December 6th, 2016

Brrrrrrrr!!! This morning started off a little chilly in our classroom. Luckily, we just had to move to the Leadership Den for the morning. It was actually fun being able to work with the Christmas lights on. 

Today we started exploring Non-Fiction texts. So far this year, we have really focused on using Fiction texts to explore text features and to practice reading strategies. This month we are going to be using some Non-Fiction books. The books we used today were all about Canada! We have 1-2 copies of each book for all the provinces and territories in Canada. Students today were conducting a text-features scavenger hunt. Using there book, students had to find examples of the index, keywords, text boxes, captions, headings, etc. It was interesting to see how many text features students already knew and which ones were new to each group. Students also had to define why these text features are important. Why does an author or publisher choose to use a chart/graph? An illustration? A glossary? How can these text features help you to better understand the text? 

In Science today we conducted our very last experiment of our Weather Watch unit. Students were hypothesizing and then testing different types of fabrics. We were trying to determine which of our jackets was the most waterproof. Overall, we found that polyester seemed to be a waterproof fabric. Even more so if they had an acryllic or harder/plastic-like coating overtop to block out the water. Then we made inferences with this information. What jacket would be best for a sunny spring day or a rainy fall day? Looking closely at the fabrics gives students lots of helpful real-world applications for the information we have been studying. We might not all grow up to be meteorologists, but we all have to buy a good winter jacket! 

Since we are finished this unit, students will have a Unit Test this upcoming Friday. Today students had a "binder check" and all students have all the required notes to help them to prepare. Students/parents can also use the "Weather Watch" page under "Science" to help them to begin to review this unit at home. We will have an in-class study day this upcoming Thursday. 

Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes
- Book Talk (December 15th)

Math:
- Practice 2x, 4x, or 8x tables

Health:
- PEAK Basketball (Wednesday)

Science:
- Weather Watch Unit Test (Friday) 

Angel Tree Donations - due December 9th (ask Ms. B for a tag)
Winter Concert - December 14th @ 6:00 pm (doors open @ 5:30 pm)
Tech & Trades Academy- Mondays (3:00-4:00 pm)
Grade 5/6 Guitar Club - Thursdays (2:45-3:45 pm)
CG Recyclers - Day 1 (lunch recess) and Day 4 (lunch)