Assembly, Hanami, Squash, Spelling and you guessed it... more mouldy bread

Hanami

The comprehension passage

Cutting out the blossoms

The naked trees

Following the usual whole-school assembly and a 5 degrees celsius start in the little Siberian classroom, my students did their desk change for the week and we headed off to Japanese class together. I always enjoy these sessions because I learn so much about another culture. I used to teach the upper primary Italian program at Illawarra Primary School. The lesson today focused on the Hanami. Students did a short comprehension piece and then cut out blossoms to adorn the trees which had been prepared for today's lesson. Next week I will hopefully post up a photo of the finished product.

After recess students went to their daily physical education sessions and then got straight into the phyical eduaction lesson which focused on squash skills.  It was then back to the classroom for the remainder of the day.

This weeks' spelling is focusing on the "drop the y and add ies rule." We discussed the rule that if a consonant (eg. b,d,f etc) precedes the y then the rule is to drop the y and ies. We looked at what happens if the letter which precedes the y is a vowel 
as in donkey, valley...then the rule  is to simply add the s. Knowing our language there is surely some word which doesn't follow this rule but it usually works.   Eight students already understood this rule and applied it capably on various occasions in standardised test so they published work and had extra time on their Science projects (yes, the mould) or on typing up their recounts about the grade 6 camp.

After lunch we successfully watched the whole clip on moulds in Mrs Franz's room whilst her students were at Japanese because their internet connect is more reliable than ours. This film will definitely assist students with the write-up of their background to their science reports.

Following that students had time on their Spelling and their Science investigations. We discussed how the cm squares could be used to work our percentages of mould on a surface area.  This weeks spelling bingo words are:

family families

daisy  daisies

city  cities

lady  ladies

butterfly butterflies

baby babies

activity  activities

memory memories

hobby  hobbies

carry  carries

bury   buries

marry marries

cry  cried

hurry hurried

apply applied

Individual feedback was also given on the prime numbers lesson we did on Friday. Some students are still have problems with this concept so I will do another quick lesson on Tuesday and discuss composite numbers at the same time. There are also new books to the classroom library.

As from next Monday I will no longer be teaching on a Monday as I need to have the time to visit my dad in Devonport on a more regular basis. I spoke to the class about this during the afternoon session and trust that they and parents understand my decision.

Writing Science Reports, Arrays and Prime Numbers

All the grade 5/6 classes assembled today in Mr Moore's room for a presentation all about how to write up a Science report. The session went for forty minutes and there was question and answer time. All of the grade 5/6 teachers presented some aspect of the presentation. Students were also shown samples of works done by students from lasts years grade 5/6 classes. They have four weeks to write up their reports. Students all have this guide which can serve as a check list in their Science books and I gave my students an additional copy to take home and keep near their computers. Students without  access to computers at home, which is a third of my class, will be given some time in class to word-process drafts they have written. 

 Here is the guide they were given:

Writing up an investigation as a scientific report

Step 1 Background /Introduction

Write a section explaining about what moulds are then...

• Briefly outline what you are going to investigate.
• Give a reason why the research is important and why you and other people would want to know the answer to the question

Step 2 Hypothesis

• Your prediction(what you think) will happen.
• Give good logical reasons to support this.
• Refer to the information you already know

Step 3 Equipment and materials

• A list of equipment

Step 4 Method

• Use clear sentences to explain each step taken to set up and undertake the experiment
• Order paragraphs so that each step is a new paragraph
• Make sure they are in the correct order
• Include a discussion of how you are making sure the experiment is a fair test.
• Be clear about which variables you are controlling and how.
• A digital photo of the equipment set up or a diagram would be useful to illustrate what you are saying.

Step 5 Results

• You need to have kept good observations all the way through your investigation
• Look at how you can put your observations into a table or graph
• You may have a selection of photos or written observations

Step 6 Discussion

• This section explains your results and gives a chance to discuss why you think certain things happened
• You can include a section of what worked well and why
• Discuss what didn’t work well and why
• Think of ways you would improve the investigation if you did it again, e.g. were there variables that you could or should have controlled?
• Suggest ways to build on from what you have done; another experiment to take the investigation further or to investigate new questions you have.

Step 7 Conclusion

• What you have learned and why this is important to know.

Step  8 References/Cited Sources/Acknowledgements

A glossary could be included

Following this session we continued on with our arrays work started earlier in the week. This will be marked and returned to students on Monday morning.

After recess we spent thirty-five minutes completing the boundary walk of the school grounds to ensure the students knew where they can and cannot play during their recreational breaks.  It was then straight onto looking at their bread samples to make observations and to work on the bread mould unit up until lunch.  I assisted two students setting theirs up as they missed the lesson yesterday. So for them this was day 1. One pair of students found that one of their samples already had mould growth which was visible to the naked eye.

Students can access photos of their samples on the student drive. Students now all have their individual log-ons.

After lunch we did a lesson on prime numbers and looked closely at Sieve of Eratosthenes. 

We discussed instructional texts and they way they are set out. Students had to read this with care in order to sieve out the prime numbers. The solution was then displayed on the board.  

We finished the day with the second half of the story I started yesterday called The Sorcerer's Apprentice and looked at the use of alliteration in the book as well as a lot of new vocabulary.  I also added some Colin Thiele books to the classroom bookshelves. Nearly all the students have read Storm Boy. We will be viewing the film soon.

Mould experiments planned and set to go

Today students worked hard on planning their mould-growing experiments using bread as the food base. We discussed the idea of a fair test again and students set about making their plan and preparing their bread samples. Some are looking the effects of moisture, others are investigating the impact of preservatives, ultraviolet light and other at the differences that may eventuate between the plain, wholemeal or whole seed varieties or brands.

We also talked about how to write up a background, revisited the mould vimeo film we half-viewed the other day and looked at the information offered in four books which focused on fungi.  http://vimeo.com/20196310 Hopefully this film will run faster at your homes than at school. I have watched it three times and think it is quite a useful base of knowledge. It has an excellent part on Florey and Fleming and beneficial aspects of fungi which we haven't see at school because the download fails. It is definitely worth watching. There are also two books totally dedicated to Florey and Fleming available in the classroom for reading.

Today, Students also learnt about the use of bibliographies or cited-sources and learnt how to write up one. They have taken notes in their Science books.

Most students cut their bread samples down to 100 square centimetres so mould growth can be more easily converted to a percentage.

Throw in an assembly and a music lesson, and suddenly the day was over. A big WELL DONE to those four students who shared their reports on the book and film The Lorax. The deliveries were clear, informative and pretty much flawless.

A big thank you to all parents who came to the discussions sessions. 

Tonight's homework is to design a cover page for their investigation inserting an image and to start drafting up the background information on moulds. Some students need to think about how they are going to collect the data and record their observations on the three samples they have prepared.

Cross Country, Sabi, Library and Jelly Snakes

Cross country was the first major event of the day, though we did manage to read the article "Lest we forget animal helpers" and discuss it before 9-20. The students ran the 3 kms and all, but two students who were absent, participated to their best of their ability.

After recess, students re-read the passage about Sabi and the Anzac Parade proposal and located the keywords. They wrote down possible alternatives that could be used as apropriate titles for the article and wrote what they thought was the main message being delivered.

 

Unpacking the article about acknowledging our animal helpers

After recess we discussed what is a fair test and looked at variables and how they can be controlled or not. Students then planned an investigation looking into the elasticity and breaking points of jelly snakes. They had to work out a fair test. We also quickly looked at the prices of the snakes per unit, how much each gram was worth. It was then off to library which I nearly forgot about.

After lunch students carried out their investigations and started to write it up into their science books, stating clearly what it was they were investigation, using a data table and discussing their findings. This is due in Thursday morning. 

 

I had three beautiful Lorax posters I asked for during our cinema visit and we did a draw out of a plastic cup for three lucky recipients.

Mould, mould and more mould

There has been one timetable change to our Monday so as students don't have so many options on a Monday. The library lesson will now happen on a Tuesday.

In the morning we all attended  the whole school assembly where students were reminded about the importance of staying within the boundaries of the school. The new slogan is Stay in bound and be found! We also celebrated the birthdays of the week  and  did a meditation session.

Then it was on to Japanese where the focus continued on classroom items.

Students received feedback on their last lesson

They played a game to reinforce the new vocabulary

Students will make these signs in the near future

Something is not right

Students have been  given some guidance to the aims and expectations of this section of  Marvellous Microorganisms  unit  which is now  focusing on moulds. They will be concentrating on  conducting fair tests in scientifc experiments and the use of computers to publish their findings and results.

After recess students had Daily Phys. Ed and their weekly Physical Education lesson. I am so proud of the dance leaders who I oversee. A job well done girls.  Cross country is tomorrow and students know the run off times  times and all about the expectations of the day.

Over the next few weeks students will be:

*planning an investigation that is a fair test.

*conducting an investigation,and making and recording observations.

*interpreting observations and making a conclusion which answers the
 research question  posed.

* describing the conditions that encourage the growth of food mould.

*use technology to present their final report, including  typed text
  tables, photos, diagrams, graphs etc

Students completed the following cloze procedure on moulds after watching the following doucumetary.
http://vimeo.com/20196310

Tonight as part of their spelling homework they need to ensure that their word walls about Microorganisms are up-to-date. I hope to see the word hyphae there. They also had to complete this cloze procedure and focus on the significant Science words:


The ____ 'mould' is used to refer to several kinds of _____ that grow on
various surfaces. Moulds reproduce by producing ______. Mould spores
are commonly found in the air and soil, but will grow into mould only when
they land somewhere with the right __________ for growth.  Spores are very
_____ and don't contain a supply of food to help them begin to _____ like
seeds do.  They use whatever they land on as ____.

Mould grow _____ away from direct _________ in moist, cool-to-warm conditions
where there is plenty of plant and animal (organic) matter for them to use as an _____
source. A soggy sandwich left in a lunch box over the summer holidays is a
mould's delight. Moulds love  bathrooms and ______ old shoes.  They will even
grow on books and papers that have not been ______ in the right conditions.
Direct ultraviolet light (including) sunshine tends to _____ moulds and they don't
grow well in dry _____________.

When mould spores germinate they produce long, thin strands called hyphae
which give moulds their fluffy __________. Moulds play an important role in the
ecosystem, helping to decompose and ________ dead organic matter.

term        stored  recycle     sunlight   spores      appearance       environments
fungi        kill     conditions   food    energy     small    best   grow  sweaty

To end the day we had a look at mouldy foodstuffs.  There's a nightmare in my lunch box!

Students looked closely at what six week old bread mould looks like along with a very disgusting apple and some really gross tomato paste.  We discussed the importance of sealing or double bagging their future mould experiments. Students have been asked to think about the experiment they are going to conduct to find out about the conditions that mould requires to grow on bread.

I now have a record 23 out of 24 parents who are coming  to or have already had a parent teacher discussion session. Thanks all, I appreciate your time and actually enjoy the whole process. 

Maze Grids, Arrays and Persuasive Posters

This morning we started off the day with Maze Grids, which  another approach to encouraging fluency with mental arithmetic. It was then onto arrays discussing the difference between rows and columns and mathematical sentences which would fit given arrays. We looked at the importance of order of operations and ways to quickly estimate the number of items in an array.

Students were also given back their Monster Grids and I have recorded their individual best times. We will do a revisit to Monster Grids once we finish the Maze Grids.  Ten new calculators turned up today as well as a large container of 2cm square blocks which were very useful in illustrating the concept of arrays. This lesson will be continued next Tuesday and Wednesday.

An array of 5 x 10 which can be partitioned in a number of ways

After recess we revised the components of a persuasive poster and looked at the important elements which would be needed to promote their picture book. Below is a selection of books the students are currently trying to promote.  New to The Little Library of Rescued Books is Caesar the Anzac Dog, which is worth reading:
http://littlelibraryofrescuedbooks.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/caesar-anzac-dog-by-patricia-stroud.html
After lunch we looked at a couple of new idioms, did silent reading and I managed to do a writer's conference with 8 more students regarding their recent persuasive texts. Then students were given the remainder of the afternoon to work on their persuasive posters, A handful opted to take them home. Students, who handed in their Lorax assignments will receive their feedback on Monday and the outcomes will be shared at the parent/teacher discussion. Eighteen students out of twenty four met the deadline. Well done!

My two amazing Daily Physical Education leaders from Mr Moore's class and Mr Stafford's class now have a music disc with some great dance songs on it. Thank you my wonderful friend Glenda Paton for organising that for me, much appreciated.

Also I now have 22 replies and a possible 23rd reply indicating attendance at the parent/teacher discussions which will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and evenings.

Big Apple, Little Apple and other riveting things...

Today was so funny. I was spending some time in the classroom with some students who wanted to just have some downtime in the classroom during the lunch break (and for once I didn't have duty) when one grade 5 boy produced the biggest apple that I have ever seen from his bag as part of his lunch...then a grade 5 girl proceeded to produce possibly the smallest apple I have ever seen. It was so funny. The large apple could have easily fed three people! The other one was cute, but would never qualify for export. It's something a budgie might chew on for an hour or so. I talked to the small group of students about camera angles and how they can further exaggerate something and took a photo. Animations unit coming up. BUT believe me, this particular apple fell from the table of the Titans and would be a real gum masher.

Sadly, sorry to say... today we didn't hit the the mathematics as hard as I wished but we did finish the tenth monster grid. So I gathered them up and had a look at the two biggest improvers as well as their graphs. There are two mini Rubrik's cubes up for grabs. Tomorrow, we start on the  Maze Grids which deal with a wider range of mental arithmetic which might appeal to some students as well as knocking a few others off their comfort perches. Arrays is also on the cards.

This morning in our 'new' expanded space, I read students a very powerful picture book called The Enemy   written by Davide Cali, and illustrated by Serge Bloch,who incidentally is one of my favourite illustrators. We also have his book which is filled with idioms called Butterflies in my Stomach in the classroom which I read to students earlier in the year.  Ask your child about this aspect of the literacy curriculum. They know what idioms and chocolates are and are now very quick to point out when I use one in class.

We did a quick think, pair, share about what students believed to be the central message of the book.  Not one of the students knew about propaganda, so we discussed the term and I will be very interested to see the final persuasive poster produced by two of my most literate students on this one.  Over the next few days, students will be working on the visual literacy-driven persuasive poster, promoting their given picture book. All the picture books focus on conflicts in which Australia was involved. Students worked very hard on reading and unpacking their given books. They also recorded in their Writer's Notebooks the types of things they need to include in their poster and have started to plan their approach. Ten students shared an exerpt from their book in the ANZAC asssembly today, and I must add that they did a fantastic job, even our very popular student from New Zealand managed to say The Nek instead of The Nick. (Love him to bits.)  I also managed to find the time to sit down and individually conference eight students about yesterday's persuasive text discussing their successes and their future areas for focus regarding the next persuasive text on mobile phones.

Students had their normal 45 minute music lesson. 

The Anzac assembly went off quite well and I was proud of the respect my students showed during the bugle playing and the one minute of silence.  

Homework tonight is for students to finish off The Lorax film/book comparison unit. This should be handed in tomorrow with the accompanying rubric. This, like the persuasive text, will be something which I share with parents during parent/teacher discussions. I now have received 21 replies out of 24 regarding interview times.

The Persuasive Text and Maths

A busy day, home at last after a long staff meeting. Mr Matt Stafford and myself will be co-ordinating the school student council and hope to have our first meeting next week.

Today, in the classroom, students wrote up their persuasive texts about the use of animals in warfare. They were given 50 minutes to plan, write and check their finished copy. I have collected them and they will receive an assessment which I will share with parents at the upcoming parent/teacher discussions along with other assessments and the social progress of the students. Most students were given their interview times today but other with a number of siblings will receive their times tomorrow. I am still short  9 responses from parents; hopefully they will come in tomorrow as these discussions will be very informative and productive.  Below is the criteria the students are being assessed on for the persuasive writing they did today:

Comments will be made on all of the above. Hopefully we will do another text about the pros and cons of mobile phone ownership in a few weeks. 

Following this we learnt how to play two place value games to increase students knowledge in this area and to help them further understand the concept of regrouping. These games are located in the back of their large scrapbooks. It might be interesting to ask your child about these games. Some of the music option students (woodwind) didn't get to play the Race to 1000 game as they always go for their lesson at 12-00.

In the afternoon we had silent reading and a number of students went to guitar and choir and grade 5 woodwind. The remainder either went to a rugby clinic which was held on the oval for upper primary students or published some of their written drafts, or stayed and caught up on some work because they were behind. We now have five operating computers in the room and are expecting one more in the near future.

The new withdrawal (ex-Science) room is starting to come together and at recess I managed to recover the display board, and move some furniture around. Some of the grade six boys assisted me in placing some shelving in the room  and cleaning stickers and mess of the walls, thanks guys! There will be two computers in this area and an animations area where students can make and photograph their creations soon. Science will have to be a major focus next week where we will be looking at mould and the conditions it needs to grow.

Tomorrow morning their will be an ANZAC Day display in there. Students will be looking at a range of picture books which focus on primarily Gallipoli, and the wars in which Australia has been involved. In pairs students will be designing and promoting their chosen picture book to create a persuasive poster, which will cover some of the components of the visual literacy aspect  of the Australian Nation Curriculum.

Half of the of the class has now read the novel Storm Boy. Keep the four books circulating please. 

Writing Persuasive Text, The Lorax continued...

First up today I read students Krista Bell's book Lofty's Mission as a way of introducing the ways in which animals were use or abused in warfare. The book is fiction, but in Australia between 1942 and 1943, during the Second World War, home breeders like Charlie Morris donated more than 13, 000 baby pigeons "squeakers" to the army to be trained as messenger pigeons. Several Australian birds won the Dickin medal for bravery. We also looked at some non-fiction accounts and examples of the ways in which animals were employed during the major wars Australia has been involved in. Students will be writing a persuasive text either in favour or against the use of animals in warfare tomorrow. Today they were also provided with a structure to assist them.  This ties in with all the work we have done on emotive texts and use of rhetorical questions over the last three weeks.

Structure:
Introduction
– include a statement to give the author’s opinion
– preview important arguments
– engage the reader’s attention
Body
– include a series of paragraphs
– give a new idea or argument with reasons and examples to support it in each paragraph
– use persuasive language
– use quoted or reported speech
– use cohesive language to link ideas between paragraphs
Conclusion
– restate the position of the writer
– sum up the main arguments
– include request action to be taken by the reader (optional)
– do NOT give any new information


We then view a short film clip from Behind the News on sniffer dogs used to detect bombs.   We revisited the idea of using keywords to take notes.

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2214523.htm

After lunch we read some factual accounts of animals being used  in warfare in terms of transport haulage, communications, morale boosters, and as live weapons. We also spent a fair bit of time looking at how to do a good search on a topic and to question sources without adequate citation or from trustworthy websites. Tonight students have been requested to do some further reading on animals in warfare and to explore their arguments ready to write their persuasive text in a 50 minute time frame first up tomorrow morning..

The Lorax was also back on the agenda and a generous amount of time and guidance given to look at the similarities and differences between the original version of The Lorax and the Hollywood adaption. Students will be expected to continue working on this tomorrow night as part of their literacy homework. 

We watched the trailer again to refresh their memories and looked at IMDb the Internet Movie Database.

Maths will be a major focus tomorrow.

Big day out and an extension of the room!

Today was a fabulous day and I was so proud of the way the grade 5/6 students looked after their buddies and sat with them on the bus and in the cinema. I might add it was also one of the quietest bus trips to and from a venue that I have ever had.  The Lorax was not disappointing and it will provide for some interesting discussions following the Easter break. A big thank you to Rachel who came on the excursion with us. 

The biggest surprise of the day which awaited us when we returned was the mysterious sign that Easter Bunnies Hayley and Arnold left for us on the Science storeroom door. The darlings had spent all their free time whilst we were away on a secret mission (not even the boss knew about) cleaning and moving gear from the Science and general storeroom which adjoins our little classroom so we could have a bigger classroom. I might have to rename the blog The Now  Not So Little Classroom up the Back. There are a few shelves and spare ceiling panels to move, and after Easter the students can help me set it up as a withdrawal area, recover a display board and set up an area for shooting our animations and doing lots of fun creative activities. I am so excited about the new space! There are new desks coming soon too.

Students also did very well on the words with silent letters. We also had time to run through the assessment rubric before we left for the cinema. Students had their usual music lesson as we were able to swap it into the early morning block. 

After lunch I handed out the reports and we practised our assembly item. Then it was off to assembly. I hope everyone has an enjoyable Easter break. Congratulations to those students who received certificates in assembly today.

Literacy Day and music options

Today was a full on literacy day with students coming and going to music options from 12 o'clock onwards. Mr Stafford's extras who came in for the afternoon were very well-behaved.

First up was Spelling Bingo, followed by 40 minutes where students finished off their responses to the newspaper editorials. The focus was on the use of rhetorical questions in the letters to the editor.

We then focused on personification. Personification involves giving human qualities to objects or animals. The work is in their Writer's Notebooks. We will be sharing the purpose and some of the aspects of this literacy book tomorrow in assembly.

Distant waves hushing...

The tower clock coughed, whirred and struck three.

The tail light blinked three times and died.

After recess and daily phys.ed students all read their pages of  the fable,The Lorax, to recreate the story a second time. The students were asked to concentrate on their posture and their delivery, paying attention to expression and clarity. There were some sterling performances and a few average ones as well. After this students completed their what, who, why where, and when notes in their Writer's Notebook. This will help them do their book reports. (synopsis, character study, and messages) Much more depth will be required when we do the Storm Boy film report after Easter.

We then looked at an example of a  synopsis (summary of the story) and discussed characterisation (physical description, personality, motives) and the central messages of the original Dr Seuss version of The Lorax. Student only had to choose only one of the two main characters to concentrate on. Some are doing The Lorax and others are looking the Once-ler.  Those students who fully applied themselves and didn't have a lot of music options should have finished the first drafts. They have literacy homework tonight to neatly write up or publish these into their presentation A3 card folded into booklet form. The second half of the card is for after we have viewed the adaption we are going to see at the cinema tomorrow.  Students will be examining  the similarities and differences between this Hollywood production and the original book by Dr. Seuss after the Easter break. We were going to do our last half an hour of t-ball but many students were out for music options, and I also decided that some of them hadn't really pulled their weight in the afternoon.

We also read the review of the latest adaption of The Lorax  by David and Margaret on the At the Movies website and then watched the trailer.

Assessment rubric each student will be given tomorrow. Assignment due one week following Easter.

By the way, here is a rebuttal of The Lorax called  The Truax sponsored by the logging industry and published by the National Wood Flooring Manufacturers' Association, which is worth looking at:
http://www.stuartflooring.com/downloads/truax.pdf

The Lorax, Writer's Notebook and more subtraction

Today was a full on day with no students going in and out of class. Crack the whip!  First up students were given  a copy of the cover of The Lorax by Dr Seuss and asked to do either a See, Think, Wonder Y chart or a Talk to the Picture on it. These visual organizers are pasted in the back of their Writer's Notebook.  We then shared our ideas and watched the animation adapted from the book. On Thursday we will be viewing the latest adaption at Village Cinema with our book buddies. Students have been given a couple of pages of the book each which they will read out in turn to recreate the book (a second visit if you like after watching the above animation). I noticed some of the texts were still in tote trays at the end of the day so those students must be confident with an off the cuff delivery  tomorrow. We  also discussed the use of personification and alliteration and assonance in relation to the text. After lunch students used the What, Who, Why, Where formula to further explore the animation. This will be continued tomorrow and used to assist them write a synopsis (summary) of the film, a character study and a discussion of the main messages the film delivers. The homework night for finishing this literacy activity will be the usual Wednesday slot. 

After recess, it was a maths focus, beginning with three Guess the number games, and then a lesson on mixed numbers as many students weren't sure about this concept. It was then time for Monster Grid 9. The subtraction lesson from Friday was then continued. Students were paired up and used the MAB to assist them in their understanding of regrouping.  Students only had  homework if they did not quite finish this activity, I will be collecting them tomorrow morning.

The afternoon started with Quiet Reading whilst I helped students scan their Marvellous Microorganism jigsaws. Some of these are outstanding. We still need to make some more boxes to house them in.  And then, as stated before students continued with The Lorax study.

Respect,Twister, Spelling and other things

This morning we had the usual 35-40 minute whole-school assembly where students listened to a story about respect, applauded birthdays and shared ideas on respect. This next month the whole school focus will be on respect. Following the assembly students and I went to the scheduled Japanese lesson where students learn the name of everyday school objects and how to play Twister in Japanese reinforcing their knowledge of colours and body parts.  Then it was Daily Phys Education,  P.E., Library which took us up to the lunch break. In the afternoon, as usual. we tackled spelling, this week looking at words with silent letters. These will be tested on Thursday.  Some students were publishing drafts into top copies and two were doing the subtraction lesson they missed on Friday. Students are learning to scan and print out a copy of their Marvellous Microorganism jigsaw puzzles. Tick off another part on the ICT checklist. One student presented his persuasive text which he didn't have prepared from last week, and received two peer assessments and a teacher assessment.  All these assessments are housed in the portfolios under the Smart Board. Students received back their Science books complete with assessments on the last four Science lessons. WB = Working Beyond, AA= Age Appropriate, WT = Working Towards. All spelling corrections were added to their ISL cards. A few students who finished early went on with their Softies. Monday done! The timetable will be adjusted after Easter so I have the students more in the morning blocks.