Tuesday, 8 January

We began the day revisiting cursive writing.  We have now covered all of the lower case letters.  Next we continued with our science lesson on the water cycle.  We each drew an infographic; I thought that they were well done.  Some students were a bit shy to get started, wanting instead to try to replicate the example in the text, but in time (after I turned off the projector) folks settled to their work successfully. Please finish for homework if you were unable to complete it in class.  Next, I showed a TED Talk video that demonstrated how dance can be used to help explain complicated scientific concepts.

http://www.ted.com/talks/john_bohannon_dance_vs_powerpoint_a_modest_proposal.html

I challenged the class to see if they could create a "physical metaphor" or "dance" to explain the water cycle. They accepted my challenge.  We decided to use groups of five to seven performers.  The process involved deciding on the key ideas to be transmitted and then choreographing the actions.  We ran out of time and decided to continue after lunch.

After recess we read for 15 minutes and then transitioned to math.  The 7s did a quick review of adding and subtracting decimals and then we did Lesson 3.4 which involved modelling the multiplication of decimals using Base Ten Blocks.  We didn't quite have enough time to do the last step - moving beyond the blocks, but we'll be able to quickly get that done tomorrow so we can do the problem set.  There is no homework.

Yesterday's homework question solved

One last question to solidify the concept

Today's review

After lunch we had a talking circle to address a concern I had about some lunchtime behaviour and then we developed our "dances" of the water cycle.  Students worked with very little direction from me as they worked out their routines.  In a word, the experience was amazing.  We concluded with a debrief.  The kids had a blast, learned the process and are now keen to see how they can extend their learning with this technique.  What a way to end the day! (Can you tell I was very pleased with the outcome?)

A few reminders:

1. Monday is a hot lunch fundraiser day.  Pizza order forms were sent home today ($2 per slice - 4 toppings choices -- one has gluten-free cheese).  The orders must be received by Thursday.

2. All boys interested in playing basketball this season are asked to give their names to Mr. Marshall so he can let the coach know how many are interested.

3. This Saturday is movie night at the Roberts Creek School gym for grades 5-7. 
I'll send the notice home tomorrow.  Tickets are $2 at the door ($1.75 if purchased in advance on Thursday or Friday).  Doors open at 6 pm and the feature is Night at the Museum 2.