Camp Taiwan

Camp Taiwan

 

Dear Parents,

 

Please enjoy some pictures of Camp Taiwan below.  Overall, it was an excellent learning experience.  The children worked in groups, helped each other, encouraged each other, and made new friendship along with strengthening old friendships.  Hopefully, this experience of camping will foster a greater self confidence in the children. 

 

Flying high!

Being brave

Just hanging around

Victory!

Looks scary?

Preparing for the cargo net.

Courage

Here we all are

Mr. Cool

Going higher!

That's out there!

The boys sticking together.

6 floors high

No problem

Getting ready



Helping each other

And away we go!

Hello!

Wow

Relax

Can I climb now?

Hunting

 

CTP 4 Testing

 

Dear Parents,

 

                      Next week all grade three children will be required to take part in a test.  The test is called CTP 4 which stands for Comprehensive Testing Program. 

 

CTP is a rigorous assessment of higher-achieving students attending schools that aspire to higher standards. It covers reading, listening, vocabulary, writing, mathematics, and verbal and quantitative reasoning.

The data collected from CTP helps inform you, teachers and administrators about student performance in key areas of school achievement.

Throughout the last few weeks we have been preparing students so they will be familiar with the test format and expectations. 

Below is the weekly schedule for you to have a look at so you are more informed as to what your children will be doing.

Kind regards,

Marcus Wolak

 

 

 

Information Technology

ROBOTICS

 

Throughout the next few weeks of IT class the children will be designing and programming a robot.  The tasks of completing these skills are engaging, complex and exciting.  The children have completed two sessions so far.  Please ask your child what they have done and what their task will be over the coming weeks.

 

Below are some pictures of children building their robot.

 

Reading and following written directions.

Working together and finding the correct pieces.

Looking carefully.

It is coming together.

What is next?

Looking good.

The labtop is waiting to be programmed.

Last piece and then we have finished!

Team work.

 

Writing Update

Dear Parents,

Your children continue to work on improving their writing skills throughout each day.  I have been pleased with their efforts and commitment to each lesson I teach.

Please find an update of what we have been doing and what is coming up:

Writing - The children are in the process of publishing their REVIEW writing piece.  Each child choose a topic that they know a lot about and with the help of this rubric, eventually worked on a final copy. 

Review Checklist

Choose a topic that you know a lot about.	Check
List things you like about it – at least 3 but 4 is better.	Check
Begin writing your introduction – list your things that you like using commas.	Check
Write your paragraphs – everything needs to be connected to your reason.	Check
Include examples in your paragraphs.	Check
Use specific details to prove you know what you are talking about.	Check
Start your paragraphs in different ways.	Check
Write a conclusion – talk about the big idea and again list your reasons in a different way.	Check

 The children are typing on a google document in class.  Those that do not finish this week will have it for extra homework.



Our next writing unit is titled MULTI GENRE.  We will begin talking about story elements: 

1.  A story has characters
2.  These characters say something
3.  Something generally goes wrong - a problem
4.  There is a solution
5.  A story has action
6. The most important parts are longer
7.  A story has a lot of description
8.  We always know where the characters are in the story - Setting

The children look back over the different genres or styles of writing they have done this year - Personal Narratives and Realistic Fiction.  They will then be asked to adapt one of these stories into a WHAT IF scenario.  Their story can then be changed into either a fantasy, mystery, realistic fiction, or even a scary story. 

The idea we want to impose on the children is that we can use what we know to create something new.  We want the children to have more exposure and practice writing in a variety of styles. 

 Below is a planning grid that can guide them thinking about the KEY parts of their story.  The emphasis is on a longer MIDDLE and a well thought out ending.

Beginning	Middle	Middle
Middle	End	End

Planting Bamboo Trees

Bam!  Boo!

 

Yesterday, a flower expert from the Flower Market came into our class to teach the children how to plant a bamboo tree into a pot. Mr. Lin told the children a Chinese New Year story and then went about explaining how to repot the bamboo plant. The children were great listeners and creative artists.

We have sold most of these plants!  All money raised will be donated to help the homeless dogs of Taiwan.

Please enjoy some photos below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structures of Life

STRUCTURES OF LIFE (Science)

 

Overview of the unit:

 

The Structures of Life Unit consists of four investigations dealing with observable characteristics of organisms.  Students observe, compare, categorize, and care for a selection of organisms.  In doing so, they learn to identify properties of plants and animals and to sort and group organisms on the basis of obervable properties.  Students investigate structures of the organisms and learn how some of the structures function in growth and survival.

 

Below is a list of words your children will be taught, and then expected to know.  These words are used frequently so the meaning of them is important.

 

Investigation 1:  ORIGIN OF SEEDS

 

Organism

Property

Reproduce

Survive

Structure

Protect

Dormant

Embryo

Cotyledon

Function

Beneficial

Seed coat
Germination

 

Last week we were learning about the importance of seeds.  Some concept questions we were discussing: 

 

 What is a fruit?

 

What is the function of a fruit?

 

What is a seed?

 

The children and I read some information centered around these questions.  We also cut  some fruit, identified the seeds, described them, counted and plotted them on a graph.