https://xtramath.org/#/signin/student_other?email=amy.korver@spiritsd.ca
Month: September 2016
Weekly Update: Sept. 26
Hello! Last week we set up our digital portfolios via Seesaw. If you have’t signed up to view your child’s account, you can click on this link: https://app.seesaw.me/s/543-800-950. If you are using a phone or tablet, you will need to download the Seesaw for Parents app. This week, field trip permission forms will be sent home- please keep your eyes open. We are also collecting donations for our Terry Fox Walk on Friday afternoon. Students are encouraged to “bring 5 to keep Terry’s dream alive.” We will watch the Terry Fox film on Thursday afternoon as a class. They should be returned as soon as possible. I am away for medical appointments (unrelated to my accident last week) on Tuesday.
Here’s what is happening in 6Korver this week:
- Brown Bag Share: Owen (Monday), Ashlyn and Eva (Wednesday), Liam and Bauer (Thursday)
- Math (Miss Harvey): Most students have finished their exit cards on large numbers and place value. This week and next week we will be looking at multiples, prime and composite numbers, and factoring.
- ELA: In Reader’s Workshop, we are going to practise retelling our stories, setting our reading goals, and just right books and monitoring comprehension as we read. In writer’s workshop, students will start to write different types of bio poems while learning descriptive writing. On Friday, we started to brainstorm ideas about our identity- I asked the students to take them home and go through some of the brainstorming with their family. Please return these to school on Tuesday. Students have also started to write on their blogs- they are pretty excited!
- Health- In health we have finished up growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. Students will be writing an action plan this week to help them set goals they want to work on this year.
- Art (Miss Harvey)- Minecraft selfies should be nearly completed. Students will be completing a reflection and continue examining the elements of art with Miss Harvey.
- Social Studies- Miss Harvey will start to teach Social Studies tomorrow. Students will be examining world geography, latitude and longitude, time zones, and different types of maps.
Upcoming Dates:
- Tuesday, Sept. 27- Ms Korver away
- Week of Sept. 26- Give 5 to Keep Terry’s Dream Alive (all students are encouraged to bring donations for Terry Fox Foundation to help with our school goal)
- Friday, Sept. 30- Terry Fox Run/Walk
- Friday, Oc. 7- No School- Prep day for teachers
- Monday, Oct. 10- No school. Happy Thanksgiving!
Picture day tomorrow!
Math practice- place value
To practice, we watched this video and wrote out how many seconds a day, a week, a month, a year, and a life time are.
Challenge: can you calculate how many seconds YOU have been alive for? How many days have you been alive for?
Weekly Update: Sept. 19
Hello! I hope everyone was able to enjoy a lovely fall weekend. This past week, I have updated some key sections on this blog:
- I have updated information on the different types of technology we use regularly in class- student blogging, twitter, Seesaw portfolios, and skype here.
- I have updated some information for reader’s workshop- the philosophy behind student choice in books here.
Tomorrow or Tuesday, students will be setting up their online portfolios via Seesaw. I will be sending home an individualized parent letter for you to access your child’s portfolio via the Seesaw for parents app. You will be able to view pictures, videos, journal assignments, audio recordings, and internet links of your child’s work and receive updates on classroom activities.
Here’s what’s going on this week:
- Math- Miss Harvey has starting to take over the teaching of math class. Students are working on place values to millions and decimal place values to ten thousandths. They will be completing their first exit card starting on Monday and Tuesday during class time. Next up is factoring- this is really good time to start daily review of math facts (multiplication and division) for students who need some extra practise.
- Art with Miss Harvey- students have handed in and finished their identity handprint assignments. The class has now started on their next assignment: Minecraft self portraits.
- Health- we will be finishing up our intro to growth mindset this week. Miss Harvey will begin teaching health next week.
- Social Studies- We are finishing up our introduction to global diversity by comparing statistics of the globe, Canada, Saskatchewan, and Warman. Students will finish up their exit card this week. It looks as though we will need to postpone our share fair research project to November.
- ELA- In Reader’s Workshop we are working on visualizing as we read. Students are practising as they read their choice reads and recording their thinking in their reader’s notebook. In writer’s workshop over the next two weeks, we will be writing two different types of bio poems while focusing on the revising process. We will also be setting up our individual blogs this week. Please see the post on technology for more information.
- Brown Bag Share during CPR this week: Meghan and Alex (Wednesday), Chase and Carter (Thursday), Own and Kayla (Friday). More details are available here.
Upcoming Dates:
- Tuesday, Sept. 20- Ms Korver and Miss Harvey away
- Friday, Sept. 23- Picture Day
- Tuesday, Sept. 27- Ms Korver away
- Week of Sept. 26- Give 5 to Keep Terry’s Dream Alive (all students are encouraged to bring donations for Terry Fox Foundation)
- Friday, Sept. 30- Terry Fox Run
- Friday, Nov. 11- No school. Remembrance Day
Me In a Bag- Circle of Power and Respect (CPR) Share Schedule
Starting next week, students will be given time to share “Me In a Bag” during our morning meeting CPR time. Each student has selected a date for sharing. They are expected to share 4-5 items that represent their unique identity and what they value. This will count as a speech/presentation mark for ELA. Below is the class schedule and marking rubric. Please mark your child’s share date on your calendar at home and help them to prepare their presentation.
If the World Was a Village
Canada Census data:
Nationalities/ Ethnic origin : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada
Regions: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo30b-eng.htm or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Canada
Age Distribution: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo10a-eng.htm
Language: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Canada#Speakers_by_mother_tongue
Saskatchewan:
Age Distribution and Languages (scroll down): http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-pr-eng.cfm?Lang=eng&GC=47
Language and Age Distribution- Scroll down: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-pr-eng.cfm?Lang=eng&GC=47
Religion- Scroll down to Saskatchewan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Canada
Warman Census Data:
Ethnic Origin (scroll to: ethnic origin by population): http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=4711068&Data=Count&SearchText=Warman&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&TABID=1
Religion: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Pages/FOG.cfm?lang=E&level=4&GeoCode=4711068
Weekly Update: Sept. 12
Hello! Another short week this week with no school on Friday. Here’s what’s happening in 6Korver:
- Math- Figure Me Out Assignment should be completed by Wednesday. We have started place value and will be learning up to millions and covering decimals to ten thousandths. You can help you child review at home by challenging them to read any large numbers you encounter (looking up or reading world records is a great idea). Miss Harvey will begin teaching math on Wednesday.
- Health- we are working on developing a growth mindset rather than having a fixed mindset when learning new things.
- Art- Miss Harvey began teaching last week. Students are finishing up their identity handprints tomorrow and will start working on a minecraft selfie project.
- Social Studies- We are currently examining the similarities and differences around the world. We will specifically be comparing and contrasting the world, Canada, Saskatchewan, and Warman. Later this week, students should be taking interview questions home. They will be asked to interview a parent and/or a grandparent about their cultural heritage.
- Reader’s Workshop- most students are well into their just right books. We will be looking at the reading strategy of visualization this week. You can help at home- when you are reading a book, explain to your child what you see in your head as you read- what’s the movie that you are seeing?
- Writer’s Workshop- students are well into their first writing project: Humans of 2307. They have interviewed a classmate using open ended questions to find out their “story”- similar to the website Humans of New York. I’m hoping that we can finish up on Thursday afternoon. We will be skyping with poet Kenn Nesbitt on Thursday and starting to write bio poems next week.
Upcoming dates/quick reminders:
- Please hand in any school fees, immunization forms, noon hour off campus forms, or Office 365 forms.
- Thursday, Sept. 15- Scholastic orders due
- Friday, Sept. 16- No School
- Tuesday, Sept. 20- Ms. Korver and Miss Harvey away
- Friday, Sept. 23- Picture Day
- Friday, Sept. 30- Terry Fox Run
Have a great week!
Weekly Update: September 6
Hello! I hope everyone had a fantastic long weekend! As I mentioned in last week’s email I try my best (unfortunately, every once and a while life gets in the way and a miss a week) to send weekly updates to keep families in the loop of what’s going on in our classroom. Here’s round one!
What a fantastic first two days! I’m so excited to be teaching this group of students this year! Already I’m impressed with how awesome they are! Please return the forms package that was sent home on the first day of school as soon as possible. This includes: school fee form (with payment), off campus permission, technology agreement, and Office 365 agreement. Tomorrow the immunization consent forms will be sent home, please send those back as soon as possible.
Subject by subject update:
Everything we are learning about right now is centered around identity. Students are examining the questions of who am I? What do I believe and value? What is important to me? Where do I come from? What is my families history?
- Math: In math this week we will be doing lots of class and self assessment for me to have a solid understanding of where students are at in math, what their strengths are and areas of improvement. Students will be starting a project later this week called Figure Me Out.
- ELA: We have started our reader’s workshop program on Friday. Students will spend time each day using choice reads to practise their comprehension skills that are taught through a mini-lesson at the start of class. I use the class time to confer with students one on one and discuss their reading with them- what strategies they are using, what their book is about, why this is is a just right book, and listening to them read. In Writer’s Workshop, we will be applying the idea of identity to poetry. Next Thursday, we will be skyping with poet Ken Nesbitt and listening to him share his favourite poems and asking him questions. This will lead to writing our own bio poems.
- Health- We are looking at the ideas surrounding growth mindset and how this applies to ourselves as learners and to our classroom community.
- Art- Miss Harvey will be teaching the visual art strand. She is looking at how identity is expressed through art. Students will be starting on a hand print tree project later this week.
- Social Studies- We will be looking at the diversity in the world, Canada, and Saskatchewan before we start looking at the diversity that exists in our classroom. Students will eventually be completing interviews with parents/grandparents next week to help them research for their share fair and bio poems in ELA.
- NOTE: I am also scheduled to teach French and Career Ed. We will be starting French in January. We will not be looking at Career Ed until the spring (April). These will appear as “NT” (not taught) on the first report card.
- Students take Phys Ed from Mr. Precesky on Days 2, 4, and 6. Mrs Burgess teaches this class Science on days 2, 4, and 6. Mr. Cummings will be teaching Music on days 3 and 5. Please contact these teachers directly if you have any concerns.
Students in my classroom rarely have homework but are strongly encouraged to spend some time nightly reading, writing in a journal, practicing math facts, or discussing what they learned at school with their family. Students may have homework if they did not finish up assignments during class time or did not utilize their class time wisely.
Upcoming dates:
- Tuesday, Sept. 6- School assembly
- Thursday, Sept. 8- SCC BBQ at Legends Centre from 5-7pm. I will only be able to stay until 5:30 as I have a class that evening.
- Friday, Sept. 16- No School
- Friday, Sept. 23- Picture Day
- Friday, Sept. 30- Terry Fox Run
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week!
Ms. Korver's Classroom Blog 