Grade 3 - last entry

All students work is to be sent home before the last day of school.

If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 113.

I have truly enjoyed teaching Social Studies to Grade 3 students this school year. Thank you for all your support at home and for following this blog.

This blog will be re-purposed for the following school year.

Have a wonderful summer break.

Grade 2 - last entry

All the students work are to be sent home before the last day of school. There is a little activity booklet called "Viens à ma fête" which most students have not finished. It is encouraged that students  use the readings and activities in this booklet to consolidate their learning and practice reading over the summer.

If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 113.

I have truly enjoyed teaching Social Studies to Grade 2 students this school year. Thank you for all your support at home and for following this blog.

This blog will be re-purposed for the following school year.

Have a wonderful summer break.

Grade 1 - last entry

Before the end of the school year, student duotangs are to be sent home.

If the three page assessment arrive home this week, you do not have to return the rubric. Instead, if you have questions about this assessment, first read the previous blog entry on how the work has been assessed. If you still have questions, contact me directly at extension 113. The mark on the rubric is not the final mark on the report card. The final mark has been determined using the triangulation of assessment which combines student work, observation and conversation to assess student achievement.

I have truly enjoyed teaching Social Studies to Grade 1 students this school year. Thank you for all your support at home and for following this blog.

This blog will be re-purposed for the following school year.

Have a wonderful summer break.

Grade 1 - assessment sent home

2 pieces of student work are to be sent home this week and next week with one rubric attached.

Please send the signed rubric back. The student work can stay home.

First page is the rubric that describes what they achieved through the mapping activities and action plan making.

Connaissance et compréhension : knowledge and understanding - content learned in class.

Habileté de la pensée : thinking - how they found, organized and planned information and worked  with it. Through the inquiry walk around the school, students were to use their observation and what they knew about our school community to make a plan to improve the environment around our school.

Mise en application : application - how they used their knowledge of simple maps and natural/built features of our community to make their plan

Communication : use of learned vocabulary, clarity of communication
For further information about how student achievement is broken down, please take a look at the page 32-33 of the Ontario Social Studies curriculum document found online at:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/sshg18curr2013.pdf

Reminder : level three means that your child is meeting the Ontario standard set by the curriculum document.

Second sheet is a map dictation. There were 6 questions in total to test students' knowledge of simple maps.

1. Draw a tree across from / in front of the store.

2. Draw a school next to the park.

3. Draw a police station near the park.

4. Draw another tree next to the store.

5. Write a sentence with "loin de" (far from)

6. Write a sentence with "à côté de" (next to)

Students had to correctly comprehend the instructions and use the symbols shown in the legend provided.

Third sheet is the action plan that students created individually. They had to choose what they wanted and why, where they would want it and why. They were asked to use a star sticker to indicate where they wanted what they chose on the simple map and illustrate what they chose next to the map.

Expectations included: use their knowledge of what is around our school and what students want in our school environment. Explain their choice of natural/built feature and of the place clearly and using learned vocabulary.

If you have any questions about this assessment, please call ext. 113 or send an agenda note.

Thank you.

Grade 3 - end of the year

Students' oral presentation marks (3B & 2/3A) have been sent out (except a couple of students who need conference with me). Please sign and return as soon as possible.

For the rest of the school year, students will be focusing on different life aspects of the first pioneers in Upper Canada and how they interacted with the First Nations. A field trip to Black Creek Pioneer Village has been planned to consolidate their learning later in the month of June.

Grade 2 - Reminder and the end of year task.

Students have been talking about traditions and celebrations and how they change over time.

Some students still have not brought back their signed family tree rubric and the homework on their important celebration. Please send them back as soon as possible.

Many students are having difficult noticing differences between how their celebrations were celebrated in the past (by their parents or grandparents) and how they celebrate it now. It would be helpful to discuss with your child(ren) how immigrating to another country, speaking different languages, having different groceries and having new technologies have changed the way we celebrate different celebrations.

Students will be working on an interactive booklet where they will explain different aspects of their important celebration based on the homework they have completed at home.

Grade 1 - final project.

Students have recently toured around the school building to notice natural and built features around it. Now we are making a plan on what we want to have around our school, where we want to have it specifically and explain our choices using a map of the school.

This task is for students to notice the interrelationship between natural and built features in their community. Some questions you could ask:

1. What are some of the good things about the natural features in our neighbourhood? How could we make them better?
2. What are some ways in which people have had an impact on the natural features in the community?
3. What happens when we clear up many trees to build a big mall?
4. Why is there a big park right next to our school?
5. Why do we need new schools in our neighbourhood?

Try making a simple map of your neighbourhood with your child and discuss why they have the services they have available in the area.