Thoughts of the day- May 31

What did we do today?

• In music, we practiced our Down To Earth and This Ol' Man Songs.  We also started to watch the movie Beethoven Lives Upstairs.
• In math, we continued planning our zoos.  Some groups are now at the point of putting their parts together to see if they are happy with the draft.
• We had buddies and we helped them type out information about themselves, such as their names and their likes.
• Today in science, we continued our research on our animals, in particular their diet, habitats, adaptations and predators.  We also checked in on our butterflies.  One has emerged from its chrysalis and was flapping its wings.
• This afternoon in social we finished packing for the Ukraine.  We coloured the flag, trident and coat of arms.  Tomorrow we will start our centers.

What questions do we have after today?

1. How long will it take for the other butterflies to emerge?
2. What will the centers be like?  Will there be anything about Crimea?
3. What will group will be the first to build up their zoo?
4. When will the butterflies start flying around their temporary home?
5. Will all the butterflies look different or all the same?
6. What building will have the largest surface area?

Thoughts of the day- May 30

What did we do today?

• In math, we continued planning for our zoos and we started to create our blueprints.
• Today we had a 35 question spelling test.  It was the same one we did in September and we are going to compare how much we have improved.
• This afternoon in art, we learned about symmetry.  We had to complete a half drawn grid shape before we created an insect with oil pastels.
• We had our fifth swimming lesson and tomorrow is our last day.
• In the Library Olympics, we found out Kyle is a good Pterodactyl flier and he won the competition by fueling up on fish, which he remembered reading in his research.  The League of Concerned Library Lovers is trying to get Marjory to take out one book from the library.

What questions do we have after today?

1. What book will Marjory take from the library, if she takes one?
2. Will Marjory join the League of Concerned Library Lovers?
3. Will we have to figure out the volume of the building in our zoo?
4. Will we know the book that she takes out, if she does?

Agenda: May 30-June 3

Read 30 min
Last day of swimming Tues- bring $2 if you want a vending machine item
CAFE Wed
Rooftop photo Thurs
Library Thurs
Math quiz Thurs (+,-, x, ÷)
Sports Day Fri -wear green/ blue 

Book orders due Tues
Practice words for music
Guided reading jobs due
Letter- Grade 4
Social center due

Thoughts of the day- May 27

What did we do today?

• In science, we went to check in on the caterpillars in chrysalis.  They have been put in a new home with netting and they are all hanging on the roof. They are now a golden brown colour and the wing pattern in starting to show.  One chrysalis is hanging by a thread.
• We continued our observations of the dandelions and what the function of each part is.  Some of us tried the milk in the stem and it is very bitter! That is a deterrent to animals so they don't eat them.  We had honeysuckle after to take the taste away.  We also saw a very long earthworm crawling in the grass.  We also learned the dandelion came from Greece.  People drink dandelion tea and in Europe, they are not seen as the weeds they are here.
• We went swimming! :)

Thoughts of the day- May 26

What did we do today?

• In math we started our zoo design groups and we started to plan our zoo. We will plan it in 2D first, then build it up with 3D objects.
• Today in music we sung a song called "This Ol' Man" in two parts.  Mrs. Lim also recorded us doing the song for our Fresh Air Friday assembly so we know what we look like.
• In science, we continued our animal research and we had the option of either using the computers or the books we pulled yesterday.
• In social, we mapped Ukraine and we learned a little bit about each city or sea.  We also learned a little bit of history about the Ukraine and Russia and how they were once one country.
• It was day three of swimming!

What questions do we have after today?

1. How black does the Black Sea get?
2. What will other people's zoos look like?
3. When will the civil unrest in Crimea end?

Thoughts of the day- May 25

What did we do today?

• In math we had a catch up period.  We finished our irregular shape animals, worked on our building permits and completed two Mathletics activities.
• Today in science, we started our research on an animal that we will be building a new habitat for.  We first had to locate books in the library before going on the computers.  The animals had to be one of the animals we did observations on at the zoo.
• This afternoon in social, we started to pack our suitcases for the Ukraine.  We looked at the Government of Canada travel advisories and its weather.  It was advised not to go to Crimea or the eastern part of the country.
• In LA, we finished our figurative language search.  After that we had to come up with three of our own (alliteration, onomatopoeia and a simile).
• We had our second swimming class today.

What questions do we have after today?

1. What will be our favourite country after we have studied them all?
2. Will the advisories for the Ukraine get worse or better while we study the Ukraine?
3. What will be the most important vaccination you would need before you travel there?

Agenda: May 24-27

Read 30 min
Swimming all week at 9:30 am
POW due Fri
Library Thurs 
Math quiz handed back
Book orders due Tues
CAFE on Wed

Homework:
Bean Journals
Permits (1-4) due Thurs

Running Club:  Please be ready to run from Dr. Coffin School to the walking bridge at Nose Hill next Wednesday, June 1st from 12:10 – 12:40. This will be a 2 km loop, if you are able to run more than 2 km (as many of you now are) we will continue to run once we get back to school. Thanks.

Thoughts of the day- May 18

What did we do today?

• This morning in math, we started cutting out animals from grid paper and we will so have to figure out the area and perimeter, which will be harder because we used different shapes.
• In science we continued to complete our study of dandelions by observing and drawing the leaves, stem and flower of the plant.
• Today we had the Privilege Day draw for being the teacher....five students were picked.
• We had the book fair in the afternoon and we were allowed to pick more than three books because we were the last group.
• In gym, we had Mr. O as a sub and we played a different game of dodgeball and we could be hit from anywhere in the gym.  If you were tagged, you could crawl to get a ball to get back into the game.
• During social, a few more groups finished their centers.  They are due on Tuesday.

What questions do we have after today?

1. What will tomorrow be like with 11 teachers?
2. Why do dandelions needs their root hairs?
3. If someone wins the butler, will they use them during the math quiz?
4. What will we learn about the Ukraine civil war?
5. Why are dandelions made to "invade" other native species?
6. What will the students who win want Mrs. Polski to do as their butler?

Thoughts of the day- May 16

What did we do today?

• In math we played a game with area, where we had to roll two dice to multiply.  We then put it on a grid.  Who ever filled the most space was the winner.  All of the area blocks had to touch the last one and we could not go over a block from the other team.
• We had a double science class to finish our lab observations and our bean journals.  If our bean plant is in the seeding or young plant phase, we were allowed to bring them home.
• This morning we had a sub for gym and we played more parachute games.  We played Jaws with two sharks and Cat and Mouse.
• In the Library Olympics, we heard what happened with the first two events and they have started the third.  Team Kyle has lost both so far.
• After Daily Five, we looked through a variety of books to find examples of figurative language and to draw a picture of each one.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will Team Kyle win any competitions today?  Does the color of medal you receive make an impact on your points?
2. What are some of the best books to find examples of figurative language in?
3. Who will be the last to take their bean home?

Agenda: May 16-20

Read 30 min
Recycle a Read Book Fair Wed
Rooftop photo Thurs
Privilege day tomorrow- bring privileges 
Math quiz Thurs- no spelling or POW
No school Fri or next Mon
Swimming starts Tues.  We leave at 9:00 am.  Bring your suit, towel, goggles, snack.

Homework:
Bean Journals due
Tunisia social centers due Tues

Thoughts of the day- May 13

What did we do today?

• For Fresh Air Friday, we tried to pull out a complete dandelion and make observations.  We had to draw pictures of the leaves, the stem, the flower, the tap root and the root hairs and guess the function of each part.  It was hard to get a full dandelion, and a student who will remain anonymous bent their trowel.
• We also did another bean journal.  This time, we had to state what stage our bean is at in its life cycle.  There was a seed, sprout, seedling, young plant, and adult plant.  We also took out the temperature of the greenhouse because no one's plant is growing in one anymore.  
• We had a spelling test about words with silent letters.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will anyone's bean grow a flower or bean pod before June?
2. What was the most common stage observed?
3. Why do dandelions need tap roots?

Thoughts of the day- May 12

What did we do today?

• Today we had buddies and we got to see butterfly larvae and we will be observing them grow into Painted Lady butterflies.
• In math, we finished building our 3D objects and continued to work on our permits. We even had marshmallows to build with and snack on.
• We stayed in the portable for science today to work on our lab write-ups on building a bridge, container and boat.  Our marks from this unit will come from these so we are adding things to get a better mark.
• In music, we started to learn a song that we will sing at the Fresh Air Friday celebration assembly.  We also went to check the animal museum in the learning commons, which was presented by our friends in Room 1 and 2.
• This morning in gym we had gym in our classrooms because the grade 6's were writing a test.  We played silent soccer.
• During the afternoon, we continued to work on our social centers.  Some of us finished today while others are close to being done.

What questions do we have after today?

1. What patterns and colours will the butterflies have after they come out of chrysalis?
2. What other songs will be sung by the other grade groups for our Fresh Air Friday celebration?
3. Will anyone else have to re-plant their beans between now and when we take them home?
4. Who will get Mrs. Polski as their butler?  Who will win be the teacher draws?
5. How much money will we earn for Fort McMurray through Privilege Day?
6. How big will the butterflies get?  How long does it take for the butterfly larvae to turn into adults?

Thoughts of the day- May 11

What did we do today?

• In math, we had to make 3D objects and count how many vertices, edges and faces they had.
• Today we had a Celtic fiddler and she played two songs from where Celtic music came from, Ireland and Scotland, and she played the regional music from four provinces in Canada.  They were from Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia and British Columbia.  Irish fiddling is has more melody but Scottish fiddling has more rhythm for marching.  Some of the tunes were made for bagpipes.
• This afternoon in science we tested our bridges with a cleaning bottle.  We also started the lab sheet, which will go towards our report card mark.  Ms. Jones wants more than two sentences and lots of details.
• In the Library Olympics, they are starting their first competition, which is a library cart race.  They have to put the books from their Dewey Decimal category on their carts before starting.
• This morning in gym, we continued with parachute games, including Unwrap the Present and Shark Attack.

What questions do we have after today?

1. What team will win the first competition and medal?
2. How many books will be dropped by the teams in total?  What if they drop any books?
3. Will Kyle drop out of the games? Will Andrew join?
4. What will the next competition be?
5. What will we learn about the Ukraine in social?

Thoughts of the day- May 10

What did we do today?

• Today in art, we put shaving cream and food colouring together and swirled it in a tin pan.  Then we created some cool and colourful trading cards Coming soon to a bulletin board near you!
• We continued to work on our permits in math.  We also identified different quadrilaterals and their features.  We were introduced to the third and fourth permits.  We also learned about a new shape called the trapezium.
• We had buddies today and we helped them move their photos from the network drive to a dropbox.  Then we did the same thing with our photos after the buddies went back to class.
• In science, it was the last day for building our bridges.  We will be testing them tomorrow.
• During gym we continued to play some parachute games and we added a new thing to the game Jaws.  We had lifeguards.
• Today in music, we listened to some celtic fiddling and attempted to do Irish dancing in preparation for tomorrow's performance.

We ran out of time, so no questions were discussed today....we were having too much fun in art!

Thoughts of the day- May 9

What did we do today?

• We had a guest speaker in the afternoon, who was an engineer from the Alberta Science Network.  He taught us a bit about material variety then he gave us a project where we had to make a structure that would hang 3 pencils and 3 marbles on a string.  We also had to make the structure that would hold the string.  We learned that it is better to build a building using rebar and cement because the metal rods can take tension (pull) while the cement can handle the push, so it makes the structure stronger.
• Today in math, we started our zoo re-design project.  But before we can start, we had to complete a permit showing our knowledge of geometric shapes to prove to the mayor we are the architects/ engineers for the job.
• In gym, we started our parachute unit by playing cat and mouse, jaws, mushroom and running under the parachute.
• In word work, all the words have a silent letter in them.  They are words we have been using in our snakes and ladders game.
• This is our last week for our Tunisian centers!  We continued to work on them and one group is finished.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Which group will win the snakes and ladders game?
2. Will everyone finish their social centers in time?
3. What will our new zoo designs look like?
4. What is the average number of beans we have planted to grow a bean plant?
5. Who will have the tallest bean plant by the end of the month?  How tall will it be?
6. Whose bean plant will grow the most leaves?

Agenda- May 9-13

Read 30 min
Celtic Fiddler Presentation Wed @9:00am
Fun lunch Thurs
Science test for Mrs. Lee's group Thurs
POW and spelling test Fri

Book fair donations
Privilege day money 

Thought of the day- May 6

What did we do today?

• Today for Fresh Air Friday, we had a scavenger hunt where we had to look for certain plants and tally them.  We had to look for coniferous trees, coniferous shrubs, deciduous trees, deciduous shrubs, opposite branches, alternate branches and berries.  We counted for half an hour.  Afterwards, we had to count them and make them into fractions.  The denominator was the number of shrubs and trees combined.  For each numerator, we counted the tallies for each group.  There were more deciduous trees is the Whispering Woods than coniferous.
• Coniferous are trees that have needles and deciduous are trees that have leaves, which they lose each fall.
• Half of us started the day with a math re-write of last week's quiz, while the others went to the library for book exchange and read.
• We had science and we continued our bridge building.  We are very close to being done!  To have your bridge qualify, it must be able to hold a full can of pop or a full bottle of paint.

What questions do we have after today?

1. What was the biggest fraction made?
2. How many deciduous trees are in the Whispering Woods?
3. What was the biggest denominator?
4. What will be our next unit in gym?
5. What will we do next Fresh Air Friday?
6. Who will win the silent letter snakes and ladders game?

Thoughts of the day- May 5

What did we do today?

• Today in math, we started measurement with a scavenger hunt where we had to measure things in cm and m.
• In gym, the kids from Sir Winston Churchill came to teach us.  We played blob tag at first, then moved on to gold rush and finished with four corners.
• After gym, we read The Library Olympics.  Charles convinced Kyle not to ask Andrew to switch.  We found out Andrew's great uncle twice removed likes birds a lot and Andrew and Marjory have a lot in common.
• During LA, we learned about idioms and we had to draw a picture of one and write a sentence using one.  Then we played snakes and ladders with silent letters.  We had to guess the word based on given clues.
• After lunch we had the volunteer tea.  We performed the song Shake the Papaya with room 4.
• Before the volunteer tea, we continued to work on our social centers.  By next week, we hope to be finished our Tunisia centers.

What questions do we have after today?

1. Will everyone's beans be sprouted by the end of next week?
2. Will we learn more idioms next week?
3. Will Andrew be in the contest?  Will he become the fifth member of Kyle's team?
4. Will Andrew help Marjory?  Will Andrew distract Marjory?

Thoughts of the day- May 4

What did we do today?

• In science, Ms. Jones hoped we would be done building our bridges, but we need more time.
• This morning in math, we started our Shape and Space unit by brainstorming what we already know....there was a lot!  We talked about the metric and the imperial measurement units.  There was also a fire drill during that time.
• In the book The Library Olympics, Kyle Keeley is thinking about backing out of the games because he feels he will let his team down.  We have also met a new nemesis...Marjory.  She had memorized the Dewey Decimal system before she entered preschool.
• For gym, we used the mini golf equipment to create a driving range, where we practiced with our iron club.
• We talked about the Fort McMurray Fire and did some work on our centers for Tunisia in social.  We found out we were hotter than there today!
• During LA, we read a book called Two Bad Ants and we listened for different examples of figurative speech.  The most common one was personification.

What questions do we have after today?

1. How long will we spend on our new math unit?
2. Will Kyle quit the team?
3. Will Canada ever use the imperial unit system again?
4. Will Marjory join Team Kyle and what will Kyle talk to Andrew Peckleman about?

Thoughts of the day- May 3

What did we do today?

• With our little buddies, we helped them choose a picture they took during the photography residency and edit it.  Then we helped them put it onto their network drive.
• In science, all the groups started to plan and make their bridges to go over their waterproof containers.
• We got our math quiz results back and Ms. Jones in allowing us to re-write it on Friday if we want to improve our mark.  The average mark was 11/16, which is 69% or a 2.
• For music today, we practiced a new song and we used actions and feeling. 
• This afternoon, we had social and we continued our centers.
• In gym, we started to play mini-golf on the field.
• First thing this morning, we reviewed photosynthesis and completed a log and changed our greenhouses as needed.

What questions do we have after today?

1. If we are allowed to put our seedlings into the planters in the sun circle, how many will survive?
2. Will anyone else have to re-plant their bean?
3. Will we do something regarding our photography residency with our buddies next time?
4. When will we read the Library Olympics next?
5. What will the average score be after the re-write?
6. Will anyone not have a bean growing by the end of May?
7. Will anyone's bean plant be growing beans by the end of May?

Agenda: May 2-6

Read 30 min
Treat day tomorrow- bring 25¢
Wear a hat for Hats On Day/ Star Wars t-shirt
Volunteer tea Thurs afternoon at 2:00pm
Library Fri
Basket donations to be in Wed
Math quiz rewrite Fri
Guided reading task due Mon
Book Fair donations
Family Dance Fri @ 6:00pm

Fun Lunch forms due Thurs
Swimming forms due Fri
Book orders due Fri

Thoughts of the day- May 2

What did we do today?

• We had a field trip to the zoo today.  We had to find two animals in the zoo and write down their habitat, where you would find them, their size, and what they eat.  We also had to list observable characteristics, what their exhibit looked like and a sketch.  Some of the animals we visited were: penguins, meerkats, gorillas, mandrils, giraffes, flamingoes, lions, zebras, komodo dragons, snakes, otters, wolves, bears, ostriches, hippos, prairie dogs, owls and tortoises.
• After lunch we did a program on the metamorphosis of the northern leopard frogs.  We did a short silent play about their life cycle.  Out of 2000 eggs, only 2 will become adults.  The costumes were pretty cool!  The three super villains to frogs are garbage, human construction and a fungus brought to our wetlands by humans.  Three volunteers got to put their hands in the mystery box and guess what part of the frog they were.  They were bones, mucus on the skin and eggs.

What questions do you have after today?

1. What was the most common animal people went to see?
2. Will they be able to get the leopard frogs into the Canadian Wild exhibit?
3. Will the leopard frog become extinct or will their numbers improve?