Blackfoot Nation: Buffalo Artefacts

Today the students explored a Glenbow Museum kit of cultural items used by the Blackfoot in the past.  The Blackfoot people depended greatly on the Bison for not only food, but for weapons, tools, clothes, shelter and everyday household items.   150 years ago, there were no Superstores to buy things.  The people living in the Plains needed to find, build and problem solve to meet their needs.

Today we examined the artefacts, and made observations about what materials they were constructed of and predictions on how they were made and how they were used. 
Our guiding questions:

Look at some of these photos and discuss some of the questions from our poster.  Items on a cloth together are connected.  

2nd Great Lesson

Today we did the 2nd Great Lesson.  We explored how the first life came to Earth.  After our powerpoint, the children looked at specimens to explore the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates, made fossils with playdough, sequenced pictures of lifeforms and explored our Montessori timelines. 

Google Maps is FUN!!!

This morning we explored google maps.   We started zoomed out as far as we could to look at the satellite pictures of earth.  Slowly zooming in, we looked for landforms and landmarks we could see. -First we saw oceans, rivers, islands, lakes 

-Next we noticed provincial borders, towns and roads

-Then we spied farmers' fields, buildings and bridges

-Then we zoomed right into our school and found the playground, discovery gardens and the compound

What natural landmark is just north west of our school that you can see in this picture? You can see it from many places in the city.

We sorted our discoveries into natural and man-made features

It was super fun looking at downtown and changing our view so we could see how tall the buildings are. We had some interesting discussions about how our city has changed.  Natalie told us that the Calgary Tower was no longer the tallest building..... how else has it changed?

Then I zoomed in on this location.  I told the students that this was a VERY important place in Calgary's story.  The kids even learned a fancy (adult word) for two rivers joining.  We will be exploring the story of Calgary.  Just like we are looking at our classmates timelines on their birthdays, Calgary also has a timeline of its own.  

Monthly Math Games

 

 

Celebration of Learning!

Hello Families,

This Thursday (tomorrow) is our Celebration of Learning! Students and teachers are excited to share their work and learning with you. Classrooms will be open from 6:15 to 7: 45 pm. Families are encourage to visit their child's classroom any time during the allotted time frame. Please allow for at least 30 minutes to spend looking at your child's work and projects. Don't forget to check out all the bulletin board's outside of the classrooms too. In room 2, children will be sharing:

-Ozobots

-A building project of the Three Little Pig's house from science

-A piece of writing with a rubric

-A Montessori literacy activity

-Some math games/activities

We are also encouraging families to visit the lost and found for missing items. It is also a great time to check to see if your child's indoor shoes still fit. Don't forget to check out the Scholastic book fair in room 10. All proceed go directly to our school library.  

We look forward to celebrating with you this Thursday!

Writing Expectations

    

We have bee working hard to improve our writing skills. We met as a group of grade 1s and then separately as a group of grade 2s to create these writing rubrics. These writing expectations are posted in the classroom, with teacher-made exemplars for students to self-assess their work. We've been working hard to accurately assess our work. On Thursday, when you come for our celebration of learning, students will have their writing journals and the writing expectations to share with you!

 

Health and Life Skills checklist

Last week and this week we have reviewed the zones of regulation and talked about our relationship skills and independence. Students have self-assessed their skills in the classroom. We (teachers) have also assessed them. Please talk with your child about this checklist coming home and then sign and return it. If you have questions/concerns please contact us.

Book Fair

Tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday afternoon, students in room 2 will have the opportunity to visit the school book fair. Please feel free to send money, either day.
The book fair will also be open to families on Thursday evening at our celebration of learning.