon as possible.

Thank you for another wonderful week of learning! Excellent job reading with our buddy class for DEAR today. Be proud of your leadership. Share with a family member how you are ensuring that your buddy is engaged and interested. What questions are you asking your reading buddy when they
don't know a word?

  

Thank you for another wonderful week of learning! Excellent job reading with a buddy class for DEAR today. Be proud of your leadership.

In connection to Nutrition month, we have been discussing the meaning of 'Wellness'.  What does wellness mean to you?  What are you doing to ensure that you are well?  What goal would you like to work on as a healthy lifestyle choice?  What strategies do you have to achieve your goal?  Be prepared to share in class tomorrow.

Homework:
Read your new fiction book, from Books for Kids, for a Best Book project coming up this spring.

Reminder: 
- Please return your signed Telus Spark Acknowledgement of Risk forms to school as soon as possible.
-Our swimming report cards are coming home today!

Our class has been continuing our novel study of Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker. Share with a family member what has happened in our story. What challenges have Julilly and Liza experienced in the novel? How was the author kept you interested in the novel? We will be discussing these ideas in class tomorrow.

Homework: 
Take the Recycle It Quiz:
http://www.westtorrens.sa.gov.au/WTORWebFile/Recycle_it/WTC-Quiz.html

Reminder: 
- Please return your signed Telus Spark Acknowledgement of Risk forms to school as soon as possible.

Our engineering projects are almost complete!  Please share with a family member your project posted in D2L, be sure to include your procedure writing and reflections.  What have you learned about designing a mechanism from this project?  What were your successes?  Challenges?  What would you do differently next time?

Homework:
March is nutrition month.  Please go on the following website to learn about some healthy lifestyle choices:

http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/stay-healthy/


Reminder:
- Our class is going to Telus Spark for a field trip on Thursday March 10! Acknowledgement of Risk forms are being sent home today. Please return signed by Friday March 4. 
- Sports Club is tomorrow (March 3) from 3:15 to 3:45.

Our class has been working on making excellent observations in our Plant Experiments! Share with a family member the observations you made for this experiment in the google doc your group created. How have your plants changed in this experiment? Was your hypothesis correct?

Homework: 
Play Race to Zero subtraction with a family member!

Reminder: 
- Please remember to return your signed Telus Spark Acknowledgement of Risk forms as soon as possible.
- Sports Club is tomorrow (March 3) from 3:15 to 3:45.

Our class has been continuing our novel study of The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. Share with a family member what has happened in our story. What challenges are Parvana and her family facing? What has the family decided to do?  How would you feel if you were Parvana?  How would your character change? We will be discussing these ideas in class tomorrow.

Homework: 
Go to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives to practice your Base Blocks Addition and Subtraction:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/category_g_2_t_1.html

Reminders: 
- Our school will be participating in DEAR all week!
- Sports Club is Thursday March 3 from 3:15 to 3:45.
- Our class is going to Telus Spark for a field trip on Thursday March 10! Acknowledgement of Risk forms are being sent home today. Please return signed by Friday March 4.

Our class has begun narrative writing! Share with a family member the ideas our class had for what makes an excellent story. What are examples of excellent stories you have read? How did the author keep you interested in the story? Think of a writing goal you have when writing stories. What strategies will help you achieve this goal? We will be sharing your ideas in class tomorrow.

Homework: 
Go to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives to practice your Base Blocks Subtraction:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/category_g_2_t_1.html

Reminders: 
- Our school will be participating in DEAR all week!
- Sports Club is Thursday March 3 from 3:15 to 3:45.