| Welcome to Mr. Liddle's Webpage - March 2012 |
|
I hope everyone had a safe and happy break. We are into our next stretch until Easter and have many exciting things happening in the class and around the school. We have had the pleasure of having several productions come to our school lately to inform and entertain the children. Recently we have seen Big Kids Entertainment, Earth Rangers who have made a return trip, and recently the P.E.A.C.E. (people everywhere actually co-existing equally) Team come to our school to pass along their wonderful message.
Clothes Judging by the weather reports, we are soon about to get hit again with a blast of COLD !! (As the old proverb says : March came in like a 'lamb' so perhaps it may go out like a 'lion') So please don't forget to check the weather reports daily and have your child dres for the weather. (I have the bin at the back of the class for the extra clothes and if your child needs to change into their 'backup' clothes, I will have them sent home for laundry.)
Upcoming Events
Fundraiser - Earth Rangers - The Earth Rangers button sales continue
Courses of Study Select the link below to see our courses of study.
Spirit Days
Scholastic Book Orders I will be handing out the Scholastic Book Orders this year. It is purely optional and if you don't wish to purchase anything then just recycle the flyers. I send them home because even if there is one book in perhaps February that becomes a favourite then it can be worth it. When paying, cheques should be made out to Scholastic Canada Inc. I cannot process coins or bills and they will be returned with your child unfortunately as only cheques are acceptable to Scholastic. Everyone has been great about sending the money in ziplock bags or envelopes so the same procedure will be used for book orders no matter how many orders (i.e. one from Lucky, Special Seasonal order, Click, etc.) they plus the cheque should be sent in one ziplock bag or envelope with your child's name clearly marked on the front. Thank you so much. If the order sent in is a large one, Scholastic gives us coupons which I use to purchase books for the class library, based on the kids requests (i.e Dangerous animals, POP stars, etc.) Personal Items I have asked that toys do not come to school as inappropriate sharing or play (someone may be too rough with their toy) has resulted in problems in the past. For those who wish to bring an item(toy) for recess, I have told that class that I will not deal with lost or broken toys. They are the child's responsibility solely. Class time will not be taken up dealing with problems that arise from the toys at recess. That is not fair to the learning of others. Electronic devices are also not permitted. I know some children are very responsible, I just worry that they may be targetted for theft walking home or on a bus if someone (an older kid) sees their device (i.e. Nintendo DS, ipod, cellphone to call for safety reasons/pickup).
HomeworkStudy : Homework will be assigned as necessary (i.e. a study guide for a quiz / test) or a review sheet for a new concept introduced in class. It is not a time filler. As well, homework will not be provided over long holidays (Christmas & March Break ) or planned family vacations. If needed, I may offer suggestions as to what concepts / items the student may review over their vacation. Workbooks are available now in many locations (Staples, Walmart and of course Scholar's Choice, in North Oshawa and Ajax) that may supplement your child's learning. There are some really good books that have skill review in Math, Language (Grammar), Social Studies and more all on the selected grade. I have purchased many books from Scholar's Choice to supplement my program and provide extra practice / drilling in all areas including Grade 3 Ministry Testing booklets. They're great and I highly advise purchasing these workbooks to have at home as the kids can always review. The children may have homework if needed every night. They should be able to read for 3x their age. So if they are 8 years old they should be reading independently for 24 minutes and 27 minutes for the 9 year olds in the class. As well, they may always review their weekly spelling words by reading them; saying them aloud; then writing them out every night. Doing that may take close to 45minutes and sometimes an hour which is plenty. Sometimes the BEST homework is Physical Education homework .......getting outside and playing and out of their parents hair ( "Thank You - Mr. Liddle !") which will also help them get a good night's sleep. They are still young kids and there will be many years to come for homework. I don't want families stressing out or arguing over homework (i.e. what way the math should be done, or what's needed for the project, etc.). It's a review of work, or unfinished class work to be done at home - HOME WORK. Upcoming Quiz / Test Dates
Spelling Tests resume on Fridays (unless an unforeseen scheduling issue forces to move it back after the weekend on occasion)
I will provide study guides for quizzes and tests, usually two or three days in advance of a quiz/test. Nobody enjoys being surprised with content on a test that you didn't study for - that can be so upsetting and unfair. I won't do that. I will let the students know - "this is what I am assessing (skills/knowledge), so this is what you need to concentrate on / study.
Dad : "How was school today Jake ? " Jake : "Well,....... we had a surprise quiz in Math." Dad : "and......did you do well?" Jake : "I was REALLY surprised !"
Weekly Spelling List Words / Study Tips
Study Tips : I asked the children how they study their spelling list words and the common answer was that they just read them. To fully integrate a concept / material (i.e math or spelling list words), the basic, and I do mean basic, scienceof it is that you have to somehow commit it and transfer it over from your immediate memory (episodic) to your your long-term (procedural) memory. Children can do this by stimulating the senses in an array to assimilate it - fully entrench it - into their mental 'filing cabinet'. An example would be if you are teaching a kindergarten child / foreign guest to our country about pumpkins, you would perhaps show them a pumpkin(sight) , let them touch it or scoop out the 'guts' / seeds with their hands(touch), let them tap it (hearing) to hear its sound when it's hollow, let them smell a pumpkin pie (smell) and then taste various pumpkin dishes (taste). The more senses and mental pathways you can create around an object the better. This works with almost anything - math > seeing 4 , feeling 4 objects, listening to 4 claps, etc. With regards to spelling then, that's where this was leading, and studying on other topics, here's what the kids may do : 1. read the words quietly (to themselves ) 2. read the words aloud 3. write the words out and spell / say each letter as it is recorded >> about : a - b - o - u - t 4. tap the words out each letter at a time a (tap), b(tap) o(tap), u(tap) t (tap) 5. put the word into a contextual sentence - "I am about as tall as mirror" (so they see it in their 'mind's eye' and draw an association to it) 6. write the words out again from the bottom up (Spelling words may not always appear in top down or the same order over and over, especially in their daily writing - they have to be able to transfer it to their regular - journal - writing. Otherwise it is a wasteful process) 7. write the words on cards / pieces of paper (flash-card size) and have someone (older) pull them out and say them as a random quiz 8. pretend they are giving a mini spelling bee to someone else and they are the 'caller '. Example : "Your word ____ is 'about'. He is about to kick the ball. About. (for dramatic points, they could pretend that they are the speller in the spelling bee : "o.k. about. uumm. a - b - o - u - t . about. " It's a little goofy but done in the privacy of their own bedroom / room in the house, it may help. Who knows ? * Parents, you may also search for "study tips" (i.e. mnemonic strategies > music : the lines on a music graph are E,G,B,D,F and some will say "Every Good Boy Deservs Fudge" to help them remember the notes) for other ways to help your child prepare for tests. Math >i.e. write out similar questions (write out almost exactly the same word problem but just change the numbers utilized ) websites* When your child visits sites on the computer, I always tell the kids to preface any searches they perform with " kids, ________" (i.e. 'kids, terrariums'). That should help reduce , but not eliminate, any inappropriate or rude images / content from popping up.
> Check out these fun and stimulating websites that may support your child's learning (some are just fun). www.linktolearning.com (a good site where you may select the grade [3 or 4] and subject [social studies] and it will give you relevant topics to peruse www.coolmath-games.com (I found this one last year. Great for math skills [multiplication]. Give it a try :) ) www.scholastic.ca (you can always order online and send your money $$ directly, or even just browse the book clubs / offers online) www.nelson.ca (Nelson is the publisher of our textbook. You may register as a parent and print out related worksheets) www.kidsdomain.com (fun site with craft ideas) www.kbears.com (same as above) www.todaysparent.com (there may be interesting articles for parents - toy testing, school related stuff, advice, etc.) www.kidsites.com (a search engine to locate other kid / child friendly sites) www.discoveryeducation.com ( you can make puzzles here for your child - put the spelling words into a crossword or wordsearch www.primarygames.com (good for junior kids as well - it isn't babyish. not bad) ** When searching at home for work / topics, always preface your searches ('google') with 'kids' to filter out any inappropriate material. Spirit DaysSpirit Days - 2011 October 12th - Twin Day October 31st - Halloween Costumes - wear to school (get dressed at lunch) November 9th - wacky hair day December 14th - Pyjama day January 12th - hippy day February 9th - crazy hat day March 8th - Superhero day April 12th - beach day May 10th - backwards day June 14th - BVPS Spirit Day (wear school colours - red, white and black)
|
I have a favourite scene from the T.V. show "Two and a Half Men" and it goes as follows: