How Does That Work?

For some Halloween fun, Mrs.Locke came in and led us through some amazing dry ice experiments. The class learned about carbon dioxide, different states of matter and chemical reactions.  The hands-on activities kept us very busy, even Mrs. Sahota joined in the fun by holding a bubble formed by combining dry ice and dish soap.

A big thank you to Mrs. Locke and Owen for making this an exciting afternoon of learning!

Where's the Logic?

In Math today we played a game called Pumpkin Logic. The object of the game is not to end up with the bat.  Each pair started out with a bunch of pumpkins and one bat. You take turns taking either one or two pumpkins and hope you don't end up with the bat!  Some students quickly discovered a strategy for winning the game.

 What should I do?

 Hmmmm. . .  I wonder how many I should take this time?

 Lots of thinking and planning going on in this game!

We won't tell you what we discovered.   Does it matter who goes first?  Does it make a difference how many you take to start with?  What if you change the number of players playing the game?  Does it make a difference with the number of pumpkins you start with?  Play it and see if you can find some strategies that work for you!

Scientists at Work!

Today we broke into our groups and looked more closely at the special features that each group of animals have that make them unique.  We began to refine our thinking by using the words all, most or some.  We worked hard to record facts that were specific to the group we were studying.  For example, one group came up with the fact that all birds have feathers but not all birds fly - most birds do but not all!  We are becoming experts on a specific group ~ soon we will teach our classmates what we have learned! 

 We used books, pictures and our iPads to read information.  We are learning how to use QR codes to get to specific websites quickly! 

 Working together towards a common goal!

 Hard at work!

Busy recording my findings. . . 

 Learning is more fun and more productive when done together!

 Finding out all about fish . . .

What are you learning in science? What do you know about animal groups?

Animals, Animals, Animals!

We have started a new unit in Theme! On Monday we worked in groups to sort pictures into groups and share what our sorting rules were.  We sorted so many different ways! 

• animals that live on land
• animals that live in the water
• animals with wings
• animals that have beaks
• animals that fly

Today Mrs. Betts sorted the pictures and then we had to look at all the pictures that she had put into each group and guess her sorting rule!

 After many guesses we were able to share that she had sorted the pictures into different groups based on how scientists study animals. Did you know that animals are grouped according to their attributes or special features? 

Then we were put into one of the five groups to look more closely at one particular group.  This is what our job was. . . .

We used the pictures, books and the iPad to answer the question:  What makes a ____ a _____?  There were so many conversations and sharing of information going on!  Mrs. Betts was so excited and so were we! 

Next week we are going to work in smaller groups, do some more research and become an expert on a specific group of animal and then be responsible for sharing our knowledge and findings with the rest of the class! 

How do you learn in your class or job?  Do you work with others and share your ideas?

Connections are Made!!!

Today we had our first Skype date with Mrs. Schnare's class in Surrey!  They are taking part in the Global Read Aloud too, so they are reading the same books we are!  It was so exciting to see ourselves and another class on our class screen.  They are a grade 2 class just like us!!! 

 We were so excited to meet our new Skyping Buddies!

 Mrs. Betts was very impressed with our behaviour during our Skype date.  We were very respectful and listened carefully and respectfully when students in Mrs. Schnare's class were telling us why they chose a certain book!









After we had exchanged some information about our classes and we shared which of the 3 Global Read Aloud books we liked best.  It was interesting to hear which book they liked best and how that compared to our class.

Here are our results. . .

It was interesting to see that although our numbers were different most people in both classes liked It's Not Fair best. Chopsticks was the second favourite and then Duck! Rabbit! 

Have you read any books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal? Which book is your favourite? Do you use Skype to connect with others?

It's Not Fair!!!

Last week we took part in a global survey!  After looking at the picture on the front of the book Duck! Rabbit! we voted on whether we thought it was a duck or a rabbit.  We entered our class and voted and today we got to see the results! It was really fun to see how people voted and where they were from (there was a map that showed where each class was from!) Click the link below to see the results.http://theglobalreadaloud.com/  You have to scroll down to see the results.

 

On Tuesday we read another book called, It's Not Fair by Amy Krouse Rosenthal!  We loved it!  In the book Amy gives the reader many examples of things in life that are not fair!  The illustrations are fabulous.  You can tell exactly how the characters are feeling by the expressions on their faces!

After we had read the book we talked about our connections to the story and some of the things that have happened to us that we think "aren't fair."  Then we did some writing about our connections. . . .

On Wednesday we talked about the difference between fair and equal.  We realized that fair and equal are two different things and that sometimes things aren't equal but they are fair. 

Do you ever think things aren't fair?

What Do You See?

What do you see when you look at this picture, a duck or a rabbit?  Before we read the book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal we took a vote to see what each person saw.

 Most people in our class saw a rabbit.  Only 6 people saw a duck.  In Mrs. de Jager's class more people saw a duck than a rabbit. Interesting!

After our vote we read the book and listened to why each person in the book thought it was a duck or a rabbit.  We then talked about opinions and that it is important to listen to the opinions of others because it opens our eyes to new ideas! We also talked about how two people can see the same thing in different ways! 


We also did some writing after we had read the book.  We  chose which we thought it was and  then gave our reasons!

What do you see when you look at the picture?