Where Learning is Fun!

You are what you eat!

2007-09-27T00:52:00.000-04:00

Now, we have all heard that saying a zillion times, "you are what you eat," but after studying our unit on healthy eating, we know this is true. Our bodies are like vehicles. Vehicles need to be tuned up and run on gas or diesel. As humans, we need energy and nutrients which come from food. This doesn't mean you should all leave the computer and run to the kitchen, making yourselves a sandwich of potato chips, cheese, chocolate, topped with ice cream! While the combination not only sounds like a tummy ache, it is not proper nutrition. A proper diet consists of the four food groups-dairy, meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables and grains. Take the following quiz to test your knowledge of healthy food choices and to see how good or bad some of our favourite foods and snacks really are.

Get yourself a snack to fuel your brain and then begin your mission to nutrition!

Now that you've discovered more information about the four food groups and many of the junk foods we choose to eat as snacks, help Arianna and Marcus explore foods that are made up of a combination of food groups. This game will provide a lot of interesting facts and explain exactly what certain foods provide for our growing bodies. Once you click on the link, the game will be at the bottom left and is called "Combo Kitchen." It is almost good enough to eat!

PARENTS' CORNER: As a part of the grade five Science curriculum, students are studying how science connects to the outside world. In particular, we are examining the effects of nutrition on our bodies. It is expected by the end of the fifth grade that students, "identify food groups from which people in various societies obtain nutrients." For instance, rice is found in the grain food group and is a carbohydrate. I strongly encourage all of you to take part in promoting healthy eating not only in your children, but also in yourselves. After all, we are what we eat!

Punctuate and Accentuate your sentences!

2007-09-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

What happens when I forget to use punctuation I certainly will not get the appropriate meaning of my sentence across and what happens if this looks like a long run-on sentence and I keep talking and talking and I run out of....breath...

As you can see grade fives, that is a horrible sentence! What is wrong with it you ask? All of the words are spelled correctly and there are capitals, but there is something very important missing. PUNCTUATION!! Remember how we learned in class that punctuation helps communicate ideas effectively? Quotation marks signify dialogue and a comma used before 'but' and 'and' creates a compound sentence. Most importantly, the sentence above had no periods! Periods end a thought and allow you to breathe so that you do not lose steam mid-sentence. Once you click on the following link, all of you will transform from ordinary grade five students to the Punctuation Police. Complete the following quiz by paying close attention to the punctuation used or misused in each sentence and selecting the sentence that best suits the question.

Put on your police badge and begin your force...there are many punctuation crimes that need to be fixed!

Once you've completed that task, you will transform from police officers to space agents, blasting sentences that do not have commas where needed. Please be sure to read the instructions carefully and have a comma blast!

PARENTS' CORNER: As a part of the grade five Language Arts unit on writing, it is expected of students to "use punctuation appropriately to help communicate their intended meaning, with a focus on the use of a comma, quotation marks, question marks and exclamation marks inside quotation marks in direct speech." The provided links will provide students with an opportunity to fine tune their punctuation skills while having fun and improving their internet skills. I thank you for your support in this exercise!

What time is it Mrs. Wolf???

2007-09-26T22:45:00.000-04:00

LUNCH TIME!!! Ok, not quite, but it is time to really shine and show how brilliant each of you are! For the past week, we have been working on estimating and measuring time on the analogue clock. Use this online game as a review to test how well you are able to measure a specified time on the analogue clock, but there is a catch! I hope none of you just sighed! There is always a catch. This activity is timed since you are supposed to BEAT THE CLOCK! Don't worry though. You can select the level of each game and there is always a help button handy.

Get crackin' and BEAT THE CLOCK!

Phew!! I am so glad you were able to beat that clock! Now take your chances on some more tasks. On the first task, you will need to examine two analogue clocks and select which time is greater than or less than the other. Are you ready for the challenge? If so, take the test!

Want some more work? Take your knowledge to a new level and tell the difference between analogue clocks. Want to take it up a notch?

PARENTS' CORNER: As a part of our grade five math unit on Measurement, the students have been practicing their ability to tell time to the nearest second on the analogue clock. As described in ministry guidelines, by the end of grade five students will, "estimate, measure and represent time intervals to the nearest second." This is to be done on the analogue clock. The "Beat the Clock" game is a great resource easily accessible on the TVO website. There is ample information provided for parents on how to support and encourage your child as he or she participates in the game. Once again, thank you for your support.

Fasten your seatbelts! We are going on a class trip in a time machine!

2007-09-26T21:20:00.000-04:00

From when we are first born, we are surrounded by language. When we hear others speak, we learn how to form the basic sounds needed to communicate with one another. Many of us speak English and for all of us, the English we know and speak has not changed too much over the course of our lifetimes. The question that remains is was English the first languauge ever? The answer is no. The story of language begins a long time ago, during the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs who created a language based on pictures called hierogyphs. There is a lot of fascinating information on Ancient Egyptian language on the Internet and in many museum exhibits. With just the click of your mouse, your bedroom, office or wherever it is you are seated right now, will become a world away from your own. Take a trip to Ancient Egypt and discover the early beginnings of written language.

The Royal Ontario Museum has a wonderful online resource for students to gather information on Ancient Egypt and to take part in a few online activities. Get a better understanding of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs by visiting this webpage entitled "Online Activities: Ancient Egypt." You may access the information on language by scrolling to the bottom of the page and selecting the "writing" lesson under The Arts section:

http://www.rom.on.ca/schools/egypt/learn/index.php

After you have stuffed your brain with useful information, have some fun translating words into Egyptian hieroglyphs by selecting "Writing in Egyptian hieroglyphs" on the webpage:

http://www.rom.on.ca/schools/egypt/activities/index.php

In Europe, the Romans were laying the foundations for one of the many technologies we use each day! Imagine walking to school, driving a car or riding your bicycle on air. You may need to invest in a good helmet because you know it would be impossible to attempt such a stunt. We are able to do all of these things because we have flat surfaces for our feet and the wheels on cars to move on. What are these flat surfaces called again??? Oh, that's right! Roads. A simple technology we often take for granted. Click on the following link to learn more about the Ancient Roman technology and then take the quiz that is prompted at the end of the page. Good luck and remember to keep both feet on the ground!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/roads.shtml

PARENTS' CORNER: As a part of our grade five unit on Heritage and Citizenship-Early Civilizations, as set out by the Ontario Curriculum, the above activities are intended to ensure that students meet specific expectations. In regards to this lesson, students must "identify some scientific and technological advances made by two or more early civilizations." Thank you for your support and encouragement! I hope you find these links as informative and fun as your children!

Share and Tell

2007-09-16T10:02:00.000-04:00

Good Morning!!

Today we are so lucky to have easy access to the world wide web. The Internet is a fantastic way to gather information quickly and at the ease of your fingertips. While there are a lot of valuable resources on the web, please note that not everything you may come across is truth. As a way to start an online conversation between all of us I thought I would post three websites that I think you may enjoy!

If you want to review current events that are occurring in the Greater Toronto Area, then check out the online version of the Toronto Star. It is filled with news stories and entertainment for all ages.

Now you do not need to travel to Ottawa! Instead, you can visit the Canadian Museum of Civilization online. Be sure to check out the virtual exhibit on the First Peoples of Canada.

Lastly, take a break and enjoy a good movie alone or with a group of friends. Visit Tribute.ca to find out the latest showtimes and interviews with your favourite celebrities.

Go ahead, get click happy!

Ever been struck with a mind-boggling question?

2007-09-13T09:31:00.000-04:00

Hello once again!

Have you ever been sitting at the dinner table or waiting for the school bus or playing with your friends and this lightbulb goes off in your brain? It happens to me all of the time! Whenever I am struck with an interesting question or want to know a fact, I enjoy using the google search engine.

So, go ahead. Research and learn. I cannot wait to hear about all of the things you have discovered!!

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

2007-09-13T09:24:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my first ever blog! This blog will allow me to share information with each of you. I am excited for the new school year and cannot wait for all of the fun and interesting things we will be learning this year. I would like to take the time now to thank you for letting me learn with you!

I hope you had a great summer, have your seat belts fastened, and are back in school mode because we are going to set forth on a fun-filled educational journey over the next few months. Please feel free to use this blog for resources and information that will help you over the school year :)