January 18th, 2017

Thank you everyone for working so hard on your Math test today! I know writing tests can be stressful. Remember, you can use some of the mindfulness exercises that we have been practicing in class to help calm down your amygdala (your guard dog) when you are nervous or stressed. This will help your prefrontal cortex (the wise old owl) to be able to focus on using your schema and the information from your hippocampus to make the best decision possible for the present moment. 

We started looking at a new fairy tale today - Cinderella. Cinderella is unique among fairy tales in that there are thousands of known variants from countries throughout the world. Folklorists study versions of "the persecuted heroine," commonly referred to as Cinderella in English-language folklore, from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, West and South Africa, Britain, the Middle East, and many more! The oldest documented version of "Cinderella" is actually from China. However, Charles Perrault's version (published in 1697 in Paris) is the most widely known version, and it is the version we read today. Stay tuned for some of the great comparisons that we are going to be able to explore as we keep reading different versions of this archetypal story.

The students and I also discussed why we are using fairy tales and fractured fairy tales in class right now. Typically students explore these stories in Grade 4, however, due to the evacuation many of our students did not cover this topic (including students from my class last year). In Grade 5, we also explore fairy tales, but as part of a larger study on genres and author's purpose. We will be looking at different genres within folk tales this year, including fairy tales, myths, legends, tall tales, etc. You can take a sneak peak at the upcoming genres with the slideshow below. We won't be going through all the genres at once however. We will finish some more fairy tales, then take a break for poetry, and return to myths.    
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We reached 57 acts of kindness today! Keep up the great work Grade 5. I love hearing about all the ways you are finding to be kind and helpful to others.

Stay tuned for more information on the Christina Gordon blog. Students from our class have been hard and work taking photos and beginning to type the very first blog posts that will be featured on this student run blog that highlights all the learning and great activities taking place at Christina Gordon school. 

Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes
- Book Talk (January 31st)
- Family Literacy Night (Wednesday, January 25th, 5:30 pm)

Math:
- Practice 4x, 8x, 9x, 3x, 6x, 12x, 5x, 10x, 7x, or 11x tables

Health:
- PEAK Basketball (Friday - classroom)
 
Music:
- Recorders (Friday)

Ski Day - January 23rd 
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)