Studens Working on Fractions

Here are some examples of students working on fractions. This task is designed for them to understand that the same fraction (e.g., 1/2) can be represented in different ways!

Fraction Anchor Chart

Anchor charts are a way to record learning and have something tangible for students to refer to. Here is an example of a fraction anchor chart in the primary grades that introduces the concept of fractions. As you can see, it uses the concept of sharing to help students understand that fractions are parts of the whole.

Fractions Professional Learning

As you know, math is a focus at Boxwood Public School like all YRDSB schools. After our whole school diagnostic, we have determined that we need to support our students from grade 1-8 with the concept of fractions. Our kindergarten teachers are working with early numbers with their students. To address this need, teachers will be working together for three half days to plan targetted lessons that have a focus on problem solving. Teachers will also deliver common assessments and mark them together to track student progress.

Celebrations in February

February is a month filled with some celebrations. Specifically Lunar New Year, Black History Month and Vasant Panchami are in February. We have updated our display case by our library to recognize these important celebrations! If you have time, come and take a look at them.

Kolam in our SK/1 Class

Today, Ms. Forth's SK/1 class had the good fortune to have a parent volunteer instruct the students in creating a Kolam art piece to recognize Tamil Heritage Month. Kolam is a form of drawing that is drawn by using rice flour, chalk, chalk powder or rock powder, often using naturally or synthetically colored powders, in Sri Lanka, the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and some parts of Goa, Maharashtra as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries. A Kolam is a geometrical line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots (Wikipedia.com). We are so fortunate to have amazing parent volunteers to provide new experiences to our students. Thank you!

Learning in the Intermediate Division

Last Friday afternoon, I observed the learning that the intermediate students were engaged in. While they were working on a variety of tasks, they were all working on rigorous tasks that worked on various necessary skills.

Our grade 7 were working on their math project. They have to design the grounds and attractions for an adventure park. In this task, they have to use a variety of computational strategies (e.g., multiplication) and use their understanding of various math concepts (e.g., area).

 In our grade 8 class, they are getting ready for Black History Month by doing a diagnostic assessment to see what they currently know about Black History in North America.

In our grade 7/8 class, students were working on their "Novel in an Hour" assignment. This is a one page summary of the chapter that they read. This includes identifying, explaining, and representing the key themes, characters, quotations, and settings.

Keeping Active

 As you know, we were challenged with some cold temperatures this week.  On some days we were able to go outside while on other days we had to stay inside. We also had another challenge in that our outside play areas were iced over. After two days inside we decided to have the whole school engage in physical activity instead of being in their classrooms. The kids had fun and got some exercise by power walking in the halls. As daily physical activity and fresh air is good for us, we are hoping that we have better conditions for students to go outside this week.