First Week of School

What a great first week!  Students got to know each other, discover their new classroom and learn the routines.  Students loved exploring the classroom library and began reading from Day 1.  We discussed different ways to read a book and how it should look when students are immersed in their reading.  Ask your child what "Read to Self" should look like in the Grade 3 classroom.

In Math, we learned how to model 2 digit and 3 digit numbers using base ten blocks.  We also looked at how to make a number different ways.  For example, you can model 83 with 8 tens and 3 ones or you can model this number with 7 tens and 13 ones.  Learning how to trade tens for ones and hundreds for tens will be a crucial skill for students in developing their number sense.

During Social Studies, we mapped out the provinces and located where we are in Canada.  We discussed the features of a map and learned and labeled the cardinal directions in our classroom.  You can reinforce the concept of the cardinal directions by pointing out to your child what direction you are going when you are out in the community.

At Orde we are on a 5-day cycle.  This Monday will be Day 5 on the school schedule.  Students have Mandarin class daily after morning recess.  Please make note of when students have subjects outside of the classroom (see below):

Day 1 and 2:  Music with Mr. Hasek
Day 4 and 5:  Gym with Mr. Harris
Day 4 - Media with Ms. Bentley

Please note that Music, Dance, Gym and Media will not be marked by me but by the teachers mentioned above (Mr. Harris will also mark Health and Dance).  If you have any questions about these specific subject areas please speak to the teachers mentioned above.

On another note, I am gradually building up our classroom library based on student interests.  If you have any children's books at home that you would like to donate to our classroom please send them with your child.  Any donations you make would be greatly appreciated and enjoyed by all the Room 20 students. 

It has been such a pleasure meeting all of you.  Thank you for making my first week at Orde so fantastic.

Welcome to Grade 3!

Hello Orde Parents!  Welcome my classroom blog.  Each week I will post what we are learning in our class.  Today students were introduced to the Map of Canada and mapped out the provinces.   Thank you for filling in and returning the forms.  Please try to return all forms by Friday.

App for learning a new language

Duolingo is a free app for learning a new language.  Great resource to review core French vocabulary. At the beginning, the app tests your current proficiency in the language you have chosen and then designs lessons to build upon your skills.

Arts & Culture Teaching

Here is a great website for studying Art and art appreciation.

Google Arts & Culture:



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A great accompanying Google application for this is "Google Art Project"

Digital Leadership

As educators, we must remember that there is a fine balance between being safe on the internet and building up a positive social media presence, which is something employers are looking for.  So, how can we make social media a positive thing in the classroom so that our students develop digital leadership?

Digital Leadership can improve the lives and well-being of others. The key is to find a passion.  We can show kids the possibilities of Social Media to voice what they are most passionate about and affect change in the world.  Here is a TedTalk video by Curran Dee who founded DigiKids.com.  In this video, he talks about how Social Media has changed his life by allowing him to connect with the world.  I like his quote, “The journey began with a tweet”.  

We can help our students navigate social media and guide them to use it in a digitally responsible way.  Of course, we must first ensure that parents are on board with introducing students to Social Media. Twitter and Facebook are not the only entry points, as mentioned in my IT course today, Google Sites and TodaysMeet are two safe and controlled ways to begin introducing students to social media.  I also think encouraging students to create their own blog where they can share their voice is another way for students to begin their digital footprint. Why I think Social Media is so important for our students is that it allows students to have a voice and share and receive ideas from the global community.

Makey Makey

Today I had the good fortune to participate in a Makey Makey Workshop presented by Mario Stamegna.

Makey Makey is a simple invention kit for kids to use in the classroom, at home, and anywhere you have a laptop.  With this tool, you can turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet to play games, produce music, etc. You learn how to create circuits to make your touchpads work using the circuit board, alligator clips, everyday objects and your body. Fantastic,fun and inexpensive (it can be purchased for $30 online). I had a lot of fun today using Makey Makey.  Below is a photo of me playing Tetris by creating a circuit using potatoes.  What a great way to teach kids about electricity. I will be investigating using this tool in the new school year.

Thank you Mario Stamega.

The Third Teacher

Today I saw a video called “The Third Teacher”.  

The third teacher is about how the learning environment (e.g., the classroom) acts as a third teacher for students.  The other two teachers are the actual teacher and the students’ peers.   The video stresses the importance of having the flexibility of space in the classroom.  It is unrealistic to expect students to sit in uniform desks for extended periods of time in rows and maintain full attention.  

The video talks about the importance of designing spaces where students can explore and interact in more natural ways.  One concrete example is allowing students to move around and move their desks to form groups for learning.  Placing desks in a semi-circle to allow for full group interaction is another example.  It is important to set up our classroom in such a way that students can feel comfortable.  Taking students outside to learn is also important, some schools have an outdoor classroom with benches for students where students can connect with the outdoors.  Where going outside is not an option, hallways can be used as learning spaces for students who need to move around or require a quieter space (with adequate supervision).

Interestingly, Google’s headquarters, Googleplex, is an amazing example of an environment that fosters creativity and productivity for its’ employees.  Google provides its’ employees with a variety of perks.  Employees can sit in bean bag chairs for comfort and are allowed frequent breaks and free access to eateries within the Googleplex.  While some of these things are not feasible in a regular classroom, this definitely gives me food for thought as I set up my classroom for September and do my programming.