Optional Holiday Homework

As per TDSB homework policy, homework is not assigned over holidays. However, several students have asked about extra practice over the break, so here are a few suggestions for extra review or practice:

Math:We have been working on area and perimeter of rectangles, and knowing the multiplication and division facts will be very beneficial to this unit, as well as many other areas of math. Students should know their multiplication facts up to 9x9, and their related division facts (up to 81¸9). Students can practice their facts using various online games at multiplication.com.

Students can also use Prodigy for extra math practice as well. I have added some area & perimeter questions to the students’ accounts.

IXL is another source of extra math practice. Sections U.2, Y.1, Y.2, and Y.3 pertain to our current unit of study.

Language:Reading: Students are encouraged to read at least 20 minutes daily. Books are available at the public library and also our school’s virtual library.

Writing: You can access our class’ Kidblog over the break and write your own stories, articles, procedural writing, poems, letters or whatever you want. Remember to be kind and respectful, and select topics wisely (e.g., appropriate for school).

Social Studies:
After the holiday break, students will be assigned a research project on an European Explorer, using the 4 stages of the inquiry process we’ve discussed in class. Here is a sneak peak of the assignment if students would like to get a head start.

They will have 3 weeks to work on it after the break. We will go over the package and details of the project in January, but it is if any students would like a head start: Research Project Information Package.

Fun & Physical Activities:
Students are also encouraged have fun and stay active over the holiday break. In addition to playing outside (e.g., building a snow fort, going tobogganing),   students can use the GoNoodle website for various dance/workout videos. Spending time with family members, playing board games, charades or chatting will also create memories!

Have a wonderful break, and a Happy New Year!

December 19-23, 2016

Reading: Novel Study – City of Ember: Ch. 4-7
Writing: Kidblog
Math: Measurement – perimeter & area using grid paper, formulae for the perimeter and area of a rectangle
Science: Energy – forms of energy, input & output
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry process, Stage 3 (processing and organizing information) & Stage 4 (drafting)
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: Hatching & Cross Hatching
Phys. Ed: Health – Making Healthy Choices (effects of alcohol consumption, reading food labels, internet safety)

December 12-16, 2016

Reading: Novel Study – City of Ember: Ch. 1-3
Writing: Essays/Reports – publishing via. Kidblog
Math: Measurement – converting units, quiz this week; Decimals – multiplying & dividing by multiples of 10 (e.g., 10, 100, 1000), adding decimals
Science: Energy – workshop, types of energy
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry Process, Stage 2 (gathering information) & Stage 3 (processing and organizing information)
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: Hatching & Cross Hating
Phys. Ed: Floor Hockey

Google Classroom

Option 1:

To access our Google Classroom, 

1.  Log into Academic Workspace:

http://aw.tdsb.on.ca

Enter your student number & password (the same ones you use to log into a school computer)

2. Choose Google App, then Classroom.

Option 2:  (may not work...have not tried it on a non-school computer yet)

You can also try this link (but I'm not sure if it'll work):
https://classroom.google.com/u/3/c/MjkxMjU3MzY2OVpa
(use your student number & password to log in)

Hour of Code

We live in a world surrounded by technology; and we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. However, only a tiny fraction of us are learning computer science, and fewer students are studying it than a decade ago.

That’s why our some of the classes at Thorncliffe Park Public School is joining in on the largest education event in history: The Hour of Code.  Today, we joined millions of students worldwide spending one hour learning the basics. Students were introduced to simple concepts in computer science (e.g., what is code, writing instructions, logic, IF...THEN functions) through tutorials featuring Angry Birds, Penguins from the Madagascar movie, Anna & Elsa from Frozen and other interesting characters.

Unfortunately, we can only devote 1 period (50 minutes) to the event in class. Students who are interested are encouraged to continue exploring the tutorial and “online courses” after the event.  You can find more information about the event at www.hourofcode.org/ca.

November 29-December 9, 2016

Reading: Mysteries –Guided Reading Groups, quiz this week; Novel Study – City of Ember
Writing: Essays/Reports - writing effective introductions, varying sentence structures, revising and clarifying ideas
Math: Measurement – making accurate linear measurements, converting units (e.g., metres to centimetres)
Science: Body Systems – nervous & digestive systems, test this week
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry Process, Stage 2 (gathering information) & Stage 3 (processing and organizing information)
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – finishing Final Piece
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – Target assessments

Math Quiz - Corrections

A math quiz was returned this week, where the class as a whole didn't do very well.  The students either did very well (e.g., Level 4) or not so well (e.g., Level 2 or below).  

We reviewed the questions in class and I've offered students who received lower than a Level 3 to complete their corrections to earn up to 2 marks (10%).  They've been asked to do their corrections using a pencil crayon or different colored pen.  Students have until then end of the week to submit their corrections, along with their Blue Folders.

Follow-up Questions/Answers from Parent Teacher Interviews

It was a pleasure meeting all of you for the parent-teacher interviews. I was very impressed by your commitment to your children’s learning and many of you had insightful questions. I’m going to share some of the questions and resources that came up in the interviews, as other students/parents may also benefit from the question/resource:

Q: What will the students be learning this year?

At the curriculum afternoon, the Long Range Plans were distributed, and can be downloaded here. Please note these are broad plans and will be changed to suit the needs of the students. For a more detailed look into what we are learning each week, check this blog for weekly updates.

Information on the specific expectations that will be covered can be found in the Ontario curriculum documents.

Q: What does the difference between Level 3 and Level 4 Writing and other subjects?
The Ontario government provides teachers with characteristics of each achievement level in documents known as exemplars. The exemplar also continues examples of the different levels of writing, so that teachers can compare student work to determine the actual level.

Here is the Writing exemplar for Grades 1-8: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/briarcrest/docs/writing18ex.pdf

Before each assignment, I also give the students Success Criteria, and we go over them in class. In order to achieve a Level 3, students must have met all the success criteria. Students who go above and beyond, exceeding expectations, will receive a Level 4.

Here are some examples of Success Criteria we have used in our class:
Writing – Personal Narratives
Writing – Essays
Science – Mid-unit Assessment (Exercise Routine & Oral Presentation)
Visual Art – One-Point Perspective City Scape or Gallery (often times, they are displayed as Anchor Charts in the classroom):

Q: What resources can help my child develop his/her problem solving skills in Math?
The University of Waterloo has a Problem of the Week program, for Grades 3/4 and 5/6. You can subscribe to the weekly email to receive the problems. The following week, you will receive a new problem as well as the solution to the previous problem. 

Q: I want to help my child in Science and Social Studies, but there is no textbook, what can I do?
For our Science and Social Studies programs, I try to mainly use hands-on activities and experiments to help students grasp concepts and ideas, and develop skills, so that their learning is not just memorizing facts. This also allows me to suit the different learning modality of the students (e.g., some learn visual, others kinetically, musically, or aurally). I do give students hand-outs as part of the activities and experiments, and students are welcomed to take them home to show parents. Please remind your student to bring their folders back to school every day, as they will need them in class.

In class, we use a variety of non-fiction texts to support our learning, and I have bins of books in the classroom related to the topic we’re studying (e.g., currently we have bins of books about the First Nations and the Body Systems). If you would like to help your child at home in the areas of Science or Social Studies, you can help your child borrow non-fiction books from the local library or find websites/articles related to the topic we are studying. By doing extra reading, students will be able to make better connections to their new learning in class, and have a larger schema (prior knowledge) to draw from. Alternately, students can also access the TDSB virtual library to the resources there.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  You can write a note in your child's planner or give me a call at 416-396-2460.  

Math Homework

Here are the intervals for pg. 168 #4, if you need them:

Height (cm)	# of students
135-139
140-144
145-149
150-154
155-159
160-165

Remember, this is not the only possible solution (e.g., you can use other intervals too)

November 21-25, 2016

Reading: Mysteries – The Garage Sale Mystery, Guided Reading Groups
Writing: Essays/Reports – Planning using graphic organizers, refining the main idea/thesis
Math: Data Management – Circle Graphs, culminating project
Science: Body Systems – presentation of Mid-Unit Assessment
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry Process, Stage 2 con’t
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – Final Piece using pencil, water colour & ink
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – Target games con’t

November 14-18, 2016

Reading: Mysteries – Graphic Organizers con't
Writing: Essays/Reports –  review of writing paragraphs, graphic organizers to plan essays
Math: Data Management – bar graphs, histograms, broken line graphs
Science: Body Systems –Mid-Unit Assessment
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry Process, Stage 2
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – Art Gallery scene con't
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – Target games con't

Bar Graph

Here is the table for the bar graph we were working on in class.  Remember to include all the parts of a bar graph, and choose your scale carefully!

Writing Homework

In writing class, we've been reviewing paragraph writing as part of our Essay/Report unit.  We discussed the Hamburger model of paragaph writing, and wrote one together.  

As Remembrance Day is coming up, students drafted a paragraph to answer the question: How can you be a peacemaker? For homework, students can use Google Classroom to publish their paragraph or rewrite their paragraph neatly on the paper provided in class.  

Our Google Classroom can be accessed using their student number and password (they should have their student number written in their planners and they should know their passwords).  To reach Google Class, students can go to TDSB's academic workspace:  http://aw.tdsb.on.ca/

November 7-11, 2016

Reading: Mysteries – Graphic Organizers
Writing: Essays/Reports – Generating ideas and gathering information, review of writing paragraphs
Math: Data Management – Mean, Median, Mode & Range, discrete vs. continuous data, quiz this week
Science: Body Systems –Circulatory system con’t, Mid-Unit Assessment
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry Process, Stage 2
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – Art Gallery scene
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – Target games

October 31 - November 4, 2016

Reading: Mysteries – Introduction, Making Connections
Writing: Personal Narratives – Publishing, Essays/Reports – Pre-assessment
Math: Data Management – Introduction, Mean, Median, Mode & Range
Science: Body Systems – Respiratory & Circulatory systems
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry Process, Stage 2
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – Art Gallery scene
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – assessment task – designing a cooperative game/task, Target Unit - Launch

Updates (Hallowe’en & Interviews)

We will be celebrating Hallowe’en with a small party on Monday afternoon.  If your child would like to wear a costume, please have them bring it to school and they will change into it afternoon.  Please keep weapons and masks at home.  We will also be having a “junk food potluck”.  If your child would like to contribute a snack, please make sure that it is “nuts free”.  Please note that wearing a costume and bring a snack are optional.

Progress reports will be sent home on Wednesday, November 16^th, and I would like to conduct Parent-Teacher interviews with all parents (either in person or by phone) during that week.  I will be sending home a form next week to ask for your availability, so that I can create a schedule for our class.  Please note that Friday, November 18th is a PA day.

Have a great weekend!      

Mid-unit Writing Piece (Blue Folders)

Today, students should have brought home the evaluation of their mid-unit personal narrative. Some of the students scored lowered than they did last year, and that is to be expected. I don’t want parents to become alarm if their Level 3 student is suddenly receiving a Level 2. It is still early in the year, and this mid-unit piece will be one of many that I use to form the students’ mark.

In class, we’ve been discussing the differences between Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 writing by comparing examples. Generally, students who are meeting expectations as set out by the ministry receive a Level 3. Students who are approaching expectations receive a Level 2 and those who exceed, going above and beyond, receive a Level 4.

If you’re interested, here is a copy of the exemplar document that the Ministry of Education give us to help guide us in our marking:
http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/briarcrest/docs/writing18ex.pdf
If you scroll to the Grade 5 section, you can see the different samples of writing (for all 4 levels).

Again, please don’t be alarm if your student’s first piece of writing came back with a lower mark than they're used to receiving. Along with the mark, I have given descriptive feedback to help each student improve their next piece. Encourage your child to apply the suggestion to the upcoming piece, which we will be starting this week.

October 24-28, 2016

Reading: Biographies – independent practice, quiz this week
Writing: Personal Narratives – Confusion Homophones, Intro to Figurative Language, Starting final piece
Math: Addition & Subtraction – word problems, unit review, test this week
Science: Body Systems – Respiratory & Circulatory systems
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Inquiry Process, Stage 1 & 2
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – Cityscapes (last week!)
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – assessment task – designing a cooperative game/task

October 17-21, 2016

Reading: Biographies – Guided Reading groups & Independent Practice
Writing: Personal Narratives – Interesting hooks, Conferencing
Math: Place Value – Subtraction Strategies
Science: Body Systems – Muscular System experiment and activity
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Geographical context (working with atlases)
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – Cityscapes con’t
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – assessment task – designing a cooperative game/task; hockey game field trip

Curriculum Afternoon - postponed

Last week, I'd asked the students to write in their planners that the Grade 5 Curriculum Afternoon will be this Thursday (Oct. 6), hoping to give you as much warning as possible.  We just received notice that all the Curriculum Afternoon events are being postponed until after October 17th.  As soon as I receive the time and date, I will let you know.  I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.  I do look forward to meeting you and telling you more about our classroom and year!
Cheers,
Ms. Kwong

October 3-7, 2016

Reading: Biographies – Text Features, Characteristics
Writing: Personal Narratives – “Zooming in” and “Showing, not Telling” (writing with details and using descriptive language),
Math: Place Value – Rounding, Addition Strategies
Science: Body Systems –Skeletal & Muscular System
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Historical and Geographical context
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective – Cityscapes con’t
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games – communication & teamwork

Math Homework

Our homework program will consist mainly of math questions for students to practice ideas and concepts covered in class.  Sometimes this independent practice will take the form of a worksheet, and other times questions from the textbook.  The questions assigned will be given to students in class as part of our routine.  

Due to the high number of students we have in our class this year, we do not have enough math textbooks to send home.  In the "Homework & Links" section of our blog, you will find a file with the scanned pages.  The students have been given the password to the file, and there is also a hint for the students if they forget 

Students who would like to have extra practice can us the IXL website.  This week, students can do the "A.1. Place Value" to practice expanded form and place value columns.

September 19-23, 2016

Reading: Reading Responses, CASI
Writing: Personal Narratives – Pre-assessment, Planning
Math: Place Value –Expanded Form, representing numbers
Science: Body Systems – Introduction con’t, Skeletal System
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Unit Launch, Inquiry Skills
French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance (Ms. Bordonaro): TBA
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective, 3D Name Art Project
Phys. Ed: Cooperative Games

September 12-16, 2016

Reading: Reading Responses, Literature Genres
Writing: Publishing “My Favourite Things”, Time Capsule – letter to future self
Measurement, Place Value – Introduction, Expanded Form
Science: Body Systems – Unit Launch & Vocabulary
Social Studies: First Nations & European Explorers in Early Canada – Unit Launch, Inquiry Questions

French (Mr. Lobo): TBA
Music/Drama/Dance: Drama – concentration and teamwork, tableaux
Visual Art: One-Point Perspective, 3D Name Art Project
Phys. Ed:Cooperative Games

Welcome to our class blog!

Hi parents, guardians and students!

Welcome to our class blog! We've had a great start to our school year and I'm excited about the learning we're going to do this year. To help keep everyone informed, I will be keeping this blog to let parents and guardians know what's going on in our classroom. Each week, you will find the topics being covered in our classes, in addition to that week's Spelling words. I also hope to have "reporters" who will write about the events and activities happening in our class.

I believe that parent involvement and open communication are key to helping students reach their best potential. My hope is that this blog will be one of several channels of communication between families and myself. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to jot a note in the student agenda or give me a call (the school phone number is found on the 1st page of the student agenda).

It has been a pleasure meeting each of your children, and I hope to get chance to meet all the parents/guardians soon too!

Cheers,
Ms. Kwong