Orange Shirt Day was a success with lots of students showing their support!
In French we looked at some of the topics we'll cover, and agreed to start with Les Numéros 1-22
Below is a chart which gives spelling and attempts to record pronunciation.
Also you should receive a Blog agreement form I'd like you to talk over with your child and sign, please.
Wednesday 30 September 2015
Tuesday 29 September 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Both Friday, and Monday there was no school for students at Brooksbank, but teachers were focused on learning about the new curriculum, and exploring different ways of teaching.
Today in our classroom we completed our 4th day of practicing our 2 x tables. Students get 30 questions in random order (eg: 2 x 5 = ____; 2 x 2 = _____; 2 x 9 = ______; etc) and have a minute and a half to complete as many as possible.
Looking ahead, we complete the times tables in this order:
2, 3, 5, 10, 11, 9, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12. This will take several months, after which we'll work on our basic division facts in the late winter/Spring.
Today in our classroom we completed our 4th day of practicing our 2 x tables. Students get 30 questions in random order (eg: 2 x 5 = ____; 2 x 2 = _____; 2 x 9 = ______; etc) and have a minute and a half to complete as many as possible.
Looking ahead, we complete the times tables in this order:
2, 3, 5, 10, 11, 9, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12. This will take several months, after which we'll work on our basic division facts in the late winter/Spring.
Tuesday 22 September 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Homework:
Reading:
Reading Questions due Wednesday (W)
Math:
Practice 2 x tables
Reading:
Reading Questions due Wednesday (W)
Math:
Practice 2 x tables
Monday 21 September 2015
September 21, 2015
Today we began collecting insects in our Malaise Trap. By the end of the day, we had a couple dozen individuals in our collection bottle. This tells us that the trap is set up properly, and is working as it should be.
Math:
No new homework, but be advised that we continue to practice our 2 times tables. That, and 20 minutes of reading should form a daily habit.
Writing:
At this stage of Grade 5 writing, students should be writing topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Each sentence should have periods and capitals, and I'm looking for a reasonable length... a paragraph should consist of no fewer than 3 sentences, but to adequately describe the student's thoughts, one or two more sentences would usually be better.
Suggestions for good books:
I asked the class today to recommend books they have really liked for other Grade 5 students. As you can see, there are lots and lots of really good books out there. You might have a conversation with your child around titles they might like to try; the object here is to enlarge the number and kind of novels they read. As you can imagine, the more the better, but sometimes finding a book that you really like can be hard. Try one of these, then:
Math:
No new homework, but be advised that we continue to practice our 2 times tables. That, and 20 minutes of reading should form a daily habit.
Writing:
At this stage of Grade 5 writing, students should be writing topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Each sentence should have periods and capitals, and I'm looking for a reasonable length... a paragraph should consist of no fewer than 3 sentences, but to adequately describe the student's thoughts, one or two more sentences would usually be better.
Suggestions for good books:
I asked the class today to recommend books they have really liked for other Grade 5 students. As you can see, there are lots and lots of really good books out there. You might have a conversation with your child around titles they might like to try; the object here is to enlarge the number and kind of novels they read. As you can imagine, the more the better, but sometimes finding a book that you really like can be hard. Try one of these, then:
Title Author
Everest Gordon
Korman
Order of the Phoenix J.K.
Rowling
Warriors Erin
Hunter
Swindle Gordon
Korman
Stranded Jeff
Probst
The 14th Goldfish Jennifer
L. Holm
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading Tommy
Greenwald
The Magician’s Nephew C.S.
Lewis
The Fire Within Chris
D. Lacey
The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster
Deep Trouble R.
L. Stine
The Hogwarts Express J.K. Rowling
Owls in the Family Farley Mowat
The BFG Roald
Dahl
House of Hades Rick Riordan
The Dork Diaries Rachel Renée
Russell
Strider Beverly
Cleary
The Cupcake Diaries Coco Simon
A
Series of Unfortunate Events Lemony
Snicket
White
Fang Jack
London
Fire
Bug Connection Jean
Craighead George
Thursday 17 September 2015
Thursday, September 17
French Homework due for next Thursday:
Please teach someone (friend, relative, neighbor…) how to say "Bonjour!" and how to reply to the question "Comment ça va?" in French. Please write this person's name in your agenda and have them sign next to it. Bring your Mrs. Startup Français duotang home with you to help with this assignment.
Merci!
Madame Startup
Please teach someone (friend, relative, neighbor…) how to say "Bonjour!" and how to reply to the question "Comment ça va?" in French. Please write this person's name in your agenda and have them sign next to it. Bring your Mrs. Startup Français duotang home with you to help with this assignment.
Merci!
Madame Startup
Monday 14 September 2015
September 14, 2015
Me: "Welcome to plickers."
You: "???? Huh????"
Me: "Ask your child!"
-------------------------------------
Oh, and one more thing:
Do you know what DNA stands for? I bet your child can take a crack at telling you!
Sunday 13 September 2015
Insect Research
This fall, our class (Division 4 at Brooksbank) will take part in a national scientific study to determine what kind of flying insects live around our school. Schools across Canada, at the same time as ours, set out a special mesh "tent" for 2 weeks, then send the collected specimens to the University of Guelph where DNA barcoding and analysis will take place.
Students in our class will be learning about what we need to do this coming week, and then starting Sept 21 we will deploy our own mesh "tent", called a Malaise Trap (after René Malaise who invented it in 1934).
Stop by any time this week if you are interested, or ask your child... they'll know lots starting this upcoming week!
Friday 11 September 2015
End of the first week!
I don't know about you, but I'm thrilled to have the kids back at school. We are lucky to have a straight Grade 5 class, which is the first time I've not had a split class in many years, and that is great!
This first week back is often a stressful time, with new classes, new teachers, and new routines to contend with. Bed times are important and now's the time to establish those routines. Even so, I often find this first week exhausting, as we make the transition out of summer to the busyness of autumn.
I try and keep to an early bedtime, and the same bedtime, to help adjust to new schedules. If your child is, perforce, an early riser due to crack-of-dawn hockey practice, let me know in an email if you think you might be a bit late, just so alarm bells don't go off unnecessarily.
I'd like to welcome my teaching partner, Mrs. Lauren Startup to the class, and to this blog. As you've probably heard, I am taking my Master's at UBC on Thursdays, and it's great to have Mrs. Startup back teaching at Brooksbank. She'll be adding homework to this same blog on Thursdays.
I usually don't give homework on weekends, as I see that as family time. Inevitably, things get busy and homework –even on weekends– may become necessary, but it is not my usual intention.
I'd ask that you look for your child's agenda each night, and add your initials to it so I see that you have seen their homework duties.
For today, for example, you should see "No Homework", and it is initialed by me, so you know it's true!
Have a good weekend!
This first week back is often a stressful time, with new classes, new teachers, and new routines to contend with. Bed times are important and now's the time to establish those routines. Even so, I often find this first week exhausting, as we make the transition out of summer to the busyness of autumn.
I try and keep to an early bedtime, and the same bedtime, to help adjust to new schedules. If your child is, perforce, an early riser due to crack-of-dawn hockey practice, let me know in an email if you think you might be a bit late, just so alarm bells don't go off unnecessarily.
I'd like to welcome my teaching partner, Mrs. Lauren Startup to the class, and to this blog. As you've probably heard, I am taking my Master's at UBC on Thursdays, and it's great to have Mrs. Startup back teaching at Brooksbank. She'll be adding homework to this same blog on Thursdays.
I usually don't give homework on weekends, as I see that as family time. Inevitably, things get busy and homework –even on weekends– may become necessary, but it is not my usual intention.
I'd ask that you look for your child's agenda each night, and add your initials to it so I see that you have seen their homework duties.
For today, for example, you should see "No Homework", and it is initialed by me, so you know it's true!
Have a good weekend!
Thursday September 10
It was so wonderful to meet everyone!
Please write down (in your agenda is fine) an action word "en français." You may come up with a corresponding action as well.
Merci!
Mrs. Startup
Please write down (in your agenda is fine) an action word "en français." You may come up with a corresponding action as well.
Merci!
Mrs. Startup
Wednesday 9 September 2015
Wednesday September 9, 2015
Welcome to Mr. Clarke's and Ms. Startup's class blog!
Students and parents: this is where homework is posted online.
Homework:
There are 405 students at our school. Write that number in your planner/agenda under the Sept. 9 day.
Parents, I would ask that you sign your child's planner so that I know that you have seen their planner.
Thank you for your cooperation! You might wish to bookmark this site and check back often to see what (if any) homework your child has.
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