Brain Teaser!

If you read yesterday's post, you'd know that we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Why does our measurement of our combined class paper chain (743cm) not equal the combined measurements of the individual group paper chains (669 cm)?

Here are the AMAZING ideas that we shared today:

Chiara (& 9 other students agreed) - "Maybe it would be longer because there was more space in the hallway to stretch it out."
Lukas - "Maybe when Mrs. Stratford connected them and did repairs, it made it longer."
Giorgio - "It's possible that when we were carrying it out to the hallway, the chain stretched out."
Joseph - "Maybe the loops got squished and flat as we carried it."
Allie - "It's possible that the metre stick we used wasn't accurate."
Jaydee (& Ben) - "It's possible that when we used our fingers as markers, we moved them and therefore we measured incorrectly."
Ryan (& Chiara) - "Maybe the tape was sticking out and made the chain bigger."
Megan - "Perhaps the carpet made the chain wrinkled a bit and then they were shorter."
Ricky - "When we cut the links to connect all the chains, perhaps we made them bigger."
Keenen - "Maybe when we taped them, they got stretched out and longer."
Valentina (& Addison) - "When the chains were measured on the carpet, they looked a bit crooked and not straight."

'The Longest Paper Chain'- Collaborative Activity

We spent this morning talking about collaboration and engaging in a collaborative task. To get things started, we brainstormed ideas about what COLLABORATION means to us. We created a 'Y Chart' about what we think collaboration is...what it LOOKS LIKE, SOUNDS LIKE and FEELS LIKE. The students had many good ideas to share about collaboration and this is what our 'Y Chart' looked like before our collaborative activity:

Next, the students were split into small groups and presented with the challenge of creating the longest paper chain possible with only 1 piece of g.o.o.s. paper, tape and scissors. The activity required them to work collaboratively with their peers by problem solving, devising a plan of action, listening to each other's ideas, etc.,  Here they are working away:

After about 30 minutes working on their challenge, these were their final products:

Our longest chain was 195 cm, second longest was 180 cm, third longest was 142 cm, fourth longest was 77 cm and our fifth longest was 75 cm. During our activity consolidation we discussed what we learned about collaboration and what we needed in order to be successful at the challenge. We talked about errors we made and the things we would do differently if we were to repeat the challenge. 

Here are some of the ideas they came up with:

We also added to our 'Collaboration Y Chart:' 

Finally, we decided it would be fun to connect all the chains together in order to to make one huge paper chain! The students were amazed to see their enormous paper chain laid out down the hallway. They were even more amazed to learn that at the 1968 Summer Olympics, American Long Jumper Bob Beamon, won the Gold Medal with a record breaking 890 cm jump- way LONGER than our 743 cm paper chain! Our final measurement of 743 cm will lead to tomorrow's brain teaser: Why do our measurements of the individual paper chains add up to 669 cm rather than 743 cm?  

Remembrance Day

On Friday morning we celebrated Remembrance Day as a school. It was an extremely moving celebration for everyone and it was nice to see so many of our parents in attendance. This is a picture of the class wreath that we presented:

Earlier in the week, the students wrote postcards of thanks to Canadian soldiers past and present.

Word Study Quiz Results & Green Reading Logs

From this point onward, the Word Study books will NOT be sent home each Friday. Instead they will be sent home at the end of each month. I am spending too much time trying to collect all the books each week and we need the books to be at school for Word Study activities! Also, just a reminder that the Green Reading Duotangs are due this coming Thursday, November 1st. Thank you.

The Writing Process & Story Writing

We have begun story writing in grade 4/5! At the beginning of last week, I showed the students a picture of a puppy who had torn apart a roll of toilet paper. We discussed what the puppy might have been thinking, why it tore apart the paper, what the owners would think if they discovered the mess the puppy had made, etc, Then I told them that I decided to write a mini story about the torn up toilet paper from the perspective of the puppy. I imagined that the puppy was angry to be left alone all day, bored, trying to send a message and communicate it's feelings, etc., Then I showed them two different photos. One of a polar bear with it's paws up against a truck window, and the other of a group of geese - one of whom, has dived off the edge of an waterside cliff. They chose which story prompt to use for their own story writing. Once they had chosen their story prompt, they then had to choose which perspective they wished to write from (either the mother goose who saw her gosling dive off a cliff, the gosling who dove off the cliff, the polar bear with it's paws up against the truck window or the person sitting inside the truck). We began our writing by using story planners in order to map out all of the elements of the story (setting, problem, plot action/events, conclusion/resolution of problem). Most students have already completed their first draft of writing. Next steps are revising and editing our rough drafts (reading them to make sure they make sense, checking for consistent tense and voice, editing for spelling and punctuation, etc.). The final step in the writing process will be publishing. So far, the stories are looking great. I think we have a lot of budding creative authors in grade 4/5! 

Progress Reports & Parent Teacher Interviews

The Progress Report will be sent home on Tuesday, October 30th, 2018. Interviews will be held on Thursday, November 1st.  Please remember to complete and return, the bottom portion of the pink interview sheet which was sent home today with your child. I am looking forward to discussing your child's progress with you next week!