Thoughts of the day- April 28

What did we do today?

• In photography, we learned how to take portrait pictures of people.  Hands should be in the photos!  We had a number of backgrounds set up in the library to take pictures of a partner.  We were asked to take our time as we took pictures of people head to toe, head to waist, a close up and a head shot with hands.
• Today in math we had a division session.  The grade 3's worked on a parrot division activity while the grade 4's practiced their long division skills for tomorrow's quiz.
• This afternoon in music, we had a test on reading notes and had a bonus crossword puzzle about playing the recorder.
• During science, we worked more on our containers and our bridge.  The second part of science focused on our plants.  We learned about photosynthesis and what the plants need to make their own food.  They need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.  They produce sugar and oxygen as by-products.

Thoughts of the day- April 27

What did we do today?

• Today we had Bricks 4 Kids come to our class.  We had two builds, which were a windmill and an optical illusion.  We had to build these projects out of Lego, a motor and a Lego battery pack.  When we completed the windmill, we were challenged to change it into a ferris wheel.  We also had to change the optical illusion to go faster.  We did that by changing the gears, raised the gear box and placing the motor directly on the axle.  The windmills used pulleys while the optical illusion spun on gears.
• We switched centers with Room 4 in social.  Our new centers include climate, etiquette, music and arabic writing.
• In math, we did another review, this time with multiplication.
• Bricks 4 Kids was our science class today, but it started during our recess time, so Ms. Jones let us have recess in the afternoon.
• We read the Library Olympics today and Mr. Lemoncello is about to make a huge announcement.  Charles' mom went to talk to Mr. Lemoncello with backup and she is trying to shut down the library.
• Ms. Jones taught us gym today and we played a game called SPUD.
• Two more beans have sprouted! :)

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will Charles' mom be able to shut down the library?
2. What will some of the new teams be like?
3. Will Kyle's team win the Library Olympics (again)?
4. What will the announcement be?
5. Will we have Bricks 4 Kids again?

Thoughts of the day- April 26

What did we do today?

• In math we practiced our subtraction with regrouping skills for our quiz, which is coming up this Friday.
• This afternoon in music, we wrote a practice test sheet for naming music notes.  We will have a more thorough test on Thursday.
• Today we had CAFE!  Some of the books that were read were: The Maze of Bones from the 39 Clues series, Land of Stories, Dog Lost, The Magician's Elephant, The People of Spark, I Survived series, The Yellowhood, My Haunted House, Boundless and The Notebook of Doom.
• In science, some of us started to work on a bridge, while others tried to finish their containers.
• During LA, we did a scavenger hunt in books to find different types of figurative language.  These include: onomatopoeia, idiom, personification, alliteration, simile, metaphor and hyperbole.

What questions do we have after today?

1. We ran out of time...  :(

Agenda: April 26-29

Read 30 min
Guided reading homework due
Bricks 4 Kids in our class Wed
Photography Thurs
Flower basket forms due Thurs
Library Thurs
Math quiz Fri- no spelling or POW this week
Fresh Air Friday- we are going to Nose Hill
Math: practice sheets and review

Craft A-fair this Saturday
Family Dance forms and basket donations
Field trip forms due Fri
Family Dance forms due Fri
Book orders due May 6
Fun lunch forms
Swimming forms

Thoughts of the day- April 21

What did we do today?

• We had a catch up period to finish any unfinished work so that it would be ready for conferences tonight/tomorrow.
• This morning in gym, we played a game called Guardians of the Planet Earth.  There are three teams: one would guard the gold  and the other two would try to steal it.  If you were tagged, you went to jail and another of your teammates would have to save you.  The two would often collaborate to attack the guardians and get the gold.
• We started the day with math facts until Ms. Jones realized we had to find time to do our spelling test.  Oops!
• Today in our photography session we talked about the things we should have in pictures, such as light, shadow, shapes, lines, variety, patterns, point of view, symmetry/asymmetrical (balance) and negative and positive areas to enhance our photos.  Then we did a scavenger hunt where we had to take a picture of the certain compositions.  Afterwards, we downloaded them onto the computers.

What questions do we have after today?

1. How will our interviews go?
2. Will we learn how to take pictures outside?  If so, will we be good at it?
3. How much will our beans grow this weekend?

Thoughts of the day- April 20

What did we do today?

• For most of the day, we had shifts at the computers to finish our IRIS pages and spring break riddles.
• We started a new novel today! The Library Olympics.
• Today in math, we played some multiplication and division games.  We have a quiz next week.
• This afternoon in social, we continued working on our Tunisian centers and one group is already on center 5.
• In gym, we played Prisoner's Base tag outside where the goal of the game was for one team to get all the players from the other team in their jail by tagging them.  Both teams had good courage strategies: one tried to coral the other team in a certain area while the other would charge at them.
• Running club started today at lunch.
• We continued to work on our containers, another group was successful in creating a leak-proof box using duct tape.

What questions do we have after today?

1. How will Mr. Lemoncello react to the people against his library? (Charles)
2. Which book will we enjoy more?
3. What will Charles' mom do?  Will she lead a protest?
4. What states will be competing in the library olympics?
5. Will anyone replace Hailey now that she is moving?
6. Did any teams get disqualified?
7. Will Andrew Peckleman end up in the story somehow?

Thoughts of the day: April 19

What did we do today?

• We switched our desks around and we have a new horseshoe arrangement.
• We had buddies today and we helped them finish their IRIS pages, now we have to work on our own!
• Today was our last day of recorders and Mrs. Lim was hoping we would get all of our videos on IRIS.  One more person received their silver belt. 
• This afternoon in science, we continued to work on our container building. There were two groups that were successful with building a leak proof container.  They used a layer of plastic then a layer of tin foil.  The other group had multiple layers.
• More beans have sprouted!  Two seeds melted in the heat and one sprout shriveled. 
• In social, we continued our centers and most people are working on their third one of eight.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will all the containers be successful by the end of the week?
2. If we have any hot weather, will any more beans perish?
3. How tall will the biggest bean plant grow?  How small will the shortest be?

Agenda: April 18-22

Read 30 min
Photography residency Thurs
Spelling test Thursday
Library Thursday
Parent-Student-Teacher conferences Thurs & Fri
Book CAFE April 26th
No school April 22 or 25

Craft A-fair April 30th
Family Dance forms & basket donations
Flower basket form

Thoughts of the day- April 15

What did we do today?

• We went into the Whispering Woods to search for the different types of seeds.  These included pine cones, rose hip berries, fluffy seeds, winged seeds and grass seeds.  Pods seeds were more difficult to find.
• Before that, we did another observation log on our bean seeds.  There were two new questions which were: How tall was your sprout? and What does it need to grow?  We had to list six requirements, which are sun, water, nutrients, space, the right temperature and air (more specifically carbon dioxide).  A lot more beans sprouted this week!  We now have 11 sprouts growing.
• First thing, we did our spelling tests.
• We played a game outside called Habitat, where half of us were plants and the other half were habitats in the field.  We would decide on what we needed: food, water or shelter and we had to run and find the matching habitat.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will some of us have to redesign our greenhouses to help our beans germinate and grow?
2. Will the other half of the student's beans sprout next week?
3. Will our beans need all six requirements?
4. Will anyone's bean not sprout?

Thoughts of the day- April 14

What did we do today?

• In math, we played to sum it up and productive products to see who could come up with the biggest scores.
• We worked on putting our artifact pictures on to our IRIS page and started to comment on them.  These will be presented to you during parent-student-teacher conferences next week.
• This afternoon in music, we recorded ourselves playing our most impressive songs and we put those on our IRIS pages too.  We will have one more recorder music class as Mrs. Lim needs more time to mark us.
• Ms. Jones taught us gym today and we played a game called barricade dodgeball which had mats up as hiding spots.
• In science, we had a presentation and after we completed our presentation task, we played SPARKLE to practice our skip counting skills.
• We continued working on our centers for social, and Ms. Jones expected us to be done two after today.

What questions do we have after today?

1. How many bean sprouts will be observed and recorded tomorrow in our bean journals?
2. What group will finish their social centers first?
3. In science, will we have certain materials to build a bridge with?
4. What will our next science project be?
5. Will anyone else earn extra belts?

Thoughts of the day- April 13

What did we do today?

• For LA, we took pictures of artifacts that showed our citizenship, our personal development and character in learning.  We will be posting these on our IRIS pages.
• In science, we started to build our containers, which we will fill up with water to hold our boats.
• This morning in math we did a review of our addition, subtraction, multiplication and division through different card games.  Ms. Jones also took some students to play these games as well.  They were To Sum IT UP, What's the Difference, Productive Products and Division with a Twist.
• Today in gym, Mr. O subbed and we played prisoner's base dodgeball.
• In social, we worked on our Tunisian centers for the third day.
• Some of the sprouts are starting to grow leaves and some of us have had to change our greenhouses to accommodate them.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will the containers be successful in holding the boats and water?
2. Will anyone's boat hold any more weight than when first tested?
3. How many more belts will be earned tomorrow?
4. What will our parent's think of our IRIS pages?

Thoughts of the day- April 12

What did we do today?

• In health, we talked about strategies to help us cope with anxiety.  We also reflected on what and how we have learned this term (Jan-March).
• We had buddies and we helped them reflect on their journals and what they liked about a chosen assignment.
• This morning in writing, we typed our spring break riddles.
• After lunch, we started to plan our container building and brainstormed the materials we would need.
• In gym, we played Capture the Flag outside.
• Two people got their black belts, one got their silver and one received their gold belts for their recorders.
• Today in social, we were introduced to the fourth center, where we will map the natural resources, goods and services.
• Ten people can now see their beans breaking through the soil!

What questions do we have after today?

1. How will the containers turn out in science?
2. When we do our bean journals next time, how many people will be able to draw the plant?
3. Whose bean will be the last to sprout?
4. What will we do next with our buddies?
5. What will be the biggest difference seen with the beans in one night?

Thoughts of the day- April 11

What did we do today?

• In math, we practiced adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.  Then we played two games called To Sum It Up and What Is the Difference.  
• Today in art, we continued to work on our mosaic animals and plants.
• We had gym outside today and we played Poachers and Chimpanzees.  It was easier as we had more space to run.
• Four students were happy to see that their been seeds are now sprouts.
• In word work, our big word was two words: plant requirements.
• Today in writing, we did our last City of Ember journal.  We had to explain which we liked better, the book or the movie and we have to give two good reasons with details.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will more people like the book or the movie?  What common reasons will there be for their decision?
2. How tall will the tallest bean be?
3. Will anybody's bean not sprout?
4. Has anyone picked the same animal or plant for their mosaic?
5. For our next read aloud, which one will we read: The Library Olympics or The Island of Dr. Libris?

Agenda: April 11-15

Read 30 min
Bring pop bottles, milk cartons, yogurt containers for science tomorrow
Fun lunch Thursday
Green team fundraiser forms due Thursday
Library Thursday
POW and spelling test Friday
School council meeting Tues at 7:00pm
Family dance letter
Craft-A-Fair notice
Parent-Student-Teacher sign up starts tomorrow for April 21 & 22
Number the Stars reading assignment due Mon

Thoughts of the day- April 8

What did we do today?

• We observed our plants in their respective greenhouses and filled in a log. We had to draw a diagram of our greenhouse, record the temperatures inside and outside the greenhouse, we had to draw what we saw and we had to write down what we saw and what changes we could do to help our plant grow.  We will be recording a log once a week.
• Today we learned about sun care and talked about UV rays and skin cancer.  We looked at a UV index and learned ways to protect ourselves at each level.  We checked the index number before we went out and it was at a low level.  Ways we can protect ourselves include: wear sunscreen, wear a hat, and wear sunglasses.  You can also use an umbrella, stay indoors, drink lots of water, and wear clothing that covers.
• We did our spelling test first thing this morning.
• We also played a game called sun tag.  If you got tagged by a sun, you got sun burned and you had to stand and sizzle like bacon.  The way you got back in the game was to be saved by sunscreen.  You had to tell them one way to protect yourself from the sun.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Whose bean will grow the tallest and will anyone's bean sprout next week?
2. Will more water help the bean grow or not?
3. Whose bean will sprout last?
4. How will we do on our spelling tests?
5. Is there a sunscreen with an SPF higher than 60?  Does it make more of a difference than SPF 30? 
6. Will we need to wear sunscreen tomorrow?

Thoughts of the day- April 7

What did we do today?

• We finished the The City of Ember movie today.  There were a lot of differences such as, how they escaped, how they discovered the boats and Doon's father found the message instead of Mrs. Murdo.
• Today the photographer came in and showed us how to take clear photos and edit them using an iPad.  We also exported pictures into iPhoto on a laptop.  The button to take pictures is called a shutter.  We also learned how to change the lighting and how to lock the focus.
• In social we started our new centers.  We had three: Tunisian doors, folk tales and schooling and researching camels and solving math in Arabic. 
• We had our last day of relay races in gym and we played a game where there was a shooter throwing dodgeballs at you.
• In music, four of us got our black belts for our recorders.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will there be a second Ember movie?
2. For our next read aloud novel, will there be a movie with it?
3. What will we learn next time with the photographer and what pictures will we take?
4. What center will Ms. Jones create for our fourth center?
5. Whose bean will sprout first in the portable?
6. Will anyone be able to grow beans to eat?
7. Will we get to eat Indian and Tunisian food?

Thoughts of the day- April 6

What did we do today?

• We watched more of the City of Ember movie today.  There was a mutated mole and we saw the mayor's bunker full of food.
• First thing this morning, we fixed up our greenhouses as many of them got tipped over by the wind yesterday.  Some of us needed new seeds, but others were lucky enough to see that their seeds have started to germinate.  Some students re-started their greenhouses from scratch and others who were away last week got to make theirs.  It was too windy to put our greenhouses out today, so we placed them by the window.
• In science, we tested our boat prototypes and saw how much weight each would hold.  Three boats were able to hold 40 grams.
• We started to record what the similarities and differences are between the movie and the book by creating a class Venn diagram.
• In gym, we played prisoner's base dodgeball with Mr. O.

What questions do we have after today?

• How many other bean plants will germinate by Friday?
• How many more differences will we see between the movie and the book?
• When we put our greenhouses outside, will we have any other incidents?
• How many greenhouses blew over in Room 4?
• Do the greenhouses that didn't tip over have a bigger advantage over those whose did?
• What will be the biggest difference between the movie and the book?
• How many students will reach the extra belts? (gold, silver)

Thoughts of the day- April 5

What did we do today?

• In health, we learned about anxiety, which is fear, worry, nervousness of an event to occur or of an uncertain outcome.
• Today we started to watch the City of Ember movie.  So far, we have noticed they are teenagers and they were twelve years old in the book. The movie seems to have more technology than what was mentioned in the book.  The book had a lot more details.
• We helped our little buddies take a picture of their journals that they have been working in using Photo Booth.
• In social, we got introduced to the Tunisia centers.
• We practiced our multiplication and division facts in math.
• In music, two more people got their black belts and one got their silver belt.  
• In science it was our last day to work on our boats.  We will be testing them tomorrow!
• Our greenhouses got tipped over by the wind today!  We will be fixing them tomorrow.

What questions do we have after today?

1. How many differences will we see between the City of Ember book and movie.  So far we have noticed a lot!
2. How much damage was done to the greenhouses?  Will that effect our beans?
3. Did anyone lose their seed entirely?
4. How many boats will be able to hold 50g?

Thoughts of the day- April 4

What did we do today?

• Today in art, we made mosaics with foam paper.  We had to create a picture from nature, either an animal or plant.
• In math, the grade 4's started learning long division and the grade 3's practiced their strategies for multiplying and dividing.
• In word work, the big word was germinating. It means The sprouting of a plant, and we are hoping to see that in our mini-greenhouses.
• This morning in gym, we broke up into 5 groups and we came up with different relay races.  We had time for two of them.
• We finally had the computer lab booked and we started to type out our spring break riddles.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will the mayor be too big for the chair in the movie like the book The City of Ember?
2. Who's bean seed will be the first to germinate?
3. Who's spring break riddle will be the hardest to figure out?
4. What animals did everyone pick for their mosaics?
5. Will anyone's bean seed not germinate? might they drown or dry out?

Agenda: April 4-8

Read 30 min
Treat day tomorrow- bring 25¢
Photography residency Thursday
POW and spelling test Friday
Fun lunch forms due Thurs
Library Thurs
CBE letter
Book orders due Fri
Green team fundraiser form
Dressed for the sun Fri- hat, sunscreen
Overdue books
Spring Break riddle, picture coloured

Thoughts of the day- April 1

What did we do today?

• We built mini greenhouses outside.  The materials we used were: straws, tape, a ruler, styrofoam cups, a shoebox or milk carton, scissors, potting soil, green beans, and clear plastic bags.
• We were given example of one from Pinterest, but some of us made our own designs including a watering system using cups and straws.  Lots of used part of our plastic bags to make a sunroof for the plant so that the sun can get through to it.  Some of us used the plastic bags to make our boxes waterproof.
• Some of the greenhouses have their sunroofs flip up, so that we can water and observe our bean sprout.
• For today, we will keep our greenhouses by the window for the weekend, but next week we will be taking them outside.

What questions do we have after today?

1. How big is the mole in the City of Ember movie?
2. Who's been will grow the biggest?
3. How many people will like the movie?
4. Which system/ greenhouse design will help the beans grow the largest?