Friday Fun - 16/10/09

This week was the first week of the last term for 2009 and I have to admit that I found it a struggle to get back into the right head-space. During the term break I visited New York City again. I think it is where my heart is most at home. (More about that later). Also while away, I didn't blog or do uni work - it was a true break from work. So, now my brain is out of the habit, and I'm trying to get things rolling again! This term I am continuing in my Acting School Leader C role, which means that I am on the executive team - teaching for some of the week and supervising/managing/leading as well.

Fun This Week

More Pigeon
While in New York City I did some book shopping and picked up "The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog" and my very own stuffed Pigeon. I was very excited to share my new purchases on the first day of term and we enjoyed reading the book together. We had only "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" left to read - which my husband owns, but was apprehensive to share. My literacy class wrote my husband letters to try to persuade him to let us read the book. I gave them some tips on what was preventing him (fingerprints, ripped pages etc) and what he likes (sense of humour, pictures, not too wordy). They wrote some great letters which I took home and shared with my husband. He loved them and sent me off to work with the book the next day. We enjoyed reading "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" and have now completed the Pigeon books to date.

Mass in Maths
This week we looked at mass and where it fits into the big picture of measurement. We looked at photos of some grocery items and sorted them by whether they are labeled in grams, kilograms, millilitres, or litres. We used hefting to order pencil cases from lightest to heaviest and then checked our estimates using a pan balance. Students also worked on mass with the teacher who shares my class this term.

Handwriting
We are now starting each morning with a handwriting session. We scan in a page of handwriting for students to copy in their books. We hope that this will give their writing and presentation a boost. We also hope to be able to give out a few more "pen licences" to students who master cursive writing.

Integrated Inquiry
This term we are investigating Earth and Beyond for our Integrated Inquiry Unit. I will be writing a separate post for this unit so that it is easier for people to access for their own Space lessons. You can read about it here.