Communication Systems, File Extensions, and the Design Process

Over the last few classes we have been learning about processes and terminology that we will be using and referring to for the remainder of the course. We spent a couple of classes talking about Communication Systems, one class discussing File Extensions, and have spent the last couple of classes talking about the Design Process.

They were told to take notes of these classes and to keep them in a technology folder for future reference. Notes can also be found on their Kidblog site. All of their work is kept on their Kidblog blog, so at any time you can go there and see what they've submitted, just ask them to log in for you. You will be able to see your student's work and my posts, but no one else's. To get to their blog, go to the Links page on www.lakeacademy.ca. On the right side of the screen you will see links to Class Blogs.

The Design Process is going to occupy all of our remaining class time with brief interruptions for learning some more basic skills. They will have to carry a project (hopefully 2) through the entire process and document each step as they do. This will be group work. It will be worth 60% of the course.

Right now, we are going through each step as a class. We talk about what each step is and what it involves as a class, and then they document that step. Mr. Forsey's class has just completed the first two steps: Identify the Problem and the Design Brief. They have to have a Design Brief written for next class. The problem and many of the notes are at Kidblog.

Monthly Reports - October/November

I did get the monthly reports done up on our first snow day of the year. They were sent home last Friday. A couple of students only received them this week. Your child was asked to show them to you and have you sign them as confirmation that you know what's going on.

There are 4 assignments that should have been completed:

1. A set of questions that can be found on our Kidblog.
2. A poster describing the evolution of a certain piece of communication technology (they were given a list to choose from).
3. A Scholastic book fair poster
4. and a PhotoStory about mysteries, using the pictures they used in Language Arts

All assignments have been described in blog posts by me on Kidblog. All assignments should have been posted there. I took time in several classes showing them how to do that. 

They have had more than enough time to finish all these assignments in class. They should have been completed by the first week of November. Many still have not been submitted.

First term report cards come out next week. The mark on their report card is based on the marks on their monthly report. There should be no surprises. Assignments that were not passed in received a mark of 0%. I will still accept these assignments but no more class time will be given (we've spent way too long on them as it is).

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call met the school or email me at heatherchaulk@esdnl.ca.

Apologies

I've done a terrible job of keeping this going! I apologize! Having only 2 classes a cycle makes it hard to keep any momentum going. It feels like we've been working on the same projects forever. We have been spending the last few classes making sure that the required assignments are in and I'm still chasing down some assignments that have not been posted to the blog.

Nearly all the assignments that have been passed in have been graded. I am finishing up the last few now. I haven't had a chance to get monthly reports together with report cards looming. If you want to know how they've been doing, have them log in to the class blog. The link is on the "Links" page at www.lakeacademy.ca. You should be able to see their marks and comments from there.

They should have 4 posts: 1) the answers to 5 questions; 2) their poster tracing the evolution of a particular piece of communication technology; 3) a poster advertising the Scholastic Book Fair; and 4) a photostory related to their Language Arts mysteries unit. We spent today's class uploading photostories. They are all supposed to be there but they are probably not marked yet. They will be finished in the next couple of days. If you have any questions or concerns either call me at the school or email me at heatherchaulk@esdnl.ca.

Take care!

Monthly Report - September

Hello!
Today (Thursday, October 13), Mr. Forsey's class received their monthly report for September. Mrs. Stuckey's class will receive theirs either tomorrow (Friday, October 14) or Monday (October 17).

There are 2 assignments that the students should have completed. The first is simply answering five questions based on extensive discussions we've had in class and information from a website that they were directed to use. Each question is marked and their grades with descriptive feedback has been added to their blog post in red italics. They are also given the option of revising their answers and re-submitting them if they wish.

The second assignment is a poster or a 500 word report tracing the evolution of a particular piece of communication technology. Several options were given to them and they had to use Microsoft Publisher to trace how the technology in that piece has changed over time. Many of them have not been submitted yet and most that have been submitted have not included information about the technology behind the equipment. For example, they tell me that telephones have become smaller over time or that televisions now have flat screens, but have not told me about the changes in technology that have been behind these changes. The few that have been submitted have been published with private comments containing their grade and descriptive feedback.

By the end of October, students have to create a poster advertising the upcoming Scholastic Book Fair and a Photo Story based on their Mysteries unit in Language Arts. Before starting the poster we discussed the basic elements of Graphic Design, such as not using too much text, choosing an appropriate font, choosing colours that attract and stand out, and the use of "white space". These posters will be printed and displayed around town to advertise the upcoming Book Fair.

The Photo Story project is simply taking their photographs from their photo essay, importing them into PhotoStory3, adding titles and narration, choosing appropriate background music, and creating a video. As most of them are already familiary with the PhotoStory software and have their photographs from their photo essay, I don't expect this one to take very long.

Please make sure your child gives you their monthly report. If you have any questions, please email me at heatherchaulk@esdnl.ca or call me at the school.

Thanks!

Welcome to the Grade 7 Tech Blog!

Welcome to Grade 7 Tech!

I hope you will find this blog useful as I tell you about what's going on in tech class. We're just getting warmed up, so there's not a lot of exciting stuff to put here yet, but hopefully that will change.

So far in tech, the students have received 2 assignments, both posted on our kidblog classes. The first one involved answering 5 questions by following very specific instructions given in the blog post. You can find links to these blogs on the Links page at www.lakeacademy.ca. Right now, the blog is set up so that the students can't see each others' work, they can only see their own, so if you want to know what your kid has been up to, get them to log on at home and show you. If I have graded the first assignment (I'm working on it) the mark will be there too along with suggestions as to how they can improve their answers.

The second assignment involves researching the evolution of a particular piece of communication technology and creating a poster illustrating it. They are still working on this one. When they're finished, their poster should be put up on a blog post.

Upcoming assignments include a photostory to go along with their language arts unit and a poster advertising a specific school event!! We might even post  some to this blog.....

'Til next time!

Thanks for the Memories

It's hard to believe that the school year is over!! The year just flew by! Thanks so much for a great year!

Headphones - I forgot to remind the kids to take their headphones. I will leave them in the basket in my classroom and bring them to their class next year.

Train set - the Ticket to Curlew group left their train set (even though they were reminded to take it on Tuesday).  I will keep that in the classroom as well and they can get it next year (unless you're reading this today - June 24 - and want to come get it)

Have a safe summer and encourage your kids to keep reading!!

Heather.

Happy Birthday, Ms. Chaulk!!

Well, they got me good today! Mrs. Penney stopped by the classroom to ask me if I would come and watch some Social Studies presentations in the cafeteria. I said, "Sure! I'll be there in a few minutes." When I got there, the lights were all off. I thought that was strange, but then the door opened and they all yelled, "Surprise!" They had decorated the cafeteria with balloons and banners and had laid out a table full of food - brownies, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, candy, and juice! What a spread!!! I had to blow out birthday candles on two cakes and got to make two whole wishes (I wonder which one will come true?)! I'd never had a surprise party before. It was lots of fun!!!

Thank-you so much to all you parents who helped the kids pull this off. The food and the gifts were lovely and I will cherish this memory!!

Thank-you!
Ms. Chaulk

Ms. Chaulk KO'd in the final round....

I had some work to do in the library last period today. Honest, I did. But it didn't get done. When I walked in who should be there but my Grade 5's. They were playing checkers, DDR, and Wii sports. Who can work when all that is going on? I don't say I was there 10 minutes before Cameron challenged me to a boxing match (that's what I get for saying I could take him out, I suppose). Shortly after we got started he said that if he wins we shouldn't get any more homework for the rest of the year. I, of course, agreed, knowing full well I would win anyway. Alas, that wasn't the case. He knocked me out in the first round of our our first match, but I lasted until the final round of our second match before he knocked me out. He wasted no time reminding him of our deal but  I made one clarification that if it was work they had time to do in class and just didn't get it done, they would have to finish that for homework.

So that's why they don't have to finish their literature circle role sheets (but they do still have to read the novel). They did, however, have time to do the math in class today, so that has to be finished for tomorrow.

Thanks for Coming!!

To those parents who came out to our poetry recital yesterday - Thanks for Coming!!!

I know it meant a lot to the kids to have you come out and support them.

I am in the process of putting the videos of their recital on our Favourite Books Wiki. You can have your child log in at WikiSpaces.com to see them. I should have them all up there by the end of the day.

Thanks again!

Poetry Recital Tomorrow!!!

Our poetry recital is tomorrow! I can't wait!!! They haven't practiced at all in the classroom but some of them have been telling me about what they plan to do. Mrs. Penney's class will be coming out to watch and our families are welcome too! We'll be starting at 9:50 in the library!

Grade 5 Chaulk First Annual Poetry Recital (Take 2)

Our class will be performing a variety of poetry - including songs and raps (perhaps) - on Tuesday, June 7th in the library starting at 9:50. Parents are welcome to join Mrs. Penney's class in the audience.

Extended Division

Today we started extended division and, as with extended multiplication, I told the class "DO NOT ASK YOUR PARENTS FOR HELP!" We learn long division differently in Grade 5 now than we learned it when we were in school. The new way may seem more confusing to us, but it's much more forgiving than the way we learned.

Here is an example of what we do:

The first step, Estimate, requires them to 

write down how many times they KNOW 4 will go into 212 to the right of the problem. They do not need to have the best estimate - any estimate will work.

In this example, we know that 4 x 50 is 200. We do the multiplication and then subtract to see how many are left over. Then, we repeat.
When we get to 0 we know we are done (we haven't introduced remainders yet) and we add up our estimates that are properly lined up on the right. That gives us our answer.

Here is another example we did today. Even though we have picked the best estimate each time, this process would still work even if we didn't - it would just take longer to solve.

As I've been emphasizing with the students, memorizing multiplication facts is not a math outcome. They have to be able to solve them "with confidence" and it is perfectly acceptable to use the strategies we have discussed (halving and doubling, skip counting up and down, etc...) however, division will be a lot easier, and a lot quicker, if they know their facts.

Poetry Recital - Take 2 - Some advice...

We had a special guest in class today. Dr. Deborah Toope came to spend the morning with us and participate in our Language Arts classes. Dr. Toope is the facilitator of the Teachers as Researchers Action Research group I'm a part of. She was very impressed with our class and really enjoyed some of the conversations she had with students.

Before she left, she gave the class some advice about choosing a poem to perform:

• choose something with rhythm and beat
• get your body involved
• pick something you're interested in

She also reminded us that rap and songs are forms of poetry and are also perfectly acceptable for our poetry recital on June 7. She is looking forward to seeing the performance videos!!

Poetry Recital - Take 2

Our poetry recital today was very disappointing. About half the kids didn't have their poem memorized, despite having well over a week. Some students couldn't even read them off their paper very well. Of the few who did have them memorized, about half of them had no expression in their voice when they read them.

The following outcomes from the Language Arts Curriculum Guide are met through this activity:

• 2.2 use word choice, tone of voice, and facial expression appropriate to the speaking occasion
• 2.4 engage in, respond to, and evaluate oral presentations
• 3.1 demonstrate an awareness of the needs, rights, and feelings of others by listening attentively and speaking in a manner appropriate to the situation
• 3.3 consider purpose and the needs and expectations of their audiences
• 4.1 select, independently, texts appropriate to their interests and learning needs
• 4.2 read widely and experience a variety of children’s literature

Due to these disastrous presentations, we are going to try again, and this time, we're inviting you, and some other guests.

More details will follow, but right now our Poetry Recital - Take 2 is tentatively scheduled for June 7. That gives them an additional 2 weeks to prepare.

For some examples of the type of performance I'm looking for, take a look at the following video:
Lauren Honeycutt (8 years old) - "Sick" by Shel Silverstein

Division - a Self Assessment Checklist

We have a lot of math to cover in a very short period of time. We've just started the Division Unit and then we have a geometry unit left. We'll go over probability very quickly.

To help us all stay on track, I've created a Division Self Assessment sheet that I will hand out to the kids tomorrow. I will ask them to keep it in their math textbooks and we will review it every class or two to chart our progress through the unit. Click on the title of this blog to see a copy for yourself. All of the outcomes for this unit are listed. Many of them we've already done in the Multiplication unit so this will be a quick review. Tomorrow, we will work through Lesson 1. The emphasis will be on explaining the strategies they use to help figure out the problem. While memorizing multiplication facts is not an outcome (although "determining the answer with confidence" is), it will certainly make division faster and easier if they know them up to 9x9.

As always, be sure to call or email if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a safe and happy long weekend!!

Literature Circles Take 2 and a Poetry Recital

Can you believe there's only 6 weeks left until the end of the school year?  I sure can't!!

In Language Arts over the next 6 weeks we will be focusing on literature circles and poetry. This week we previewed 13 or 14 books and voted on 6 of them to form literature circles. I was able to give everybody their first or second choice so I hope nobody's disappointed. Because the class is reading 6 different novels this time, our groups are all made up of 3 or 4 students. They met with their circle today to plan out a reading schedule which should have been brought home, along with their novel, today. Our first literature circle meeting will be on Wednesday so they should have their reading and their role sheet completed by then.

Reading their novel for their literature circle is, of course, counted as part of their reading on their weekly contract. Please make sure to total up the pages and minutes read over the last week and send the contract back on Monday. We're keeping a tally of how many pages we've read as class. After this week we should be well over 12, 000.

Our literature circles will meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until June 10.Then we will be putting together a photo story about their novel. At the end of each literature circle discussion, they will select the most important scene from that day's reading and plan how to stage a photograph of it using toys and props they have around the house or classroom. They will bring the required materials to the next class and take the photo before they begin that day's discussion. I will download and organize the photos and hold on to them until the books are finished. We should have some interesting videos when we're done!

In between literature circle meetings we will be using poetry to learn about literary tools and devices such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphors and similes, personification, hyperbole, and idioms. We will study poems demonstrating each of these concepts and then the students will write a poem of their own. Hopefully, by the end of it, we will have a wonderful book of poetry to share!

We will also be hosting a Poetry Recital on Tuesday, May 24. The students have each selected a poem (minimum 10 lines) to memorize and rehearse for their performance. They've been asked to put lots of expression into their recitation. I can't wait to see them!!

Have a good weekend!

Intensive Core French

Last night there was a presentation at the school about the Intensive Core French (ICF) program that we would like to start here in the fall. ICF is only done in Grade 6, so in order to introduce it at Lake Academy, we need enough of you guys to register for it to make a class. Here's a little summary of what it is all about:

• In the ICF program, students would spend 60% of their day, from September to January, learning to speak, read, and write in French. Starting in February, they would go back to the regular English program.
• Math and Science would still be done in English.
• While Language Arts would be done in French for the first half of the year, the skills that the students learn and practice are the same skills they would normally learn and practice in English and will transfer from one language to the next.
• All students start off the program at the same level - the differences between "strong" students and "weak" students are minimal, often resulting in a confidence boost.
• Students in the ICF program perform as well or better than their non-ICF peers on the Grade 6 CRT's. No students in the ICF program do worse.
• No students who have participated in the ICF program do worse in the English portion of the year. Most perform better in the English portion of the year than they did in the past.
• The ICF program is taught through a lot of hands-on, authentic activities and is often fun.

Please call the school if you have any questions!

Teachers as Researchers

I am a member of a group of teachers who are also researchers into their own classroom practice. As a member of this group, I take a close look at my teaching practices and student learning, and collect and analyze the data in order to improve my teaching and to share what I learn with other teachers. We focus primarily on using technology to promote and improve literacy. Through the course of this process, I and the other teachers in this group share what we are doing in class and discuss the work our students are doing. We are very careful to protect the privacy of our students - we never share full names of students and remove the names from any student work we share.

This year we will be focusing on the assessment of technology projects in the Language Arts program such as blogs, wikis, videos, podcasts, etc. In order to do this I will need to share student work with this group. I sent home a consent form today that outlines what I am doing and asks your permission to share student work with this group. I will also be asking the students to sign their own consent form as I don't want them to be uncomfortable  with the sharing of their work or to share what they've done without their permission. Please get in touch with me at the school or through email (heatherchaulk@esdnl.ca) if you have any questions or concerns. If you would like more of an idea of what this work involves, here is a link to the video I produced about the work I did last year as a member of this group. The password you need in order to view it is ActionResearch.

Literature Circles - Day 1

We started our literature circles today. The students ranked the novels based on how much they wanted to read them last Thursday. Over the weekend I put them into groups based on their novel choices. Today they found out what novel they would be reading and who they would be reading it with. They planned a reading schedule and assigned the roles that they would follow for each literature circle meeting.

Literature Circles will meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. From now until Easter there will be 10 days when the groups meet. Their reading assignment for that meeting must be read and their role sheet - either Circle Leader, Super Summarizer, Word Wizard, Passage Pro, and Travel Tracker (for those groups with 5 members) - must be completed. When they meet with their group they will share their role sheets and discuss what they've read. Then, as a group, they will complete the assignment in their folders. If there is time, they may start preparing for their next meeting, but I'm hoping that their discussions will go so well that they won't have time. They must take their books, schedule, and role sheets home with them everyday. It is imperative that they do their homework in preparation for each meeting.

Literature Circles

Next week in grade 5 we will be starting literature circles. Literature circles are groups of 3 to 5 students that gather on a regular basis to discuss the book they are reading in class. The purpose of literature circles is to get students to think about, discuss, and even debate on quality literature. Here’s how it will work:

• The first step involves choice. The students will be given a selection of novels to choose from. They will rank the novels in the order of preference and then I will choose the literature circle groups based on that ranking. Each group will read a different novel.
• Once the students have been assigned a group, they will meet to develop a reading plan. The groups will meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and must have their book completed by Easter. They will decide what chapters to read each night and prepare a schedule to keep them on track.
• Each student will be assigned a role each time they meet. The roles are Circle Leader, Super Summarizer, Word Wizard, Passage Pro, and Travel Tracker. There will be one role for each student in the group. These roles should be rotated around the group so that each member is responsible for each role by the time the novel is done. Each student will be responsible for completing the reading assignment and preparing their role sheet before the next meeting of the group.If a student fails to prepare their part, it negatively impacts the success of the literature circle.
• At each session, the groups meet with their books and completed role forms. They discuss, ask questions, and sometimes debate what they’ve just read using their role forms as guides. When their discussion is finished, they complete a reading response activity as a group.

Literature circles have many benefits, such as getting students to read and think about good literature and discuss what they read and have fun at the same time. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me!

St. Patrick's Day Links

Leprechaun Watch
St. Patrick's Day Quick Facts
St. Patrick's Day Songs and Poems
Irish Stories
St. Patrick's Day Origami
St. Patrick's Day Games

Multiplication

Have you had enough shoveling yet? I know I have, and it's not over yet...

This week we started multiplication in math. We're multiplying 2 digit numbers by 2 digit numbers. We are both modelling by using Base 10 blocks and solving the number way. We teach multiplication differently now than we went to school so please, whatever you do, DO NOT SHOW YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO MULTIPLY! What has happened in the past is that they almost get the way we show them in school, and then they go home and parents show them a different way, and they almost get that. And then they get back to school and they do it partly the new way and partly the old way, and it messes them all up. Feel free to check their answers and help them figure out where they went wrong, just don't show them how to multiply the old way. If I get a chance, I'll put together a short video showing you how to do it our way and post it to the blog.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Groundhog Day Links

Wiarton Willie's Website
Happy Groundhog Day Quiz
Groundhog Day: The Official Website of the Punxsutawney Ground Hog Club
Mrs. Jones' Groundhog Day page

Homework - January 31, 2011

Social Studies test tomorrow
Book orders due February 7

FirstClass Problems

Technology is great, as long as it works. Right now I am experiencing technical difficulties with my First Class account. I use this program to host and update my website and to send and receive email. As of last Friday, it is not allowing me to update my website or respond to any email. Hopefully this will be taken care of soon, but for the time being, please check this blog for the evening's homework.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Snow Days

As fun as snow days are, they certainly wreak havoc with a schedule, don't they? You're probably wondering what's going to happen with the science and math quizzes. I would expect, seeing as how the science quiz was originally scheduled for Monday, that Mrs. Penney will have it during the very next science class which would be Thursday, January 27 (Day 4). But she could decide to have it during Social Studies tomorrow (Jan. 26). I recommend being prepared. As for the math quiz, we still need 2 classes to get ready for it so that has been postponed until Friday, January 28.

Hope you're enjoying all this beautiful snow. Remember to bend your knees when you lift!

Read, Read, Read

“There is ample evidence that one of the major differences between poor and good readers is the difference in the quantity of total time they spend reading.”  - National Reading Panel, 2000


Reading ability is the single biggest factor in future success. The best way of improving reading skills is by reading. The more you read, the better you get at it.


The Grade 5's have been issued a challenge: Read 66 books by the end of February. This should be an easy task to accomplish. It works out to 3 books per student. The books must be appropriate for their reading level. At least one of them must be a chapter book. One of the "books" may be a website (as long as it has lots of text), a magazine, or a newspaper.


When they finish a book, they have to create a new wiki page and tell us about it. They have to include the title, author, a summary of the book, and their opinion of the book. To protect their privacy and online security, our wiki is private, which means that only members can read the wiki and only I can add members. 


There are a few ways you can help your child do their part in our reading challenge:

1. Make sure they read every day.
2. Read with them. Emilie Buchwald says, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” While your children may be a little big for laps, they will still enjoy reading with you. Have them read to you, or take turns reading a page at a time. Talk about the books you read.

For more tips on how to improve your child's reading skills, check out Family Education's Top 10 Ways to Improve Reading Skills and The Child Development Institute's Improving Reading for Children and Teens.


“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”  - Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"