Graphing Activites

Bar Graph Activity


Billy Bug Coordinate Graphing


IXL Graphing Practice

The Trees Have Arrived!

We got some of our trees today from the Whitemud Watershed. Chris Reynolds delivered them after lunch today and we got our holes dug and trees planted in about one hour. We had a couple of bigger trees that we needed help moving because they were very heavy. Thanks to Jason Thompson and Mac's Rentals for helping us out with that. Our next step will be to get some perenials. If you have any at home that you would like to donate we would gladly accept anything you have to offer. If you could send a note to school letting us know what you have or send an email to szander@pinecreeksd.mb.ca before Friday that would be helpful, as we will be going to the perennial sale on Saturday to purchase some. If you could donate some that would really help keep our costs down.

Upcoming Events

Monday May 28th- Gr. 5 Track and Field Forms Due Tuesday May 29th- Good copy of bar graph due Daily 5 visitors coming Wednesday May 30th- Gr. 6 track meet Thursday May 31st- Subway Lunch

Town Wide Clean Up

Landscape Drawings

Greenspace Blog

Check out this link to see what progress is being made on our greenspace. Chris Reynolds from Whitemud Watershed will be bringing some trees that they have generously donated to our greenspace. They have purchased approximately $500 worth of trees and will be delivering and helping us plant these trees on May 28.
http://www.mesgreenspace.blogspot.com/

Johnny Appleseed

Grade 5's will be getting apple trees on Friday from the Johnny Appleseed Program through Whitemud Watershed. They will need someone to come pick these up as they cannot go home on the bus with them. The trees will be delivered to us at 10:00am and you can pick them up anytime after that. Thanks!

Thanks Ms. Mauthe!

Ms. Mauthe is officially finished her student teaching placement with us. It has been a pleasure having her in our classroom and we wish her good luck in the future!

7 Ways to Encourage Reluctant Readers

Reading is a tremendously appealing, satisfying activity, and children will become hooked once the adults in their lives consistently build it into their daily schedules. The key is getting children started. The following seven strategies will help even the most reluctant reader become more enthusiastic about the endeavor. By employing the strategies described below, reading will become something that students do willingly, even eagerly, and the adults in their lives will not have to resort to trickery, bribery, manipulation, or any other tactic that will, at best, lead to temporary compliance. After all, we’re striving to make reading a joyous lifelong habit.

1.   Start with the child’s passions.  Children will be more excited about reading when they can choose books or magazines related to their interests. This suggestion is far and away the most powerful one when it comes to encouraging those who are reluctant to read. When kids own the choice of what they will read, motivation increases significantly.

2.   Make reading a social experience.  Children who don’t enjoy reading alone often enjoy reading with somebody else.  Children can read with their parents, siblings, other relatives, and friends.  Some children even start mini-book clubs and discuss books related to their common interests.  Asking children to read to their younger siblings and cousins can powerfully impact their own motivation to read.

3.   Read aloud to children.  Many parents regularly read aloud to their children when they are very young, yet stop this activity as the kids get older.  Parents should read aloud to children throughout the elementary grades.  Doing so makes reading more enjoyable, improves listening skills, builds comprehension, lengthens attention spans, and grows the imagination.

4.   Take advantage of new technology.  Children who may not find books interesting may enjoy reading the same texts on smart phones, computers, and electronic readers, such as the iPad or Kindle.  Technology makes everything seem cooler and more engaging to children, and we should capitalize on this fact when it comes to reading.

5.   Be a role model to children.  When children see their parents reading frequently, discussing what they have read, and carrying books around, they will value reading to a greater extent.  The power of modeling cannot be underestimated.

6.   Camouflage reading.  Parents can increase the amount of time their children spend reading by subtly building the activity into other, seemingly unrelated activities.  Examples include reading menus at restaurants, reading the directions to board games, and looking at various websites together. Children who may not yet enjoy reading for its own sake may enjoy it tremendously when it’s incorporated into other engaging pastimes.

7.   Be sure children read books that are appropriately challenging.  Many times kids don’t want to read simply because the books they encounter are too difficult.  This seemingly obvious point is frequently forgotten. None of us want to encounter frustration, and we will go to great lengths to avoid experiences that make us feel this way. Appropriately challenging books are those in which students can fluently read approximately 95% of the words. Encountering a small number of difficult words can help children grow in their reading skills, but encountering too many of these words can interfere with fluency and lead to discouragement.

Do You Have These Books?

We are looking for some books to support our daily 5. These are short books that help us teach a variety of the reading strategies. If you have any of these titles that you would like to donate, we would greatly appreciate it.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.
No, David by David Shannon
The OK Book by Amy Drouse Rosenthal
Tomorrow's Alphabet by George Shannon
What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
Beatrice Doesn't Want To by Laura Numeroff
Chester by Melanie Watt
Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummell
Duck and Goose by Tad Hills
Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff
What Do You  Do With a Tail Like This? by Robin Page and Steve Jenkins