La soirée multiculturelle

Just a friendly reminder that our Multicultural Night will be Thursday, May 12th at 6:00 pm in the gym. We hope you can join us to learn about the countries that we have been researching over the past three months!

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mme. Buchanan

Tea cups

This Thursday, we will be doing an activity involving tea cups. Students will need to bring in one tea cup to help them complete the activity. If you do not have any tea cups at home, they can been found at Value Village or Dollarama. **The tea cups will be a permanent fixture to the craft, so please do not send in your good China!

If you are having difficulty tracking one down, please let me know by Wednesday, so that all students will have one on Thursday.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to volunteer to come help out on Thursday and Friday morning with the craft!

Thank you in advance!
Mme. Buchanan

Good morning,

Due to the shorter week, students have used their time to finish up the written rough draft for the presentations they will be putting together on their researched country. Students not finished are asked to finish the written portion for Monday so that I can help them correct and start their good copy.

Next weeks students will be given time to put together their i-pad or poster board presentations. Students wishing to use pictures, flags, fancy letters, or decorations for their poster board are encouraged to bring the supplies in for Monday. I will be providing the poster boards for them. Any students wishing to type up their good copy or make a word art title are welcome to do so at home and print it out to bring them in, as there is only one computer and nine groups. If you are having difficulty printing, please feel free to email the document to me and I can print it out for them.

Please let me know if you have any questions! I'm excited to see their months of hard work come together!
Mme. Buchanan

This week students practiced multiples of 8 and multiples of 9. On Monday, they will have a quiz on multiples of 6, 7, 8, and 9. Next week we will begin applying our multiplication facts to learning division. Therefore, students may receive "pop quizzes" from time to time over the next week to ensure that they have maintained their multiplication facts. Should students feel nervous about having a "pop quiz", there best preparation strategy can be to ensure that they are practicing their facts from x0 to x9.

Students were giving time this afternoon to finish up their multiplication review booklet, their pictograph, and their French sound booklet from this week. Any unfinished work has been asked to be completed for Monday.

Possible topics for discussion: "Question ouverte" problem solving in Math, Picasso Art, Wonder, pictogrammes, ER verbes, Multiples of 9 strategies

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mme. Buchanan

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Spring Break with your families!

At school we will begin to work on our more advanced multiplications and divisions until the end of the month. We currently have an Integrated Arts specialist who will be working with us throughout the month of April. We will be learning and replicating some of Pablo Picasso's art styles. We will also be taking some time this month to organize information found during our research project to ensure that it will be ready to present on our Multicultural evening in May (details will follow closer to May).

Due to the amount of time needed to finish up our sketches for our Picasso portrait, I have postponed handing out and going over Dictée words until next week. I am however assigning students with a new T.U.S.C. roles this week. They will be asked to present their English T.U.S.C. on Friday, April 29th. I realize that it has been a while since our last T.U.S.C. meeting, so if you have any questions or students are having difficulty locating their green T.U.S.C. duo tang, please let me know!

Mme. Buchanan

École Robert Browning and the 8 Fantastiques are hosting the EcoKids Battery Buster Spring Cleaning Contest!

From April 1 to 29, 2016, recycle your single-use, household used batteries! Bring your old batteries to Room 18 or the Office.

Not only will you help the environment, you will also help us enter a contest to win prizes that will support future environmental initiatives here at ÉRB.

Spring Break

Good morning!

It's hard to believe that Spring Break is already upon us! I know students have a busy schedule planned for next week, so there will not be too much homework assigned over the break.

I do encourage them to still do home reading and Xtra Math at least twice throughout the break. If they have time, I have also asked them to begin looking up pictures of their researched country that they would like to use for their poster boards. They can either print them out at home or email them to me to be printed out.

There will also be a multiplication quiz on April 4th. This will allow me to determine if they have retained their multiplication facts up to multiples of 5 or if we will need to do a quick review our first week back.

Possible topics this week: Multiples of 5, Wonder, Jelly Bean graph activity, Teacher vs. Student basketball

I hope you have a wonderful Easter and much deserved Spring Break!
Mme Buchanan

Multiplication tricks

Here are some mental math strategies that we've learned in class to help us with our multiplication facts:

x0 - 0 x Number = 0

x1 - 1 x N = N

x2 -  "double" (2 x N = N + N)

x3 - "double + N" 3 x N = (N + N) + N

x4 - "double double" 3 x 4 = (N+N) + (N+N)

x5 - the clock (1=5 minutes, 1 X 5 = 5; 2 = 10 minutes, 2 X 5 = 10)

**I will add the strategies for the other multiples as we learn them!

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mme. Buchanan

Good evening! In all of our excitement preparing for the student-led conferences, I forgot to ask to students to write down their multiplication quiz in their agendas. We will have a quiz on multiples of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, included two digit times one digit multiplication (the "boîte" method).

Aside from Spelling, Home Reading, and Xtra Math, there will be no additional homework this weekend!

I look forward to seeing you all at the conferences!
Mme. Buchanan

This week students have been working on their "Friendly Letter" writing skills. To coincide with our research project, students were asked to pretend to be visiting their researched country and to plan out and write four friendly letters to four different people, telling them all about their "experiences" based on their research. Most students have worked up to their third or fourth letter, and have been asked to have all four completed and handed in by Monday, should they not be finished by this afternoon. Below I have attached the web outlines for the third and fourth letter:

Students are also reminded to study for their dictée and multiples of 3 quiz on Monday.

Possible topics for discussion this week: Friendly letter writing, multiples of 3, and two digit multiplication.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Mme. Buchanan

This week students worked hard on a type of Senegalese art known as "Souwère". Students were asked to write a reflection on their artwork and the multiple steps they took to complete it. Students not finished the reflection were asked to complete it as homework for Monday. They were encouraged to use the transition words "en premier, ensuite, par la suite, après, en fin" when writing out the steps. I recommend the websites www.wordreference.com and www.linguee.fr if they are seeking out a French word or the proper writing of a French word. Please, no google translate! I challenged students to see what they were able to write in French on their own at this point in the year.

**A reminder that there will be a short multiplication quiz on Monday on the 0, 1, and 2 times tables.

Possible topics for discussion this week: multiplications, "Souwère" art, Choral Fest

Have a great weekend!
Mme. Buchanan

March homework

Now that our hard work for concours is behind us, students will begin getting back into routine with a similar homework schedule they we had before the winter break.

Next week, students will be given a new set of Dictée words to study and we will continue to rotate on a weekly basis between Dictée and Spelling words. (I will publish a reminder post next Monday, when students get their word list).

Now that we have begun working with basic multiplication facts, students will be working with a different multiple each week and will be tested with a "mini multiplication quiz". For example, this week we are studying our 2 times table, so next Monday students will be writing a small quiz on x 0, x 1, and x 2. Next week, we will be studying the 3 times table, so students will then be writing a quiz on x 0, x 1, x 2, and x 3 on the following Monday. This routine will continue into April, until students have mastered up to the 10 times table. **Students will be provided with daily questions, practice sheets, and games, but are encouraged to study at home with flash cards, "quizzing", or multiplication games and apps.

T.U.S.C. will resume after Spring Break.

To summarize: Dictée and Spelling will resume next Monday (I will hand out word lists on Monday), there will be a multiplication quiz every Monday from now until the end of April, no T.U.S.C. until April.

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mme. Buchanan

Design process

As part of their research project, students have chosen a structure from their country and will be asked to build a replica next week. This structure must be stable, movable, appealing to the eye, and buildable in class.

Students will be bringing home a green paper indicating the structure that their group has chosen as well as materials that their group has decided on. Here are a list of possible materials:
- Lego
- popsicle sticks
- straws
- cardboard
- recycled every day items
- string
- aluminum foil
- styrofoam
- toothpicks
- stirsticks
- etc.

Glue, clay, paint, and scissors will all be provided at school.

**ANY STUDENTS WISHING TO BRING IN A HOT GLUE GUN MUST HAVE A PARENT SEND ME AN EMAIL OR NOTE AHEAD OF TIME. ONLY MYSELF OR ANOTHER ADULT WILL BE ALLOWED TO USE IT.

All materials are due on Tuesday, February 23rd, as this will be the first of three days provided for construction.

Given that this project will involve more elaborate construction, any volunteers are welcome.

Thank you in advance! Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mme. Buchanan

Research project

Students have worked very hard over the last two weeks to complete their research about another country. They have also had the option to use some recess and lunch periods to continue researching. Any students not finished their research by the end of the day have been asked to complete their work for Monday.

Students may use google.ca or www.everyculture.com to continue their research. Their reading as well as their notes may be done in English as they will have time to translate their information at a later date.

If students are not sure about any of the French words provided on their worksheet, they may use the website www.wordreference.com to translate into English.

If you have any questions, please let me know!
Mme. Buchanan

Concours d'art

Katie and Maille did an awesome job representing our class for the school-wide "concours d'art oratoire". Félicitations et bon courage à Maille who will represent the school at Divisionals!!!

Another "bon travail" to all students for bring their "A game" this year with their concours writing abilities!

This week students were given the chance to finish up any incomplete pages in their addition/subtraction booklet. They have been asked to complete any unfinished pages for Tuesday. Most students were able to use their time in both January and February to finish up "chunks" that were assigned over the past few weeks, however some students may be coming home with a little extra work if previously assigned pages were not yet finished. The entire completed booklet is due back for Tuesday, February 16th.

Possible discussion topics for this week: Festival du Voyageur, "Cuillères" workshop, research project, estimation, natural and man-made structures.

Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great long weekend!
Mme. Buchanan

Concours update

Over the past two weeks, students have received on average 2 hours per day to work on the planning, research, and rough draft of their concours. Those who were not yet finished their rough draft this afternoon, were asked to finish it for Monday.
Should students need to translate an unknown word, they have had practiced using the websites:
www.wordreference.com
www.linguee.fr

**Please, absolutely no google translate!! Students have worked very hard using their own skills and strategies to write French sentences. It would be great if they could finish their speeches by applying the same strategies.

Students were also given time during our finish up period to finish the two digit addition and subtraction worksheets (p. 10 and p. 21) that we have been working on this week. They have learned the "old school method" (the vertical method taught in the past) as well as two other strategies. I have asked that these two pages be finished for Monday as well.

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mme. Buchanan

Students were off to a great start to their French speeches this week. They have been given an hour daily to organize their ideas and complete their research. They will be given time Friday afternoon to complete any unfinished work. This will include: page 4 and 5 of their blue math booklet, Winnipeg Harvest question sheet, Find the Evidence worksheet, and French Speech research. Any unfinished work will be asked to be completed for Monday.

On Monday we will begin planning and writing our rough draft for the speech, so it is very important that all research please be completed by Monday, so as not to fall behind. **Please note that there will be no dictée, spelling, nor TUSC during the month of January, so that students may focus on their speech.

*Possible discussion topics for the week: Concours d'art, Structures, adding tens and hundreds, "inferring" (or finding evidence in a text), Winnipeg Harvest.

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mme. Buchanan

Concours d'art oratoire

It's that time of year again! This week, students will begin working on their French speeches or Concours d'art oratoire. The writing process will be broken down into several steps:
1) Planning
2) Research
3) Paragraph planning
4) Writing
5) Revising
6) Good copy
7) Speech

Each step will have a mini lesson where I will practice and model the step with students before they apply it to their own speech. Students will write their speeches in French so that I can authentically assess their French writing ability. We have practiced and reviewed several strategies for different French writing components and how to look up unknown words. I will be encouraging them to apply these same strategies to their speech writing.

Students are being given an hour everyday in class for working on different steps of the speech to minimize the amount of work that needs to be done at home. I have also provided students with a copy of the rubric that I will be using to help them assess their own writing and identify what they need to improve before handing in their final copy.

We are aiming to have our speeches done and ready to present the first week in February. I will be able to give you a more specific date and time once we near the end of our good copy writing.

**Students wishing to compete at school level will need to have a 2-4 minute memorized speech.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Mme. Buchanan

Finish Up Work
Students were asked to complete the good copy of their Candy Cane Island paragraphs. All students worked hard to finish their corrections, so all that remains is recopying.

*A friendly reminder that students have a social studies test on Monday.

Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great weekend!
Mme. Buchanan