Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Language for Tuesday January 31st

Continue working on research for narrative piece.

Remember - Narrative Writing: 

  • You must choose an inanimate object (like a pen, pair of shoes, or a hockey stick) or an animal as a main character for your story.
  • You must place them in a situation with someone famous who received credit for something (i.e. like Sidney Crosby’s hockey stick or skates)
  • You might need to do a little reading on famous people.
    Canada’s Walk of Fame
    Famous Canadians
  • Example we read in class: Ben and Me

Start to write draft of paper keeping in mind the success criteria we went over in class and the rubric.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Language for Monday January 30th

Bell Work: I remember….

Narrative Writing: 

  • Brainstorm a topic for your next piece of writing.

  • You must choose an inanimate object (like a pen, pair of shoes, or a hockey stick) or an animal as a main character for your story.

  • You must place them in a situation with someone famous who received credit for something (i.e. like Sidney Crosby’s hockey stick or skates)

  • You might need to do a little reading on famous people
    Canada's Walk of Fame
    Famous Canadians

  • Example we read in class: Ben and Me


 

Health questionnaire needs to be completed for tomorrow.

 

Friday, January 27, 2012

Math for Monday January 30th

Today’s lesson: Chapter 4, Lesson 7

Learning goals:
Multiplying a decimal by 10, 100, 1000, and 10 000 results in the digits of the decimal shifting 1, 2, 3, and 4 places respectively to the left.

Classwork: Practice Questions 1-7

Homework Book: Pages 56-57

First Nations Wikis

Hi Everyone,

I’m hearing stories from Mrs. Landsberg that many (most?) of you don’t have very much posted on your First Nations Sites.  Her class is almost finished.  You need to get on it!  They are due next Friday and I know she’ll be checking in on you on Monday.  You can work on these from home.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Congratulations Junior Volleyball Players!

I heard the news from Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Congram.  Congratulations on beating Regency Acres to become the champions!  Great work!

Yes, I wore a kilt…

Thanks to whomever uploaded this picture.  Happy belated Robbie Burns Day!

kilt

Math Play and Practice

Just in case you decided to study for the test tonight…

Here are the links to the review pages on the BBC Bitesize site:

Don’t forget that I will have at least one question with a Stem and Leaf plot on it (perhaps even asking you to find the median and mode from it).

A note from Mrs. Landsberg…

First Nation’s Wikis are due on Friday Feb. 3rd, 2012 we have been working hard during class time to finish them. If you need more time to finish you should stay in at morning recess. Remember to use the First Nations Rubric.

Math For Thursday, January 26, 2012

Don’t forget – Data Management Test tomorrow! 

  • Mean, median, mode and range
  • How to read graphs
  • How to make graphs

Your Surveys

  1. Link your survey to the Class Survey Sharing document.
  2. Once you have added your survey, complete the surveys of other class members (at least 15– but as many as you can).
  3. Once at least 15 people have responded to your survey, I want you to make at least 2 different graphs showing me something you learned from the survey results.
  4. Accompanying each graph, write a paragraph that explains what you learned and why you chose to display the data the way that you did (you may want to consider mean, median, mode and range if appropriate).

Spring Fling

Below you will find the data that has been collected regarding the Spring Fling as of about 9:30 last night.  You may use any 10 games that you want (I don’t expect you to use all 40).  Delete any extra columns that you aren’t going to use.  From among those 10 games, I would like you to recommend the top 3 games as well as the top 2 games for girls and the top 2 games for boys.  Explain how you came up with your choices.  What data led you to your decision?  All of the data is the same and it is mostly from our class, as the other grades haven’t had a chance to fill out the data yet.

MS Excel
OpenOffice
Google Spreadsheets

Language for Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bell Work:  Are you afraid of the dark?

Rules and Examples for Writing Dialogue

Upload your photos for media literacy.

  • Two pictures – aggressive/confrontational/tough and engaging/conversational
  • Two more pictures – cropped and full size
  • Drop it to me – http://dropitto.me/monahan_scott  (password – scottsteph)

Reading:  What is true?

  • Finish filling out your Web Site Evaluation form for each of the sources about your topic.
  • Also fill out one Validity scale for each page explaining whether or not you think the site is useful.
  • These are DUE tomorrow (Friday, January 27)

If you are finished…

  • Brainstorm a topic for your next piece of writing.
  • You must choose an inanimate object (like a pen, pair of shoes, or a Blackberry) or an animal as a main character.
  • You must place them in a situation with someone famous who received credit for something (i.e. like Hayley Wickenheiser’s hockey stick or skates)
  • You might need to do a little reading on famous people

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Math for Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Today’s Lesson: Chapter 5, Lesson 7 - Conducting a Survey (Pages 197-199)

Learning Goals:

  • The wording of a survey question can influence the results.
  • The method that is used to collect data affects how well the data represent the population.

Additional Resources:
Google Docs 
NCES Create a Graph

Classwork:  Practice Questions 1-4
Homework Book:  Pages 78-79

Your Surveys

  1. Find your survey questions that you created for homework on Monday night.
  2. Review your survey for bias.
  3. Think about how the information will come back to you in your survey.  Will you be able to work with it?
  4. Use the Create Forms function in Google Docs to create your survey.
  5. Link your survey to the Class Survey Sharing document.
  6. Once you have added your survey, complete the surveys of other class members (at least 15– but as many as you can).
  7. Once at least 15 people have responded to your survey, I want you to make at least 3 different graphs showing me something you learned from the survey results.
  8. Accompanying each graph, write a paragraph that explains what you learned and why you chose to display the data the way that you did (you may want to consider mean, median, mode and range if appropriate).

Spring Fling

Below you will find the data that has been collected regarding the Spring Fling as of about 9:30 last night.  You may use any 10 games that you want (I don’t expect you to use all 40).  Delete any extra columns that you aren’t going to use.  From among those 10 games, I would like you to recommend the top 3 games as well as the top 2 games for girls and the top 2 games for boys.  Explain how you came up with your choices.  What data led you to your decision?  All of the data is the same and it is mostly from our class, as the other grades haven’t had a chance to fill out the data yet.

MS Excel OpenOffice Google Spreadsheets

Language for Wednesday, January 25, 2012

  1. Bell Work
  2. Reading
    1. Review of Validity Scale
      1. Ensure everyone has enough copies of validity scale
      2. Review blog postings from Monday and Tuesday if you need to.
    2. Reading and Research time.
      1. Fill out your Evaluating Websites chart for at least 5 sources (as per the rubric).
      2. Fill out a validity scale for each source.
  3. Writing
    1. Student Exemplar
    2. How Do We Write Dialogue or Speech?
      1. Detailed rules and examples for quotation marks.
      2. Practice worksheet
    3. Brainstorm
      1. Think of someone famous who got credit for something.  Now imagine an inanimate object or animal that helped get them there.
    4. You will write a story with a focus on including dialogue between characters where punctuation is used correctly.
  4. Upload your photos for media literacy (from two weeks ago).
    1. Two pictures – aggressive/confrontational/tough and engaging/conversational
    2. Drop it to me - http://dropitto.me/monahan_scott  (password – medialit)

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Good Example of How To Fill Out Validity Scale

This is a great example of how to complete an evaluation of the validity of a website.  Notice that it details features of the writing and also establishes who the author is.

Photo 2012-01-24 10 24 36 AM

How to use the Validity Scale

You will use this tool to tell me what you think about the source that you are using in your project.  We will practice today with the following articles.

Fat free? Yes.  Good for you? Not so much.

4 Common Foods That Contain Carcinogenic Sugar

Fat Free Food:  A Bad Idea

Diet Food

Remember to use the Evaluating Websites Checklist when deciding how valid the website is.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Math Homework

Please develop your own survey of 5 – 10 questions that can be asked of grade 5/6 students. 

Example:  Sports Survey

  1. Are you a boy or girl
    1. Boy
    2. Girl
  2. What is your favourite sport?
    1. Hockey
    2. Basketball
    3. Volleyball
    4. Soccer
    5. Badminton
    6. Other
  3. How many times a week do you play sports?
    1. 0-1
    2. 2-3
    3. 4-5
    4. 6-7
    5. 8+

Spring Carnival Results

Results

Spring Carnival Games

Click on the link below to provide input on the games that will be purchased during the spring carnival.

Spring Carnival

Spring Carnival Games

Click on the link below to provide input on the games that will be purchased during the spring carnival.

Spring Carnival

Language for Monday, January 23, 2012

Reading:  What is True?

  1. How can you share what you learned?
  2. What are social media sites?
  3. Assessment:  The rubric below is one that I developed with my class last year.  Does it work for us this year?
  4. Due Date:  Friday, January 27, 2012
  5. Time for Research/Reading

Writing:  Ben and Me

Begin brainstorming ideas for a topic which someone is famous for, but for which an animal or inanimate object might take credit.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Math for Thursday, January 19, 2012

Please continue your work from yesterday.  Finish questions 1 – 7 on pages 188 and 189.  If you finish, please go to the Show What You Know on Pages 200-201 and work on questions 1 – 6.  If, by some chance, you manage to finish all of this, then you can play some of the games below.

We will have a data management test next week on Wednesday.

  1. Yesterday’s Lesson: Chapter 5, Lesson 5 – Graphing on a Coordinate Grid(Pages 186-189)

  2. Learning Goals:

    • Ordered pairs are used to plot or locate points on  a coordinate grid.

    • In an ordered pair, the first number tells the horizontal distance from the origin; the second number tells the vertical distance from the origin.



  3. Additional Resources:


  4. Classwork:  Practice Questions 1-3

  5. Homework Book:  Pages 74-75

Language Part 1 for Thursday, January 19, 2012

Reading: What is True?

Yesterday, you were asked to select a topic that you could investigate or research to determine what was true about the topic. For example, in class we discussed and did a little bit of research about whether or not Fat Free Foods were good for you. This was a good topic to choose because there are multiple points of view and a lot of reading that could be done about it. We also had a significant amount of background knowledge about Fat Free Foods, how they are advertised and how they might be useful to people trying to lose weight, but also might contain some chemicals that may or may not be healthy.

We recorded this information in a mind map and included a couple of questions that we had about the topic as well.

Your task was to choose a topic (links to debate topics were provided) and brainstorm what you knew about the topic. Some of you reached this stage and some of you didn’t. If you didn’t, that is your first task today.

Your Task

Overall

Explain how you know what is true about a certain topic of your choice. The topic should be somewhat controversial so that there are different points of view and different information sources available about it. For example, some might say that mining the oilsands in Alberta doesn’t cause a lot of environmental harm, while some might say that it does. There is a lot of information about health and environmental topics which make them good for this project.

Specifically

Find a minimum of five sources (online or print i.e. books) that discuss your chosen topic. At least one source should be from Social Media (we’ll discuss that more and I’ll share relevant sources with you in class on Monday).

Complete the Web Site Evaluation form (https://docs.google.com/a/collaborativeschools.net/document/d/12zD4wYm24hp3COT3eOh8BsHWuzZ0OybyZMDCLs2MqqQ/edit) for each of your sources ensuring that you answer all of the questions. This will be handed in. Please note that I have added additional tables below the first one so that you can add more sources if you need to.

I will also give you a scale to rate various information sources and you will rate each of your sources on a scale. Not all of your sources have to be excellent sources, it is just as important to be able to identify poor sources.

You will need to share your information with the class in a form of your choice. We will discuss limiting the range of choices when I am back on Monday, but if you feel that you can share what you learned and your evaluation in a certain form, feel free.

Your task for today

Find sources that discuss your topic. Use the tools suggested in class including Google, Wikipedia, and the other Encyclopedia (don’t forget to use the Find It page on the blog and check the username/password for Grolier by hovering over it). Begin filling out the Web Site Evaluation form for the sites you visit. It is better to have too many sources than too few, and you can always eliminate some later.

Language Part 2 for Thursday, January 19, 2012

If you complete your research or are stuck, you can visit Bitstrips for Schools (Class Code: hvmon).  There is a new activity there for you to complete called “What Happens Next?”.

Read this comic and then predict what the characters will say to each other in the last panel based on what has happened so far. You can extend the strip if you need to.

image

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Math for Wednesday, January 18, 2012

  1. Take up Question #4 from Monday
    • Check Graphs for
      • Titles (Horizontal, Vertical, and Chart)
      • Scale
      • Labels
      • Accurate data points
  2. Today’s Lesson: Chapter 5, Lesson 5 - Graphing on a Coordinate Grid (Pages 186-189)
  3. Learning Goals:
    • Ordered pairs are used to plot or locate points on  a coordinate grid.
    • In an ordered pair, the first number tells the horizontal distance from the origin; the second number tells the vertical distance from the origin.
  4. Additional Resources:
  5. Classwork:  Practice Questions 1-3
  6. Homework Book:  Pages 74-75

Language for Wednesday, January 18, 2012

  1. Bell Work
  2. Reading:  What is True?
    • Researching Health or Environmental Claims to Find Out What is True
    • Are fat free products good for you?
    • Mind Map – What do we know about Fat Free Products (Using Prezi) – Background Knowledge
        • what would you need to know to understand the topic?
        • What do you already know?
    • Find 5 sources
    • Evaluate using Web Site Evaluation Form
    • Share your knowledge
  3. Reading Task:  Fencing
  4. Choose your own topic to decide what is true.
    • You may find looking at debate topics inspires you.  Your topic should be one for which there is two (or more) possible points of view.  Please choose a topic not related to your TED talk!

Internet Blackouts

As we talked about yesterday, several websites are blocking their own services to protest laws that are being suggested in the United States that would change how companies provide information and their responsibilities for preventing the spread of copyrighted material.

Here’s what Wikipedia looks like today.

image

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Language for Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Reading:  What is True?

Today we are going to look at the differences between Traditional Encyclopedias, Online “Published” Encyclopedias, and Wikipedia.

Traditional Encyclopedias

Photo 2012-01-17 9 10 53 AM

Entries on Laura Secord from The World Book Encyclopedia (2006) and The Canadian Encyclopedia (1985)

A few cartoons to make you think…

magic_school_busextended_mindwikipedian_protestercitogenesis

Language for Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Reading:  What is True?

Today we are going to look at the differences between Traditional Encyclopedias, Online “Published” Encyclopedias, and Wikipedia.

Traditional Encyclopedias

Photo 2012-01-17 9 10 53 AM

Entries on Laura Secord from The World Book Encyclopedia (2006) and The Canadian Encyclopedia (1985)

A few cartoons to make you think…

magic_school_busextended_mindwikipedian_protestercitogenesis

Monday, January 16, 2012

Math for Monday, January 16, 2012

Today’s Lesson: Chapter 5, Lesson 4 - Constructing and Interpreting Graphs (Pages 178-181)

Learning Goals:
The choice of a particular type of graph or scale can affect the way in which we interpret the data.

Additional Resources:
NCES Create a Graph

Classwork:  Practice Questions 1-6 (hand in #4)
Homework Book:  Pages 72-73

Wednesday is "Friday"

Just a reminder that this Wednesday we will follow the Friday schedule. This will help even out the days that we miss due to PA days and holidays.



No Pizza Tomorrow

Just a reminder that there will be no pizza this Tuesday.



Language for Monday, January 16, 2012

  1. Bell Work
  2. Hand in “Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups” (or email/share with me).
  3. Reading:  How Do I Know What’s True
    1. Asking Good Questions

Click here to open a copy of this form on Google Docs.

Sites to Use

Friday, January 13, 2012

Math Exemplar

This is the exemplar that we completed together for question 2.  Note that it has:

  • a title
  • horizontal (x) and vertical (y) axis titles
  • horizontal axis labels
  • vertical axis scale (equally spaced)
  • Points and lines connecting them.

 

Math for Friday, January 13, 2012

Today’s Lesson: Chapter 5, Lesson 4 - Constructing and Interpreting Graphs (Pages 178-181)

Learning Goals:

  • The choice of a particular type of graph or scale can affect the way in which we interpret the data.

Additional Resources:

Classwork: Practice Questions 1-6
Update:  Question 2 completed as an example and posted to blog.  We will return to other questions on Monday.  Homework book (below) must still be completed.

Homework Book: Pages 72-73

Language for Friday, January 13, 2012

Fast Friday Faceoff

New challenge:  EACH student who manages to match or exceed my typing speed of 64 WPM (with 2 or fewer errors) will get lunch.  If we can get the class average up to 40 WPM, we will have some kind of celebration (not sure what yet – but I’m open to suggestions)

Real or Fake

Visit each of the websites below, then report back using the Google Forms Survey and tell why you think each site is real or fake.

Real or Fake – Survey Response

The Secret Knowledge of Adults

This is the last class period for working on your “Secret Knowledge of Adults” story.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Math and Language for Thursday, January 12

After reviewing yesterdays homework about Mean, Median and Mode, and starting today’s lesson, we didn’t end up with a lot of time to get to work so I didn’t assign any homework.

For language we learned to use Gimp to edit photos for use in our Secret Knowledge of Adults assignment.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Finding the Mean, Median, Mode and Range

Download the spreadsheet containing all of today’s questions that you completed by hand by clicking here.

We will learn how to use spreadsheets to quickly calculate these values.

BBC Mean, Median, Mode and Range.  This is the website that had the game we played in class.

Thesaurus and Learning Goals

WordCentral – This is a great dictionary and thesaurus resource.  It also has a rhyming dictionary.

Learning Goals – You can check the learning goals for this task here.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

This is a test

I'm here at the board office working with a group of primary teachers.

 

Click here to go to Google.

 

Monday, January 9, 2012

Language for Monday, January 9, 2012

  1. Bell Work:  Write a recount of your favourite experience over the holiday.
  2. Work on your “Secret Knowledge of Adults” story.
  3. Due date for “Secret Knowledge of Adults” is Friday, January 13, 2012

Guiding Ideas for your Secret Knowledge Paragraphs

I’ll use the example of the rule that we looked at today, Don’t bite your fingernails!



















First Paragraph
Should contain a brief explanation of your rule.
Because the fingernail bits will grow into fingers.
Second Paragraph
Explains what happens.
The process of how finger nails grow into fingers is explained.
Third Paragraph
Explains the consequences of what happens.
The author described the problems that these wayward fingers caused around the home.
Forth Paragraph
Restate the rule and explain why to follow.
The author tells you not to bite your nails, but if you do, send the bits to an accordion factory where they can be put to work.

This would be a level three example.  To go for a level four, you would need to extend the details like the author does when he talks about how these individual fingers form gangs and then describes what the gangs do.

Math for Monday, January 9, 2012

Today’s Lesson: Chapter 5, Lesson 1 - Interpreting Data (Pages 168-171)
Learning Goals:
Data presented in graphs and tables can be used to make inferences and draw conclusions.
Different types of graphs can present the same data differently.
Classwork:  Practice Questions 2-5
Homework Book:  Pages 68-69

When you finish, check out Mean, Median, Mode and Range from the BBC Bitesize site.  There is a section to read, a game and a quiz that you can complete to ensure you are ready for the next lesson.