Parent Teacher Conferences

Important Information and Dates
Monday, March 19th - (last weeks) daily math questions due
Wednesday, March 21st - Literature Circle Jobs due
Wednesday, March 21st - Figurative Language VJ due
Wednesday, March 21st - Athenian Residents VJ due.

Please do not forget to sign up for parent-teacher conferences next Thursday. 

Drama auditions!

Interested in Drama? Want to be in a play?! 

We will be holding auditions for speaking parts for the Division 2 play.

Please let your students know there will be a meeting on Thursday at lunch (place to be determined....) for students to try out for parts.  I've added the script below if they want to practice (and add expression!) and Ms. Betty will also print off some paper copies and have them in Room 13 if they want to come by.

We will meet with students interested in other aspects such as props, lighting etc. after Spring Break.

AUDITION SCRIPT:

Captain ABC: I'm Captain Alpha Bravo Charlie.... And once again our hero has been plunged into the alien terrain of yet another hostile wordy planet.   He has now descended into the terrible tunnels of planet “School”. How will he escape? He must navigate these strange alien tunnels without understanding the language. Is this a cursed chamber or the portal to his home planet that he so desperately seeks?  He cannot tell! He must eliminate each word. Zap! Zap! Zap! Each alien communication is eliminated one by one. Captain ABC moves through these alien tunnels easily zapping them out of the way. Is this a portal? Where does it go? Our hero stops short, his zapper at the ready. He cannot determine whether the words say “This way home” or “This way to certain destruction”. He must rely on his courage alone. He reaches out and presses the button to open the portal. What will it be? Will our hero make it home?

Creating switches for circuits

Important Dates and Information 
Literature Circles due on Wednesday.
Athenian Residents VJ due on March 21st.
Figurative Language VJ due on March 21st.

Classroom Learning
In science, we learned how to create a switch to operate a circuit! Using a piece of cardboard, push pins, and a paper clip, students constructed a switch. By allowing the paper clip to swing left and right, students could open and close the circuit to turn the light bulb off and on.

Short Circuits and Ted Harrison

Important Dates and Information 
Math - Daily questions - Due Monday, March 12th 

Classroom Learning
Today in Science students worked with switches, discovering short circuits, how they work and the potential impact they could have on daily life. 

Students also paired up and critiqued each other on their Ted Harrison art. They then self-assessed where they felt they fell on the Bulls Eye Rubric, reflecting on what they did well, where they could improve, and how.   

Healthy Hearts

Important Dates and Information 
Emily Carr Art - due Friday, March 9th
Settler Farm Math assignment - due Friday, March 9th.
Math - Daily questions - Due Monday, March 12th 

Classroom Learning
In health today, we learned about the parts of the heart and how to keep our heart and body healthy with a good diet and physical activity. The heart is responsible for pumping oxygen into our blood, and pumping blood around our body. When we exercise, our heart beat increases as our heart has to work harder to pump the blood. Our heart also has to work harder if it is sick from things like tobacco. We learned that tobacco contains nicotine, and it can affect our body very badly, such as our heart, lungs, brain, skin, and eyes. We learned that too much smoking builds up a black tar on the lungs and can cause a lot of diseases in our body. Below is a picture we looked at of a healthy lung vs a smoker's lung.  

At home, discuss with your child what they learned about the heart today, and the importance of having good physical health. 

picture found from:

   Healthy Lung                  Smokers Lung

Closed and Open Circuits

Important Dates and Information 
Fractions and Decimal Quiz - Thursday, March 8th
Emily Carr Art - due Friday, March 9th
Settler Farm Math assignment - due Friday, March 9th.

**THE WEEKLY MATH GAME WILL BE SENT HOME TOMORROW** 

Classroom Learning
In science, we worked more with circuits today. Students worked with materials to create a closed circuit and then found different ways to interrupt the flow of electricity in order to create an open circuit. Students then drew labelled diagrams in their visual journal, and responded to questions regarding their observations and learning. 
At home, ask your child to explain to you the difference between an open and a closed circuit. 

Blackfoot singing and drumming, figurative language and poetry

Important Dates and Information 
Fractions and Decimal Quiz - Thursday, March 8th
Emily Carr Art - due Friday, March 9th
Settler Farm Math assignment - due Friday, March 9th.

Classroom Learning
Today we had the wonderful opportunity to listen to a guest, Darcy, who gifted our school with a song. We had the opportunity to learn more about his Blackfoot culture, the importance of oral story telling, and song. In a small group setting, he spoke to us about his drums, and how he makes his sticks. Each student received the opportunity to play on a traditional Blackfoot drum.

Today in Language Arts, we started looking at how Figurative language is used in song lyrics. First we listened to two songs, identifying comparisons, exaggerations, and human features given to inanimate objects. Following this, we looked more closely at definitions and examples of similes, hyperboles, and personification. Students were then provided a copy of the song lyrics, and using a colour code, identified where they found examples of the above Figurative language. We discussed how song lyrics are a type of poetry, and how figurative language is found throughout.  

Settler Farm Math Assignment (Fractions & Decimals, Ratios & Percentages)

Fractions & Decimals – Settler’s farm

We have learned a lot about fractions and decimals, as well as the life of European settlers in Canada as they started their own farms and homesteads. For this assignment, you will take on the role of a European Settler who has immigrated to Canada and has paid for a start-up farm. You have received 100 acres of land to plant your crops on, and $100 to spend on your crops. You need to have a minimum of 3 crops, and spend as much of the $100 without going over, using all of your 100 grid.

Objective

Plant the farm land you have provided, using the catalogue to help you select the crops. Analyze your farmland grid to identify fractions and decimals, ratios and percentages (grade 6 only).

Success Criteria

You will meet the objective by… r  Accurately and carefully planting your farmland so that all of the 100 acres are used. r  Identifying crops to be planted, and their associated cost r  Analyzing and calculating cost of crops, as close to $100 r  Calculating accurate cost of crops using addition, subtraction, multiplication r  Analyzing and identifying fractions from your 100 acres (for crops, and cost /100) r  Converting fractions to decimals r  Converting fractions to ratios and percents (Grade 6 only)

Your Task

You will create a well thought out 100 grid representing the crops that you have chosen to plant. Your grid will be used to represent various fractions and decimals (and rations and percentages for grade 6s), and will include a legend. You will show all your calculations.

Step 1:

r  Choose the crops you wish to plant.
Note: You must spend as much of your $100 as possible without going over!

r  Make sure that you are buying enough crops to fill out ALL of your 100 grid. Every square acre must be used.

r  Show all your calculations showing how you figured out how much of each crop to plant, and your total amount spent.

r  Show your calculations for how much money you have remaining.

Step 2:

r  Plot your crops, ensuring that every square acre has been used.

r  Provide a colour-coded legend for your 100 grid.

Step 3:

r  Create a chart showing:

r  The fractions for each of your crops out of the total 100 square acres

r  The decimals for each of your crops.

r  The ratios and percentages for each of your crops (Grade 6 only)

r  Identify an equivalent fraction for each of your crops

r  Identify the simplest form of fractions for each of your crops

Crop	Fraction	Decimal	Equivalent Fraction	Simplest Form	*Ratio	*Percentage

* = Grade 6 only!

Step 4:

r  Explain, using your mathematical language, how you calculate equivalent fractions

r  Explain, using your mathematical language, how you find the simplest form of a fraction

r  Describe how you would find the decimal/ratio/percentage for a fraction
**ratio and percentage for Grade 6 only

Optional Extension:

r  Use the provided sale chart to calculate how much profit you would make for each crop that you sold. What is the total profit that you made? Show all your calculations.

r  Identify and show how you could replant your field to increase your profit, while still spending as close to $100 as possible, and using all 100 square acres.

Background Knowledge

To complete this assignment, you will need to know: r  How to identify and calculate fractions and decimals based on the 100 grid. r  Add, subtract, and multiply decimals r  How to identify and calculate ratios and percentages (Grade 6 only) r  How to calculate equivalent fractions r  How to calculate the simplest form r  How to create a chart to organize your information If you don’t understand a concept listed above, please ask for help before beginning.

Criteria for Judgement

The criteria for creating a well-supported report: ·       Accurate calculations: Are your calculations accurate? Are they neat enough for the reader to follow and understand? ·       Detailed: Your explanations and descriptions are detailed and accurate, and are easy to understand.   ·       Uses unit vocabulary: Does your report use the vocabulary we have learned in the Fractions and Decimal unit? Is the vocabulary correctly used?

Critical Thinking Vocabulary

·       Accurate: Free from errors, mistakes, or distortion. ·       Analyze: To break up something into parts and then examine in detail. Conclusions drawn from analyzing are based on observations and evidence. ·       Interpret: Understand and explain the significance of something and support that explanation with evidence. ·       Support: Your answers are supported by showing your thinking using calculations, diagrams and pictures.

Food Crop Catalogue

Product	Cost to Buy  per square Acre	Selling price (profit) per square Acre
Wheat	$0.94	$1.72
Corn	$0.97	$1.34
Barley	$0.85	$1.25
Canola(oil)	$0.89	$1.66
Squash	$0.91	$1.63
Green Beans	$0.88	$1.12
Sunflower (oil)	$0.96	$1.37