The students have a special homework task for the next two weeks. Coming up in social studies we are looking at the past in comparison to the present. We are going to have a special show and tell where the students will interview their Grandparent (only one is fine) about their school life, how they got to school and what sports or clubs they were a member of. We will be starting these show and tells in two weeks time (Monday the 10th of February) and we will be following the previous show and tell schedule. This will give the students lots of time to prepare and for you to hunt for photos in the attic! If it is not possible for the students to interview a Grandparent, they can interview a parent instead. We would love to see some photographs as well but if you do not want to send them in with the students, you can email them to me and I will project them on the board.
Mathematics.
This week we looked at 'making 10's' when solving single digit addition problems. This technique is where we will break a number into 2 so we can make a 10 and then add the remainder. This looks like this:
8 + 7 =
We break the 7 into a 2 (to make 10 with the 8) and 5, then add them up in 2 stages.
8 + 2 = 10
10 + 5 = 15
This has been quite tricky for the students and we have been using ten frames and moving over counters to help them visualise the process.
Writing.
1. Choose a topic.
2 .Brainstorm words about the topic (not rhyming words!)
3. Choose 4 words from the brainstormed words and find at least 3 rhymes for them. Students would choose different words if them found it too hard to rhyme them.
4. Students then make rhyming couplets with their words while still making sense! This has been a bit of a sticking point, as the poems can wander off topic.
5. Editing and publishing.
Next week, we will have another special visit who will come and help us with our presenting skills. From what I've seen of the recitals this week, the students will be very well prepared for the poetry slam on Friday!
Reading.
We also started a new type of group reading called, 'Literature circles.' For this week we looked at discussion, 'leaders' and how they ask questions to facilitate discussion. I am hoping that this will be a regular addition to our reading week as it helps the students develop the social skills to work in larger groups which they will use throughout their educational career. We are also hoping to go and observe literature circles in G5 with Mr Ronchetti so we can see how the big kids do it!