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Monday, December 7, 2009

Spelling Poster Sample

As a part of our studies in Culture, Division 7 students are currently working on a poster about words in the English language that derive from other languages. Students are working by themselves or in groups, and are choosing from a variety of different languages.

Click here for a sample from Old Norse. Click on the Canuck icon to download the .pdf file.

The criteria are as follows:

For the Spelling group project, you need to do the following:

• Pick a good working partner. This project will have no more than 2 people to a group unless I give special permission.

• Look through the Spelling Bee handout. Decide on one of the languages that we get English words from for your project (ie. French, German...)

• Choose 10 English words that come from the chosen language for each person in the group. For example, a person working by his or herself should have 10 words on their poster. If a group has 2 people, they should use larger paper and have 20 words.

• Words should be written in an attractive way--fancy lettering, block lettering, etc.. This is a poster--it should have WOW!

• Decorate your poster with pictures from the culture that speaks the language you chose for your poster. If you chose German words, find pictures of German things to decorate your poster. You can use books, magazines, the Internet, whatever sources you like to find what you need. Also, you can draw or cut & paste pictures, or both.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Thanks!


A big thank-you to the parents of Nolan and Cam and, naturally, to the boys themselves, for their much-appreciated book donations from the Scholastic Book Fair! All 3 books are in high demand!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Homework for weekend of Nov 28-29

Writing
- due Tues. - all subtopics written as good paragraphs with topic sentences.
- bring blue writing outline sheet as well on Tuesday.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Homework for weekend of Nov 21-22

Social Studies - Culture Poster Project due Tuesday, Nov. 24. Click here for more info.

Writing - blue writing outline sheet due Tues. - subtopic, details finished. No introduction or conclusion yet.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Homework for weekend of Nov 14-15

Writing
- typed similes, full-colour background picture - Tues., Nov. 17

Social Studies
- Poster Project - culture. Due Tuesday, Nov. 24. See online details about the assignment.

Art
- WordArt is overdue

Poster Project - Family Culture (poster sample download now online)

Dear Parents,

Your child has been assigned a poster project for Social Studies, due on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Recently, the children researched their family culture and recorded information on a two-page handout. I was very impressed by the level of detail recorded by the students. This information will now be presented in poster form. The goal is to complete the assignment at a high level of detail, finish and creativity but also for the students to enjoy themselves and the process.

The students have seen examples of completed, quality posters from past years. These samples will be available to view on this website a.s.a.p. The samples need not be strictly followed--they just give the idea of the level of quality and detail that should be aimed for.

This project is expected to be done at home, as our classroom time together is limited. Below is a copy of the marksheet for you to refer to, to clarify expectations.

The poster should be completed on a large piece of poster paper, available at most Dollar Stores. As noted, the children are encouraged to be creative in their presentation. They are encouraged to include pictures, text boxes, drawings, decorations and other items that represent them and highlight cultural details of their family.

A note: please make sure that your child does most of the work for the project themselves. It is, of course, perfectly fine to encourage them and occasionally assist them to do their best quality of work (ie. use of ruler, careful writing and colouring, etc..) and feel free to assist them in their understanding of what culture is. Thank you! :-)

You can download a sample poster in PDF form here. This is a basic sample. It is by no means intended to be the only way to complete the project--just to give a general idea.

Please send any questions my way in your child's planner or use the email link on this page.
Many thanks,
Geoff Westby

Hatzic Rock field trip - Nov. 13

Divisions 7&8 had the privilege of travelling to the Xá:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre, commonly known as Hatzic Rock, for a presentation of Stó:lo culture, to support the Social Studies curriculum and our study of Aboriginal Culture in the second term. I have enjoy this field trip on many occasions and it never disappoints. We learned a lot about about Stó:lo culture and daily life, traditions and myths. As well, the children made paintbrushes from cedar bark, painted traditional pictographs on rocks, and played traditional games in the pit house. Thank you to our gracious hosts for another great and fun learning experience!

You can learn more about Xá:ytem at their website.






Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Remembrance Day (includes video)



Congratulations to students from Divisions 5&7 for their terrific performance at today's Remembrance Day ceremony. Some footage from the assembly performance will be posted here a.s.a.p.. Below you can view the "Canada Remembers" video that was shown to the audience.


Thursday, October 22, 2009

Div. 7 Culture Project (includes .pdf link for handout)

Note: The due date written on the assignment handout given to the student reads Oct. 27--this has been extended to next Tuesday, Nov. 3.

As a part of their studies in culture, each child in Division 7 is going to do some basic research on their own family’s cultural background. Obviously, many families have diverse cultural backgrounds with different nationalities represented, so there are different options:

1) Choose the country and culture that is most significant in your family. For example, my ancestry is primarily Norwegian (with a sprinkling of French and German), so I would research Norwegian cultural traditions.

2) Choose the family culture that is most interesting to the student.

3) Do research on more than one culture---extra credit but also extra work!

It is not important that your family actually practices any or all of the cultural traditions...the purpose is to present an overall picture. Parents and other family members are asked and encouraged to help guide their child through this process! :-)

The following websites are quite good:

http://www.everyculture.com/
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/index.php.

These sites are meant for older readers but contain tons of great info on different cultures. Just use the search window on the main page. On the Kwintessential page, if, for example, you search "Norway", this site will do a Google search for Norway's culture, traditions, manners, etc..

Please help guide your children through this process, but have them them do the writing and have them make decisions on what they should include. Also, simply googling "French culture", "Irish cultural traditions", "Italian houses", etc.. will produce lots of information.

** If there is a lot of info for a certain category, just write a couple of examples.
** Please do not worry if you cannot find extensive information for some categories!

The children have already been given the handout to work with, but if you need another copy, just click the link below to go to my Div.7 download page. You will need legal-size paper in your printer.

Again, the completed handout is due on Friday, Oct. 30. The due date written on the handout reads Oct. 27--this has been extended. Have fun!

**NOTE: If the internet is not available to you, please let me know by email. The library is also a great resource!

Culture Project handout

Thanks!
Mr. W

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Homework due Tuesday, Oct. 27

Art - final copy of straight-line drawing.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Homework due Tuesday, Oct. 20

Art - rough draft of straight-line drawing.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Homework due Friday, Oct. 16

Math
- p. 127 #5-6 (a-g)
- make sure your work is neatly organized in your notebook
- check your answers for correctness.

Art
- Joan Miro Art (Mr. Martin)

ALL WORK DUE FRIDAY, OCT 16

Remember, Friday is GREEN DAY. Wear green and help school spirit!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

If I Had A Hammer - video

Division 7 is performing two songs with Mrs. Wightman's class for our school Remembrance Day concert (date TBA). The songs are "We'll Meet Again", a WW2-era standard, and "If I Had A Hammer", popularized in the early 60's by Peter, Paul and Mary.

"If I Had A Hammer" was introduced to the students yesterday. Below is a video of PP&M performing it in 1963--students can learn the song from watching.

The song begins at about the :38 mark.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Mr. W. homework for weekend of Oct 9-12

Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Math Makes Sense
- p. 127 #1-4
- make sure your work is neatly organized in your notebook
- check your answers for correctness.
- DUE TUESDAY, OCT 13

Monday, October 5, 2009

Fun, Educational Websites!

Bang-On Time - practice telling time to the minute by beating the clock.

Geospies - Identify continents/provinces/countries, etc. You pick the difficulty level.

Blobs - Fun strategy game, similar to checkers.

Wordle - Create beautiful 'Word Clouds' using your own text!

Uncross The Lines - highly challenging puzzle site. The object is as the title suggests--to make sure that no lines cross. But it's not as simple as it sounds!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Welcome to Mr. W's Division 7 site!


Thanks for visiting my new Division 7 site!

On this website, you will find information about the goings-on from Mr. W's days teaching Division 7--Tuesdays and Fridays.

You will find information on homework, projects, upcoming events, websites and links for your use, and other useful and fun stuff!

You can contact me by email. See the link at the top right of the page.


Please check back regularly! Thanks
Mr. W