October 24th, 2016

In Math today, we continued with our study of Patterns and Equations. Today we were continuing from our lesson on Thursday. Students were asked to identify and then write pattern rules from a set of numbers or a model of a patterns. Students were given time today to practice. I was also able to conference with approximately half the class today. There a few different types of conferences that we will be using throughout the year in both Math and Language Arts:

- Compliment Conferences: Teachers use these conferences to motivate young mathematicians or to lift the spirits of discouraged learners.
- Comprehension Conferences: The focus of these conferences is on assessing and then extending the degree of student comprehension of mathematical concepts.
- Skill Conferences: The aim of these conferences is assessing and then extending the skills of students, including both process and computation skills.
- Problem-Solving Conferences: These conferences are used to explore the problem-solving strategies being applied by students and then to strengthen their toolbox of strategies, if needed.
- Self-Assessment and Goal-Setting Conferences: Together, students and teachers review progress toward meeting learning targets and establish learning goals.
- Recheck Conferences: Teachers use these conferences when they want to see if students are using what they learned during earlier conferences.

Today was a Comprehension Conference; I met with students and assessed their comprehension of what we have been working on. I try and conference with students 1-2 times a week at minimum, so that I am better able to plan our lessons and can gain understanding on student needs, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Typically conferences will be in small groups or one-on-one. In order for me to be able to effectively conference with students, the class has to be able to work independently and mindfully. It is a testament to their growing independence that we were able to conference for so long today. Well done everyone! 

In Language Arts today, we added another entry to our Writer's Notebook. Today's question was: 

"If you could have any round object in the world, what would you choose?" 

Students had some interesting answers today! This question seems simple at first, but you quickly realize that it can be difficult to brainstorm round objects. I chose a globe as my example. Students were creative, using the shape in different ways. One student chose a charm bracelet! Remember, if you ever want to check how our Writer's Notebook is progressing, you can always view our digital exemplar on the "Writing" page. Students also completed their "Idea Wheels" summarizes our learning on nouns. This meant that we were able to introduce our next Grammar topic - verbs. Today we discovered that verbs are action words. Some examples are skip, jump, run, to be, etc. Verbs can be placed in the past tense, usually by adding an -ed to the end (eg. skipped, jumped) but some irregular verbs have their own unique form when placed in the past tense (eg. ran, was). We will continue to look more closely at verbs in upcoming lessons.

Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes

Math:
- Practice 12x Tables
- pg. 8 #1-6

Health:
- PEAK Basketball (Wednesday)

French:
- Quiz (tomorrow)

Picture Retakes - November 16th
Halloween Dance - Thursday (6:00-8:00 pm)
Tech & Trades Academy - Mondays (3:00-4:00 pm)
Guitar Club - Thursdays (2:45-3:45 pm)
Recycling Leaders - Thursdays (lunch recess)
Volleyball - Mondays, Wednesdays (2:45-3:45 pm)
Spirit Week - Tropical Tuesday ($1 United Way donation)
​Halloween Costume Parade/Classroom Celebration (Monday)