Update from Room #1

 Hello parents,

         The students of room one have been on my mind since the beginning of the week and the dismissal of schools. It was nice to briefly touch base with parents who could make it through the door to pick up personal items on Tuesday. To the rest, I hope this message finds your family healthy and happy (if not a bit mixed up).

        At the end of Spring break we will be continuing our classroom learning through online correspondence. Although this will be a new experience for all involved, I for one and very excited to explore how the use of technology can enhance our student's learning.

       Until then, here are some of my favourite suggestions from the CBE's "Learning at home" k-6 page:

• Choose a favou​rite or interesting object and draw from different angles/perspectives using a medium of choice
• Examine a family photograph or heirloom and share why it is special 
• Read in a spooky, robot, or animal voice 

• Go for a wonder walk down your street or in a naturalized area along the way you can:
• Go for a nature scavenger hunt, how many plants, birds, trees, winter berries, animals, manmade or natural items can you find? 
• Take the outside in with your 5 senses. What are 5 things you can hear, 4 things you can see, 3 things you can feel, 2 things you smell, and 1 thing you can taste?
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• Also, Below is some photo documentation I was preparing for parent conferences, and a bonus of my baby boy at the bottom!
• All the best in these uncertain times,

                                                      Dallin Ursenbach

March 9-13th

Hello parents,

Here's what we have been up to:

-In Math we have been doing awesome work with multiplication. Students have been working with a number of strategies and deciding which one works for them best.
-In writing the students are finished their stories for our class book, we plan to have it on display for parent-teacher conferences in two weeks time!
-In reading, the students have been working on their reader's theatre scripts and are getting close to doing readings for other classrooms!

Next Week:
-We have begun learning about the plains First Nations people of Alberta, and we will continue to look at the stories and traditional practices of these groups in the coming week.
-We will continue to practice our multiplication skills while adding the complexity of larger numbers as well as word problems.
-In our reading we will return to looking at non-fiction in terms child-friendly news articles. This will give us a great opportunity to learn about reading for information.

Things of note:
-Please practice skip counting with your child at home! if they are in grade three they should skip count by 2s, 3s and 4s. If they are in grade 4 they should practice counting in 6s, 7s and 8s.
-We are getting ready to start our "Hearing and sound" unit in Science, if you have empty (and rinsed/cleaned) milk jugs, cereal boxes or yogurt containers, we will use them to create instruments!
-Room one is looking for parents who would be willing/have the opportunity to come into the classroom and do some one-on-one reading with students. If this is interests you, please email me at djursenbach@cbe.ab.ca

Have a great weekend!

-Dallin

Below is some word art we have been working as well as some character development for our story writing

Hello room one parents,

This week was short one but a good one,

This week:
-We are about halfway through our class"Sideways Stories", as we focus on editing and integrating details into our writing.
-In Math we have begun applying our arrays in order to solve multiplication problems
-In Social Studies we have started talking about the First Nations peoples of Alberta
-IN reading we are starting on reader's theatre scripts!

Next week:
-We will be continuing to write and share our class short stories
-In reading, students will begin to select a reader's theatre story to present
-In math, students will practice building larger arrays and using doubling strategies in order to answer more advance multiplication questions

Information items:
-In the classroom, students have the opportunity to use computers for guided reading, as well as doing research. The classroom headphone set is mostly donated from Westjet and we don't currently have a full set. If you are interested, you can send a set of headphones in a labelled ziplock bag.

-As we continue our work with multiplication, it is a great idea to practice it at home! Working on skip counting by 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s for the grade threes, and for the grade 4s, additionally counting by 3s, 4s, 6s, 7s and 8s

That's all from me, have a great weekend!
-Dallin

Week of Feb. 17th-21st. 2020

Hello parents,

I hope every enjoyed Family Day!

Here's a recap of the past two weeks and a look forward:

Last weeks:

-In Math we have been begun working with concepts of multiplication and division by building and naming arrays as well as practicing our 10X tables
-In Writing, the students have begun using the characters they designed to create their own contribution to our class book
-In Social Studies we looked at where natural resources are located in Alberta
-For reading, the students practiced reading and singing the song "Ghost riders in the sky"

This Coming week:
-We will continue to build arrays and begin to see how they can help us with multiplication problems.
-In Social Studies we will begin to learn about Alberta's past, starting with the Blackfoot Confederacy
-In reading we will begin to practice some reader's theatre scripts.

Hope you have a great week!

-Mr. Ursenbach

Week of Jan 27th-31st.

Hello Room one families,

We had a fantastic week. Here are some of the highlights:

-On Thursday we had the amazing opportunity to go watch the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra play an interpretation of the classic Canadian story "The Hockey Sweater". Thank you to all the parents who came out to volunteer for our field trip!
-We have really been enjoying creating and sharing characters for our class story book
-In Social Studies we brainstormed the products that come from natural resources

Next Week:
-In Mathematics we will be starting to learn about multiplication and division!
-In Language Arts we will be doing some story boarding activities to understand main events and problems in stories
-In Science we will be talking about renewable and non-renewable resources
-Belfasty Day this Friday!

Have a great week,

 Dallin

Week of Jan. 20-24th

Hello room 1 parents,

It was great to be back this week. The weather was fantastic! Unfortunately I was out earlier in the week with the flu and I know I was not the only one.

Never the less, here is a look at the week that was:
-In Math we have been working on creating our own growing patterns and continue to describe their rules in words
-In Science we have continued to look at natural resources, such as wood and natural gas.
-In Language Arts we are starting to plan a new class book based in the mentor text: "Sideways stories from wayside school".

Next week:
-Thursday is our school-wide field trip to see the CPO!
-In Math we will be looking at decreasing patterns, as well as using patterns to solve problems
-In Social Studies we are looking at where natural resources are located in Alberta
- We will be creating characters and problems for our "Sideways stories" in Language Arts


Below is a picture of some work a student has done using "Cuisenaire Rods"- a math manipulative made from sets of coloured rods.

We used the Cuisnaire rods give students to work with organizing and grouping information as well as developing strategies to add repeated numbers. 

Have a great week!

-Dallin

Week of Jan. 13-17, 2020

Hello Parents!

It's great to get back to the class blog after a refreshing break! Thank you for waiting patiently for updates through the busy lead up to the Winter break and while I was putting together report cards.

This past week was...  VERY COLD! And yet we continued to move through curriculum:

-In math we have been learning about increasing patterns and how to organize and record them into tables.

-In Science/ Social studies we are examining our energy needs and how we as Albertan's meet those needs with our natural resources 

-In language arts we are working on making personal connections with the stories we read in order to increase reading comprehension

Next week:

-In math we will continue to work on increasing patterns with a focus on identifying pattern rules as well as using and interpreting charts in order to look at patterns within the numbers.

-We will further pursue our conversation about energy and natural resources, with a focus on natural gas as well as renewable resources.

-In language arts we will be talking about the different types of connections that can be made with stories, such as connecting stories to the world, connecting stories to ourselves as well as connecting stories to other stories we know.


Have a great weekend!


Mr. U