Family Literacy Day -- January 27th

January 27th is literacy day in Canada.
We will be celebrating this special day all morning in our classroom.

The theme for Literacy Day 2011 is: Play for Literacy

What are some things we will be doing?
-- having an Alphabet Loop scavenger hunt around the classroom
-- discovering the fun in word games such as crosswords and word searches
-- playing a board game, or two, or three
-- reading to find out how to do origami and really creating stuff
-- picking one thing to share with our families Thursday evening to engage them in literacy, too!

We'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them on here!
Please check this link for more info on Family Literacy Day!

Weather / Storm Predictions

We researched weather/storm predictors that happen  or are talked about in our families.
Here are some of the sayings/ predictors that we think can be tested to be proven right or wrong:

• Red skies at night, sailors delight. Red skies at morning, sailors heed/take warning.
• To test this theory: keep track of the sunset colors and the colour of the sky in the morning.
• Calm before the storm.
• To test this theory: When there is a forecast of a storm, watch the sky/environment to see if it's calm. Then see if there's going to be a storm.
• If the wasps' nests are high in trees, there is going to be a lot of snow.
• To test this theory: In the summer, watch to see if their nests are hig in the trees or not. Then you'd have to wait to see how much snow came that winter.
• When a storm is going to come, you can hear the sea or the lake.
• To test this theory: Listen outside on a winter's day.
• When the cows lie in the pasture, rain is coming
• To tests this theory: Pick more than 1 farm/pasture to watch. (because cows lying in a field could just be a coincidence) If the cows are lying down, see if it's going to rain.
• Birthmarks/Scars get really red or change color when a storm is coming.
• To test this theory: First, find someone with a birthmark/scar. Then, make sure you're watching the birthmark/scar to note any changes in colour. Do the colour changes align with the weather changes?
• The TV goes fuzzy when a storm is coming.
• To test this theory: Note when your TV is turning fuzzy when you're watching it.
• Hamsters will start to shake when a storm is coming.
• To test this theory: Watch your hamster; make notes.
• Seagulls on the land is a sign of a storm.
• To test this theory:  Make note of land near water. Are the seagulls on the ground?
• If the frost on the trees is sparkling, it is going to rain.
• To test this theory: Note when there is frost. See if it sparkles. Wait.
• Little snow (flakes), Big snow (lots of it).
• To test this theory:  Look at the snowflakes. Make note of their size. Then note how much snow actually fell and for how long. Alternative: If you see small snowflakes. In 2 hours go check how much snow has fallen. On another day, if you see big snow flakes, check in 2 hours again to see how much snow has fallen. Then compare which has more.

Made on  http://www.wordle.net/

Gr 5/6 Storm Watchers make the news!

Hey, guys!
Hope you're enjoying the snow day!
I received  tweet this morning from CBC NewsWorld saying they were going to mention us on their Weather report this morning, for our storm tracking yesterday! I recorded it for you, in case you didn't see it!
Here it is:


Here is a http://www.twitvid.com/SC309 sent us in a tweet as well.
We put Iona on the map!
Enjoy!

Thanks, CBC!

Tracking the storm...

We spent time thsi afternoon tracking the pending snow storm for Atlantic Canada.
We collected information (data) using:

•  tweets from Twitter
• radar imagery from Environment Canada
•  highway webcams from Nova Scotia

Here are some of the cool tweets we received today:

It's fun learning about weather live and online like this!
We also research homework to do about weather sayings, folklore and indicators of stormy weather.


(And we may be wearing our pjs inside out and putting spoons under our pillows, too... maybe ...)

Meeting Mrs. Fennemore's Class...

Mrs. Fennemore's class in Newfoundland posted questions for our class on their blog. Here are our answers:

Ellav asked: Where are we in NS?
Andy's reply: We are in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia... more specifically Iona. You can do a Google Street view of our school here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.947633,-60.816885&z=19&t=h&hl=en This is our new school which opened 2007. It is a P-12 school.

JasmineG (who was born in NS! Where? we wonder) asked: what do we like best about our school:

1. Camden -- the gym & that we can learn Gaelic
2. Emerson -- playing dodgeball!
3. Zach C -- Everything... it's hard to pick
4. Nathan -- our new swing set!
5. Ailig -- Our gym -- it's HUGE! 
6. Tyler -- doesn't know what he likes best
7. Rochelle -- field trips we take
8. Zach M -- the swing set
9. Breagha -- art & the walking trail at our school
10. Lily -- the classes
11. Logan -- loves the swing sets
12. Andy -- our new outdoor skating rink
13. Dayna -- Dawn & gym
14. Mikayla -- Dawn, gym, and swings
15. Riley -- our new triple hoop
16. John -- huge gym & our new teacher, Dawn & our swingset
17. Shazia -- art, drama, and Mr. MacKenzie, French class
18. Jon -- music class, Gaelic, math, gym and my awesome new teacher, Dawn

Maya asked: What are we doing in school and what do we like?

• Health, Math, Science
• playing dodgeball in the gym
• Gym
• love language arts and tweeting on twitter!
• having fun with education
• checking our blog

Ethan  asked if we had a class pet or not?

• We have a pet rock! And we've got a fishbowl that will hopefully be filled soon

Liam  wants to know what the most exciting thing is we've done this year?

• The biggest thing so far is the additions to our playground. We got new swings and a triple hoop! And, we're waiting to test out our new outdoor skating rink! We're pretty excited!

Questions for Mrs. Fennemore's Class:

1. Where are you located in Newfoundland?
2. Were you affected by Hurricane Igor?
3. Are you guys going to get a new fish? (Sorry about Ringo)
4. What is the name of your school?
1. Does your school have a website?
5. Have you guys ever heard of the Gaelic language?
6. Do you guys have French class?
7. Do you speak French or English?
8. What kind of playground do you have at your school?

Tweeting with a Class in Ontario

This morning we tweeted with a class in Ontario about the Little Prince as part of the Global Read Aloud project:

The students we tweeted with were part of @Gill_Ville 's class in Waterloo, Ontario.
Their school website can be found here  and their class website (which is really cool) can be found here.

Their teacher also mapped the route from their school to our's. You can find it here:
http://twitpic.com/2x9lh1/full

We really enjoyed our twitter "date" with the class!

The Baobabs :: Chapters 4 through 6

• Learning about the planet -- Asteroid B612
• How does the plane land on the planet if it's so small
• BAOBABS!!!!!!!!
• tiny, little planet
• a tree could barely live on it
• about the size of our classroom
• can fit 4 elephants on it... maybe 7
• Little Prince likes sheep
• Thinks smartly; has big words in his vocabulary; but he thinks 'small', thinks 'smaller' in terms of space and room available
•  He has words like an adult but he thinks like a child
• Baobabs are REALLY hard to get rid of if they grow too big; as soon as you find a bad seed you have to take them out!

  

Predictions:

Nathan: The Little Prince is going to get a real sheep. The narrator and the Litte Prince are also ging to move to the narrators planet. (But Ailig thinks the fact that the narrator said, "It's been six years since the Little Prince left me..." refutes this.)

Andy: I think the Little Prince is going to leave the planet a long, long time after the crash and he's going to go back and tell the kids on his planet about it.

Logan (the birthday girl today): I think they're going to find out where the Little Prince's homeland is, and they're going to find out that the Little Prince has magical powers

Ailig: I think the Little Prince is going to get an actual sheep and go back to his planet to kill the Baobab trees

Jon: I think they (the narrator and the Prince) are going to stay and find out what the planet is like.

Mikayla: I think he's going to get a real sheep.

Breagha: I think the Little Prince is going to get a real sheep and the narrator is going to find someone who likes his boa constrictor drawings.
 
Generally, we all think that the ending is going to be sad. The story just has that kind of feeling to it.

We created a wordle graphic about our thoughts thus far; about our predictions, our thoughts, our ideas about the book.

You Can't Judge a Book by its Cover!

We are taking part in a Global Read Aloud. We are reading the book "The Little Prince" with students from all over the world. Our teacher, Dawn, found out about the project on twitter.

A little bit about us:
We are from Iona, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. We are from Rankin School of the Narrows/Sgoil MhicFhraing a'Chaolais, where we learn all kinds of things, including the French and Gaelic languages. (The "sgoil" part of our school name is in Gaelic.) We are the 7 girls and 11 boys, aged 10-12, who make up the grade 5/6 class at this school.

Our First Thoughts on "The Little Prince"

• Ailig says, "Most of the class thought that, by the cover of the book, that the book would be really bad. After 2 chapters, we're hooked!"
• Zach M., "The little dude likes sheep?!?!"
• Jon says, "So far we find the book is really good... really awesome... and we're gonna keep reading."
• Zach C., "Can't wait to read more!!!!!!!!!!!!"
• Shazia: "The book is really awesome!"
• Logan (a girl): "I like the way the main character (the dude telling the story)... [the narrator] chooses his words!"
• Breagha: "I like the way the narrator is 'high class', using big words and stuff."
• Nathan: "The little dude is really picky about the sheep... and pictures!"
• Emerson: "The book is interesting!"
• Mikayla: "I thought the book was really interesting; I didn't think I was going to like it from the start! Now I want to go home and read, read, read!"
• Dawn (Our Teacher) says, "I"m totally pumped that my class is sooooo excited about this project!"

Back at'er

Here we are back at school for another school year.
This is going to be the blog where our grade 5/6 class keeps the world up to date on what's going on in our neck of the woods!

We hope:

• you enjoy looking at our blog.
• you come back to visit us again.
• you leave us a comment so we know you were here!

Can't judge a book by its cover, they say...

... but here are our covers!

Here are the books we're reading independently to end this term:

PHASR poetry

We've taken a different perspective on writing poetry. Using this website, we've used pictures and put them to our words. We feel that it's interesting to see how the poem/words make you feel!! Please check out our links below!

-- Mikaila, Beth & Laura

• Ian's War Poem
• Laura's Think About it Poem
• Sean's Look Around
• Today by Sirena
• Zac's Life
• Was it all a dream? by Lindsey
• Our Changing Planet by Teagan
• Once is Enough by Mikaila
• Life by Hector

ENJOY!

In my room poems

Students were asked to write a poem about their rooms. What better place to write about than their little havens! (activity adapted from Nancie Atwell's book "Naming the World" )

 In My Room      

In my room,

Under my bed,

There lives a monster

Who's name is Ed.

He comes out at night,

And steals my things,

But slips back under the bed,                        

before my alarm rings.                                             

Last night I caught him                         

Right in the act!

And I made him promise

To put all my things back!

My room was so clean,

But now it's all messed!

It's filled to the roof,

My Mom was not impressed!

Ed left my room,

And moved to another,

He said he was leaving,

He couldn't stand the clutter!

He went to a cleaner room,

One with more space.

He packed up his things,

And took my suitcase!

Now in my room,

Under my bed,

There is no monster

Who's name was Ed.

- Lindsey

================================================

My room dances with colors of lemon yellow, a soft light pink, a grass green and, a nice apple green

Pictures, trophies and medals float like stars in the night

And when I lay down, it's like falling in a meadow of clouds

My room is smooth and relaxing and smells like Ralf Lauren and other delightful smells

My room makes me, me , I could never think of changing the lovely colors , textures, scent, and stuff around it

What makes my room me is my sister because we share it!

-- Chynna

POETRY!

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.



W. H. Auden

We've begun a unit on poetry, and I've assured my students that I am determined to find their inner poets.
For the next couple of weeks, we'll be posting our best... our best poems, our thoughts, the work we are proud of!

Stay tunes for works from the poets of grade 7!

We're cheering for

See the following videos which tell of the athletes whom our students are cheering for!
(Each student was required to research a Canadian Olympic athlete, write a short biography about this person & record it for our Olympic unit.)









 

 

Katherine MacLeod's Journey

        Katherine Macleod is an astonishing runner, who ran with the torch. She was generous enough to take the time to explain to us the amazing experince she had with the torch.
        She was one out of a million to win the Coca-Cola contest to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay,In order to be officially picked she had to write a 500 word essay. After 8-10 months of waiting she got a call that she got to run 300 metres  in Scotchtown, Cape Breton.
        She was a given a suit, mittens, and a hat. She discovered the diference between her mittens and the Olympic mittens you would buy in stores is the white maple leaf has grips on hers so she can hold the torch better.
        The day of the run the local runners met in Glace Bay. They got on a colourful Olympic bus and shared emotional stories on how they were picked.
         When they arrived they were each given the torch to run with and after words if they wanted to buy their torch they could for $300.
          During her time to run she was told to walk because it was so short and you wanted to remember evry minute. Though when they told her to go she took off like the wind.
           She had an emotional but great time and it was 1 out of a million experince.

A graduate of our school was an Olympic Torch Bearer!

... and she visited our classroom to tell us her story!
We'll fill you in on her story in the next few days.
Here we are with her and her Olympic torch:

Thank you for coming, Katherine! You're one in a million

Our Olympic Run!

We're not really running for the Olympics, but we are taking a run at setting up a whole newscentre about the Olympics in our classroom!

This week we're setting up our classroom as a newscentre in preparation  for the upcoming 2010 Olympics in Vancouver! Each day students come into the English classroom and are assigned a role for that day:

By working collaboratively,  students will be immersed in the various aspects of the Olympics games!
Topics we've looked at this week to get us in the groove are:

• How an Olympic host city is chosen
• What is takes to be an Olympian
• the boycott of the 1980 Olympics
• an overview of the 2010 Olympics

Here, today's editors work on editing some of their classmates' work.

The studio/floor managers work at creating and fine-tuning our Olympic wall display.






(The poster template can be downloaded from Olympic School)

Stay tuned for more updates about our run at the Olympics!

Welcome/Failte

It's the start of a new decade, and the start of a new project for Dawn's classes at Rankin.

As part of the learning in my classroom, students are going to be posting projects, ideas, and news on this site for the world to see.

We hope you enjoy a glimpse into the kinds of things we're exploring in our little nook of the world!

Please be sure to comment on our site, as feedback is what makes most things worthwhile... and allows us to learn from what we are doing!

Questions and/or additional comments can be sent directly to the teacher, Dawn Gillis, at:
macdond36 (at) staff.ednet.ns.ca