Math
Great discussion over the last couple of days using our clothesline and visual patterns.

Using the pattern below answer the following questions:
1. How do you see the pattern growing?
2. How many squares in the 10th term?
3. How many squares in the 100th term?
4. How could you figure out the number of squares in any term?

Bird Update
Brenan and Ziyad joined The Friends of the Chickadees!

I am extremely proud of our class representatives at the MHPS intermediate poetry slam.
Sara, Joanna, Sam and Ziyad - Amazing work!!!

Math
Talk to your family about the border problem.
Tomorrow we continue with the number transformer machine - (think of some better sound effects)

Outdoor Ed.
Tell your family what you learned from Oh Deer!

YRDSB Arts camp applications are due by Friday.
This is a great opportunity and experience!
Click here for Arts Camp info

Math
We started algebra today!

How lucky are we to have this in the backyard of our school!

Amazing work today!!!
I am so proud of each and every one of you.

Our class poetry slam is tomorrow!
I can't wait to see what you'll achieve!
Practice, practice, practice.

Field Guide
Here is the basic information required for your field guide pages.
I will be handing out worksheets to help you organize the information:

Plants:
- full scientific name - English and Latin
- it's role within the ecosystem (food web, symbiotic relationships etc...)
- native/non-native/invasive?
- hazard to human or animals? - poisonous etc
- edible? medicinal properties?
- size
- Did you know?

Animals:
- full scientific name - English and Latin
- mammal, reptile, etc..
- it's role within the ecosystem (food web, symbiotic relationships etc...)
- native/non-native/invasive?
- hazard to human or animals? - poisonous etc
- typical behaviours (agressive? migrate/hibernate?)
- size, lifespan, footprints
- diet
- Did you know?

Sam and Anna are now friends with the birds too! Well done!
Anna:

Sam:

Reminders:
Your first Ringo task is due Friday.
Your body image reverse poem is due tomorrow
Our class poetry slam is Thursday - Practice, practice, practice!
Please check the rubrics posted to see how you will be marked.

Hand feeding success!

Exciting news!
The chickadees back on the trails came to my hand to eat today!
I was very excited! But of course I didn't have my camera or phone with me...

I enjoyed reading your poetry today - amazing work!!!
Everyone who submitted work to me now has feedback.
Now - please revise and begin practicing!
Here is the rubric I'll be using for your oral presentation:

Poetry Slam - Oral Communication

Voice Clear, easily understood Pace and tempo Not too fast! Variety for emphasis Tone Expression Portrays emotion  Volume Easily heard Variety for emphasis

Body Language and Gesture Eye contact Connect with the audience Facial expression Portrays emotion Gesture  Use of hands and body to emphasize important words and phrases

Math
Triangles.
Please be prepared to show me what you know about classifying triangles and drawing triangles given side and angle information.

Body Image Reverse Poem
Since I didn't give you time to work on this, I'll give you an extension on this project.
Please have you reverse poem ready to hand in for Wednesday.

New Book!!!
(I love this book)


Here are the character descriptions from the author:
Peter - The Class Clown
Jessica - The New Girl
Luke - The Brain
Alexia - The Queen Bee
Jeffrey - The Slacker
Danielle - The Pushover
Anna - The Shy One












Dollar words!
How many "Dollar Words can you come up with?
A=1
    B=2
    C=3 and so on...
Can you find words whose letters add up to exactly one dollar? Not 99 cents or one dollar and one cent - exactly 100 cents.
Examples from the book - Excellent and  Buttheads

Have a WONDERFUL weekend everyone!!!

(practice your poetry slam)

Awesome job today with your reenactments of Elephant and Piggy!
We have some budding actors among us!

Please remember to give me the draft of your poetry slam piece by tomorrow.
I will give you feedback in time to revise and start practicing over the weekend.

Body Image
Your final project is to write a reverse poem.
Remember - the message reading forward is the message we get from society, and the message we read backwards is your thoughts on beauty.

Here is my example using the template:

I am ugly
And I refuse to believe that
I am beautiful
I realize this may be a shock, but
"Beauty comes from the heart"
I a lie
A perfect face makes a beautiful person.

Math
Great debate today! Can a triangle have two obtuse angles in it?
We found loopholes to the language. Well done.
Homework: Please write down a phrase or two that describes the relationship between an angle in a triangle and the side directly across from it. Please bring a ruler to class tomorrow as we will be constructing triangles.



Drama presentations tomorrow!
Remember - facial expression and vocal expression.

Ringo
Tell your family at home about the ongoing Ringo assignment that I introduced today.
Your first reading response/task is due Friday January 24th.

Indoor recess today again! It won't be the last.
If you have any games or decks of cards around the house that don't get used - I would really appreciate them as a donation to our classroom for indoor recess play.

Dates to remember:
Wednesday Jan 15th - Drama presentations
Thursday Jan 16th - poems due to Mrs. Nye for feedback
Thursday Jan 23rd - Our class Poetry Slam!

Learning Zone
Here are the descriptors we came up with together.
Let's keep pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone so real learning can happen.
You can do it!
Thank you to Ed and Winston for their visual representation of our discussion

Outdoor Ed

Continue to think about what plant and animal you want to be responsible for in our Saigeon Trails Field Guide. 

Day one of our class bird hand feeding experiment went well! The chickadees came close - no hand feeds yet - but close! Look carefully at the picture - you'll see the chickadee that came to eat on the railing.

Thank you to Ziyad!

By using GOOS paper he earned our class 10 Hawk's Cup Points.

Saving trees and earning points!

Photo essays are due on Monday.
If you are submitting it online - please make sure that your name is in the file name.

Poetry Slam
Your draft for feedback is due to me Thursday.
Here is the rubric that I will be using to mark the writing:

Poetry Slam - Writing

Knowledge: What you write Including text form, elements  use of poetic devices (metaphor etc..) Clear description - paint a picture

Thinking: What you say Including ideas, logic, persuasive idea. Use word choice that is interesting and sophisticated  Use sentences that are varied in length and style Support - stats, quotes… Central image

Communication: The way you say it Including sentence fluency, voice, conventions, Makes no errors in SPG (Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar). Organizes ideas logically. phrasing, connecting words, rhythm - fluency

Application: The way you connect it Including reasoning, connections, ect. Makes connections to other ideas that help your audience relate to the argument  “So what” : persuade the audience that what you say matters

Next week we will talk begin talking about pushing ourselves into our optimal learning zone.
What words come to mind when you think of comfort zone, learning zone and panic zone?

Poetry Slam
Here are the elements that we have discussed so far.

• Central image
• metaphor/simile
• access the five senses
• statistics/quotes/facts

Today we talked about the mic drop ending. It should be very clear when the poem is over. It should NEVER be necessary to say “That’s it” or “I’m done now”. You leave the audience with a roar or a whisper that makes them think.

We also discussed pacing. SLOW DOWN! Young people tend to speak too fast. Vary your tempo. Sometimes you will speed up to create excitement and tension but the parts you really want people to hear must…….. be………. slowed……. down.

Here is the class collaborative poem that came out of our discussion on descriptive language, metaphor and simile.

Jeffrey the Pineapple was sitting on the plant as silent as a rock

As yellow as Spongebob,

As sturdy as Spongebob's house.

Its citrus so visible you could taste it from afar.

A pineapple, when I eat it my mouth goes south

The sourness causes trembles in my mouth.

Armour of a knight, rough and spiky,

But on the inside like a newborn baby.











Today we looked at Martin Luther King Jr's I have a Dream Speech
This is an amazing poetry slam - in my opinion.
Full of descriptive language, simile and metaphor.
Continue to revise your poem - paint it.
Make sure everyone listening to you is seeing, in their mind, exactly what you want them to see.

Math
Make sure you are comfortable measuring and classifying angles.
Complete the six angles we worked on today.

Upcoming dates to remember:
Monday January 13th - photo essay due (success criteria on yesterday's blog post)
Wednesday January 15th - Elephant and Piggy drama presentations
Thursday January 16th  - poetry draft due for feedback
Thursday January 23rd - class poetry slam

Body Image - Photo Essay
Here is the success criteria that we talked about today:
- Clear title as an introduction
- 5-10 pictures
- Redefine what beauty is - convince the audience how the current appearance ideals need to change
- at least 2 photos with people as the subject
- each photo has a short caption/phrase/ text
This assignment is due on Monday January 13th.
Here is the creative commons website - to help you to find images that are not protected. by copyright.
https://ccsearch.creativecommons.org/

Poetry Slam
Dates:
- Thursday January 14th - poem draft due to Mrs. Nye for feedback
- Thursday January 23rd - our class poetry slam!!!

Today we looked at using statistics and quotes to support our point.
Check out how G Yamazawa and Suli Breaks use statistics and quotes to pull you into their thinking.

Math

Angles inside and angles outside...

For Anya...

Welcome back! I'm so glad to see everyone!
Welcome to our new student, Michelle - I know that you will all continue to help her feel very welcome.

A new year request!
Our classroom is in need of activities to do when it is an indoor recess.
If you have extra cards, or games that you may not play at home any more - please consider donating them to our classroom.

Tomorrow we will have outdoor ed. Please come dressed to learn outside.

Drama - Elephant and Piggy
We are looking at Wednesday January 15th as our performance date.
I'm looking for expression - both through your voice and face.


Poetry Slam
Now you have chosen, "the poem" from your five that we started in December. You'll be revising and adding literary tools and techniques to strengthen your message.
Today we talked about central image. What image can you use throughout your poem to help get your point across?
Here is Clementine von Radics - For Teenage Girls. Notice the fire (and water) imagery that she uses as her central image.