1908 VS 2011 - The Verdict Is In!!!

We had an interesting discussion first period today about whether students would trade spots with one from 1908. The consensus right away was that they wanted to go to school in 1908. Some of the perks were that you got to have your own animals, and play on stilts. They even said they would be alright with getting up at 4:30 am to do all their morning chores before they went to school (remember that one parents when you need to wake them up early to tidy up their room)!

However, this afternoon students completed a Venn diagram comparing their school experience to that of a student from 1908. They then used this information to help them answer the question, "Would you rather be a student in a 1908 classroom or in a 2011 classroom?" Funny enough, each piece of writing explained why they wanted to be a student in a 2011 classroom!

Time Travel

What a fantastic adventure we had today! The threes travelled back to 1908 and lived a school-day in the life of another student. We had many fun experiences: tug-of-war, slate drill for math work and straight-pen and ink work to name just a few. The students dressed the part, ate the part and acted the part. Your teachers, Miss Welsted included, couldn't be prouder of you! Special thanks to our parents, neighbours and grandparents who helped with our costumes and lunches and to our volunteers who drove and acted with us at school today (they did such a great job that they got into character and earned two days worth of detention:)
Stay tuned for more about our trip...

Test Writing Ideas

After looking at students' work today here are some suggestions to keep in mind when you are responding to questions.
Written Answer
reread  the question - put it in your own words
reread your answer part way through answering to make sure you are answering the question that was asked
check to make sure you have included at least 2 examples from a piece of reading to support your answer
check to make sure you have included your own ideas to support your answer

Check out this awesome adventure story from our class...

Great job Quinton!
I am looking forward to reading the sequal to this story. The author has made me very curious about what kind of treasure it was, an what Zack and his dad did with the treasure after they found it.
Any ideas?

Pioneer Lunch

When you are packing your lunch, forget about the plastic bag, or the zippered thermos bag! Instead, empty out a pail and cover it in tinfoil, or find a small basket or clothbag. You can include a small tin cup and get water from the water crock at school. Wrap your food in a clean cloth or brown paper (I miss the tupperware and ziplock already)!

Some popular 'dinner' items include:
carrot sticks, raw turnip or potatoes
boiled eggs
fresh native fruit - in season (no bananas, oranges or kiwis)
dried fruit (apple rings, raisins)
cold meats
cheese or curds
homemade breads, rolls or muffins
homemade cookies, cakes or tarts
home preserves - pickles, relishes, jams
water, milk, lemonade or cider (brought in a glass jar)

Here are some recipes to try out (if they turn out, Mrs. F. will be happy to sample them for you:)

Cheese Straws from The Early Canadian Galt Cook Book (Toronto, 1898)
Mix two tablespoonfuls butter, four of flour and four of soft cheese grated, one egg, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a tiny pinch of cayenne. When all these ingredients are mixed together, roll them out as thin as you can, and cut out in strips about a quarter of an inch wide and three inches long... Bake about ten minutes.

Chocolate Marble Cake from The Early Canadian Galt Cook Book (Toronto, 1898)
One and a half cupfuls sugar, half cupful butter, half cupful milk, two and a half cupfuls flour, one egg, one teaspoon cream of tartar, half teaspoon soda, flavour with vanilla. When well mixed take half of it in another dish and stir into it one square of melted chocolate, have your tins ready and put in a spoonful of light and dark alternately.

Dressing the Part

Here are some suggestions for what you can wear for our upcoming trip.

Girls
-dress with fancy or sailor-look collar
-frilly white blouse with skirt
-white pinafore
-dark tights
-hair pulled back, braided, or worn in a bun or ringlets
-large ribbons or bows for hair
-dark shoes or short boots
-no make-up, jewelery or nail polish  (oh no!!)

Boys
-white shirt buttoned to neck
-sailor-look collared shirt
-bow ties, neck ties
-suspenders
-overalls and a shirt
-suit jacket or vest
-tuck trousers into work socks for knickerbockers
-dark shoes or boots

All students would carry clean handkerchiefs. We will be playing outside and working with India ink, so it is inadvisable for children to wear their best clothes.

Snow Day

Enjoy your snow day! Looking forward to seeing you all bright and early on Thursday!

Today's Challenge

Here is the challenge and some of our work that we used to answer the question today. There was some great math thinking going on!

What are you reading on your break?

I hope everyone is having a fantastic March Break with their families! I am enjoying the warm sunny weather here in Myrtle Beach and sending warm thoughts your way if you are somewhere cooler than here.

Here is a picture of my 'reading corner' where I hang out while Teagan has her nap and the kids play down at the beach. I am reading The Notebook. The author is Nicholas Sparks. It is a bit of a tear-jerker so far.

My kids are excited about reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books that they brought here. Has anyone checked out the Laura Ingalls Wilder books yet?

Miss you all LOTS! Keep up your reading.

More Pictures from the SPCA

Check out the SPCA link in the News/Events section!
http://www.hbspca.com/

Reminders

Tomorrow is the cake raffle. The 8's worked hard decorating MANY cakes. Students can still buy tickets tomorrow morning ($0.50 each or 3 for $1) and the draws will be made later in the day on Friday.
A few students still need to bring in their trip forms and money for the trip to Jordan's Strict but Nice school.
Weekly challenges are due tomorrow.

Winter Wonderful

Thanks to School Council for the delicious pancakes today!

Thanks to Ms. Jamani-Barr, the grade sevens and eights for a fantastic Winter Playday! We had a great time at all events. Here are some pictures. What was your favourite moment of the day?

Reminders

Tomorrow we have a pancake breakfast for students. We will be taking part in the Winter Olympic Day both inside the school and outside so remember to bring your outdoor wear for the weather!
Looking forward to it!!!!

Math...

We looked at what can make up a good answer to a math problem, and discussed what 'justify your answer' means. We shared that we could:
-show an algorithm
-show our work in a picture
-answer the question in more than one way (use more than one strategy)
-include a  'therefore' statement at the end.

Story Writing Success Criteria

Today we were putting all the pieces together that we have learning about stories. We created this list of things that need to be in a 'successful' story.

Can you think of anything else that we need to add to it?

Point of View - Duck Rabbit

Point of view is...

People can look at the same object or situation but have a different point of view about it because...


To understand a story, it is important for us to know that the characters may have different points of view from each other, and from us.

Do objects look big or small to an ant?

What would your shoe look like to an ant?

What would our classroom look like to an ant?

Point of View

When an author writes a story, it is often told from one point of view. For example, in The Three Little Pigs, we usually think of the three pigs as the innocent victims of the 'Big Bad Wolf.' The author makes many choices as they write a story to help the reader understand or see the events from that character's point of view.
In the three little pigs the author:
-begins the story by introducing the 3 little pigs to the reader,
-uses friendly language when describing the pigs and mean language when describing the 'vilian' in the story.
In the end, the 'good little pig' outsmarts the wolf and isn't tricked by his 'sneaky' plans.

Think of the story Little Red Riding Hood. Who's point of view is the story told from? How do you know it is told from that point of view? How would it be different if it was told from a different character's point of view (e.g. the wolf, the Granny)?

Think of at least 2 other stories that you know. Who's point of view are they told from? How do you know?

Math Multiplication Posters

Today we made posters advertising different strategies for measuring objects in a picture. We didn't have rulers, but we knew that a boy named Antonio in the picture was 4 feet tall. We used his height to help us measure other objects in the picture. Then we figured out that we could use other objects that we had measured in "Antonios" to help us measure bigger objects.
We used Success Criteria to help us know what was required so that we had a complete poster.

Senses Setting

Choose one of these pictures and describe its setting. Use the graphic organizer in SMART software to get your brainstorming ideas down and then write at least 5 descriptive sentences about the picture. Remember to use think about using your 5 senses to help you describe the setting.

A little carton of milk can be a very big deal.

The weekly milk tickets are back on sale. Students can buy tickets on Monday's for $4.00 per book of 5 tickets.

A 250mL carton of white or chocolate milk may seem like a small thing, but consider this: there are approximately 194 days in the school year. That means there are 194 school lunches or, in other words, 194 opportunities to help students make healthy food choices. Multiply that number by the nearly 1 million Ontario students currently participating in milk programs and subtract the less healthy alternatives (such as soft drinks or sweetened juices) that milk is replacing, and you’ve got one way to make a dramatic difference in the health of Ontario’s elementary students.

SPCA Trip

We had a fantastic trip to the SPCA today. There were several different animals that we saw and learned about. The students made their donation of $46.50 to the SPCA and got to spend a little time with a few of the animals there. We were so proud of the caring that the students demonstrated both toward the animals today as well as when they collected and donated the money for them. What a GREAT group of kids I get to work with every day!
Check out their website at http://www.hbspca.com

Winter Playday

Eastdale students will be participating in a “Winter Playday” on Tuesday, March 8.

Grade 7 & 8 students will be running events and serving as team leaders for this day.  Activities will be both inside and outside so please ensure your child comes to school with appropriate clothing for both - (boots, mittens, snow pants, running shoes, etc.).  If the weather is not co-operating, all events will be held indoors.

Nutrition breaks will not be affected.

Thank you for your support.

N. Jamani

P.E./Gr.7 Teacher

Eastdale School