Student Vote Survey
I have registered the Grade 5 class in the Student Vote program which is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works with educators to deliver experiential learning opportunities to help young Canadians understand and practice the responsibilities of their citizenship. I recieved an email from them today asking for assistance:
“In an effort to assess the outcomes of the Student Vote Program, we have designed an evaluation plan for the Ontario election program. The first component of the evaluation is the administration of a pre-survey among student participants.
The purpose of the survey is to find out more about how students participating in the Student Vote Program view politics, government and voting, and to learn more about their experience with the program. Students will be asked to complete a follow up survey after the program comes to an end. Each survey will take approximately 8-10 minutes to complete.
To complete the survey, you will need to provide your students with your school ID. Your school ID is 2,194.
Please note that all answers are confidential and anonymous. We can assure you that all personal information collected as a result of this survey is protected under the Privacy Act.
We sincerely thank you for assisting us with this undertaking.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our team.
Thanks,
The Student Vote team
www.studentvote.ca
www.facebook.com/studentvote
www.twitter.com/studentvote”
I think it would be more approporiate for students to complete these surveys with parental supervision, so, if you WANT to, you can do the survey with your child at a time convienent for you. IT IS NOT MANDATORY AT ALL. Please do not feel you NEED to complete this survey, it will not effect the programming in any way.
Mr. Beatty
Classroom Schedule
Here is a copy of the daily schedule that we will follow this year. Please feel free to print it out and keep a copy at home.
Welcome Back!
Hello, I am Mr. A Beatty, your child’s Grade 5 teacher for the 2011-2012 school year. I cannot tell you how excited I am to teach this bright, excited and energetic group. I think we will have a great year together. From additional duties and responsibilities around the school, to the Albion Hills trip and Graduation, Grade 5 is a very important and special year in the life of a student.
Grade 5 offers a very challenging and exciting curriculum. We will be starting the year with the Canada and World Connections – Aspects of Citizenship and Government in Canada Social Studies Curriculum. With the provincial election coming up in Ontario this October, there should be many opportunities to engage your children in conversations about what we are learning in class. The elections.ca website also has a wealth of information in the “Young Voters” section, so you might also want to check that out with your child.
In Math, we are starting with Number Sense and Numeration, specifically looking at place value and different ways to represent numbers.
In Language we will focus on fundamentals of reading, looking at different strategies to extract meaning from a variety of different texts. As well, we will be looking at persuasive writing, using information we learn in Social Studies to write a persuasive letter to a political figure.
Notes on Homework
Once again homework will take the form of a weekly booklet, focusing on grammar and math, in order to give maximum flexibility to busy families.
Alternative Energy at TREC
The grade 5 class had an amazing time down at the wind turbine probest hosted in the THE grounds. They had a tour of the turbine, as well as having the opportunity to build and test their own turbines. All well enjoying beautiful sunshine on a spring day.
Kids Blogging!
I have the students set up on their own blogs over at http://www.kidblog.org/MrBeattysClass/ To view the posts students need to first log in, they know the details of logging in.
The first piece we have published as a class is “What Earth Hour Means to Me”, a paragraph that we have been working on for about two weeks. Ask your kids about the process of writing this paragraph, and the many different revisions we had to do to polish it. You are also invited to leave a comment on your child’s paragraph.
Scientists in the School
The grade four students were lucky enough to have a visit from a real life scientist this week, when a representitive from Scientists in the School came by to present an afternoon of hands on light activities. The reaction from the students was overwhelmingly positive, with students declaring it to be 200% awesome. I think I will have to work on their math skills next!
Using the Smart Board
We are lucky enough to have a fantastic piece of technology avaiable for us to use: the Smart Board! The board is an interactive white board (like a giant iPhone) that allows students to manipulate items, add text, and become involved with their learning in completely new ways.
So far we are using it mostly for science and math, but I am hopeful that we can start to incorporate it in more lessons, as well as saving notes in PDF form that I can post here.
Here is the Smart Board in action during a recent math lesson:
Grade 4 Science Test: Monday!
Thanks to the beautiful weather and excellent rink conditions, the Grade 4s have been given an extension on their test on light. The test will now be on Monday January 24th, 2011. They should all have their science folders with detailed notes as to what will be on the test. They can also use the website explorelearning.com to review additive colour. On Explore Learning, simply search for the term “color” (American spelling) and use the “Additive Color” Gizmo to review color mixing.
Other topics covered on the test are movement of light, light through a prism, reflection of light, and how objects can be transparent, translucent or opaque.
Focus on Language
Currently in our Language class we are focusing on the reading skill of inferring. The ability to make a logical inference is a powerful tool for students to become more effective and thoughtful readers. We have looked at how you can make inferences aobut the plot of stories, characters in stories, and situations presented in comic strips.
We have defined inference “Clues from the Text” plus “Schema”. Ask your children if they understand what schema means, and how it helps them to make an inference.
Time for Dance!
We have begun the Dance Unit of our Arts study. This is a chance for all students to get active, and try to incorporate music and movement into one fantastic whole. For more information, you can check out the dance curriculum here: Ontario Arts Curriculum
I am asking students to bring in appropriate music to dance to. They can bring in CDs, but I ask that all music is school friendly!
We are assessing their projects using the B.E.S.T. acronym. Ask your kids what does B.E.S.T. mean!
