I know that I skipped last week. Sorry to those of you who were hanging out for an update. I just got really bogged down again with all the things I need to get done. I am so very, almost finished with my Uni studies, and then I'll be ready to concentrate...on reports!
So, that said, this week I will give you a bit of fun from both weeks!
Show-Boating Show-Offs
We have been learning about rhythm patterns and using body percussion and basic percussion instruments. We learnt a Welsh lullaby last week and a simple song called "Jelly on a Plate" this week. Students have been playing ostinato (repeated rhythm patterns) along to the music on the CD.
Decimals
In Maths we have been working with decimals in the form of money and temperature. Students have been learning to round numbers and order them from least to greatest. They have also been exploring decimals using MAB.
Spelling
We have had an extra boost in an attempt to improve students' spelling. We are encouraging students to use dictionaries to check their spelling as they write. We are also using a number of websites to build word knowledge and an understanding of word origins. We found it interesting this week to discover that "astronaut" comes from "astron" meaning star and "nautes" meaning sailor. A great website to use for this is the Online Etymology Dictionary. Students have also been using a few sites to practice their spelling words. The hot favourite at the moment is Spelling City.
Pumpkin Patch
Our school is currently involved in a Pumpkin Growing Competition. This week we planted our seeds in the Sunlight Centre. Each month we will photograph and weigh our pumpkin to see its progress.
Band Performance
We have been lucky enough to have had lots of band performances in recent weeks. We had a Combined Year 5 band concert at our school last week and The Junior Concert Band performance this week. Our very own Fife and Drummers were at a Combined Performance this week as well. So much great music to be enjoyed!
Space
The rest of our exciting lessons have been space related, so you can check them out in Space Spectacular #2.
Showing posts with label decimals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decimals. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday Fun - 15/5/09
It has been a great week - productive with a sprinkle of fun. I've been feeling good as I've been getting back into my morning run which seems to do wonders for managing stress! Miss Eschauzier and I did a lot of team teaching throughout the week which meant we could do more targeted teaching.
Story Writing
This week students in my literacy group worked with Miss Eschauzier to determine features of quality writing. In small groups, they read books that have been nominated for awards over the years and considered elements of characterisation, plot, and language. As a class, they then put together a Kidspiration mind map to organise their ideas. Students then did a self-evaluation of their own writing and considered areas to work on further.
Miss Eschauzier introduced a planning tool we developed for writing stories. Students used this for planning new stories.
Indigenous Australians Project Groups
On Monday students decided who they would like to share a cabin with at camp. We rearranged the desks in the classrooms so that they could sit in these groups during our Integrated Inquiry lessons to work on a project together. The task is for students to research the history, culture and traditions of Aboriginal Australians from a particular region and present the information digitally (audio, video, PowerPoint Presentation, Museum Box or other as negotiated). These digital products will then be stored on our My Classes page so that students can explore the work of their peers and reflect on the similarities and differences between the regions.
As a group we created a rubric that will be used to grade students. I provided some books that I borrowed from the local library and we arranged for some extra sessions in the computer lab. Students have made a great start to the task and are learning a lot about how to research in the process. We taught students where and how to look for information that is useful and relevant. We also explained about the copyright licensing surrounding online images and showed students how to find pictures they can use and how to give appropriate attribution.
Fractions and Decimals
In Maths this week we explored Fractions and Decimals using a video and one of the manipulatives on Math Playground. Students completed drills adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator using worksheets from Math Drills. We also used MAB blocks to represent decimals and played with a range of fractions games and activities.
Peer Support
Our Year 5/6 students have been leading mixed-aged groups through activities to explore issues around bullying. These lessons are supplemented by lessons in home classes in alternate weeks. This week we discussed issues around bullying and students made this Y chart about how bullying looks, sounds and feels:
For more Friday Fun, click here.
Story Writing
This week students in my literacy group worked with Miss Eschauzier to determine features of quality writing. In small groups, they read books that have been nominated for awards over the years and considered elements of characterisation, plot, and language. As a class, they then put together a Kidspiration mind map to organise their ideas. Students then did a self-evaluation of their own writing and considered areas to work on further.
Miss Eschauzier introduced a planning tool we developed for writing stories. Students used this for planning new stories.
Indigenous Australians Project GroupsOn Monday students decided who they would like to share a cabin with at camp. We rearranged the desks in the classrooms so that they could sit in these groups during our Integrated Inquiry lessons to work on a project together. The task is for students to research the history, culture and traditions of Aboriginal Australians from a particular region and present the information digitally (audio, video, PowerPoint Presentation, Museum Box or other as negotiated). These digital products will then be stored on our My Classes page so that students can explore the work of their peers and reflect on the similarities and differences between the regions.
As a group we created a rubric that will be used to grade students. I provided some books that I borrowed from the local library and we arranged for some extra sessions in the computer lab. Students have made a great start to the task and are learning a lot about how to research in the process. We taught students where and how to look for information that is useful and relevant. We also explained about the copyright licensing surrounding online images and showed students how to find pictures they can use and how to give appropriate attribution.
Fractions and Decimals
In Maths this week we explored Fractions and Decimals using a video and one of the manipulatives on Math Playground. Students completed drills adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator using worksheets from Math Drills. We also used MAB blocks to represent decimals and played with a range of fractions games and activities.
Peer Support
Our Year 5/6 students have been leading mixed-aged groups through activities to explore issues around bullying. These lessons are supplemented by lessons in home classes in alternate weeks. This week we discussed issues around bullying and students made this Y chart about how bullying looks, sounds and feels:
For more Friday Fun, click here.
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