Measurement, Boats and Buoyancy, and Badminton

Today we began new units in Science, Math and Physical Education.

In Science we have completed our unit on Hot and Cold, all of the children did really well on their unit tests.  Now we are learning about Boats and Buoyancy.  So far we have looked at different types of boats and what purposes some of them serve.

In Math we will continue on number operations but will also begin to work on measurement.  Today students completed a KWL.  We also learned that time and the calendars are types measurement.

Last week In Physical Education we began experimenting with the badminton rackets and birdies.  Students are slowly getting the hand of hitting the birdie.  Today we tried to hit the birdie into a target on the ground.  At the end of the class we rallied with a partner.

Question of the day

What is something that would take a short amount of time?

What is something that would take a long amount of time?

Insulators and Social Studies Sorting

Today we worked on our "My Mom" writing projects, I've learned a lot about every single Mom!  I was so proud of the students, they had thoughtful, kind and funny things to say about their Moms.

In the afternoon we played 2 Social Studies sorting games.  The students had to divide both pictures and items into the correct Social Studies communities.....the catch was they had to work as a team without speaking a single word!

In Science we conducted one of our final experiments for the Hot and Cold unit.  We took 4 plastic jars and inserted them into 4 larger jars.  We filled the gaps between the jars with 4 insulators.  The smaller inside jars were then filled with water that was 72 degrees celsius.  We took the temperature of the water in each of the 4 jars over a 2 hour period to see which material was the best insulator. The results were a bit shocking (even for us adults)!

Question of the day-
Can you rank the insulators from best to worst?

Subtraction Stories

Today we attempted to write our own subtraction stories.  The grade 2s began with 50 and the grade 1s began with 10. From there the children got to be creative and write their own stories.  There are pictures of some of the stories below.

In Social Studies we did a sorting activity.  We discussed what the climate and weather would be in Iqaluit, Meteghan and Saskatoon in the spring.  The students took jackets, pants, sweaters, boots, hats, and socks and sorted them into the correct community.  

In Math the grade 1s played an addition game with the Power of Ten cards and a double dice game.  The grade 2s played the "Name" game trying to find words that added up to 100.

Question of the day-

Tell me about some of the clothing items found in each community.

Math Games, Floor Hockey and Stories

Our class has begun discussing different types of writing and who the audience might be.  We know that writing can be informal or formal.  

Writers write to;
inform
persuade
tell a story
be funny
write a list
write a biography
list the procedure

We always have to think of the audience and what they are expecting to read.

We are quickly coming to the finish line with our stories.  The students have worked to make their stories humorous and even suspenseful! They will be sharing them at conferences next week.

In Math we are playing games that help us with addition and subtraction.  Later this week we will each write our own math problem stories.  These will vary in steps and complexity based on each child's understanding and ability.

Brett and Tiernan shared their Soil Erosion and Deforestation Science Fair project with the class.  We learned that there are no upsides to deforestation.  They demonstrated how plants and their roots protect the humas layer of soil from being washed away.  Thanks for a great presentation boys!

In gym we worked on our puck handling skills and holding onto the stick safely.

Question of the day.

What is 1 hot or cold safety rule in your house?