Avalon Trip

Just a reminder that our Avalon Trip for May will be this Tuesday afternoon.

Volume Test Prep Questions

Similar questions to these will appear on the 3D measurement test Thursday.

1. A rectangular-prism-shaped toy chest is 2 m by 1 m by 1 m. A shipping crate is packed with 18 of these toy chests. There is no extra space in the crate. What is the volume of the crate?

2. Adventure Park built a new sandbox that is 3m long, 2m wide, and 1m high. Sand for the sandbox costs $4.50 per cubic meter. How much will it cost to completely fill the sandbox with sand?

3. I bought a box from the post office that has a volume of 24 cm3.

Which of the following could be the dimensions of my box?

Select all that apply.

a.) 2cm long, 2cm wide, 6 cm high

b.) 8 cm long, 1 cm wide, 3 cm high

c.) 10 cm long, 4 cm wide, 10 cm high

4. Layla wants to build a wooden box with a volume of 45 cm3. She started with the width of 3 cm and a height of 3 cm. How long should Layla make the box?

Ropes Climbing Course Dates

Just a reminder that students will be partaking in the ropes climbing course for gym on Wednesday, April 27th and Monday, May 2nd. They are encouraged to wear proper clothing and footwear if participating.

Earth week Initiatives

Just a reminder that Monday, April 25th is a P.D day. Students also have Independent Novel Studies due on the Tuesday unless they have spoken to me about a later date.

If you are looking for a way to participate in earth day activities, "Make Orangeville Shine" will be happening this Saturday (23rd) from 9am - 12pm at Rotary Park. The Rotary Club and Tim Hortons have partnered together to support this town wide clean up.

Before having gym outside this week, students collected 5 pieces of garbage. In fact, three specific students - Maddie, Veronica, and Kiley, decided to clean up our school yard during our entire gym period. Way to go girls!

For math this week, students were asked to show me three different planters that had a volume of 200cm3, I also asked them to determine which planter would be best for my garden, and why. This was challenging for some groups as they struggled to solve factors of a large number. We worked on breaking down a large number, when we can, into a smaller number (200 - 20) and finding the factors of the smaller number. Then breaking that down into an equation that makes sense for volume (LXWXH). Pictures are included below. There will be a question like this on the test next week, I will provide very similar practice questions on the blog. After math, students planted their own green beans in decomposable containers and during art, painted personal pots for their beans. Students also planted beans for their reading buddies, which will be given to them once they begin to sprout.

Yesterday students calculated their ecological footprints. This is an assessment that tells you how many earths we would need if everyone were to live the same as you do. Our class’s lowest score was 0.13, meaning we would only need roughly 10% of the earth we already have if everyone were to live as this student lives. Our highest score was 8.5, meaning we would need roughly 8 worlds if everyone were to live as this student did. We did some data management work with these findings. Our class average, or mean, was 2.1 earths. Our median was 1.75… and our mode, the most common score, was 1.3, 1.5, and 1.9 earths. Our class is reflecting on how we choose to live our lives in relation to the environment.

Next week, I will share our "Nature is Speaking" pieces, I am very proud of student's work and interest in the environment this week. This is a topic I look forward to continuing to embed in future learning.

Tread lightly on this earth!

Pictures from last Avalon Trip

We will be going to the Avalon on May 3rd to play games, colour, and socialize. We are also going to hand out Mothers Day cards to all residents who are Moms.

Measurement test next week

Next week, we will be reviewing converting measurements, and calculating volume and surface area. Below I have posted some great videos and test practice questions for students struggling with the volume.

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/pre-algebra/measurement/volume-introduction-rectangular/v/how-we-measure-volume

Khan Academy has great resources for students struggling to attain certain concepts in math.

Every day is earth day!

As Friday is Earth Day, this week's lessons focus on the environment and human relationship to the environment. Students have started watching some of the Nature is Speaking series today and will finish the clips tomorrow, I have posted one below. Today they were asked to choose an aspect of nature they wished to personify and write from the perspective of. April is also poetry month so this helped students work on their poetic and descriptive writing. Students were then asked to draw a picture that represents the aspect of nature they wished to personify. They are moving along in this assignment and I look forward to sharing their insightful and inspiring responses later this week.

Today students also planted beans for themselves and their reading buddies and we calculated the volume of different planters. Later this week, we will be reading about Climate Change and students will calculate their ecological footprint to find out how much land would be needed if everyone were to live like they do. It should be a busy and exciting week!

Calendar of Events

April 11 - School Council Meeting, 7 PM
April 13 - FTP Reflection #1 due
April 14 - FTP Presentation
April 15 - Zumba PM
April 18 - FTP Reflection #2 due
April 20 - Tentative Road Trip Assignment Due date
April 21 - FTP Presentation
April 21 - Poem in Your Pocket Day
April 22 - Earth Day
April 25 - PA Day
April 26 - May 2 - Ropes Climbing Course, in Gym all week, participants K-8 (details to follow)
April 27 - Indenendent Novel Study due
April 28 - FTP Reflection #3 due
April 28 - ISU Presentations
April 28 - FTP Presentation
April 28 - Dufferin Youth Festival of the Arts AM @ Compass Community Church and Girls Basketball Tournament @ ODSS AM

April is Poetry Month - In Language students will be working on different types of poems

Decimetre vs. Decametre and Converting Units of Measurement

Last week, students were discovering the difference between a decametre and decimetre. Together we found that a 'deci'metre equals 1/10th of a meter (or 10 cm's) and on the opposite end a 'deca'metre equals 10 metres. Students found measurements in the school that equaled 10 metres or more and showed this measurement in Dam, m, cm, and mm. This should be a review for most grade 7's and new for grade 6's. Converting measurements is definitely a challenging concept to attain but proves to be useful in daily life. Please feel free to encourage and support this concept at home. Thanks for reading.

As we work on converting measurements, students are encouraged to convert to units they know first.

By finding these friendly units, they can be reminded how to convert to a smaller or bigger unit.

For example,

if I asked students how many centimetres are in 11 decametre, they must first convert to what they know.

1 decametres is equal to 10 metres so...

11 decameters is equal to = 10 metres X 11 = 110.

We know 11 decametres  = 110 metres. Then we can convert to cm's.

1 m = 100 cm's (the difference is 100 and we multiply 100)

Therefore 11 Dam's = 11 000 cm's

Below is a Khan Academy video to help review converting from km's to m's to cm's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iulv2QvKwo

Students can quiz themselves and check answers with the Dam to cm converter below:

http://www.conversion-metric.org/length/decameter-to-centimeter

Distance conversions students should know by the end of grade 6/7 - millimetre, centimetre, decimetre, metre, decametre, hectometre, and kilometre

I will be giving students 6-8 questions on Monday as a check in and holding math help first recess day 3 and 5. Thanks :)

Class update

Math -We are beginning to explore fractions, ratios, percents and rate with Mrs. Neal and with Mrs. Bonter we are moving into 3D geometry - mass, capacity, volume and surface area. As well as building and decomposing 3D shapes to discuss their relationships.

For fractions, ratios, percents and rates, the Grade 7's co-relate to Chapter 2. For 3D Geometry Grade 7's can review Chapter 10 & 11 in the Nelson student workbook. Here is the link for extra practice:
http://www.nelson.com/school/elementary/mathK8/math7/studentcentre/studtryout.html#ch2


For fractions, ratios, percents and rates, the Grade 6's will be Chapter 12 and for 3D Geometry- Chapter 11  in the Nelson workbook and the link for extra practice is below:
http://www.nelson.com/school/elementary/mathK8/math6/studentcentre/studtryout.html#ch12

Science -We are beginning new units in science this week with the Grade 6s exploring Space and the Grade 7s moving into Heat and Pure Substances and Mixtures.

Language - Students are working on their Independent Novel Studies during the month of April. Some students have made trips to the library to discuss book choices with the librarian. Students can do a book they have already read, as long as it was read during this school year. Students are provided 20 minutes of silent reading everyday and encouraged to bring their book and materials to work on their novel study. They will also be provided with an hour a week to work on their Novel Studies during Daily 5.

Health - As of today, students have started a program with Family Transition Place. Breakdown of each topic can be found in a past post on the blog. Below are the titles of each lesson:
-developing healthy relationships
-technology and mental health
-asserting yourself
-managing emotions
-personal image
-gender stereotypes
-discrimination and diversity
-values and choices

Social Studies and History/Geography - This month students have been learning about the Civil Rights Movement, as our character education theme is 'untying the knots of prejudice'. We have been discussing different heroes that broke boundaries and fought against discrimination. Through written responses, discussions, and art pieces students have been showing their interest and knowledge on the topic. Students have also been working on location, mapping and direction. They will be starting road trip assignments after INS are completed.

Gym - Students are continuing to work on ball handling skills, divide and conquer games, and strong offence and defence games.

Dance - Students are participating in Zumba classes over the next three weeks.

Art - Students just finished Anti - Prejudice Posters as well as Michelangelo pieces upside down under their desks - We will continue looking at different artists throughout history and techniques they used.

Independent Novel Studies

Booklets have been sent home with information about our independent novel studies due at the end of April. Students are required to complete 2 assignments from List A and 2 assignments from List B. Feel free to ask or email if there are any questions. Students will be given time in class to work on their assignments as well as complete their novels. They will receive roughly 40 minutes a week to work on their studies leading up to the due date (Apr. 26/27/28).

By Monday, April 4th students should have their novel started. I will be asking on this day what book they have selected.

Anti Prejudice Posters

Last week students completed anti prejudice posters representing different topics discussed this month, as we've learned more about untying the knots of prejudice.

Transformational Geometry Test postponed

The Geometry Test scheduled for today will be postponed to Tuesday afternoon. The link below has a good practice test, with answers provided after completion:

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/book9/bk9i7/bk9_7i5.html

Skating before the break