Oct. 22-25th

Oct. 22-25th

Learning Intentions:

Math- Order numbers for addition based on place value

Language Arts- Organize my thoughts and prepare for writing

Science- review types of wetlands, living vs. non-living components, food chains and webs, and threats to wetland environments.  Begin creating a summary of the information.

Social- using primary and secondary sources research a land region of Canada and fill in a chart, read and respond to information in a book (World Below)

Homework:

Science wetland rough copy write-up due on Monday Oct. 29th.

Write-up Sample

An Alberta Pond

By Mrs. Pierce

The wetland type that I have learned about is a pond.  A pond has an important job.  Ponds can store and filter water for all living things that surround it. There are many ponds in Alberta. You can go to Weaselhead Park to see wetlands in real life.

In a pond, there are many living things such as: ducks, swans, eagles, frogs, garter snakes, goose, moose, beaver, snails, and cat tails.  The most interesting animal I saw was the moose.  There was a mother and its baby.  It stopped to stare at us.  The moose eats plants that grow in the wetland.  They have hooved feet that help them not sink in the mud.

25 wetlands were destroyed making the new road around Calgary.  The city filled in all 25 with soil and then covered it with pavement.  The road is important to people in Calgary, because it makes traveling easier.  During the building of the road, pollution entered the rest of the wetlands and killed the insects.

One food chain in the wetland is a bird called a swallow.  The swallow eats plants and insects, but bigger birds eat swallows.

Wetland Rubric   Wetland Informational Slides    Fresh Water Marshes       Ponds    Prairie Potholes     Types of Wetlands
Wetland Perspectives     Adaptations     Animal Information

World Below questions due on Monday Oct. 29th.

Interesting Learning from the Week

This week we attended a field trip to Weaselhead Park in South Calgary.  We were met by a guide who talked to us about the two wetlands in the park- the Oxbow and the Beaver Lagoon.  We saw evidence of many animals including the rare sighting of a moose.  (See our pictures below).  We found out that beavers need to be able to drag logs down the hill into the wetland.  They are so determined to do this that they actually chew spaces in the barriers that are put up to stop the hill from eroding.  We also saw scat left by a coyote who had clearly eaten a hare.

We learned about several plants such as the Wolf Willow, Wild Rose and Balsam Poplar.  Ask me about what happens when you eat the hairy seeds of the Wild Rose!  The Balsam Poplar is interesting because it has really wrinkly bark.  The older the tree the higher and deeper the wrinkles are.

Did you know they filled in 24 wetlands building the southern part of the ring road?

Field Trip Photos

Next Week:

Monday: Wetland write-ups due, World Below questions due
Wednesday:  Halloween (students may dress up- no weapons please)

Oct 15 - 19

October 15th-19th

We have been focusing on the following Learning Intentions this week:
Language Arts

• Learning about adjectives and nouns, how adjectives describe the noun
• Began designing our own Haunted Houses so we can create Listings for them to sell. Examined home listings, what makes a good description, brainstorming nouns

Social

• We continued our research around the seven physical regions of Canada 

• We used different resources to focus on one region independently

Science

• We began to construct our wetlands creations
• Focused on using our research to make accurate portrayals

Math

• Used place value charts, cards and samples to work on understanding place values for decimal numbers, and how to add them
• Place Value for numbers up to a million and down to the thousandth

TSN (Try Something New)

• This week we began a new exciting opportunity in school where students spend the last hour of the week trying something new. There are many different sessions to choose from including Outdoor Adventures, Why walk when you can dance, Lego robots, Character Design and more. We will be running several cycles of the program so students have the opportunity to try many new things. Make sure you ask about your students choice!

Reminders

• Tuesday is our Field Trip to Weaselhead. We are in need of parent volunteers to help us, so if you are available and have already registered and obtained your police clearance through the office, please email either of us and we would be thrilled for the support.
• Remember to bring hiking shoes as the trails are clear, a (reasonably) litterless lunch as we are outside all day. Dress in layers for weather as we will be going regardless of the temperature or precipitation. We are still waiting for a couple of field trip forms to come back, as well as many students still need to pay the field trip fee either online or in the office. 

October 9th-12th

October 9th-12th

We have been focusing on the following Learning Intentions this week:

• Understanding that wetlands have food chains and how living components work together in an ecosystem

• Examining the physical geography of Canada (7 Regions) and some of their unique features

• How to use tablets to research information

• How to create a detailed plan for using rubrics to enhance a final project

• How to find and interpret information in a math problem

Social

• We learned that there is 7 physical regions as shown on this map and some general characterizations of each

• We made groups to complete our research

Science

• We started our plans for our plasticine wetland project

• We looked at Barbara Reid's creations using plasticine as inspiration

Math

• We examined a Four Star math problem and practiced reading, highlighting, and extracting information to solve a real world problem about Terry Fox.

Reminders

• Picture Day is coming up on October 17

• Please bring items to add to your passion art piece.

• Mr. Kinsman and Mrs. Pierce will be holding parent teacher conferences on October 18th.  You will be able to sign up beginning on October 11 at 4 pm.

October 1st to 5th

We have been focusing on the following Learning Intentions this week:

• Understanding that wetlands store and filter water
• Examining the physical geography of Canada (7 Regions)
• Digital citizenship
• Using primary sources to interpret historical events and issues
• Learning to pull important information from current events and complete real world math problems, using that information
• Focusing on describing character attributes in writing activities
• Examining our role in making others feel they belong and are unique

Social

• We learned that there is 7 physical regions as shown on this map
• We have started to discuss our group project where we will research one of the regions and present our information to the class

Science

• We have started our research project on the Wetlands. Ask me what wetlands I am researching (bog, pond, fen, marsh/slough, swamp) 
• Ask me about some of the living and non-living things found in my wetlands
• We did a science experiment about Flooding and Filtration 

Here's some photos of the wetland lab we completed in science.  We learned that wetlands act like a sponge, both absorbing and storing water, as well as filtering out dirt and pollution.

Here is a photo of the bulletin board the whole school created for Orange Shirt Day!

Reminders

• No School Monday- due to Canadian Thanksgiving. Enjoy Thanksgiving with your family.
• Picture Day is coming up on October 17

• Please bring items to add to your passion art piece.
• Mr. Kinsman and Mrs. Pierce will be holding parent teacher conferences on October 18th.  You will be able to sign up beginning on October 11 at 4 pm.