Reminder: Monday October 2nd is our first day of our OpenMinds field trip. Please dress appropriately for the weather and be on time. The bus will not wait. Bring a liter-less lunch and water bottle. Please ensure your child's backpack is empty except for their lunch and water bottle. 

Reminder: Terry fox run is on Tuesday October 3rd at Royal Oak. Please bring a toonie for Terry. Mrs. Lagrana's class will not be running with the school, as we are at Open Minds but we WILL be running at the YMCA and adding our pictures to the Royal Oak TV!

Inquiry/Science
Today we went to the wetlands! We were water testing Scientists! We tested the wetland water for turbidity, pH levels, oxygen, temperature and critters! Ask me what group I was in and what we discovered!

pH Level 

Turbidity (Cloudiness of the Water)

Critters/Organisms in the Water

Oxygen Levels

Temperature:

Mrs. Lagrana will add our results to the website: http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/

We can't wait to do this again at the Prince's Island wetlands and the Bow River. 

Art/Math

Today we also did a final self-portrait, using everything we had learned about Symmetry, Balance and Measurement. We got to use Oil Pastels as our medium for adding colour and detail. These self portraits will be our Visual Sketch Book front covers. Ask me how knowing about Symmetry and Balance and Measurement helped me to make my face. 

Cafe Reading and Balanced Equations!

If you have not yet returned your field trip forms they are due tomorrow. I need sufficient time to photocopy the medical information page. If you have not yet paid online please do so. If you need financial assistance please email me and I can arrange this. 


Reading Comprehension:

Today we continued working in our Literacy Groups for reading. We practiced the strategy of Check for Understanding. This is an important strategy as I read to ensure I am able to answer questions, talk about what I am reading and understand the text. 

Math

Today we talked about balanced equations.

We practiced, first drawing a simple scale with a balanced amount of candy on each side. Then we had to write math equations for that number so:

 3=3
is symmetrical and balanced and the same as and equal to....

3=0+3
3=1+3
3=2+1

Inquiry

Today we continued talking about Water. We shared our wonders about the water simulation and talked about the difference between questions that can be Googled and questions that you have to go deeper and take more time with.

We looked at the Globe and talked about Where does Water come from? Some of our big questions are:

1. Can we change salt water so that the salt is out of it and it becomes drinkable?
2. How does the saltwater get into the Ocean

Could we design a machine that would take the salt out of the Ocean in order to give us a larger amount of water we could access?


Orange Shirt Day

Today we read the book Kookum's Red Shoes. It was sad. We talked about if we thought it was fair or a good decision to take First Nations children away from their homes and languages and ways of life and force them to learn different ways. Ask me what I felt when we read the story?

Math About Me! Wetlands Walk!

We would like to go to the wetlands again on Friday to do some water testing. This will help us to be comfortable with using the water testing kits next week when we go to Prince's Island and the Bow River. We only need one parent volunteer, so if you are interested in coming with us please let me know by emailing imlagrana@cbe.ab.ca

Reminder: If you have not paid the field trip fees online yet please do so. We go on Monday October 2nd and would like to have all funds collected by Friday September 29th. Also if you have not yet sent in the field trip forms please do so right away. If you had already let me know at parent teacher conferences that you could volunteer then a blue volunteer form came home in your child's Home Communication Folder today. Please fill out and send back to the school right away. Thank you!

Reminder: Thursday September 29th from 5:30-7:30 is the ROYAL OAK FALL FAIR. Please come as it will be loads of fun with activities, games and food trucks galore!

MATH

Today we started talking about numbers, and how to create equations. We came up with a number that was important to us or meant something to us.

Then we had to draw what it was, write the reason for choosing our number and we were challenged to make an equation for the number. For example Mrs. Lagrana is 39 years old. We came up with the equation 39+0=39, 37+2=38, 36+3=39 etc. We will continue working on equations tomorrow. Ask me what my special numbers were and why?

Wetlands Walk

Today we were lucky to have 3 parents from Ms. McDonald's room volunteer and so we were able to do our first wetlands walk. We read the story "The Listening Walk" and talked about how we need to be very quiet in order to hear all the sounds the wetlands and nature have to offer. Ask me what I heard?

We did a mind map in our visual sketchbooks about what we saw, heard, smelled and felt at the wetlands. Using my senses helps me come up with so many more things to sketch and write about. 


ORANGE SHIRT DAY

Today we began talking about First Nations and what Orange Shirt Day and Residential Schools were. We watched Phylis's Story:
http://www.orangeshirtday.org/

We also read a book called Stolen Words by Melanie Florence and talked about the Importance of Orange Shirt Day. We will continue talking about this all week and on Friday September 29th we will participate and show our support by wearing ORANGE at Royal Oak School. 

Listening Journaling Walk, Reading Groups and Water Simulation!

Reminder: Please bring in all of the field trip forms for our upcoming OPEN MINDS. If you are thinking about volunteering please let me know (if you have not done so already) as we need a minimum of 3 volunteers each day and so far only have we are one short on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Tomorrow we had planned to go to our Wetlands and do our first ever wetlands walk. We cannot go unless we get one or two more volunteers. If there is any chance you could come (the weather should be beauitiful) we would like to go from 2:30-3:30 please email me asap.




Today we started using CAFE to help us become better readers. 

Last week we focused on our Accuracy and learned many strategies for sounding out difficult words accurately.

Today we talked about Comprehension and that it means understanding what I read. We practiced CHORAL reading as a whole group and then we had to Check for Understanding and Back up and Re-read. These two strategies help us to remember that what we are reading needs to make sense. If it doesn't we need to STOP and re-read as a way to see if we can improve Comprehension.

Tomorrow we will start our GUIDED READING groups and work on more strategies for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding our Vocabulary!

Sensory Journalling Walk:

Today we walked to the top of the hill and spent some time exploring the rocks, plants, grass, trees and view. 

We practiced a journaling strategy where we make an X in our sketch book and use each part as a place to sketch, write and draw what we see, hear, smell and feel. Tomorrow we will get to try this journalling technique again at our Wetlands Walk and it will help prepare us for our Open Minds field trip where we will use different journalling techniques everyday. 

Science Inquiry

Water Simulation and Water Wonder Wall

Today we did a simulation from a picture we had previously discussed in class about water.

We recreated this scenario in the classroom:

Glasses Represent all of the Earth/World's water: 97 glasses seen here are Saltwater

 Of the 3 glasses left 1 is inaccessible as it is in the glaciers 

 1 is inaccessible as it is deep underground

 That leaves us 1 glass of clean, accessible, drinkable water

Students then got sticky notes and had to write down any wonders that this simulation made them think of. What were they wondering about water now? 

Ask me what some of my wonders were? We will share these wonders with each other more tomorrow and with Mr. Sandberg's and Ms. McDonald's Classes.