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.