Hate that Cat

After reading Sharon Creech's, Love that Dog, we decided to read the follow-up, Hate that Cat.  This book continues in the same poetic format as Love that Dog.  It often talks about alliteration, onomatopoeia, adjectives, adverbs, made-up words . . . all the things we are learning about in our poetry study.  Each "chapter" starts with the date, which also fits in well to our letter writing campaign we are doing this month.

Another two things Jack is beginning to use in Hate that Cat are similes and metaphors.  We've talked about how you can use these comparisons to make your writing more interesting for the reader.  Can you come up with a simile and metaphor?

Sorting Letters

As I may have mentioned, as a school, we are writing letters to our reading buddies during I Love to Read Month. This past Friday, we were the lucky ones that got to sort and deliver the mail! Tyler mentioned that when he brought the mail to the grade ones, they all hugged him in excitement! (Kids love getting mail!)

This week, we will be receiving letters from our reading buddies. We are looking forward to what they have to say!

- Mrs. Steinhoff

Robocritters

On Tuesday, February 12th, the grade 5 students of Room 4 and Room 1 will be making Robocritters!  These are battery operated robots that can be designed to match the student's interest based on the found materials they use to decorate them.  Today, Mr. Herb Reynolds came to visit and talk about what we may need to make our robots extra special.  They include:

• cardboard or Styrofoam
• googly eyes
• string or cloth
• pipe cleaners
• plastic jars
• fancy paper
• really light metal

You can find these materials at home, or you may decide to head to the neighbourhood dollar store to find some supplies.

Also, don't forget to bring a small box to carry your supplies in.  At the end of the day, you can use this box to carry your Robocritter home.

Be sure to bring in all the supplies by Monday, February 11th so you have them ready for Tuesday morning.  As well, take the time to discuss some possible ideas of what you might like to create. 

We are looking forward to a fun and educational day! 

- Mrs. Steinhoff and Mrs. Hoskins

Please share our blog!

Hello Everyone!

I have been doing a lot of research lately looking at other teacher's blogs from all over the world.  I found that the best blogs have comments from many different people!  Students of Room 4, I encourage you to share this classroom blog with your family!  Invite them to comment on the things we are doing in class and we will comment back! 

Tonight, I found an amazing blog from a teacher in California named Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog.  There was this section where the kids were explaining how to create a good comment on a blog.  It was fantastic!  I really saw blogging in a whole new light!  Rather than us just sharing what we are doing in class, our blog can be a way to reach out to new people and learn from them!  We will definitely be checking out and commenting on some classroom blogs in the near future.  There are so many amazing things to check out! 

In the meantime, SHARE our blog with your family!  Ask them to leave a post and ask us about our learning.  It is a great opportunity for everyone to share their ideas!  See you tomorrow! 

Happy I Love to Read Month!

Check out the cool bulletin board next to our school library! Ms. Solar and Ms. Bell came together and brainstormed these very special activities you can do over the month of February to celebrate I Love to Read Month! Happy Reading and Writing!

Cozy Cuddly Polar Bears?!

Cozy Cuddly Polar Bears?!  You bet!  Room 4 used chalk pastel to create these beautiful portratis of polars bears.  Students blended colours to create a soft effect.  The directions of the lines give the bears a 3-D appearance.  Beautifully done, Room 4!

Poetry Paradise!

I Am Poems!

Here are the shared writing I Am Poems that I promised earlier this week.  After a lot of trial and error, I was finally able to upload them just as they were published.  The students chose their own fonts and I wanted to be sure to share them to the world they way that was intended!

I am so proud of their efforts!  These poems have alliteration, onomatopoeia and of course "juicy" words!  There are some really amazing lines that really make really imagine what is being described.  Most of the poems are somewhat of a mystery until the end.  Can you guess what each one is about before the reveal in the final line?

As another added bonus, our school is having a Poetry Contest for I Love to Read Month so we will be sure to enter these pieces!

Happy Reading!