Subtraction, Coding, and Story Making

Reminders:

• please remember to return the following items to school on Monday:
• Weavings
• Library Books
• Home Journals
• Please continue to bring in items for our makers space (for design thinking challenge for our Arctic problems)
• Dates to remember:
• Mar. 5 – Grade 2/3 Celebration of Learning – 6:00 – 7:00
• Mar. 19 – PM parent/teacher/student conferences  4:30 – 8:00 (bookings open March 12 at 5:00 pm)
• Mar. 20 - parent/teacher/student conferences  8:00 – 12:00 No school for students
• Please visit Ms. Mann's blog for extra practice for the celebration of learning performance: MusicBlog

Learning Highlights

• In math we moved on to learning about subtraction. 
• First, we used manipulative and Unifix Cubes to understand fact families. 
• Then, we tried solving word problems that required subtraction. Try these at home:

remember to use our CUBES strategy when breaking down a word problem: 

Use cubes to solve this:

• Then, we expanded on this understanding of subtraction by learning how to add two-digit numbers using the stacking method. 

• We were able to draw on our understanding of regrouping from addition to then see how to use regrouping when subtracting. 

• Afterwards, we tackled some arctic inspired math word problems then coded Dash to demonstrate the math:   

Here is how one group decided to program Dash with code to show how their answer:

• For literacy, we have been working away at developing our arctic stories. We are working on our story mapping and then using loose parts share our stories orally. 

Here is a student sharing their story for the first time:

We will continue to share stories to each other, give & get feedback, and further develop and refine our stories. 

Special Learning Guests: Environmental Science and Oral Hygiene

Reminders:

• Some students have taken home their weavings to work on - please make sure to return them to school on Monday as we will be putting them up for display in our school :) 
• Some students have chosen to take home their math booklets to complete for further practice on fact families so that we can move on to subtraction of 2-digit numbers. Please remember to return these to school on Monday as well. 
• Please remember to bring in sticks to hang the weavings on
• We would really appreciate some materials for our design thinking project for our Environmental Scientist inquiry. We need many craft and maker materials: such as cardboard, string, masking tape, plastic wrap, styrofoam, egg cartons, pipe cleaners, bottles, buttons, aluminum foil, paper rolls, popsicle sticks, cotton swabs, etc.

Important Dates:

• Tuesday, February 25 - Evergreen Theatre Presentation (Wicked Witch of the Wetlands)
• Wednesday, February 26 - National Pink Shirt Day (wear Pink or ROS Blue)
• Thursday, March 5 - Celebration of Learning at 6pm

Learning Highlights:

• We had the opportunity to meet an environmental scientist that goes to the Arctic to do work! His name is Mr. Yoon and he taught us about the work that he does!

 Mr. Yoon took five separate trips, over two days, to travel to the Arctic to a place called Tuktoyaktuk!

 He has to travel on airplanes and helicopters to get there! 

We learned that in the arctic winters, there is barely any sunlight and in the daytime this is how high the sun gets:

 

but in the summers the sun is always in the sky:

As an environmental scientist he cleans up and restores old oil and gas well-sites, so that it looks like this:

The reclamation process takes a lot of work from the collaboration of various types of people, including engineers, chemists, biologists, agrologists, the government, and the local Inuvialuit people.

The work of environmentalists matter because our world is changing!

Mr. Yoon showed us pictures of how the land is disappearing because the sea ice is melting and storm surges are more frequent. Here are some images he took from the arctic:

As part of our next inquiry investigation, we will be imagining ourselves as environmental scientists that will be solving a problem that exists in the Arctic as a result of increasing heat! 

If you would like to play the Heat and Temperature Jeopardy Review Game click here: heat_temp_review

Afterwards, we reviewed what we knew about the Arctic....

Then, we took time to learn more about the life and culture of the Inuit and the Arctic to gain some necessary background knowledge for the upcoming design thinking task.

Ask us some of the following questions to demonstrate the learning from class:

1. Here are two types of homes the Inuit built to live in. . .

What are they called? 

What are they made of? 

Why did the Inuit live in such homes that were so quickly built?

2.  What were some of the traditional roles/jobs of the Inuit women versus the Inuit men?

3. Why was it so important for the Elders to tell stories to the younger generations?

4. We also analyzed some Inuit artifacts. What are the functions of some of these tools:

• Taking in all the understanding that we gained from the Arctic legends and Inuit culture, we started storyboarding and creating our own arctic stories. We are using loose parts to help us creatively plan and tell our stories to each other first.

• We also had Dr. E. Lo come in to teach us about oral hygiene! We learned that...
• brushing and flossing is important! it will help remove plaque and stay clean!
• When flossing we have to remember to make a "c-shape" to hug the tooth and go up and down.
• We have to brush 2 times a day for at least 2 minutes at a time 
• It is important to eat a healthy diet to keep out teeth healthy too!

Then we got to participate in some learning centers around oral hygiene:

In Need of ...

Maker Materials!

Hello families, 

We are about to begin the design process of our Environmental Scientist inquiry. We need many craft and maker materials:

• cardboard
• string
• masking tape
• saran wrap
• styrofoam
• egg cartons

Heat and Temperature!

Reminders:

• Pink Shirt Design Contest:
• create your own design, unique to Royal Oak School, that promotes kindness and anti-bullying. There will be a prize for each grade level. Finalists will then be sent out in a survey form, were kids and parents can vote for the top designs - the winner will win the grand prize.

• On Wednesday, February 12, we have left some time in our day for students to exchange Valentine's cards. This activity is optional. Please ensure that if your child participates, they have a card for every student in the class. Also, kindly refrain from bringing in candy, chocolates, or food/treats of any kind due to food allergies/intolerances. Please also dress in RED/PINK/Royal Oak Blue that day. 

• Class list:

Aaron, Ada, Adam, Avan, Chuyan, Daniel, Eric, Ethan, Jaden, Lauren, Logan, Lukas, Makena, Mandie, Masson, Naomi, Percy, Rohnish, Sam, Samika, Shayanne, Tatiana, Tea, Zach, Zohar, Zoya

• Feb. 13, 14 – Teachers' Convention – No school  
• Feb. 17 – Family Day – No school 
• Feb. 25 – Evergreen Theatre Presentation – Wicked Witch of the Wetlands 
• Feb. 26 - National Pink Shirt Day 

Learning Highlights:

• This week we learned about heat and temperature! First the class shared what they thought they knew about heat and then brainstormed questions about what they wondered. We learned that heat is actually energy, and the faster the particles move the hotter something will feel. Whereas, "cold" is just the absence of heat - heat will always move into places that are less hot (where there is less movement of particles or energy) and that is why we feel cold when we step outside on a cold day.

We also learned that we can measure the amount of heat in something, or "temperature," by using a thermometer. In Canada, we use the Celsius scale to measure the temperature! We went on a temperature hunt in our school to measure the temperature of various things, such as snow, a cup of cold tap water, our body (armpit), inside our shoes, the air outside, and the air inside the school in various locations. We learned that some things are "hotter than" other things, and some things are "warmer than" other things.

This was a bit tricky because we had to count by 2s when reading the temperature on the thermometer and we had to make sure we were reading the Celsius side, not the Fahrenheit side.  

• We also got to meet up with our Kindergarten buddies and again and helped the to finish creating their buddy bookmarks with patterns on it:

• This week in math, we continued with our practice of double-digit addition with re-grouping. We worked on our stacking procedure, we tackled some word problems that require double-digit addition, and we finished the week with a post assessment to map our progress and set our next goals. While, our students are rocking the addition stacking procedure, practice is always helpful. 
• Here are some word problems and practice sheets. 

Learning About Inuit Culture: Soapstone Carving Inuksuit

Reminders:

• Tonight is the Royal Oak School Family Skate from 5pm to 7pm
• Lockdown tomorrow!

Learning Highlights:

• Today we had the opportunity to take part in some Inuit Culture - carving soapstone for our Arctic investigation. We made Inuksuit out of the soapstone. We learned that soapstone means soft rock - it feels soapy when wet and it is being carved. 

• First, we rubbed the belly of the Inuksuk for good luck
• Then we dipped the Inuksuk in the water to give it a bath.
• Next, we rounded the sharp edge with a rasp.
• We also added "belts" at the head, and legs.

• Afterwards, we used nails to add lines and make it look like multiple stones put together.

• Finally we added oil to make the colors shine through! 

Here are some finished products! They each have their own unique colors and patterns