Mrs. Pols' Fantastic Fours

This week in math, we began exploring the concept of area. We began by measuring the area of a variety shapes using non-standard units. Then, we discussed the challenges that can arise when measuring area using non-standard units and why standard units are helpful. How can we compare the size of two items when we use non-standard units? Next, we calculated the areas of given shapes using standard units. The students were then challenged to create a different shapes with the same area and different criteria. Finally, we began exploring how to determine the area of rectangles and how our understanding of multiplication and factors can support this learning. Learning Outcomes: I can measure area with non-standard units by tiling. I can measure area with standard units by tiling with square centimetres. I can model the area of various rectangles as two dimensional arrays. I can determine the area of a rectangle using multiplication. I can solve problems involving the area of rectangles. Qu...

In Science, we moved into our next unit of study Earth Systems. We kicked off our unit from an in class learning opportunity. Our guest presenter introduced us to a huge amount of new information as we learned about the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere. We learned all about the Earth’s systems and investigated how their interconnections sustain life on our planet! We discovered how water, sun and air support plants and animals on Earth and the responsibility we share in caring for our resources. We then learned how changes in one system affect or impact the other systems on Earth. The students were excited to create their own three dimensional models showing all four spheres. They cannot wait to bring them home to share with you. A huge thank you to Parent Council for making this presentation possible and to the volunteers who were so generous with their time and energy. We then worked to solidify our learning but taking part in one of the student's favourite activit...

This week in English Language Arts, we finished publishing our poetry books. The students did a fantastic job in their final poems, showing their understanding of the different types of figurative language including personification, similes and metaphors. The students put a huge amount of effort  putting their poems together to create a personal book of poetry, creating illustrations to represent their poems. They then worked to represent themselves and their books with an About the Author and About the Book paragraph. We will be sharing our books with our grade one buddies next week. We then moved into our next genre of writing, autobiographies. First, we learned a little about biographies and autobiographies and their similarities and differences as we explored a variety of different texts. Next, we created a timeline of our own lives, including the events that are important, stand out and help to shape who we are. After choosing our first life event to write about, we looked at ...

Over the last few weeks the students have been working on our new science unit, Space. To engage the students, introduce the unit and develop a sense of their current understanding, the students were challenged to represent the universe using loose parts. The students had a fantastic time collaborating with a peer to represent their understanding of what the universe is. Each representation showed creativity and a variety of components including, different planets, stars, moons, asteroids and black holes. Students were excited to share and compare their representations to those of others. Next, we examined the difference between the universe and our Solar System. We learned about the objects that make up our Solar System, researching the planets, their moons, stars and our sun. Next, the students represented their learning in a visual journal page.   We then learned about the size of the planets and worked to measure the different planets to scale to help them to better visual...