Wednesday, 10 April

Please try to remember to bring in the $35 for the snowshoe trip: Saleah, Kassandra, Kaneeka, Kiah, Landseer, Gus, Arif, Bowen, Amber, Braedon and Sophia.

So far we have drivers for 19 of 28 students to go to the art gallery tomorrow.  Only half of the class has its permission forms in.  The following are pending: Kaneeka, Simon, Kiah, Gus, Mackenzie, Arif, Emily, Bowen, Amber, Avery, Braedon and Sophia.

Yesterday I was finally able to upload the software for the
interactive whiteboard to my loaner computer (my
seven-year-old computer died last month and I lost
all of my drivers).

We began the day by reconnecting with our cursive writing.  We also had a short discussion about the future of language.  I'm always interested to hear the students' views; they're always more sophisticated than we might think they would be.

Next we worked in our film groups.  Some students have almost completed their filming and are preparing for the editing stage.  Others are yet to start filming.  We have set May 7 as the deadline for completion.

Review of parallelograms

After recess we read for 15 minutes and then transitioned to math.  In Math 7 we reviewed some of the questions from last day's problem set and I gave instruction in Lesson 4.4: Area of a Triangle.  Please complete #1-5 on pp. 145-146 for homework.

Classification of triangles by angle
and line length

Triangles as half of a parallelogram

Finding area of a triangle: practice 1

Finding area of a triangle: practice 2

We read for 15 minutes after lunch and then moved into our inquiry work.  The deadline to complete the science inquiry project (that is to be shared in a five-minute presentation) is Monday, 13 April.  The second (or second and third if you are in grade 7) is to be completed the following Monday.  There is not much time left.  Remember that you should be able to answer your question WITHOUT PowerPoint slides or other aids.  By now you should know the answer and be able to discuss the topic from heart.  You should be internalizing the information and no longer be tied to notes (although you will be permitted to use notes during your presentation).  By this point, my expectation is that students will not simply "read" their presentation from slides or cue cards.

Some students have begun their socials inquiry projects.  These are true collaborative projects because unlike the science inquiries that were done solo, the socials inquiries will be done in teams of two.  This will allow the class to build fluency in collaboration, one of the competencies deemed key in the 21st century economy.  I am allowing the students to pick their partners and again, they will also have some latitude in their topic.

We ended the day with a game of capture the flag out on the field but our game was interrupted by other classes who were already outside.  I'll have to get clarification on the rules around sharing field space because as the weather improves, I'm sure the competition will increase.

Please remember tomorrow's field trip - I need 1 more driver and 12 more slips.