Pancake Breakfast (am)

As Lent is quickly approaching, it is time to get our fundraising underway. Our first major event will involve raising funds for Escuala San Jose Las Flores in El Salvador. Our class has set a goal of $50 for this cause. To raise the money, students can purchase a pancake breakfast for $2. We will be making the pancakes in class as part of our procedural writing unit. This fundraiser is slightly different than what the majority of classes in the school are doing, so please be advised that if you have a child in a different class, there is a different fundraiser happening.

I will have the ingredients ready to go but the students will be helping make the pancakes. If anyone has an electric cooker similar to the one in the picture above, and wouldn't mind lending it to us for the morning, it would be greatly appreciated.

Students interested in partaking are asked to bring in their donation ($2 minimum please) by next Monday (February 4).

Static Electricity Inquiry (pm)

Static electricity is formed when two insulators are rubbed together. Since these insulators do not allow the flow of electrons, the electrons build up and create a static "charge". Our experiment is to determine what factors affect the amount of paper circles that can be picked up by a balloon.

Students groups are investigating the following variables using the SmartScience model of inquiry:

• changing the rubbing motion (back-and-forth, circular, etc...)
• changing the rubbing speed
• changing the material doing the rubbing (e.g. hair, tile floor, chalkboard, carpet, sweater)
• changing the temperature when rubbing
• changing the moisture level of the rubbing surface
• changing the amount of time spent rubbing
• changing the length of hair that is acting as the rubbing surface

Tomorrow, we will be conducting our research in order to determine which of the above has the greatest affect on the accumulation of static electricity in a balloon.

For more information on static electricity, watch this Bill Nye video:

Hexaflexagons (am)

Today, we got distracted by some amazing math! The hexaflexagon is a folded device that can alternate between three (in a trihexaflexagon) or six (in a hexahexaflexagon) different faces. We discussed how this beautiful regular hexagon comes equipped with six lines of symmetry and a rotational order of six. The students created one for themselves BUT just in case you wanted to try yourself, check out the links below:



Click HERE for a template to make the basic tri-hexaflexagon.
Click HERE for a template to build the complex hexa-hexaflexagon.

Click HERE to view a video on how to make the yummy hexaflexamexigon.

Coordinates (am)

In preparation for our upcoming unit on transformations, students are becoming re-acquainted with the coordinate graph. This graph was introduced as part of the patterning unit back in September. In class on Monday, we will revisited the structure of this graph (x-axis = horizontal, y-axis = vertical) and how to identify and plot points as ordered pairs.

Listed below is a series of games and online interactives that students can use to practice their graphing skills:

1) Coordinates
2) ThatQuiz: Points (click on "both" under Cartesian and "I" under Quadrants)
3) Greg's Grid Graphs
4) Billy's Bug
5) Hit the Coordinate (select "medium")
6) Cops and Robbers (make sure to read the instructions before playing!)

IXL also has some great practice interactives available. For coordinate planes, check out:

• Coordinate graphing: Coordinate graphs review (Grade 6 - O.1)
• Coordinate graphing: Coordinate graphs as maps (Grade 6 - O.3)
• Coordinate graphing: Relative coordinates (Grade 6 - O.4)

For those students wanting to take it to the next level (that is, grade 7 and 8), try out these games involving all four quadrants:

1) Billy's Bug 2
2) Catch the Fly
3) Homer's Donut

Cake Raffle - February 1

As a way to raise money for the Gr. 6 St. Brigid’s June trip and leaving ceremony,  the Grade Six class will be holding a Cake & Fun Raffle on Friday, February 1st.

This is a raffle for all students to participate in. Tickets are $0.50 each, 5 for $2.00 or 12 for $5.00 and can be purchased from your child’s teacher. We always need donations, and all families are invited to participate. You can send in homemade or store-bought cakes, new toys and stuffies, or other clearly marked baked items (we ask for baked items to be nut-free). These items can be sent in the day of the raffle with your child and brought directly to the library.

Tickets will be available to purchase beginning on Monday, January 28th through until the morning of Friday’s raffle. There is no limit to the number of tickets a student may purchase, however each student will be eligible to win one prize only.  

All cakes and prizes will go home with the winners on Friday, February 1st. Winners of cakes will be given the opportunity to contact a parent to arrange transportation for their delicious prize. Otherwise, the students will walk or take their cakes home on the school bus.

We are very excited to see all of the yummy cakes, surprises and treats on that day! It is guaranteed to be an exciting start to February.

Thank you very much for your support!
The Grade 6 Class

Math Test - Friday (am)

This coming Friday, the grade 6 students will be writing their Geometry test. The test will include the following topics:

• measuring, drawing, and estimating angles up to 180 degrees
• sorting polygons using lines of symmetry and order of rotational symmetry
• classifying and constructing triangles
• classifying and constructing quadrilaterals

On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be completing review questions in class. Students are encouraged to read through their Geometry notebooks throughout this week. If students would like any clarification or extra help on any of the topics, I am available to meet with them during recess or after school on any day except for Wednesday.

The picture shown in this post is of our anchor chart for quadrilaterals - students will have similar chart in their math notebooks. 

Here are some helpful online links that students can use to practice the concepts at home:

Measuring Angles (ThatQuiz - set to Level 8 and click "Measure")

Estimating Angles (Squirt the Dog OR Angle Angles)

Lines of Symmetry (Symmetry Game OR Shape Lab - click on "Really Hard")

Sorting Shapes (BBC Shapes - this also includes 3D shapes)

Classifying Quadrilaterals (Math Interactive OR Quadrilateral Quest)

Reminder: Fitness starts Monday

A quick reminder that we will be starting our fitness class on Monday. Students are asked to bring a series of different size cans to act as weights. Remember to bring TWO cans of each size (one for the left arm and one fir the right!).

Organ Systems research - Grade 5 (pm)

Just a note that the grade 5 students should be continuing their research on their chosen organ system at home. They are looking for information to answer the following prompts:
o   The role of your system in the body
o   The basic structure and function of the major organs in your system
o   Identify and describe one relationship between your organ system and another
o   Social and environmental factors that affect your system
o   Identify common diseases and disorders that affect your system
o   Complete an experiment that puts your organ system to the test

Students are to allow look for videos, pictures, and diagrams (that are appropriate for grade five - nothing "University level"). All websites that are used are to be referenced. For example, if a student finds a picture on Google, they are to go to the actual site that posted the picture and record that website address (no information is to be referenced to Google). 

Many students are using a Google doc to store their information. This is ideal as the info will be available both at school and home. 

Students will have three more classes next week available for research.

Lemon Battery Inquiry (pm)

In grade 6 science, we have been discussing energy forms that can be converted into electrical energy: solar, wind, hydro, and chemical. We have extended our discussion regarding the conversion of chemical energy in respect to batteries. To demonstrate how a simple battery works, we made a simple "battery" out of a lemon, a penny, a nail, and some wires. We used a voltmeter to measure the electricity in the circuit.

For more info on how a simple battery works, check out the video below:



Next week, student groups we be conducting their own experiments based on the Smarter Science model of inquiry  Some students will be investigating if other fruits and vegetables can generate electricity, some will be setting up multiple lemons in series, and another group will be investigating if the "juiciness" of a lemon affects the voltage.

Students are encouraged to prepare their observation charts before conducting the experiment. A big thanks to Holy Trinity high school for lending us their voltmeters for the next few weeks. This will allow us to quantify our findings.

Human Organ System Project - Grade 5 (pm)

PROJECT OVERVIEW

In this project, students will be assigned one of eight organ systems to study. Students will be responsible for researching their systems and then developing an interactive poster which can act as a teaching aid to other students. On the poster, students are to include labeled diagrams and drawings of their organ system, links to helpful videos and/or online quizzes, and audio recording of them explaining portions of their poster. These electronic components will be linked to the poster via QR codes.

REQUIREMENTS

·         All posters should also include written components that will address the following requirements:

o   The role of your system in the body

o   The basic structure and function of the major organs in your system

o   Identify and describe one relationship between your organ system and another

o   Social and environmental factors that affect your system

o   Identify common diseases and disorders that affect your system

o   Complete an experiment that puts your organ system to the test

·         All posters should include pictures and/or diagrams of the major parts of the system

·         All posters should include a bibliography or list of references used

OTHER INFORMATION

Students will have access to the net books and iPADs during class in order to conduct their research. They are to find pictures and diagrams, as well as helpful videos to include on their interactive poster. Students are welcome to complete the research stages at home but the assembly of the poster and the completion of the written portions must be completed in class. Students should be done their research and be ready to complete the written portions and assemble their poster by Tuesday, January 22.

Helpful Websites/Apps:

·         Health Exploration Station (http://www.healthexplorationstation.com/fun/hes2.htm)

·         Kids Health: How the Body Works (http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/)

·         Biolgy4Kids: Systems (http://www.biology4kids.com/files/systems_main.html)

·         Science Kids: Human Body Videos (http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/videos/humanbody.html)

·         Interactive Body (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/index_interactivebody.shtml)
·         Make Me Genius: Science Videos (http://www.makemegenius.com/)

·         All Systems Go (http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/systems.html)

·         FOSSWeb: Human Body (http://fossweb.com/modules3-6/HumanBody/index.html)

·         This is My Body – Anatomy for Kids (iPAD app)

Monday Fitness Classes! (pm)

Starting Monday, January 21, the grade 5/6 class will be participating in weekly fitness classes. These classes are aimed to increase strength and muscle endurance. About half of the exercises will require just the student's body weight (e.g. squats, lunges, sit-ups  push-ups) but the other half require some form of weight to act as resistance (e.g biceps, triceps, shoulders).

I am asking students to bring in 6 cans to act as weights: two small cans (like soup cans), two medium cans (like canned tomatoes), and two large cans (like apple juice). These cans will be kept in the class until the end of the project. At that time, the cans may either be returned home or donated to the Kanata Food Cupboard.

The goal of this project is increase muscular strength in a safe way. The focus is on muscle endurance, not on strength. We will be stressing proper technique while completing the exercises so that if students wanted to continue exercising (weight training) at home, they will be doing the exercises properly.

I do expect students to be sore following the first couple of sessions but as they build the muscle, their recovery time will decrease - I know I was sore after yesterday's introduction to squats and lunges!

Interactive Math Notebooks (am)

We have started an interactive math notebook for the geometry unit. This book is "interactive" because it includes pieces that can be manipulated to show the math concepts. Each note begins with the learning goal. Students must then write out the learning goal in their own words and write what they know about the topic before we complete the lesson and activities. Once the lesson and teacher notes (right side of the page) are completed, students are asked to complete the "what I learned", "proof" and "reflection" sections of the left side of the page. Take a look at your child's math notebook for more details. See below for images of the first four pages of a few of the students' notebooks. I am so impressed with the effort and care that the students are putting into organizing their work.

  

Many of the pages and ideas for this concepts were found at the following site: http://www.rundesroom.com/

January Goals (pm)

Based on the "30-day challenge" as introduced by Matt Cutts on TED, the grade 5/6 class will be trying out our own "Monthly Challenge".

Students are asked to come up with one goal that they can complete daily for the month of January. Although I encouraged students to focus on goals related to healthy living and fitness, students were welcome to choose other goals as well. Some of the goals for this month include: reading for 30 minutes a day, playing no more than 30 minutes of video games, drinking 8 glasses of water, doing 30 push-ups, and going to bed by 9 pm.

Parents are encouraged to talk about the January goal with their child and help them work toward completing it. Personally, I am going to try to be in bed, teeth brushed and ready for sleep, by 10 pm every night. Wish me luck :)