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!).