Ms. Petrie's Grade One Class

Friday, June 15, 2018

We released our butterflies this week! It was a bit challenging to coax them out into the open, but in the end, they made it into the bushes to take shelter from the impending rain. Observing them change from caterpillars into butterflies over the past few weeks, was a wonderful experience. We all learned a lot about life cycles and the needs of living things in the process.

In math this week, we began exploring measurement using non-standard units. Today our measuring tape had caterpillars on it. We used it to measure objects from around the classroom.

We have also been getting in plenty of art time this week. Some of the materials we have used include: tissue paper, oil pastels, and paint. Our spring crafts look great!

Reminders:

June 21: Popcorn day

Friday, June 8, 2018

This week in science, we continued to explore animal and plant adaptations. We learned that adaptations are changes in a living thing's body or behaviour to help it survive in a particular location. On Thursday, we did an experiment to explore how blubber and waterproof weathers help penguins survive the extreme climate in Antarctica. We practiced predicting, observing and explaining during this experiment.

In writing this week, we developed our own fictional stories. First, we used graphic organizers to plan our ideas and illustrations, and then we began our books. We learned some important elements of a story in the process: characters, setting, rising action, problem and solution. On Monday, we will paint the front covers and read them aloud to the class.

Gym and music class have been combined over the past two weeks, for a special program called, "Drumfit." Here is a video clip of the action:

Reminders:

Library books and home reading books are now due. Please return them to school ASAP if you have not already done so.

Thursday, May 31, 2018

What a busy week we have had! Our caterpillars arrived and have grown quite a bit in just a few short days. We are keeping them in a large mesh laundry hamper and feeding them daily. Although there were five initially, two have gone missing. Our fingers are crossed that over the weekend one of our survivors forms a chrysalis.

Our big idea question this week in science was, "How are caterpillars and plants similar?" Our discussions brought up the following points:

-they both can grow

-they both reproduce

-they both have life cycles

-they both can die

-they both need food (plants can make their own food through photosynthesis)

This list helped us decide whether something was a living organism or not. We were then able to sort living and nonliving things.

We had a special visitor on Tuesday- Ray's baby sister Amy! She warmed our whole day and week!

In math, we are busy reviewing our addition/subtraction and number sense skills. We played a variety of games to help with this. Here, the boys are arranging number cards in order from least to greatest:

In social studies, we used our graphic organizers from last week (which had key points about the past and present) to practice persuasive writing. Some kids argued that it was better to live 100 years ago, and others stated the present was more desirable.

Reminders:

June 4: Read my shirt day
June 5: Ride your bike to school day
June 6: Crazy hair/hat day
June 7: Crazy sock day
June 8: The Great Book Exchange, fun lunch, all library books due, beach theme day

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

This week we are working on developing our communities with our friends in Mrs. Lai's class! After spending time researching urban, suburban and rural areas, we picked one to develop. Next, we learned how to create a basic map for our community using a compass rose, map key (legend) and symbols.

Once our maps were completed, we used clay to create a concrete model of our communities. Tomorrow, we will be doing a gallery walk to see what other students worked on.

In social studies, we are continuing to compare the past with the present. Today we completed a sort on this topic. Tomorrow, we will be debating whether it is better to live now or live 100 years ago.

Reminders:

May 25: Fun lunch
May 25: Grade one celebration of learning (assembly at 8:30; all welcome)
June 1: Movie night (7 p.m.)

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Today we played a fun mental math game called, "Hide the Animals." In pairs, we showed a partner the starting group, then hid some of the animals behind our back. The other person had to use mental math to determine how many animals were hiding.

In social studies, we had a discussion about different perspectives relating to Evanston's continued growth. Everyone had to practice writing speech bubbles for four different perspectives: a farmer, a family, a builder and a deer.

We are also continuing to discuss past-present changes. Here are our flip books we finished this week, that show a past-present change for ourselves, our families and community:

Reminders:

May 18, 21: No School
May 19: Fun lunch orders due (www.healthyhunger.ca)
May 22, 23: Popcorn days ($2)
May 25: Fun lunch
May 25: Grade one celebration of learning (assembly at 8:30)

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

In social studies, we are researching rural, urban and suburban communities. We are recording key points and important words in a graphic organizer. Our information is coming from Britannica School (online) and a trusted YouTube video on the topic. Once we finish studying the different types of communities, we will each pick our favourite to subsequently map and construct (using clay).

Simultaneously in social studies, we are learning to locate North America, Canada, Alberta and Calgary on a map and globe. To help us with finding continents in particular, we sing along to the song below:

In math today, we did a fun partner activity. Everyone had to sort a variety of equations into "true" and "false" piles. We learned that it doesn't matter which side the = symbol is on, since = means "the same as." That is 18 = 16 + 2 is not actually backwards.

Reminders:

May 18, 21: No School
May 19: Fun lunch orders due (www.healthyhunger.ca)
May 25: Fun lunch
May 25: Grade one celebration of learning (assembly at 8:30)

Friday, May 11, 2018

Our beans have sprouted! This week, we began documenting the growth of our seeds in our plant diaries. We learned how to draw realistic, labelled pictures and record observations. On Thursday, we transferred our beans from their damp paper towels into soil. Now we are eagerly awaiting stems and leaves!

This morning we enjoyed the Stampede Breakfast in our gym. The pancakes were delicious!

Reminders:

May 12: Community business expo (Our Lady of Grace School 1:00-4:00)
May 18, 21: No School
May 19: Fun lunch orders due (www.healthyhunger.ca)
May 25: Fun lunch
May 25: Grade one celebration of learning (assembly at 8:30)

Friday, May 4, 2018

We have enjoyed working on our animal research projects this week! Our graphic organizers are now nearly complete, meaning we will be ready to write our draft reports soon.

In our language arts stations, we have been working on unscrambling sentences. First, we took a favorite book and chose a sentence. Then, we wrote each word from the sentence on its own sticky note. Next, we mixed up the order of the notes and asked a friend to unscramble them. Other tasks this week at stations included, reading multisyllabic words, and practicing where to put punctuation.

In science, we have also planted our beans, as part of our "plants and animals" unit. Currently, our beans are wrapped in damp paper towels and zipped inside plastic bags. Hopefully, over the weekend some begin to sprout. We will be creating plant diaries to keep track of our observations as they grow.

Reminders:

May 7: Music Monday (special afternoon assembly)
May 11: Stampede breakfast

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Yesterday, we began our animal research projects. We discussed the importance of visiting trustworthy websites to collect information. For this project, our primary source will be Pebble Go. This website is available through the Online Reference Center at LearnAlberta.ca. It breaks information into the sections: body, habitat, food, life cycle and fun facts, and has the option of listening to text.

As a class, we practiced listening to/reading information on butterflies. We learned not to plagiarize, and instead to pick out a few key words from each sentence. We wrote the key words on a graphic organizer, like the one below.

These skills will be helpful as we research our independently chosen animal. Starting tomorrow, we will use the iPads during L.A. stations to access Pebble Go and fill out our graphic organizers.

Reminders:

May 4: Volunteer appreciation 8:30am
May 4: Movie night 7:00pm

Friday, April 27, 2018

In math, we are nearing the end of our addition and subtraction unit. Some of the children spent time today building "subtraction machines." For example, if I put 8 in the machine and only 5 come out, how many got stuck in the machine? Here is Levi's machine:

In language arts, we had an introduction to fiction writing this week. We used picture prompts, reviewed our transitional phrases, and discussed the importance of having an introduction (characters and setting), problem and solution. Although, the stories are not yet finished, they are off to a great start! There was even a bit of time for peer editing. Here is Andrew's beginning to his story:

Reminders:

May 4: Volunteer appreciation 8:30 am
May 4: Movie night

Monday, April 23, 2018

Today we worked with our friends in Mrs. Lai's class to recreate a well-known Calgary landmark. Some of the structures we sketched and then built with straws and connectors were: the Calgary tower, the Telus science center, the peace bridge and the Saddledome.

In the afternoon, we welcomed two guest artists to our school. Anna and Kasia from "Passion for Glass" led us through a special glass art project. We can't wait for our creations to be returned to us after they have gone through the kiln.

Reminders:

April 25, 26: Popcorn days
April 27: Fun lunch (www.healthyhunger.ca order by April 21)

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

We just finished our third day of swimming, and long naps seem imminent! The kids have been doing a great job in their lessons and will wrap up at the pool tomorrow.

When we came back from swimming, our school was treated to a magic show about friendship. We learned that when it comes to friendship, you have to consider other people's feelings, choose real (not fake) friends, create invitations, encourage others, learn names, be dependable and smile!

Reminders:

April 19, 20: Student-led conferences
April 20: No school
April 25, 26: Popcorn days
April 27: Fun lunch (www.healthyhunger.ca order by April 21)

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Today we tested our boats to see if they would float. We had a great time working with our partners in Mrs. Lai's class for this project. Thanks to all of the families for sending in building materials. Tomorrow we will be reflecting on the project and writing about how we would change our designs if we were to repeat the task. Many students indicated orally today that next time they would not make their boats as "top heavy."

In language arts, we read, "The Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Willems. We used this story to discuss characters, problem and solution. The students created flip books to show their understanding of these concepts.

Reminders:

April 17: Passion for glass art project form due
April 16, 17, 18, 19: Swimming lessons: please have your child wear his/her swimsuit under his/her clothes when coming to school these days (be sure to pack underwear in a bag)
April 19, 20: Student-led conferences
April 20: No school
April 27: Fun lunch (www.healthyhunger.ca order by April 21)